What Does Wavetable Synthesis Mean?
Wavetable synthesis is a method for generating sounds from signals of a digital nature. The technique stores digital sound samples from various sources, which can later be modified, enhanced or combined for reproducing sounds. Wavetable synthesis is considered one of the oldest methods for generating sounds from computers. It differs from simple PCM sample playback because wavetable synthesis relies on looping over the buffer instead of simply a “read once” method. However, wavetable synthesis is similar in many ways to simple digital sine wave generation and digitally controlled oscillator function. Wavetable synthesis is widely used in many areas such as in production of sinusoidal signals.
Techopedia Explains Wavetable Synthesis
Wavetable synthesis is capable of generating natural tone-like sounds. Wavetable synthesis functions with the help of waveform lookup tables. The wavetables mostly comprise table values of 128–2048. The waveform lookup table has samples not only for a single period of sine function but for the entire period of the general wave shape. There is also a system in place for dynamically arranging the wave shape with respect to the musical note, which results in generation of a quasiperiodic function in time. The output waveform generated from wavetable synthesis is usually not static and is mostly a changing waveform.
