Viktor NV-1 Synthesizer

Viktor NV-1 is OSC-1's built-in subtractive synthesizer, designed specifically for generating oscilloscope-music-style XY audio. Its controls are approachable enough to learn quickly and deep enough for serious synthesis.

Every module is visible at once — the rack is a fixed three-column grid (sound sources, filter/amplifier/phase/time effects, modulation/dynamics) that fits alongside the side panels with no scrolling or tab-switching. Hide the on-screen keys (Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+K) to see the full rack with the XY display above it.

Overview

Viktor NV-1 is a 3-oscillator subtractive synthesizer with:

• 3 oscillators (Sine, Triangle, Sawtooth, Square, Pulse, Noise)
• Dual ADSR envelopes (Amplitude + Filter)
• Two assignable LFOs plus a preset LFO, routed via the Mod Matrix
• Filter (Low-pass with resonance)
• Dedicated Noise source (pink / brown / white)
• Delay and Reverb effects, plus stereo Visual FX (Autopan, Phaser, Widen)
• Onboard Compressor
• Polyphony (1–10 voices) and Glide
• 50+ built-in presets in 9 categories
• Full MIDI Learn support (the M button next to each control)
• Modulation matrix (7 sources, 21 destinations)

Oscillators

Each of the three oscillators (OSC A / B / C) has:

• Waveform selector — Sine, Triangle, Sawtooth, Square, Pulse, Noise
• OCT — octave from -2 to +2 relative to base pitch
• LVL — independent volume level

There are no semitone or detune knobs — pitch offsets between oscillators are created with the octave knobs or by modulating Osc Pitch destinations in the Mod Matrix.

Envelopes (ADSR)

Each envelope is an interactive curve editor — an A/D/S/R contour you shape by dragging its handles directly:

• Attack handle (peak) — drag horizontally to set attack time
• Decay/Sustain handle (elbow) — drag horizontally for decay time, vertically for sustain level
• Release handle (tail) — drag horizontally to set release time

The numeric readouts under the curve (A / D / S / R) are also draggable — drag one up or down for fine adjustment.

AMP envelope

The curve in the AMPLIFIER module controls the overall volume shape of each note: attack (time to peak), decay (peak to sustain), sustain (held level, 0–100%), release (fade after key release).

FILTER envelope

The curve in the LOW PASS FILTER module applies the same four parameters to the filter cutoff frequency. Enables classic attack-decay filter sweeps.

Filter

The LOW PASS FILTER module has three knobs above its envelope curve:

• CUTOFF — cutoff frequency above which harmonics are removed
• RESO — resonance, emphasis at the cutoff frequency (high values create a resonant peak)
• ENV AMT — envelope depth, how much the filter envelope modulates the cutoff

LFOs

Viktor NV-1 has three LFOs. None of them has a destination selector — all LFO routing happens in the Modulation Matrix, where each LFO appears as a source.

Preset LFO

The built-in LFO stored with each preset:

• Rate — 0.1 to 20 Hz
• AMT — modulation amount
• Waveform — 6 waveforms

LFO 1 / LFO 2

Two assignable LFOs with deeper controls:

• Rate — 0.01 to 50 Hz
• Depth, Phase, Sync, and Retrig
• Waveform — 6 waveforms including Sample & Hold

Effects Chain

Delay

• Time — 10ms to 1s (or BPM-sync)
• Feedback — echo repeat count
• Wet/Dry — mix

Reverb

• A single LEVEL knob (0–100%) controls the reverb amount. Its room response loads when you initialize the synth; there are no size or damping controls.

Compressor

• Post-effects compressor for consistent output levels. Particularly useful when playing the synth through a laser DAC — prevents clipping from destroying the XY output.

Visual FX (Stereo Effects)

The VISUAL FX panel adds stereo movement — which on an XY display means visual movement:

• AUTOPAN — Rate (0.05–10 Hz) and Depth (0–100%)
• PHASER — Rate (0.05–8 Hz) and Feedback (0–95%)
• WIDEN — Width 0–2x (0 = mono, 1 = normal, 2 = maximum width)

Noise Source

A dedicated NOISE panel (separate from the oscillators' Noise waveform) with an on/off switch, a noise type selector — PINK, BROWN, or WHITE — and a LEVEL knob.

Polyphony & Glide

The POLY and MODULATION panels sit beside the noise source:

• VOICES — polyphony from 1 to 10 voices
• GLIDE — portamento time, 0 to 166 ms
• The MODULATION waveform selector sets the mod-wheel LFO shape

Tuning

The TUNING panel selects how notes are tuned, which on an oscilloscope is a visual setting as much as a musical one.

• EQUAL / JUST — equal temperament (the default, and what every other instrument you own uses) or just intonation.
• ROOT — which key the just intonation is pure in. Shown only when JUST is selected.

Why it is here. A figure sits still only when the frequency ratio between the two axes is an exact whole number. Equal temperament approximates every interval except the octave — a major third is off by about 0.8%, which is enough to make the image visibly rotate. Just intonation uses the exact ratios, so the figures close and the picture stops moving.

Try it on a major third: hold C and E in equal temperament and watch the figure turn, then switch to JUST with ROOT on C and it stops.

Switching tuning does not disturb notes already sounding; the change applies from the next note. Set ROOT to the key you are playing in — that is what makes just intonation sound better rather than worse.

Full explanation in Harmony.

Presets

50+ factory presets organized into nine categories:

Presets you save yourself appear in a User category. With the synth panel focused, the ←/→ arrow keys step to the previous/next preset.

Use the upload and download buttons beside the preset selector to move a synth patch between browsers or machines as a JSON file. A patch exported from OSC-1 can be imported directly later, including files created before the patch round-trip repair.

Show / Hide the Keyboard

The keyboard icon in the synth bar (or Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+K) collapses the on-screen piano to reclaim canvas for the visualization. This is purely visual — the synth keeps playing, so you can keep performing from your computer keyboard (QWERTY note-typing) or a MIDI controller with the keys tucked away. It's ideal when you don't have a MIDI keyboard but still want a bigger canvas while you play.

Switching the synth OFF with the ON/OFF toggle hides the keys automatically (there's nothing to play); turning it back on restores them. Your show/hide choice is remembered between sessions.

MIDI Learn

Click the MIDI LEARN button in the synth keyboard panel header to enter MIDI Learn mode — every MIDI-mappable knob, and each envelope stage readout, then shows a small M button next to it:

1. Click an M button — it shows • while listening
2. Move a knob or send a CC message from your controller
3. The parameter is mapped — the button now shows the CC number
4. Click the mapped button again to remove the mapping

Click MIDI LEARN again to leave the mode and hide the badges.

Mappings persist between sessions, and can be exported/imported as JSON from the MIDI settings panel — see Hardware Control.

Modulation Matrix

The modulation matrix routes modulation sources to synth parameters. All LFO routing happens here — the LFO panels themselves have no destination selectors.

Sources (7):

• LFO 1
• LFO 2
• Preset LFO
• Env Follower
• Velocity
• Mod Wheel
• Aftertouch

Destinations (21):

• Filter Cutoff, Filter Resonance
• Osc 1/2/3 Pitch and Osc 1/2/3 Level
• Noise Level
• Amp Attack, Amp Decay, Amp Release
• Delay Time, Delay Feedback, Delay Mix
• Reverb Mix
• Master Volume
• LFO1 Rate, LFO2 Rate
• Phase X, Phase Y

Tips for Oscilloscope Visuals

Further Reading