Comparator

An electrical device that compares the level of one voltage to a second. That second voltage may be a second input on a comparator synth module, or may be set with a knob or internal reference voltage. Most often, a comparator outputs a gate signal that goes high when the first signal is higher than the second (or vice versa), and which goes low when the first signal is lower than the second. At audio rates, it converts an input waveform into a square or pulse wave, with the second signal setting when the new waveform goes high or low in voltage.