What is subtractive synthesis

1. What is meant by subtractive synthesizer?
2. What is the difference between additive and subtractive synthesis?
3. Why is it called a subtractive synthesis?
4. What's the difference between subtractive and wavetable synthesis?

What is meant by subtractive synthesizer?

Subtractive synthesis assumes that an acoustic instrument can be approximated with a simple oscillator that can produce waveforms with different frequency spectrums. The signal is sent from the oscillator to a filter that represents the frequency-dependent losses and resonances in the body of the instrument.

What is the difference between additive and subtractive synthesis?

The difference between additive and subtractive synthesis is that the latter deconstructs sounds rather than building it up. It uses filters to attenuate partials of an audio signal to create the timbre.

Why is it called a subtractive synthesis?

Subtractive synthesis is one of the main types of synthesis. As its name implies, tones are created by subtracting unwanted frequencies, to form the sound that you're looking to produce. Think of the process of subtractive synthesis as being like a sculptor.

What's the difference between subtractive and wavetable synthesis?

To make a classic, simple, synthetic sound, you should fo for Subtractive. To make a sound that morphs over time, you should use Wavetable. To make a metallic synthetic sound, you should choose FM. And to make a realistic, string type sound, you should use Additive.