Synclavier V

What Is Synclavier V?

Synclavier V is a software recreation of the Synclavier Digital Synthesizer, developed by Cameron Jones — the original Synclavier software designer. The DSP engine authentically reproduces the FM 8-bit voice cards of the original hardware, right down to the noise floor.

The core synthesis method is the Partial Timbre Method (US Patent 4,554,855): complex musical sounds are built from acoustically identifiable subcomponents called Partial Timbres. Synclavier V expands the original 4 Partials to 12. Each Partial has a 24-harmonic Carrier waveform (with per-harmonic phase control) and a 24-harmonic FM Modulator waveform. Up to 100 of these waveform snapshots (Frames) can be chained on a Timeline to create continuously evolving timbres — like frames in a film.

V2 Enhancements Over Original Hardware

• 12 Partial Timbres (original: 4)
• Bit Depth control: 4–24 bit (original: fixed 8-bit)
• Sawtooth, Square, and Triangle FM Modulator waveforms (original: sine only)
• Build custom Modulator waveforms using 24 harmonics with phase control
• Graphical waveform display for each Partial and FM Modulator
• 100 Timbre Frames per Partial (v1: 50)
• Frame looping (forward and bi-directional) with DAW sync
• Sample Playback in the Carrier window
• Spectral Resynthesis (sample → Timbre Frames via additive analysis)
• Chained Editing across multiple Partials simultaneously
• 16 modulation routings (8 sources × 30 destinations)
• Added FX: Flanger, Phaser, Chorus, Delay, Reverb, Dub Delay

Notable Synclavier Users

The original Synclavier hardware was used on landmark recordings across genres:

User Interface — Three Display Modes

Synclavier V has three display modes toggled from the Upper Toolbar:

Preset Browser

Access via the |||\ icon. Search by name, filter by Type/Bank/Style tags, or use Playlists to collect presets for a performance or project. Preset format is .synx for both individual presets and full banks. Factory presets cannot be overwritten — use Save As… to create user variants.

MIDI Learn Mode

Click the MIDI plug icon to enter MIDI Learn. Assignable parameters highlight in purple. Move a hardware control to create the link (turns red). Right-click to unassign. Use MIN/MAX sliders to restrict parameter range — useful for live performance to prevent accidental extremes.

Standard Panel — Timbre Settings

All Timbre Settings are global — they affect all Partials relative to each Partial's individual settings.

Standard Panel — Amp Env Offset

Global offset applied to all Partials' Amplitude envelopes, relative to each Partial's own setting. If Partial 1 has a slow attack and Partial 2 has a fast attack, decreasing Attack offset only shortens Partial 1's attack further.

Standard Panel — Harm Env Offset

Same concept as Amp Env Offset but applied to the Harmonic (FM) envelopes of all Partials.

Standard Panel — Repeat / Arpeggio

Standard Panel — Polyphonic Mode & Portamento

Extended Panel — Partial Select (1–12)

Select a single Partial by clicking its red button. To select a range: Shift+click first and last. To select non-contiguous Partials: Cmd+click (Mac) / Ctrl+click (Win). The first selected is the primary Partial (bright red); others are secondary (dimmer red). Changes affect all selected Partials.

Solo (S) — isolate a single Partial for listening. Mute (M) — silence a Partial without removing it. Copy/Paste icons — duplicate all parameters of one Partial to another.

Extended Panel — Partial Settings

Extended Panel — Amplitude Envelope (DADSR)

Controls the volume shape of each Partial. Analogous to a VCA envelope in a subtractive synth.

Extended Panel — Harmonic Envelope (FM DADSR)

Controls the FM modulation shape of each Partial — analogous to a filter envelope in subtractive synthesis. Shapes the harmonic evolution of the sound over time.

Extended Panel — Vibrato

A per-Partial LFO for pitch (and optionally FM) modulation.

Extended Panel — Stereo / Tremolo

Per-Partial auto-panning and tremolo LFO. Phase control determines panning vs. tremolo behavior.

Graphic Screen — ENGINE Tab

The ENGINE Tab is where the core Synclavier V sound design lives. It has three sections: the Timeline Editor, the Frame Edit Menu, and the Harmonics Editor.

How a Note Plays (Frame Timing)

At MIDI Note On (T=0): the Amplitude Delay segment begins (no audio). When Delay ends, Attack starts — and simultaneously the Timeline begins advancing through Frames. Frame 0 (BASIC PARTIAL) plays first. After each Frame's Delay Time, the waveform crossfades to the next Frame. Volume, modulation, and pitch move toward the next Frame's settings.

