Project 5: Synthesis using PoiZone

Until this point in class, you have been manipulating sound with various tools- filters and other envelopes. You haven't actually created your own sound from scratch yet. that changes with Project 5.

To make our first synth, we will use a plugin called PoiZone. Go to Channels-add one PoiZone to see it and hear it.

Sound is made up of waves. things that produce a wave are called oscilators. Poizone has two of them. In class I gave a quick rundown of how Poizone's two oscillators worked. If you missed it, or need a review, check out this quick video.

By the end of this project you should be able to:
1. Mix osc A with osc B
2. Change the wave shape of either oscillator.
3. Mix in noise.
4. Change the pitch of osc B

We also discussed the filter section. You should be able to:
1. Switch the filter type from LP, HP and BP modes.
2. Change the resonance of the cutoff frequency in LP and HP, and in BP mode change the band width of the filter.
3. Use keyboard tracking and velocity tracking to change the way the filter effects low/high and soft/loud.

Finally, we discussed unison mode. You should be able to:
1 Create multiple voices (up to 4.
2. Use detune to widen the unison effect
3. Use unison panning to make the synth spread out in the stereo field.
4. Shift all of the even numbered unison voices up an octave.

For a review of Filters and unison mode, check out this video.

Here's mine:


The opening riff is a default PoiZone in pulse wave mode with a 50% 50% mix of Osc A and B. Osc B is tuned down an octave and a little bit of noise is mixed in to rough up the sound a bit.
I'm using a LP filter with the resonance at about 65% and the velocity tracking all the way up. In the riff that I created in the piano roll, I emphasized the velocity of some of the notes to showcase this feature of the synth. I like how the accented notes get a dramatic filter treatment and the unaccented notes do not.
Unison mode is set to 2 and the unison panning it turned up a bit. Otherwise, it's a default synth.
The other synth which comes in after the 4th repeat is similar in design,but instead of tuning OSC B down an octave, I turned it up 2 octaves and mixed all of the noise out. You will probably notice the pitch automation clip on it and the snare drum with generous amounts of reverb and echo.