# Instrument I, A Wavefolding Synth Bass drums, percussive plonks, bongos, robot sounds. By taking simple sounds, making them louder, and reflecting the waves that peak, we create a technique called wavefolding. In Max, The `[pong~ 0 -1. 1.]` object is one way to wavefold. > [!cite] Lore > ![[1-diesel-blue.png]] > Diesel Blue (art by Dead Carcosa) > [!example] > ![[image-22.png]] > Wavefolding a signal. Left is no wavefolding. Middle is wavefolding a signal at 1.5x gain. Right is wavefolding a signal at 3x gain. ## Wavefolding a Bass Drum From [[Signal Music II, Beat and Rhythm]]. > [!example] > ![[image-12.png]] > Wavefolding can create a basic but satisfying drum sound. ## Frequency-Modulated Bass Drum Instead of modulating the gain of the signal to induce wavefolding, we can modulate the frequency of our oscillator. This a simple form of frequency modulation. This is one way to get an "808-style" bass drum sound. > [!example] > ![[image-13.png]] > If we start our oscillator at a higher frequency that falls quickly over the duration of the sound, we can get an 808 bass drum sound.