Audio Sources
All the ways to get audio into OSC-1 — track library, file import, live input, signal generators, synth, virtual keyboard, and video source.
OSC-1 can drive its XY display from many different audio sources. The AUDIO SOURCE section at the top of the left Sources panel is there in every mode. With nothing loaded it shows a CLICK OR DRAG AUDIO FILE HERE drop zone, a SHARE TAB AUDIO button, and ALL SOURCES, which opens Settings → Audio on the source chooser. Once something is playing, the section names the source and offers CHANGE (and DISCONNECT for tab audio and live input).
Settings → Audio holds the full chooser and the current-source card with its stereo levels and correlation. It opens on the chooser when nothing is loaded, and on the current source otherwise — click CHANGE there to swap sources. Below the AUDIO SOURCE section, the Sources panel keeps generators, imported shapes, performance tools, video, and laser output.
Tab / System Audio — No Setup
To visualize YouTube, Spotify Web Player, SoundCloud, or another browser source:
- Play music in another Chrome or Edge tab.
- Click SHARE TAB AUDIO in the AUDIO SOURCE section of the Sources panel (or open Settings → Audio, choose TAB / SYSTEM AUDIO, then click SHARE TAB AUDIO).
- Choose the tab that is playing music.
- Keep Also share tab audio enabled, then click Share.
The current-source card changes to TAB AUDIO · LIVE, and the L/R meters confirm that both channels are arriving. Music keeps playing from the shared tab; OSC-1 analyzes it without playing a delayed second copy through its own speakers. Muting OSC-1 speaker output does not stop the visualization. Stop from OSC-1 or the browser's own sharing bar. If you share a window or screen without audio, OSC-1 explains how to choose the tab instead.
Tab audio is the easiest route for browser music. Virtual devices are optional and remain useful for DAWs or other desktop apps.
Track Library
Choose Settings → Audio → CHANGE → DEMO TRACK to open the built-in Track Library. It contains curated stereo audio where the left channel drives X and the right channel drives Y, organized into four groups:
- Test Tones — calibration and reference signals
- Demos — showcase content
- Shapes — geometric XY figures
- Oscilloscope Music — music composed for XY display
Open the dropdown, pick a track, and it loads immediately. The bundled tracks are 96 kHz — higher sample rates produce sharper Lissajous figures because they capture more of the high-frequency XY detail. See Why your oscilloscope image is blurry for the 44.1 to 192 kHz ladder on real text.
Where to Get More Oscilloscope Music
The built-in library is a starting point. For a deeper catalog, load your own files via File Import below — here's where to find them:
- oscilloscopemusic.com — the genre's home base, run by Jerobeam Fenderson and Hansi Raber. Download full tracks as uncompressed audio to play through OSC-1 or a real oscilloscope.
- Oscilloscope Music catalog — browse Oscilloscope Music, N-Spheres, and other releases with audiovisual previews and uncompressed audio downloads.
- Oscilloscope Music — Remixes — a compilation of other artists working in the genre (Ivo Francx, Sophiaaaahjkl;8901, Re-lay, Jesus Raves, Opcion, and more), a good next stop once you've heard the originals.
Prefer WAV or FLAC at 96kHz or 192kHz — see File Import for why sample rate matters for XY detail.
File Import
Drop an audio file on the CLICK OR DRAG AUDIO FILE HERE zone in the Sources panel (anywhere on the OSC-1 window also works), or choose Settings → Audio → AUDIO FILE and click LOAD AUDIO FILE.
Supported formats: WAV, FLAC, MP3, OGG, M4A, AAC
Best results from:
- WAV/FLAC at 96kHz or 192kHz (oscilloscope music masters)
- Properly recorded stereo XY files (left = X, right = Y)
- Clean electronic music with sharp transients
Stereo pop/rock/hip-hop will display as reactive Lissajous patterns (interesting, but not oscilloscope-music optimized). Any audio works — the result depends on your source material.
Standard uncompressed PCM WAV files retain their original sample rate for playback and the XY display, including 96kHz and 192kHz masters. Full-length tracks can take more memory than their file size suggests. If a file exceeds the available import limit, OSC-1 explains the problem instead of replacing the current source.
If a WAV file is incomplete, its audio header is invalid, or its sample rate is unsupported by your browser, OSC-1 leaves the current source in place and reports that the file could not be loaded. Stop any active recording before loading a track with a different sample rate.
Live Microphone / Audio Interface
Open Settings → Audio → CHANGE → MICROPHONE, click ENABLE INPUT so the browser can list your devices, choose a device, and click START LIVE INPUT to switch to real-time capture from your computer's microphone or audio interface. Choose VIRTUAL AUDIO DEVICE instead when routing a DAW or mixer through BlackHole, Loopback, or another virtual input. When a generator is active, BLEND INPUT mixes that live input additively instead of replacing the generator.
For best live results:
- Use a low-latency audio interface at 96kHz or higher
- Route instrument or synthesizer output directly (not through speakers → mic)
- Select your audio device in the browser's permission dialog — make sure the interface is selected, not the built-in mic
On macOS, grant Chrome microphone access in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone.
Signal Generators (Creator Mode)
Five mathematically-defined XY generators, available in Mode 2 and above:
Oscillator Generator
The simplest generator — a raw stereo oscillator:
- Waveform — SINE or SQUARE
- Frequency — 20 to 2000 Hz
- Channels — X and Y toggles send the tone to the Left (X) or Right (Y) channel only; with one off, the figure collapses to a horizontal or vertical line. Toggling keeps the current frequency.
