Help! Synth Programming

[jameseather]

hey im naturally a guitarist and now im moving into stuff and want to use synths in my songs.. I got cakewalk with Roland GrooveSynth but the patches (the pads ) are limited and cant be changed that much. Cakewalk also has the PSYN synth and is way over my head atm. I was wondering if anyone can give me tips on programing. How to use filters, LFOs effectively what they do etc
any help would be great


cheers

[richiebee]

The PSYN looks pretty comprehensive but appears to use subtractive synthesis (I'm getting this from a screenshot, so if you know otherwise, let us know!) which is a great place to start learning about synthesis - it's much more straight forward than some of the other kinds.

OSC = oscillator (it appears to have two oscillators, each with a sub-oscillator which can modulate the original to create new wave forms). This is basically the sound that is generated.
FLT = filter. Like an EQ, but with more extreme results. Should be able to link to one of the oscillators, or more likely the LFO, to modulate the sound over time.
EG= envelope generator. This changes the attack, decay, sustain and release phases of the sound... there are a couple of other sliders in there too.
LFO = low frequency oscillator. A wave that modulates the original sound - it is generally used to produce vibrato, tremolo, and sweeping frequency mod effects.
The bottom section is effects.

This might help a little - Subtractive synthesis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This goes into a little more detail - KVR: WIKI: The Basics Of Subtractive Synthesis

Most people learn how to use them by twiddling knobs. Did it come with a manual? They look complicated but when you break them down into their components, they're actually not that bad. That's not to say its easy to come up with a new refreshing patch!!!