Hoover sound and multi patches?

    Hey, i am attempting to recreate a hoover sound. The general way to do it is using pwm, and having 3 oscs an octave apart. However, on a single patch i can only use pwm on 2 oscs, is this correct?


    Then i had to assign a pitch envelope to them, so they rapidly rise and fall. I made something close earlier but i had to spread it across 2 separate patches. Its a bit of a pain, i was wondering if there is a way to control more than 2 oscs like this? Can i assign a filter envelope from patch 1 to anything on patch 2? I'm not sure how multi's work, are they just layered and totally seperate patches?


    How can i save a multi in virus control? And can i adjust parameters in the multis all at once?

    The secret behind the hoover sounds is the detuning. This is the source of the "vvvvvvvvvvvvvv" buzzing effect. The more detuning, the merrier. There are many sources for detuning in the virus:

    • Hypersaw - you can decide how many waves will be detuned amungst themselves, and the distance between their frequencies.
    • Square - There is a phenomenon that if you modulate the square wave's PWM you will get an effect that sounds like detuning.
    • FM - for square and sawtooth, there are some sweetspots in the FM amount that sound like detuning. This can only be used on OSC2.
    • OSC2 detuning - in respect to OSC1
    • Chorus effect - the chorus effect takes the output of the oscillators and plays it against several copies of itself in varying speeds. The LFO of the delay effect does something similar, so you can double the fun.
    • Unison - play multiple notes in response to just one keypress. Detune those notes from each other by spreading them apart with the unison controls.


    Regarding multi, the VC works only in squencer (or single-multi) mode. AFAIK, to program and use multis you must use the Virus without VC.


    Hope this helps!

    Its a tough one to get right... i need just enough attack and decay, want to keep it bright but also make it sound fat. If i add too much unison then it loses its clarity, same with detune. The pwm is supposed to give the sound with the hoover but its tough to get that right too. All part of the fun of sound design!


    I found a way round the problem - just use one osc, and add the extra notes in midi. I've set the phase init to 1 so i think each voice will start at the same place. I'd rather be able to play 3 octaves with pwm off one note, but this'll do for now. Thanks for the advice!