Synthesizers

Relanote includes built-in synthesizer support for creating custom sounds. You can use preset synths or define your own with full control over oscillators, envelopes, and filters.

Using Preset Synths

Apply a synth preset to a block using the voice function:

scale Major = { R, M2, M3, P4, P5, M6, M7 }

let melody = | <1> <3> <5> <3> |

; Apply synth preset
let lead = melody |> voice Lead
let pad = melody |> voice SoftPad
let bass = melody |> voice FatBass

lead

Available Presets

Relanote includes 80+ professionally designed synth presets. See the Preset Reference for a complete list.

Piano & Electric Piano

Preset	Description
AcousticPiano	Warm, natural acoustic piano
BrightPiano	Clear, present piano
Rhodes	Warm, bell-like electric piano
Wurlitzer	Gritty, funky electric piano
Clavinet	Funky, percussive

Bass Instruments

Preset	Description
WoodBass	Warm upright bass
ElectricBass	Punchy electric bass
SynthBass	Fat electronic bass
SubBass	Deep sub-heavy bass
AcidBass	Squelchy resonant bass

Brass Instruments

Preset	Description
Trumpet	Bright, cutting brass
MutedTrumpet	Soft, nasal trumpet
Trombone	Rich, warm brass
Brass	Generic brass section
BrassSection	Wide, powerful section

Synth Leads

Preset	Description
Lead	Classic versatile lead
SuperSaw	Huge detuned trance lead
SquareLead	Hollow, punchy lead
ResoLead	Squelchy filtered lead

Pads

Preset	Description
SoftPad	Warm sustained pad
WarmPad	Rich, enveloping pad
StringPad	Orchestral string pad
ChoirPad	Vocal, ethereal pad

Classic & 8-bit

Preset	Description
Chiptune	Classic square wave
NES	Nintendo-style sound
GameBoy	Narrow pulse wave
Pluck	Short attack pluck
Strings	Slow attack strings
Organ	Harmonic sine organ

Drums (with Pitch Envelope)

Preset	Description
DeepKick	Sub-heavy kick drum
PunchyKick	Attack-focused kick
TightSnare	Short, punchy snare
FatSnare	Big, roomy snare
ClosedHat	Tight hi-hat
OpenHiHat	Sizzling open hat
HighTom / MidTom / FloorTom	Pitched toms
CrashCymbal / RideCymbal	Cymbals

Percussion

Preset	Description
HandClap	Snappy clap
Cowbell	Pitched metallic
Conga / Bongo	Latin drums
Tambourine / Shaker	Rhythm instruments

Modifying Synth Parameters

Use pipe functions to adjust synth parameters:

scale Major = { R, M2, M3, P4, P5, M6, M7 }

let melody = | <1> <3> <5> <8> |

; Filter cutoff (Hz)
let dark = melody |> voice Lead |> cutoff 800
let bright = melody |> voice Lead |> cutoff 4000

; Resonance (0.0 - 1.0)
let resonant = melody |> voice Lead |> cutoff 1500 |> resonance 0.6

; Detune (cents)
let detuned = melody |> voice Lead |> detune 15

; Custom ADSR envelope
let custom = melody |> voice Lead |> adsr 0.1 0.2 0.6 0.5

custom

Parameter Functions

Function	Parameters	Description
cutoff freq	freq: Hz	Filter cutoff frequency
resonance q	q: 0.0-1.0	Filter resonance/Q
detune cents	cents: number	Detune in cents
adsr a d s r	a,d,r: seconds, s: 0.0-1.0	ADSR envelope

Custom Synth Definitions

Define your own synth with the synth keyword:

synth MyLead = {
  osc: Saw,
  env: { A: 0.02, D: 0.15, S: 0.7, R: 0.2 },
  filter: LowPass(3000, 0.3)
}

synth ThickBass = {
  osc: Saw,
  detune: 10,
  env: { A: 0.05, D: 0.2, S: 0.6, R: 0.3 },
  filter: LowPass(200, 0.5)
}

scale Major = { R, M2, M3, P4, P5, M6, M7 }

let melody = | <1> <3> <5> |
melody |> voice MyLead

Synth Properties

Property	Values	Description
osc	Sine, Square, Saw, Triangle, Noise	Oscillator waveform
env	{ A: s, D: s, S: level, R: s }	ADSR envelope
filter	LowPass(Hz, Q), HighPass(Hz, Q), BandPass(Hz, Q)	Filter type
detune	cents	Oscillator detune amount

Oscillator Types

• Sine - Pure sine wave
• Square - Square wave (50% duty)
• Saw - Sawtooth wave
• Triangle - Triangle wave
• Noise - White noise

Filter Types

• LowPass(cutoff, resonance) - Low-pass filter
• HighPass(cutoff, resonance) - High-pass filter
• BandPass(cutoff, resonance) - Band-pass filter

Combining with Effects

Synth parameters can be combined with other effects:

scale Major = { R, M2, M3, P4, P5, M6, M7 }

let melody = | <1> <3> <5> <8> |

let processed = melody
  |> voice Lead
  |> cutoff 2000
  |> resonance 0.3
  |> reverb 0.4
  |> volume 0.8

processed

Multi-Part Arrangements

Use synths in full arrangements:

scale Major = { R, M2, M3, P4, P5, M6, M7 }

let song = section "Main" {
  part "Lead" {
    | <5> <6> <5> <3> | ++ | <1> <2> <3> <1> |
  } |> voice Lead |> volume 0.8

  part "Pad" {
    | [<1> <3> <5>] | ++ | [<1> <3> <5>] |
  } |> voice SoftPad |> volume 0.5

  part "Bass" {
    | <1> - <1> <5> | ++ | <4> - <4> <1> |
  } |> voice FatBass |> volume 0.7

  part "Drums" {
    | R - R - | ++ | R - R R |
  } |> voice Kick
}

compose([song])

MIDI Output

When rendering to MIDI, synth parameters are converted to MIDI CC messages:

Parameter	MIDI CC	Range
Cutoff	CC#74	0-127
Resonance	CC#71	0-127
Attack	CC#73	0-127
Decay	CC#75	0-127
Release	CC#72	0-127
Detune (as Modulation)	CC#1	0-127

This allows DAWs and hardware synths to respond to your parameter changes.