How to import your own wavetables into Serum

Any sound can become a wavetable in Serum: a vocal, a guitar note, a field recording. Here is how to bring it in, why the frame size matters, and where to keep your own tables.

Step by step

  1. Trim the audio to the part you want and export it as a WAV. Short, steady sounds give the most usable tables.
  2. Drag the WAV onto the wavetable display of a Serum oscillator. You can also import it from the wavetable menu above the display.
  3. Serum cuts the audio into frames and lines them up as the wavetable. Move the WT POS knob to sweep through them.
  4. Save the result into the Tables/User folder inside the Serum presets folder, so it shows up in the wavetable menu next time.
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Why 2048 samples

A Serum wavetable is a row of single cycles, each 2048 samples long. When you import ordinary audio, Serum has to decide where one cycle ends and the next begins. For a pitched sound, an import mode that detects the pitch gives clean, in-tune frames; for noise, textures and drums, a fixed frame size often sounds more interesting. Try both on the same file.

Tips for good wavetables

  • Use sounds without much reverb: the tail turns into noise across the frames.
  • A single sustained note works better than a melody.
  • Normalize the audio first so the table plays at a usable level.
  • Once it is in, Serum's wavetable editor can smooth it, add frames and morph between them.

Where your wavetables live

In the Tables folder inside the Serum presets folder. See where the Serum presets folder is for Serum 1, or the Serum 2 presets folder for Serum 2.

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Questions

Can I use any audio as a Serum wavetable?

Yes. Drag a WAV onto the oscillator's wavetable display and Serum turns it into frames. Sustained, dry sounds give the cleanest results.

What is the frame size of a Serum wavetable?

2048 samples per frame.

Where are Serum wavetables stored?

In the Tables folder inside the Serum presets folder. Your own go in Tables/User.

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