Nighthawk

Play it from a MIDI track. Each note plays the seven-oscillator matrix and the sub through its own envelope and a Moog-style low-pass filter. SPACE sends the result to a reverb, and the dry synth always stays in the mix.

1. Saw matrix

   SHADE

   Sets the waveform of all seven oscillators. With SHAPE on MULTI it goes from sawtooth to triangle, and on SQR it sets the pulse width. Softer notes pull it back a little.

   MORPH

   Sets the speed of an LFO that pulls SHADE down from its setting and back, synced to your host's tempo. It goes from stopped up to four cycles per beat, in steps of half a cycle.

   MORPH SHAPE

   Picks the shape of the MORPH LFO: triangle, saw or square. On square, SHADE flips between its setting and the bottom of its range. It applies from the next note you play.

   BUILD

   Sets how far the six other oscillators detune from the primary one. The closest sit 4 to 30 cents away, and the farthest three and a half times that, so low settings give a gentle chorus and high settings a wide, beating wall.

   BLEND

   Sets the level of the six detuned oscillators against the primary one. All the way down you hear the primary oscillator alone, and turning it up brings in the full supersaw.

   SHAPE

   Switches the oscillators between MULTI, which runs from sawtooth to triangle, and SQR, a pulse wave. It applies from the next note you play.

2. Sub

   SUB

   Adds a square-wave oscillator one octave below each note. It goes through the filter with the matrix.

3. Envelope

   ONSET

   Sets the attack time, from instant up to six seconds.

   TRAIL

   Sets the release time, from instant up to six seconds.

4. Moog filter

   ANIMATE

   Sets how far an LFO pulls the Moog-style low-pass filter down from fully open, once per cycle. Fully up, the filter closes completely at the bottom of each sweep. Below about a tenth of the way up it does nothing.

   SPEED

   Sets the speed of the ANIMATE sweep, synced to your host's tempo, in whole steps from stopped up to eight cycles per beat. At zero the filter stays open.

5. Reverb

   SPACE

   Sets how much of the synth goes to the algorithmic reverb. The dry synth stays at full level.

6. Master

   OUTPUT

   Sets the level of the synth, from silent to full. It starts a fifth of the way up.

Try thisFor a slow swell, turn ONSET and TRAIL past halfway, set BUILD around the middle and hold a chord. Set SPEED to 1 so the filter dips once a beat, and keep ANIMATE low enough that it never closes.

Formats

Studies: Audio Units, VST2 and VST3 on Mac, VST3 on Windows · Apple silicon native

Systems

Current macOS and Windows 10/11 x64