Cutoff, resonance and slope — the three numbers that account for most of what a subtractive synth sounds like, plus the keyboard tracking control that explains why a patch tuned on a low note chokes on a high one.
Subtractive synthesis fits in one sentence: start with more harmonics than you want and take some away. The oscillator supplies the raw material and the filter does the sculpting, which is why two instruments with identical everything else and different filters do not sound alike, and why this is the longest lesson in the course.
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