Synthesis and sound design · updated 2026-08-16
ADDITIVE SYNTHESIS
Building a sound by stacking sine waves at chosen frequencies and levels — the inverse of subtractive, and the basis of spectral resynthesis.

SOURCES AND CITATIONS
Free, primary references for additive synthesis — standards bodies, manufacturers, government offices and university course material.
RELATED TERMS IN SYNTHESIS AND SOUND DESIGN
- Oscillator (VCO/DCO)
- Filter (VCF)
- Envelope (ADSR)
- LFO
- Subtractive synthesis
- FM synthesis
- Wavetable synthesis
- Granular synthesis
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