At the heart of the synthesizer, the oscillator produces the raw tones that are later modified
by other components, such as the filter and the envelope generator.
You control the oscillator with the following settings:
Wave Form
Selects the wave form that the oscillator produces: triangle (a soft, warm tone),
sawtooth (a sharp bright tone that is ideal for filtering), square (a more
metallic sound, adjustable with the pulse width setting), and white noise (which is
great for percussive sounds and effects).
PW/PWM
Adjusts the pulse width of the square wave form, from an even square to an infinitely thin
pulse (which is inaudible). In combination with the Pulse Width Modulation switch in the
Patching Features section, this knob also adjusts the amount of pulse width modulation. See
Modulation: I can't stop.
Scale
Transposes the tones that are produced by the oscillator by full octaves. The oscillator
produces rich bass tones at the 32' position and high whistles at 4'. The 16' and 8' settings
are good for lead sounds.
Pitch
Slightly detunes the oscillator, which can be necessary if you want to play along with a
record, or with live instruments. To reset this setting, hold down Ctrl and click the Pitch
knob once.
Portamento
Adjusts the amount of portamento or glide, which makes the oscillator slide from one note to
another. A little portamento is great for smooth keyboard solos, or when playing large bass
intervals. The portamento feature in FabFilter One is unique because it also works in
polyphonic mode, so you can play sliding chords!
Noise
Adds extra noise to the oscillator signal. Use the Noise Type switch at the bottom to
choose between white and pink noise. A small amount of noise makes instruments sound more
natural, and you can create thundering sound effects with lots of pink noise. (Try the Pink
Noise preset in the Basic submenu for a good starting point.)