Subtractive synthesis

Subtractive synthesis starts from a harmonically rich waveform and sculpts its spectrum down with filters, rather than building the spectrum component by component.

It is the classic analog recipe — a bright oscillator into a low-pass filter that an envelope sweeps — and wavetable oscillators slot straight into it, supplying richer or moving sources where a plain saw or square would sit. The trade is indirectness: you shape what the source already contains, which is exactly why additive and wavetable editors exist for the partials a filter can't reach.