Digital Waveshape Descriptions

[Sacred Synthesis]

Here is an invaluable list of the Evolver’s digital waveshapes, with abbreviated descriptions of each one.  I've gathered it together from two or three different sources.  Unfortunately, I’ve never found a key to each abbreviation.

As the manual says,

“Waveshapes 1-95 correspond to ROM (preset) Waveshapes 32–126 in the Prophet-VS. Waveshapes 97–128 are user programmable via the software editor. In the VS, the user waves were 0-31, and wave 127 was noise, which is not included because the Poly Evolver has a separate noise generator. Wave 96 has a Waveshape that is unique to Evolver in place of the VS noise. Wave 95 (126 on the VS) is a “blank” wave, which can give some options while sequencing waves. The Poly Evolver ships with waves 97–128 the same as 1-32."

1 Sine
2 Sawtooth
3 Square
4 WmBell
5 RdBell
6 R2Bell
7 W2Bell
8 FmtBell
9 FzReed
10 FmtAOh
11 FmtAhh
12 TriPlus
13 DisBel
14 Pulse 1
15 Pulse 2
16 Square Reed
17 Oohh
18 Eehh
19 FeedBack
20 Piano1
21 Electric Piano
22 M.Harm
23 HiTop
24 WmReed
25 3rd and 5th harmonics; fundamental absent
26 Hollow
27 Heavy 7th harmonics
28 BelOrg
29 BASSBELL (14th and 28th harmonics)
30 Tine1
31 PhSQR
32 Orient
33 HiPipe
34 Mass
35 ReedOrg
36 OrgAhh
37 MelOrg
38 FmtOrg
39 Clarinet
40 AhhFem
41 AhhHom
42 AhhBass
43 RegVox
44 VOCAL 1 (Detune oscs using either wave to bring out the vocal)
45 VOCAL 2 (Detune oscs using either wave to bring out the vocal)
46 HiAhh
47 Bass
48 Guitar
49 Nice
50 WoodWind
51 Oboe
52 Harp
53 Pipe
54 Hack1
55 Hack2
56 Hack3
57 Pinch
58 BellHrm
59 BellVox
60 Hi Harm
61 Hi Reed
62 BellReed
63 WmWhstl
64 Wood
65 Pure
66 Med Pure
67 HiHarm
68 FullBell
69 Bell
70 Pinch
71 Clustr
72 M.Pinch
73 VoxPnch
74 OrgPnch
75 AhhPnch
76 PnoOrg
77 BrReed
78 NoFund
79 ReedHrm
80 LiteFund
81 MelOrg
82 Bell Partials 1
83 Bell
84 Sawtooth 3rd and 5th
85 Sine 5ths (2 sines an octave and a 5th apart)
86 Sine 2 Octave (2 sines, 2 octaves apart)
87 Sine 4 Octave (2 sines, 4 Octaves apart)
88 Sawtooth 5ths (2 saws, an octave and a 5th apart)
89 Sawtooth 2 Octaves (2 saws, 2 octaves apart)
90 Square 5ths (2 squares, a 5th apart)
91 Square Octave+5th (2 squares, an octave and a 5th apart)
92 Square 2-Octaves (2 squares, 2 octaves apart)
94 Bell Partials 2
95 Null (Blank) Wave
96 ?
97-128 User Waves (same as 1-32 above)

[Chamsdaman]

This tool is useful for a visual of each waveform and for uploading your own to the custom user tones

http://daz.korgforums.com/evo_wave_dump.php

[Sacred Synthesis]

From the old EX5 forum:

"I just wandered over to see the chat on Dave's new synth, and found this page about the VS waveshape names. Since it was my job to create most of the original waveshapes with the special program that Josh Jeffe wrote (called "Hacker"), I thought I'd make some comments, since you were looking for more details.

Firstly, the initial list you posted of just a few VS waveshape names is pretty much all of the names I originally made up (expect the numbering is off, of course). The reason so few were named is, most of these waveshapes had no "rhyme or reason" to them; I just moved a mouse around in the waveshape window of Hacker, and stored them when I liked what I heard....so, unfortunately there is no "mystery" about the sources - just a completely empirical approach, you might say.
 
I have no idea where that "complete list" of names came from - someone's attempt to identify for easier use, I guess. (Ravi's idea that "This tells me perhaps that other than the first short list, the longer list may be somewhat unofficially manufactured after the fact" is indeed the case.)

The names that I did put in the VS manual attempted to describe the waveshapes when there was some logic to it, such as 2 saws tuned an octave or a fifth apart, etc. A couple of the waves were taken from a sample of Josh's voice, while a few others were visually 'copied' from the front panel silk-screen of a Korg DW6000 . The wave drawing program also had an additive synthesis function where I could set the level for each of 16 harmonics, and the silk-screen of the Korg had several waveforms printed in this "harmonic drawbar" fashion...so, I just eyeballed the levels, and counted across the 16 lines to "copy" the waveshapes. I was as surprised as anyone to find that it produced a pretty close approximation (Korg must have done a good job on those screened
graphics!).

I think the most fun of all was creating original waveshapes from the VS itself. As Chris Meyer says, this aspect of the VS was usually sadly negelected.

All in all, a unique-sounding beast!

Cheers,
John Bowen"

[Jinsai]

As part of the long-gestating "Second Edition" of the Evolver Guide, I looked at what the Arturia Prophet V(S) waveshape names were called. Some subtle differences:

1 sine
2 sawtooth
3 square
4 vs1
5 vs2
6 37
7 38
8 vs3
9 junk1
10 junk2
11 banjo1
12 triplus9
13 44
14 pulse2
15 pulse3
16 Clarinet1
17 metalbass 6
18 menu
19 feedbck1
20 piano1
21 dw#4
22 dw#8
23 54
24 hitop1
25 56
26 57
27 58
28 bellorgo
29 bassbell
30 tine1
31 synbell
32 63
33 orient1
34 highpipe
35 g1
36 v1
37 tp1
38 tp2
39 clarinet2
40 w2
41 st2
42 p1
43 sar
44 vocal1
45 vocal2
46 harm
47 bass
48 guit
49 les
50 wwd
51 obo
52 hrp
53 add3
54 hack1
55 hack2
56 hack3
57 spec1
58 spec3
59 spec4
60 spec5
61 spec6
62 spec8
63 clarinet3
64 corn1
65 flut2
66 oboe6
67 tuba1
68 new1
69 new3
70 fn1
71 fn2
72 fn5
73 fn6
74 fn7
75 fn8
76 fn9
77 fn10
78 fn14
79 fn15
80 fn16
81 fo1
82 bell partials 1
83 114
84 sawtooth 3rd 5th
85 sine 5th
86 sine 2 oct
87 sine 4 oct
88 sawtooth 5th
89 sawtooth 2 oct
90 square 5th
91 square oct+5th
92 square 2 oct
93 piano2
94 bell partials 2
95 silence

[ScottBrio]

Here's a wave shape chart for all the corresponding waveforms in the Poly Evolver, taken from the carbon11 website.

[Sacred Synthesis]

Here's a more complete collection of Evolver resources:

https://themusicalsynthesizer.wordpress.com/2017/07/13/evolver-resources/