The part of a synth that generates the raw waveform and basic pitch of a sound.
An oscillator is the sound-generating heart of a synthesizer — the component that produces the raw, repeating waveform that everything else then shapes. Its rate of vibration sets the pitch, and the shape of its waveform sets the basic tone or 'colour': a sine wave is pure and smooth, a sawtooth is bright and buzzy, a square wave is hollow and reedy, and noise is used for percussion and texture. Most synths have more than one oscillator, which can be tuned against each other to create thicker, richer sounds. Understanding oscillators is the natural first step in learning synthesis, because they are the source from which all synth sounds begin.
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