Sound synthesis

Sound synthesis is the process of using specialised audio synthesising devices to create sounds. Sound synthesis was originally intended to provide a means of recreating acoustic instrumental tones, but the resulting attempts were generally unrealistic and inadequate as a substitute for the original instrument. What resulted was the creation of new sounds, never before heard nor conceived.

There are many different types of synthesis in common use today:

• Subtractive Synthesis (otherwise knows as Analogue Synthesis)
• Additive Synthesis
• Frequency Modulation (FM) Synthesis
• Phase Distortion Synthesis
• Granular Synthesis
• Wavetable Synthesis
• Physical Modelling Synthesis (a fairly recent development which does enable realistic recreation of acoustic intruments)

External resources

WikiAudio - Encyclopedia & database for all things audio and sound related