From the course: Learning Modular Synthesis

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Tremolo and voltage-controlled amplifiers (VCAs)

Tremolo and voltage-controlled amplifiers (VCAs)

From the course: Learning Modular Synthesis

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Tremolo and voltage-controlled amplifiers (VCAs)

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- Next, let's use an LFO to patch up some tremolo, where we alter the volume of a sustained note. This requires a little bit of thinking, but that's why modulars are so much fun because if you have the right modules, you can go ahead and solve almost any problem you're presented with. I've set up a slight variation on the patches we've been using so far. I brought in the third oscillator just to create a richer interval. (electronic melody plays) Now, let's say I want to add some tremolo to that as the note is being sustained. Now, you might think all you need to do is take something like your sine wave out from your LFO, patch it into a modulation input on your VCA, 'cause after all, you wanna change the volume, you bring up that modulation amount... (electronic music) and you hear your note even when you're not playing anything. That's because the LFO is constantly running. It's sending both positive voltages and negative voltages. A positive voltage is gonna open up our VCA so we…

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