Adding and Managing Frames

• Click anywhere on the purple Timeline to add a Frame (green circle)
• A new Frame inherits harmonics from the nearest Frame to its right, or defaults to sine Carrier + sine Modulator
• Maximum 100 Frames per Partial
• Delete: click Frame → Del in Frame Edit Menu, or right-click the Frame
• Move (Unsynced): drag moves all following Frames; Shift+drag moves only that Frame
• Move (Synced): drag moves only that Frame; Shift+drag moves Frame + all following
• Duplicate: Alt/Option+click to copy, then drag to new position
• Copy/Paste: select source Frame → Copy; blinking Frames = valid targets → click to paste

Frame Edit Menu — Key Parameters

Timeline Settings — Loops & Tempo Sync

Loop: Set a start and end Frame; loops run forward or bi-directionally. The Release button determines whether the loop exits to the release stage on Note Off or loops forever. Combine loops across multiple Partials with different lengths and directions for evolving polyrhythmic textures.

Tempo Sync: When SYNC is active, the Timeline advances one step per DAW clock tick. Frames snap to the grid. Frame Speed (local control) scales the speed of only this Partial's Timeline; Frame Speed Offset (global, shown in purple) scales all Timelines simultaneously.

Harmonics Editor (Carrier & Modulator)

Edit 24 harmonic coefficients using vertical bars. Click/drag vertically to set amplitude; sweep horizontally to edit multiple at once. Phase control (shorter bars below) adjusts harmonic phase ±180°. Use the Coefficients Restriction menu to limit edits to All / Odd / Even / Octaves / Fifths.

Preset Carrier waveforms: Sine, Ramp (Sawtooth), Square, Triangle. Click Apply to All Frames to propagate current harmonics to every Frame on the Timeline.

Editing Tools:

Graphic Screen — Sample Playback

Samples load in the Carrier window and act as the carrier waveform. File format: WAV, maximum 30 seconds. Once loaded, all Frame modulation options (Delay, Fade, Transpose, etc.) apply to the sample.

Graphic Screen — Resynthesis

Resynthesis analyzes a sample's frequency spectrum and recreates it as Timbre Frames using additive synthesis. Up to 100 Frames capture the harmonic evolution of the source sound.

Workflow: Load sample → Autotune → set loop/trim markers → press Carrier (or Modulator, or both) in the ANALYSE TO menu → click Send Results. Switch to the Synthesis Tab to view the resulting harmonics.

Graphic Screen — MIXER Tab

Visual mixer for all 12 Partials simultaneously. Contains the same parameters as Partial Settings in Extended Panel mode, plus a Global Master Control row (Volume, Pan, Tuning, Transpose, Chorus, FM Mod) that offsets all Partials at once without changing their individual settings.

Chained Editing: Select primary Partial (turns light green). Cmd+click (Mac) / Alt+click (Win) to add secondary Partials (darker green). Changes to the primary are instantly mirrored in all secondary Partials. Works in MIXER, ENV/LFOs, KEY DYNAMICS, and MODS tabs.

Graphic Screen — ENV/LFOs Tab

Visual envelope editor for Amplitude and Harmonic envelopes, plus graphical controls for Vibrato and Stereo LFOs. Drag the four green circles on the envelope line to reshape it. Double-click the ruler to reset the view. Zoom: drag down on ruler = zoom in; drag up = zoom out.

Global offset knobs at top mirror the Amp Env Offset and Harm Env Offset controls from Standard Panel mode.

Graphic Screen — KEY DYNAMICS Tab

Define keyboard splits and zones for individual Partials. Each Partial has a bar with left and right handles for the note range. The Fade Up / Fade Down handles (top of the bar) create volume crossfades between zones.

Input Source Assign: Choose Keyboard, Velocity, or Mod Wheel as the volume controller for keyboard zones. Activating "Assign to Volume" also makes keyboard zones available as a modulation source in the MODS Tab.

Graphic Screen — MODS Tab

16 modulation slots (shown as two pages of 8) with 8 sources and 30 destinations. Each slot has a slider per Partial controlling the modulation amount (-1.00 to +1.00). Color depth in the grid indicates modulation level.

Modulation Sources (8)

Parallel Modulation Sources (per-Partial or cross-Partial routing): Vibrato LFO, Stereo LFO, AMP Envelope, HARM Envelope. Select SELF to create parallel routings where each Partial's own envelope modulates its own destination. Or select a specific Partial number to route that Partial's envelope to all Partials simultaneously.

Modulation Destinations (30)

Graphic Screen — FX / MASTER Tab

Three FX channels, each with a choice of six effects. All effects are global (all Partials). Plus system parameters (Noise Floor, Oversampling, Bit Depth) and pitch/scale settings.

Effects Reference

System Parameters

Pitch & Scale Settings

Voice Chorus Ratio Reference

The Voice Chorus parameter adds a duplicate voice at a harmonic interval above the fundamental. 1.000 = unison (no effect). Double-clicking any Chorus knob returns to 1.000.