Wavetable

n. (Computers) sound synthesizer used to produce sound from pre-recorded digital signals (generally built onto a sound card)

Wavetable synthesis is a technique used in certain digital music synthesizers to produce natural tone-like sounds. The sound of an existing instrument (a single note) is sampled and parsed into a circular sequence of samples or wavetables, each having one period or cycle per wave; a set of wavetables with user specified harmonic content can also be generated mathematically. Upon playback, these wavetables are used to fetch samples (table-lookup) in the same manner as in a Numerically-controlled oscillator to produce a waveform. However, in wavetable synthesis, the output waveform is not normally static and evolves slowly in time as one wavetable is mixed with another, creating a changing waveform. Looping occurs when the wavetable evolution is halted, slowed, or reversed in time.
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<hardware, music> A type of sound generator often built in a sound card. A wavetable contains digitised samples of real instrument sounds or effect (FX) sounds. A wavetable chip often also contains a drum kit sound to faciliate rhythm accompaniment.
A recorded wavetable sound may be edited and enhanced by various effects (reverb, chorus) and layered with other waveforms before writing it to ROM or RAM. The latter type serves as user sound memory.
A wavetable generator is typically controlled by MIDI input. When a MIDI note-on signal is detected, the output part of a wavetable generator generates a sound with definitive pitch, typically a musical note.
Wavetable sounds are used in games and music. The more realistic wavetable sounds have all but replaced the earlier synthetic FM (frequency modulation) sound generation in sound cards but to ensure compatibility with older games etc., an FM part is usually included.
The best known wavetable sound generators includes the E-mu 8000 chip, used in Creative Labs' Sound Blaster AWE-32 card family and in E-mu keyboards. Other wavetable cards are Gravis Ultra-Sound (GUS), ESS Cards, Opti, Zoltrix and many Roland cards.
E-Mu. AWE-32. Creative Labs.
(1997-11-04)