Lesson 13: Subtractive Synthesis

In this lesson you will learn the basics of subtractive synthesis and basic synth sound design. This will be an introduction to the various parts of synths, such as oscillators, filters, the amplifier, envelopes, and LFOs (which you covered a bit in Lesson One). A lot of what you learned in the previous lesson will help you understand what is happening here, and that continues into the next lessons in this module, so be sure you understand each part before moving on to the next! You will also learn how to construct an Instrument Rack, which is a software instrument combined with effects that make it sound polished and professional. The standard version of Live includes sample-based virtual instruments. In addition to these sample-based instruments, Ableton Live Suite includes 5 synthesis instruments. If you do not own the Suite, each of the instruments is available from Ableton as an add-on. Click here to download the project file for this lesson.