Patch a synth you can play

Steps

1. Start the sound. Click New Project. On the empty viewport's start card, under Audio, click Start from... and pick Oscillator. The viewport shows the sound with a card of settings. Set Waveform to saw.

   

2. Add a filter. Choose Tone > Ladder filter from the viewport's toolbar. Its curve fills the view, and the bump is the resonance. In the Properties panel set Cutoff hz to about 900 and Resonance to 0.6.

   

3. Add a volume stage and speakers. Choose Level > Gain and fades > Gain, then Send to > Play on speakers. Turn your speakers down, then press Play on the transport bar at the bottom. You hear a steady buzz.

4. Add keys. Right-click the canvas, the lower half of the window, choose Add Node, type Keyboard and pick Keyboard. Add a Note to frequency node the same way. Drag from the Keyboard's Note output to the Note input of Note to frequency.

5. Let the keys set the pitch. Click the Oscillator node so the Properties panel shows it. Drag the Frequency output of Note to frequency onto the Oscillator's Frequency setting. The pitch now follows the key you press.

6. Make notes start and stop. Add an ADSR node and wire the Keyboard's Gate output to the ADSR's Gate input. Click the Gain node, then drag the ADSR's Envelope output onto the Gain's Gain setting. The buzz stops: from now on a key press opens the sound and letting go fades it out.

   

7. Knobs. Click the Ladder filter node. In the Properties panel, right-click Cutoff hz and choose Link UI control with panel and OSC.... Type Cutoff as the Label, set Range from 100 to 8000, pick New panel and click Link. Do the same for Resonance, then on the ADSR for Attack ms and Release ms, picking the panel you made each time.

8. Put the keyboard on the panel. Click the new Panel node (the Objects panel lists it under Panels) and press E. The Panel Editor opens. Check Keyboard in the Controls list, pick a Layout, and close the editor.

   

9. Play it. With the Panel selected, the viewport shows it live. Click the keys and turn the knobs while you play. Click Open in New Window in the Properties panel to give the panel a window of its own.