TUTORIAL - How to create waveforms

[ida]

Here's a tutorial on how to create perfectly smooth waveforms using the OpenMPT sample editor. I'll be creating a triangle waveform here.

First of all, create a new sample.



As you can see, this sample is completely empty. Can you see the star-ish button just above the sample waveform? If you click it, this will pop up.



Now you can add in some silence to mess around with. Set it to 128 and click OK. We now have an empty waveform.



You should then click the pencil icon next to the create sample icon. This will allow you to draw a custom waveform. But those are usually quite choppy and we'll be creating a smooth triangle waveform here. Proceed by filling up the top of the waveform. I've left a small bit out so you can see what's being filled.



Once you've filled it up completely, select exactly one half of the waveform. You can use the Cursor bar in the bottom right to see where you have your cursor placed in the waveform. As 64 is half of 128, you should select the part from 0 to 64.



Then, use the Amplify effect on the selected bit, and pick Fade Out. You can pick various fade curves here that will result in different waveforms, but seeing as we're creating a triangle waveform here, you should keep it on Linear.

After this, do the same for the other half of the waveform, except instead of using Fade Out, you should use Fade In.



Now, our waveform looks like this.



Use the Normalize effect to correct the sample's volume, then use the pencil tool to fix any smaller problems (such as the bit of the waveform in the middle which isn't exactly at the bottom).

And there's your triangle waveform!

[arseniiv]

Great tutorial, if one has a big-and-16:9 monitor, I'd say.