A wavetable is a group of sound samples stored digitally and used as the foundation for wavetable synthesis in synthesizers. It is a table of values that creates a digital representation of a waveform by representing the amplitude of a sound at various points in time. This waveform could be a straightforward sine wave or a more complex sound, like an instrument recording or a soundscape.
Wavetable synthesis uses the samples in the wavetable as the starting point for creating new sounds and uses wavetables. An oscillator that can be modulated to produce different sounds reads the wavetable. For instance, the index can be modulated to move through the wavetable at different rates, changing the harmonic content and overall character of the sound. The oscillator’s frequency can also alter the sound’s pitch.
In summary, a wavetable is a group of sound samples that can be used as the foundation for sound synthesis using wavetable synthesis and is stored in a digital format. It can be modulated to produce various sounds and read by an oscillator to generate a sound.
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