Additive synthesis

Additive synthesis builds a sound from the ground up by summing many simple sine waves (partials or harmonics), each with its own amplitude and evolution. It’s the conceptual inverse of subtractive synthesis: subtractive starts from a harmonically rich waveform and removes content with filters, while additive starts from silence and adds partials until the target timbre exists. That makes additive extremely precise about spectrum but demanding to program — you’re specifying the harmonics directly.

It’s a synthesis method on the wiki’s method axis alongside fm-synthesis and granular-synthesis. Where FM reaches dense spectra indirectly through modulation, additive assembles them directly, partial by partial.

Seen in the wiki

• the-hydra (bdenergy) — a monophonic additive synth with a seven-voice harmonic engine that “builds sound partial by partial,” using an X/Y pad for Harmonic Bloom and Spatial Spread instead of filter carving. Arrived via the KVR Developer Challenge 2026 roundup.

Related

fm-synthesis · granular-synthesis · modular-routing · synthesizer · the-hydra