Tags: posts polarity-music Bitwig Bitwig-5.2b11 Feedback Tutorial Modulators

Sci Fi Sounds with Audio Feedback, Hans Zimmer would love it

Tutorial | Jul 15, 2024

In this video, I demonstrate a cool trick in Bitwig Studio using the Polymer synthesizer. By attaching an audio rate modulator and feeding it back into the front of the synthesizer, I can create interesting modulation effects and generate unique sounds. This feedback loop allows for subtle or prominent modulation effects, giving a wide range of possibilities for creative experimentation.

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In this tutorial, I demonstrate a trick using the Polymer synthesizer in Bitwig Studio, focusing on creating feedback modulation to generate unique sounds. I explain how to use an audio rate modulator to feed the output of the Polymer synthesizer back into its input, which allows for dynamic modulation.

Key Points:

This technique is a powerful way to create unique textures and tones within Bitwig Studio, offering a wide range of sonic possibilities.

Questions & Answers

Maybe you dont watch the video, here are some important takeaways:

What is the trick showcased in this video?

The trick showcased in this video is using an audio rate modulator to feed the output of a synthesizer back into the front of the synthesizer in order to modulate the sound. This creates a feedback loop of modulation that can result in interesting and unique sounds.

How does the feedback loop work in this trick?

The feedback loop in this trick is not an audio feedback loop, but rather a modulation feedback loop. The output of the synthesizer modulates the input, and the modulation then determines how the output sounds. This back-and-forth process creates interesting overtones and can be adjusted to achieve different effects.

What are some ways to use this trick?

This trick can be used in subtle ways to add texture and movement to sounds, or in more prominent ways such as distortion. By adjusting parameters like phase modulation amount, filter cutoff, and pitch, a wide variety of sounds can be created. Adding effects like reverb, chorus, and delay can further shape the modulation and overall sound.

Why is this trick a great source of unique sounds?

This trick allows for endless experimentation and exploration within a single synthesizer. By modulating different parameters and adjusting the feedback loop, a vast array of sounds can be achieved. These sounds can be further manipulated and processed using tools like samplers and granular synthesis, making this trick a valuable resource for creating original and interesting sounds.

Transcription

This is what im talking about in this video. The text is transcribed by AI, so it might not be perfect. If you find any mistakes, please let me know.
You can also click on the timestamps to jump to the right part of the video, which should be helpful.

