Definition
Unison plays each note with several voices of the same oscillator, slightly detuned and often spread across the stereo field. The result is a wide, thick sound, similar to an ensemble of instruments playing in unison. The supersaw is unison par excellence: the Roland JP-8000 (1996) introduced a “Super Saw” oscillator that stacked seven detuned sawtooth waves with detune and mix controls; it became the sound of late-'90s trance and later of EDM, future bass and pop.
Parameters
- Number of voices: 3–5 for leads and mid basses, 7–9 for classic supersaws, up to 16 for huge pads (more voices = thicker but also more “smoky”).
- Detune: 5–15 cents for discreet thickness; 20–40 cents for pronounced supersaws; beyond that it sounds out of tune. Some synths distribute the detune non-linearly (outer voices more detuned), like the JP-8000.
- Blend / mix: level of the center voice relative to the side voices; keeping the center stronger preserves pitch and punch.
- Stereo spread / width: how far the voices are spread between left and right.
- Phase: random for pads and leads; fixed or “retrigger” for basses with a consistent attack.
Physics: beating
Two waves at close frequencies produce beating: a volume variation at the difference frequency. With A4 = 440 Hz and a voice detuned by +10 cents (≈ 442.5 Hz), the beating is about 2.5 per second. Several voices with different detune amounts create crossed beating patterns that our ear perceives as “chorus”, movement and width.
Mono compatibility and low frequencies
- Detuned voices in stereo, summed to mono, partially cancel: the supersaw loses volume and brightness on phones and in clubs. Check with a correlation meter (values consistently below 0 are a problem).
- For basses: unison only above 150–200 Hz. Solution: split the sound into a mono sub (sine or saw with no unison, filtered below 120 Hz) and a unison body/top filtered with an HP.
- A trance trick: the undetuned center voice holds the center, the side voices provide width.
Recipes
- Trance/EDM supersaw: 7 voices, detune 25–35 cents, 60% side blend, 24 dB LP at 8–10 kHz, HP at 150 Hz, hall reverb and dotted eighth-note delay, sidechain.
- Pad: 8–12 voices, detune 15–20, attack 300–800 ms, additional chorus, LP at 3–5 kHz.
- Thick lead: 3–5 voices, detune 10–15, glide 30–60 ms, light distortion.
- Reese bass: 2–4 voices with detune of 10–25 cents and moving phases (see “Reese basses and wobble”).
Tools
The JP-8000 is not emulated in V Collection 9, but unison is present in Jup-8 V, OP-Xa V, Prophet-5 V (unison mode that stacks all voices on one note), Jun-6 V (chorus more than unison). Serum, Vital, Sylenth1, Spire and Pigments have many-voice unison. In FL Studio: 3x Osc (fine and coarse detune for each oscillator, unison voices in the channel settings), Sytrus and Harmor (advanced unison), Fruity Chorus as an add-on.
Example in A minor
Future bass drop at 150 BPM: chords Am9 – Fmaj9 – C(add9) – G6 on a 7-voice supersaw, detune 30 cents, HP 180 Hz, LP 9 kHz; separate sub (mono sine) playing A1, F1, C2, G1; quarter-note sidechain from the kick at −8 dB on the supersaw and −12 dB on the sub. Check in mono that the chords remain audible.
Common mistakes
- Unison on the sub: unstable lows and cancellations.
- Full-bandwidth supersaw: masks vocals and cymbals; filter it and carve out 2–4 kHz.
- Too many voices at fast tempos: the attack becomes blurred.
Exercise
- Play the same chord with unison set to 1, 3, 7, 15 voices at constant detune and compare.
- Build a supersaw from 3x Osc (three saws with detune −30, 0, +30 cents and unison) and check mono compatibility with a correlation meter.
Related topics
“Mono compatibility”, “Layering sounds: sub, body, top”, “Lead design”, “Pad design”, “Stereo, panning and image”.