Synthesis 202: Logic ES2

Explore three oscillators, tuning with cents, and a triangular mixer to blend pitches, then select waveforms—from sawtooth to sine, square, noise, and digital tones—for fat sounds.

Explore frequency modulation by using a second oscillator to modulate the first, adding harmonics. Tune fm amount, swap waveforms, and route envelope two through modulation matrix to shape tone.

Explore ring modulation, where one oscillator modulates another to produce sum and difference frequencies, creating metallic overtones and experimental percussion sounds.

Explore wavetable synthesis in the s2 by morphing through 99 digital waveforms of oscillator one’s sine baseline to craft evolving sounds, controlled by an lfo.

Explore oscillator sync (osc sync) in analog synthesis, where oscillator two restarts with oscillator one on each cycle of a square wave, creating metallic harmonics.

Discover vector synthesis by using a joystick to blend four oscillators, creating movement across targets in the spatial vector section and looping patterns synced to tempo.

Explore the filter section to compare two multimode filters, adjust cutoff, resonance, and drive, and switch among low pass, high pass, Peking filter, band reject (notch), and band pass modes.

Explore filter routing by blending two filters in series and in parallel to sculpt sound. Learn how a high-pass into a low-pass creates a band-pass effect and new textures.

Explore modulation in s2 by using lfo and envelopes, adjusting macro controls, and routing sources to targets in the modulation matrix, including velocity and random sources.

Explore envelopes in the synthesizer, focusing on ADSR—attack, decay, sustain, and release. Notes trigger the envelope per note, shaping amplitude from instant to fading, with sustain level and release timing.

Explore using the X Y pad as a two-dimensional modulation source to control two filters, with practical routing, blend settings, and recording automation for dynamic sound design.

Learn to use the sidechain input as a modulation source in Logic ES2, routing external audio to modulate filter cutoffs and pitch for varied synthesis.

Explore unison and voice settings in the global parameters, switch between poly, mono, and legato, manage eight voices, and use unison to thicken and detune oscillators with macro controls.

Explore mono and legato modes in synthesis, contrasting them with poly mode. Understand how glide affects pitch when notes overlap and why mono sounds suit certain sounds.

The pitch wheel bends notes; range is two semitones, with linked up and down values. Extend to octave or beyond, assign bend to the filter cutoff, and use MIDI controllers.

Use the ES2 random button with a 0–100% amount to shuffle all or specific sections, and save or reset patches after exploring varied sounds while lowering the volume.

Create a punchy fm bass by modulating oscillator one with oscillator two, using mono mode, a sine wave, and envelope two with attack and decay.

Create a moving wavetable pad by blending oscillator one with a sawtooth and oscillators two and three using digital waves, modulated by an LFO, with a dark, filtered ambience.

Explore vector synthesis and motion sequencing in s2 by pairing three oscillators with waveforms, mapping the x y pad to panning and waveform control, and adding reverb for motion sequence.

Finish the course by highlighting how the epilogue uses the S2 to craft a wide variety of modern sounds, and check out more synthesis tutorials on my YouTube channel.