The LFO Section lets you apply a modulation to a variety of different aspects of Atom. It lets you control pitch shifts, volume adjustments, and other cool effects in a bunch of different ways. For example, the trademarked dubstep wobble sound is often done by using an LFO to modulate either the filter or volume of a sound!
Atom's two LFOs are found on the top left of Atom's interface:
To turn any of the LFO sections on click the grey light located on the top right of the the desired LFO section. When the light is pink it means that LFO section is turned on and ready for use (if it's grey it means the LFO is off).
Each LFO operates independently, meaning you can build two entirely different modulations for each one and not have them affect one another.
The waveform icons on the top left of each LFO let you select what waveform shape is used for the LFO process: Sin, Square, Triangle, or Saw. Each waveform has a different sonic texture, so we encourage you to experiment to find the ideal LFO Waveform for your sound.
The "Rate," button determines how quickly the LFO will modulate. Higher rates (turning the knob to the right) will modulate more rapidly, while lower values will do the opposite.
The "Sync," button for each LFO helps sync the LFO's Rate to the BPM of your song. To turn it on make sure the section appears Pink, and is switched to the right (to turn it off flip it so its switching left).
For example, if the Sync is engaged (turned to the right) your Rate options can be divisions of the beat (1/4, 1/2, 1/8, and so on). With Sync disengaged the Rate options will be shown in milliseconds.
"Intensity," determines how much of the LFO modulation is applied to the sound. An Intensity of 0 (with the knob essentially turned halfway) means no modulation is applied, but turning the knob right or left will modulate the sound more strongly.
The grey box shown on the bottom left of each LFO is the destination selector, which lets you pick the element of Atom that the LFO will modulate:
When you click this box it will open a dropdown menu that dictates all of the possible destinations for your LFO. Picking one of them will apply the LFO settings you have to that specific element.
In the below example LFO 1 is modulating the filter's cutoff:
Some destination options include multiple parameters, meaning a single LFO can control multiple different aspects of Atom with the same settings. This applies to volume, pitch, and fine tune.
We encourage you to explore the LFO section and find unique and creative uses for it!