Why does it sound so fucking amazing, after hearing for the 1000th time? Will she be my gf?

 

Super-Saw-Sound

There are few sounds within the genre of dance music that have shaped the sound aesthetics of the entire genre - one of the most famous examples is the typical 303 sound. Not quite as conspicuous, but no less important, is the super-saw sound, which absolutely lives up to the attribute "wide screen". Described by some as the "trance horn sound", the Super Saw is now at home in many different synthesizers in different versions. In this sound design episode, we take a look at the origin and structure of this particular waveform.

The typical Super Saw sound is not celebrated by every synth lover. Completely okay, after all, tastes are different. Personally, I am one of the big fans of this sound aesthetic and I always enjoy discovering new facets and variants of the saw. But what's so great about the Super Saw? Well, the simple saw or sawtooth waveform should be familiar to most of you from any synthesizer. Simply put, the Super Saw is just the extreme of it - namely, many sawtooth waveforms that come from an oscillator (an important difference to the unison function, which can sometimes produce similar sounds). The term was coined and invented by the Roland company when they launched the JP-8000 in 1996, which offered the Super Saw as a selectable waveform for oscillator 1.

Back then, the sound took the dance music scene by storm and had a decisive influence on the sound of the genre. Little by little, other synthesizer manufacturers also began to take over the Super Saw oscillator and offer it in different versions. In the Access Virus from the TI version onwards, the HyperSaw oscillator can be found, the brand new Waldorf Kyra also contains a Hypersaw oscillator, and in Steinberg's Retrologue the function is simply called »Multi«. Every software synth that is somehow connected to EDM (Serum, Spire, Avenger, Sylenth 1 & Co.) is of course also equipped with it.

All these oscillators or waveforms are not necessarily clones of the original, but bring their own sound into play. But let's take a step back and see what exactly the Super Saw oscillator does.
The original from the JP-8000 generates seven sawtooth waves that differ from one another in volume, mood and phase position. There are also two parameters for configuring the sound, which are named slightly differently depending on the synthesizer. If we look again at the original device, we find the "Mix" control, which fades the six additional saw teeth to the basic waveform - the higher the mix, the louder the additional waveforms can be heard - as well as "Detune", which makes the detuning more gentle Beating for blatant detuning regulates, whereby the middle, basic sawtooth is not detuned.

Other variants of the Super Saw slightly modify this principle. For example, the HyperSaw from the Access Virus TI uses nine instead of seven saw teeth. In addition, the additional saw teeth are adjusted here individually and gradually and not completely as with the JP-8000.

In addition, when designing their oscillators, the manufacturers naturally also incorporate their own sound ideas instead of simply copying them - for example with the basic waveform, which can be clearly seen in Figures 1 to 3.

1. The basic waveform of the Super Saw from the JP-8000 has little in common with the typical sawtooth shape.
2. With the Virus TI, the waveform clearly looks like a sawtooth.
3. The sawtooth shape can also be seen in the Waldorf Kyra - however, the other saw teeth cannot be completely adjusted, which is why the wave shape is constantly in motion.

Basic ingredients

If the oscillator makes up the majority of the character, of course, the question arises as to which other parameters intervene in a Super Saw sound. In short, it depends. In general, the intensity of the detuning determines very much whether it goes into calmer or harder areas. With classic JP-8000 sounds, the special sound of the internal chorus and the rudimentary EQ section of the synthesizer, each with a bass and a treble potentiometer, play a major role.

Once the Super Saw is in a lead sound position, a good shot of highs does it very well. To do this, you can simply use the synthesizer's noise generator, if available, and mix it in gently. Alternatively, the resonance of a gentle high-cut filter can also be used for these purposes.
The sound gets more aggressiveness by modulating the pitch with a very quickly set triangle LFO. A sliding pitch effect, which is achieved either by portamento or a short modulation by an envelope, provides additional bite.

Other effects that go well with the widescreen sound are those that simply increase the width of the sound a little more. A reverb with a bright sound character and a long reverberation time can add another dimension to the whole thing - the already great sound gets significantly more depth. If, on the other hand, the sound is more percussive, a ping-pong delay with eighth or 16th delay times is the best option.

Otherwise, the sound can use a little compression - in addition, an EQ with a melodious treble band such as a Pultec can add a clear freshness to the sound. If you want to give the sound a little more assertiveness, you can boost it by 3 to 4 dB with a parametric EQ at approx. 1.8 kHz.
To top it off, we should address the stereo widening options: In the JP-8000 you can simply layer two Super Saw sounds and pan them hard left and right. This trick can be transferred to other synthesizers, but it is also much more convenient - the unison function of the Access Virus TI, for example, is inherently pan-spread.

With the software variants, panning is sometimes already available in the oscillator itself - however, even more breadth can be achieved with layering. I hope you enjoy experimenting!

www.soundandrecording.de/tutorials/sounddesign-gedanken-zum-aufbau-eines-super-saw-sounds/

 

Last edited: Jan 10, 2022

How to Emulate the Super Saw - ADAM SZABO ]PDF] Free
Adam Szabo - How to Emulate the Super Saw.pdf - Groups.io

Adam Szabo JP6K VS U-He Diva - Supersaw Comparison

JP6K – Adam Szabo | Official Website
www.adamszabo.com/vstplugins/jp6k/

Roland JP8080 Supersaw Trance

 

Last edited: Jan 10, 2022

Be careful with the highs, most of the times they clash with the hi hats and make everything sound terrible and confusing, almost unpleasant.
I used to listen to a lot of hands up music and even made one or two tracks in that style.

 

This is why the equalizer was invented to lower (or increase) frequencies so that each instrument has its own space.

 

Yea the hihats should be almost completely at the sides to even get heard. Also the reverb on supersaw eats quite much space. Massive sounds, massive reverberations

 

Nothing overcomes a real deep finetuned deathmetal bassguitar in this case! Thats the real Supersaw!

 

Sounds awesome for bass, leads, chords, pads basically everything. A supersquare or supertriangle doesn't make sense