Unipolar Switch

The Unipolar switch is represented by a small (+) button in the LFO section in the layer pages or with a “UNIPOLAR” switch in the SHOW MODULATION sidebar on the left.

In the example below, the Oscillator’s pitch is being modulated with a Sine wave from LFO1. If LFO1 is in bipolar mode, the pitch will go above, then below, the pitch of the note that was triggered. In Unipolar mode, the pitch would only rise above the pitch of the note being triggered and the range of the change in pitch would be greater.

For example, a Unipolar LFO applied to Oscillator pitch is great for simulating guitar-string finger vibrato, as guitarists can only bend strings UP with their fingers. Another use is for a Unipolar LFO to modulate the filter-cutoff. This will often create better filter sweeps than a bipolar LFO, as a bipolar LFO cycles below the mid-point, so no result is heard if the cutoff frequency is low.

*If you want the value to go negative instead of positive, select the INVERT button in the Modulation section.