- Phase Offset — independent X (Left) and Y (Right) phase, 0–360°
- Shape presets — CIRCLE (90° phase difference), LINE (0°, diagonal), ELLIPSE (45°)
Lissajous Generator
Generates classic Lissajous figures from ratio controls:
- Freq X / Freq Y (1–8) — integer ratios create closed figures; the live Ratio readout shows the reduced ratio (3:2 is a fifth)
- Phase X / Phase Y — rotate the figure
- Amp X / Amp Y — scale X and Y independently
- Speed — how fast the figure is drawn
- PRESET — classic ratios in one click
Where the ratios come from, musically: Where oscilloscope music's chords come from.
Spirograph Generator
Generates hypotrochoid/epitrochoid spirograph patterns using the classic two-circle analogy. Adjust the outer/inner radius ratio and tracing arm length.
Fractal Generator
Build connected XY fractals with six L-system presets: Koch Snowflake, Dragon Curve, Hilbert Curve, Sierpinski Arrowhead, Fractal Plant, and Gosper Curve.
- Detail — chooses how many times the production rules repeat
- Frequency — sets how many times per second the completed path is drawn
- Angle, Size, and Rotation — shape and frame the result
- Loop Return — retrace the path in reverse or close it with one direct line
- System — edit the axiom, two production rules, and the letters that draw visible segments
Detail, Frequency, Angle, Size, and Rotation each include a MIDI Learn button, which maps a MIDI control or an OSC message, when those buttons are enabled in Settings.
Very detailed systems can contain more points than the selected frequency can draw cleanly. When that happens, OSC-1 automatically simplifies the path and shows an APPROXIMATION ACTIVE notice with the source and output point counts.
Expression Generator
Enter custom mathematical expressions for X and Y as functions of time t:
X = sin(2*t),Y = cos(3*t)→ Lissajous figureX = saw(t)*cos(a*t),Y = saw(t)*sin(a*t)→ spiral withaturns
Fill in the optional z = field for a 3D curve (the 3D patterns fill it in); a 3D CAMERA section then appears below the expression to set the viewing angle, distance and auto-rotation. See 3D Camera.
Expressions use a safe math language, not full JavaScript. Available: the variables t, n, a, b, constants PI and E, standard math functions (sin, cos, tan, abs, sqrt, pow, exp, log, floor, ceil, round, min, max, and friends), waveform helpers (saw, triangle, square, pulse, noise), and utilities (clamp, lerp, smoothstep, mod, fract). Anything outside this whitelist is rejected.
The generated stereo audio draws the curve: X is the left channel and Y is the right. You can listen while the signal runs. Save both the moving trace and its sound with EXPORT → VIDEO → RECORD LIVE INPUT, then STOP RECORDING.
Under PRESET → Harmony, try separate slow axes, the audible C–G fifth, just and equal-tempered thirds, equal-pitch phase comparisons, major-triad and Cmaj7 projections, added harmonics, and nearby-tone beats. Selecting a preset starts the signal and sets its speed and parameters; use STOP inside EXPRESSION to finish.
CONTINUOUS PHASE keeps each expression running across drawing cycles. It is enabled by the Harmony presets so fractional frequencies can drift naturally. With the option off, one drawing cycle repeats; use the looped behavior for patterns designed to repeat. Keep T RANGE at the preset value for the stated pitches. Editing X, Y, or Z requires STOP, then GENERATE to apply the new expressions.
The chord presets open a fixed ORTHO view with AUTO-ROTATE off, combining their coordinate signals into audible stereo without depth-dependent scaling. Keep that camera and the display’s Persistence unchanged when comparing just and equal tuning. Turn on SCOPE → MEAS for the individual channel waveforms and measurements, or SWEEP to inspect one channel over time. See Hear and visualize harmony for the experiments and note samples.
Viktor NV-1 Synthesizer (Creator Mode)
The built-in synthesizer generates XY audio in real-time. Play it with the virtual keyboard, a MIDI controller, or the step sequencer.
See Viktor NV-1 Synthesizer for a complete guide.
Virtual Keyboard (Creator Mode)
A polyphonic QWERTY keyboard mapped to two octaves of musical notes:
- Lower octave (from C3):
Z X C V B N M— white keys;S D G H J— black keys - Upper octave (from C4):
Q W E R T Y U— white keys;2 3 5 6 7— black keys - Extended upper range (from C5):
I O P— white keys;9 0— black keys
You can also click keys with the mouse, and drag across keys to trigger a run of notes.
The keyboard plays the active synthesizer preset. For best XY visuals, use chords — the harmonic content creates complex Lissajous interference patterns.
Video Source (Creator Mode)
Convert webcam or screen capture to XY vector output in real-time. CAMERA asks for your webcam, SCREEN for a window or screen, and STOP ends the capture. See Video Source for the full guide.
Triggering
The three OSC-1 trigger systems — XY Trigger, Audio Trigger, and the Sweep trigger with automatic pitch lock — every visible setting explained.
Viktor NV-1 Synthesizer
The OSC-1 built-in synthesizer — 3 oscillators, dual ADSR, LFO, delay, reverb, 50+ presets, MIDI Learn, and modulation matrix.