[00:00:00] So this is one of my very favorite tricks in Bitwig Studio and I show you this in some
[00:00:07] of my earlier videos but it's always good to refresh some knowledge.
[00:00:12] So here's a Polymer synthesizer and I just use here the sine partial.
[00:00:18] So nothing special, right?
[00:00:21] And you can just attach here an audio rate modulator and just grab the output of the
[00:00:27] Polymer synthesizer itself and feed it back into the front of the Polymer synthesizer.
[00:00:34] So you can see here the output wave form, right?
[00:00:37] So now we can modulate your things inside of the Polymer synthesizer.
[00:00:43] Let's use here this phase modulation amount.
[00:00:45] So we take the sub oscillator minus one and feed it back into the or phase modulator,
[00:00:51] this wave table oscillator.
[00:00:52] We can change the amount here with the knob.
[00:00:58] Maybe put the limiter on the master amp, just in case.
[00:01:02] So again here we get some overtones already.
[00:01:13] And then we can filter here this audio output from this Polymer synthesizer and get rid
[00:01:18] of some overtones, some fast modulation movements.
[00:01:26] We can also modulate now this filter here.
[00:01:35] So the interesting thing about this is that this is more or less like a feedback loop
[00:01:40] but it's not an audio feedback, it's more like a modulation feedback.
[00:01:44] So the modulation here decides how the output sounds and then this output goes back into
[00:01:51] the front and modulates the input.
[00:01:53] So it's a back and forth basically.
[00:01:55] So the output decides how to modulate and then modulation decides how it sounds and
[00:02:00] then the sound again modulates the input differently.
[00:02:02] So you get more or less interesting overtones with this.
[00:02:11] And you can do this in more subtle ways and you can also do this in more like more prominent
[00:02:17] upfront ways like distortion.
[00:02:22] And remember this is just a sine wave here, right?
[00:02:24] So nothing, just a sine and some feedback.
[00:02:29] You get even nice basses with this.
[00:02:37] Let's use the monophonic channel selection so you can choose from the output, right?
[00:02:42] If you want to use the side channels, if you want to use the left or the right channel
[00:02:46] or the side channel here, right?
[00:02:49] You can also rectify it.
[00:02:50] So rectify means you only modulate basically in the positive range, not in the negative
[00:02:55] range.
[00:02:56] So it's unipolar.
[00:02:57] Right, you can see it goes only up here.
[00:03:04] So rectify is basically mirroring the negative parts up to the positive parts.
[00:03:11] So yeah, you can also implement here in the FX box something like a reverb.
[00:03:17] And this also influences how the modulation is or looks like or is then applied to the
[00:03:23] synth, right?
[00:03:24] So the more effects you put in here, maybe a chorus, chorus plus, maybe a delay at the
[00:03:31] end.
[00:03:32] You don't know anything basically.
[00:03:35] So in this one grabs basically the output of this whole chain here and feeds it back
[00:03:39] into the modulation pane here.
[00:03:42] Then you can modulate things.
[00:03:44] .
[00:04:07] And sometimes it's too much for certain notes.
[00:04:09] So you can use a key track here.
[00:04:11] You can say you only...
[00:04:15] So when you play lower notes, you just reduce more or less the amount.
[00:04:20] This is just the gain here.
[00:04:22] So when you play lower notes, right, we remove your bit of gain.
[00:04:29] You can also switch the sub oscillator to 0, the octave 0, so it's not modulating with
[00:04:52] a lower octave.
[00:04:54] Or you can go to octave slower.
[00:05:20] And let's try out unison here.
[00:05:22] 16 voices feted.
[00:05:45] Very nice dystopian sci-fi movie soundtrack like sounds just with a bit of feedback modulation
[00:05:54] here.
[00:05:55] And I know I made a video already about this a few years ago, but it's always nice to show
[00:06:02] off these tricks because some of you, you know, you don't watch all my videos and I think
[00:06:08] I only show this once.
[00:06:10] It's a very great tip or trick to do inside of the polymer synthesizer here.
[00:06:18] You can modulate basically everything, right?
[00:06:20] And it all affects the output and the output then affects the input.
[00:06:24] So you have to balance certain things, right?
[00:06:27] So the feedback is not, you know, overtaking the whole sound.
[00:06:30] It's only modulating in subtle ways.
[00:06:33] So a good thing is here to modulate basically this phase modulation amount.
[00:06:38] So you take the sub oscillator and then you phase modulate here, this main oscillator,
[00:06:43] or you modulate here the filter cutoff, which is nice.
[00:06:47] You can also use this here to slightly modulate the pitch or the pitch of the whole synth is
[00:06:53] also a good thing to do here.
[00:06:56] Maybe not too much.
[00:07:10] It's maybe good to get some A-tonal sounds.
[00:07:27] Yeah, this is nice.
[00:07:48] You can also switch it to a different oscillator, let's say the sine oscillator here, and here
[00:07:54] you can modulate skew or fold.
[00:07:58] Let's try this one.
[00:08:15] My opinion is so much fun just to play around with this single modulator here on a random
[00:08:36] synth inside of Bitwig Studio.
[00:08:38] It's just so much fun and you get so much variety, different sounds out of it.
[00:08:43] You have to almost sample everything and then you can put it later on into a sampler and
[00:08:48] use some textures mode on it or some granular synthesis on it.
[00:08:54] And yeah, it's a great source of great sounds in my opinion.
[00:08:58] So try this out.
[00:08:59] It's just the audio rate modulator here.
[00:09:01] Put it in front of some of the devices and then take the audio input here from the output
[00:09:08] and that's it.
[00:09:09] And you can go crazy with the modulations.
[00:09:12] That's it for today.
[00:09:13] Leave a like if you liked the video, subscribe.
[00:09:16] Thanks for watching and I'll see you in the next one.
[00:09:18] Bye.
[00:09:18] [BLANK_AUDIO]