Poly Grid - Vector Synthesis

Alright, let’s talk about vector synthesis, and honestly, this might be one of the easiest synthesis methods to explain, because it’s something pretty much everyone intuitively understands.

So here’s the idea: you have multiple sound sources, these can be oscillators, complex samples, or really any audio signal and instead of just playing one of them at a time, you blend between them. You move from one sound to another, or combine a few of them together.

The classic synth that popularized vector synthesis (Prophet VS - 1986) worked with four sound sources, typically oscillators arranged in a 2D plane. By moving a cursor or controller around this "vector space" you could dynamically blend between the sounds. The result? A more complex and evolving waveform.

So in short: vector synthesis means taking multiple sound sources and smoothly fading or morphing between them.

You can easily build something like this in the Bitwig Grid. Just grab a few oscillators or samplers (or a mix of both), and set them up in a way that lets you morph between them using modulation sources, a joystick input, macros, or any other control signal. Here is how you do it:

Building a simple Vector Synthesizer

We're now going to build a very simple vector synthesizer.
Of course, you can branch off at any point and make things more complex, or use different types of sound sources. For example, instead of using oscillators, you could use samplers.

The important thing is that your sound sources are different from each other—otherwise, when you blend between them, you won’t really get new sounds. So make sure each source has its own character to make the crossfading interesting!

  1. Add 4 sound sources In this example, we’re using 4 Wavetable oscillators so we can blend together different waveforms to create something more complex at the end.
  2. Use two Blend modules These will allow you to crossfade between Oscillator 1 & 2, and separately between Oscillator 3 & 4.
  3. Insert an XY Control Surface module This gives you a 2D pad that you can move with your mouse to control where you want to blend between your sound sources.
  4. Set the XY pad to Bipolar mode That way, the X and Y directions output both positive and negative signals.
  5. Add two Modulator Out modules Connect them to the X and Y outputs of the XY pad to send modulation data from your XY controller.
  6. Modulate the Blend modules Use the first Modulator Out to modulate both Blend modules (Osc1-2 and Osc3-4). This lets one axis of the XY pad control blending between the two oscillator pairs.
  7. Add a third Blend module This will now let you crossfade between the two previous blends (so you're effectively blending between Osc1-2 and Osc3-4).
  8. Use the second Modulator Out Connect it to modulate this third Blend module, allowing you to move between the top and bottom layer of the blend.
  9. Add an Oscilloscope (optional) Just to visualize the waveform you're creating by blending all these sources together.

▶ Next Lesson: Poly Grid: Granular Synthesis
◀ Previous Lesson: Poly Grid: FM/PM Synth
▲ Bitwig Grid Course Overview