The synthesizer oscillator is used to generate a waveform, which is then sent to other portions of the synthesizer engine for processing or manipulation.
Mix knob: Set the waveform of the oscillator, which is responsible for the basic color of the tone.
Setting the Wave parameter all the way to the left causes the oscillator to output sawtooth signals.
Setting the Wave parameter all the way to the right outputs a 50% rectangular wave, which is heard one octave below the sawtooth.
For any Wave setting between these extreme positions, the oscillator outputs a crossfaded mix of the two waveforms.
8, 16, and 32 buttons: Switch the pitch in octaves—transpose it up or down. The lowest setting is 32 feet, and the highest is 8 feet. The use of the term feet to determine octaves comes from the measurements of organ pipe lengths. The longer and wider the pipe, the deeper the tone.
Glide knob: Introduce a continuous pitch bend between two consecutively played notes. Adjust the value to set the time required for the pitch to travel from the last played note to the next. At a value of 0, no glide effect occurs.
Note: The ES M always works in a fingered portamento mode, with notes played in a legato style resulting in a glide—portamento—from pitch to pitch.