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Subtractive synths explained (2011)

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Re: Subtractive synths explained (2011)

#51

For those who are interested in this topic, I highly recommend checking out VCV Rack, an open source application that lets you build Eurorack-style virtual modular synthesizers: https://vcvrack.com/ I've been going down this rabbit hole lately and it's really fascinating.

This winter I went down this rabbit hole and back up, trying to approximate some acoustic instrument sounds. I went through a succession of different workflows, spending a couple weeks on each. Workflow 1: feed a sawtooth oscillator through filters controllable with knobs. Eventually I realized that it will always sound mechanical, no matter how many filters you stack. That led to Workflow 2: feed a sawtooth oscillat…

Hello again :) There is this phenomenon called 'stick-slip' that is an essential component of any string based instrument that is bowed. It might be worth modelling that to see what it sounds like, you might end up with some very realistic bowed string sounds as well as a glass organ.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stick-slip_phenomenon

Re: Subtractive synths explained (2011)

#52
post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I feel if you're going to such lengths to approximate physical instruments..maybe just record physical instruments? Synths can do things that are unable to be done physically, so why not use them to that end? Although, I understand sometimes it's an aesthetic choice, having a poorly-approximated physical sound.

We're well beyond the era of "poorly approximated" virtual instrumentals. Most orchestration you hear nowadays is virtual and developers like Sample Modelling make stuff indistinguishable from the real thing I'd much rather be able to just plug MIDI into a plug-in to get say a saxophone line for a song than having to buy a top tier saxophone, learn to play it in a perfectly soundproofed room with great microphone, DA…

> I'd much rather be able to just plug MIDI into a plug-in to get say a saxophone line for a song than having to buy a top tier saxophone, learn to play it in a perfectly soundproofed room with great microphone, DAC, ect.

You could also ask someone who already knows how to play the sax to do it for you, and use a midi based sax sound until you have the score perfected as a stopgap.

Re: Subtractive synths explained (2011)

#53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

FM synthesis can generate a very broad array of sounds. A lot of the time you get bad results but if you’re looking for something that can make all kinds of different sounds that’s one option. There are actually so many synthesis techniques, you should download some software synths and take a listen. Really fun stuff

The idea of a modular synths is to have the potential to create all of that, FM, AM, Sub and more. Isn't it?

Partially/Depends. Yes, they aim for more flexibility, but that doesn't mean they necessarily do a good job of providing the things you want for specific synthesis types.

Re: Subtractive synths explained (2011)

#54
post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This winter I went down this rabbit hole and back up, trying to approximate some acoustic instrument sounds. I went through a succession of different workflows, spending a couple weeks on each. Workflow 1: feed a sawtooth oscillator through filters controllable with knobs. Eventually I realized that it will always sound mechanical, no matter how many filters you stack. That led to Workflow 2: feed a sawtooth oscillat…

> The whole experience made me suspect that there's an alternative approach to building modular synths, based on physical facts about sound Yamaha experimented with this in the 90s with their VL series physical modeling synths, but it never caught on, mostly I think because if you want to have convincing results, you really need alternative midi controllers like a breath controller[1] for woodwind and brass intrument…

The digital waveguide patents have now expired and a new group has just released a wind instrument software synthesizer based on this approach: https://www.imoxplus.com/site/

They are also developing a completely new type of multidimensional embouchure sensing mouthpiece with which to play the instruments. It should be easy to learn but offer deep potential for expressiveness.

Also note that the goal of these instruments is not to faithfully emulate the timbre of any existing instrument (for that use a sampler) but to emulate dynamic behavior with is where the true expressiveness of wind instruments comes from.

Disclosure: I am developing the mouthpiece.

Re: Subtractive synths explained (2011)

#55
We appear to be going through a surge of interest in synths. Maybe due to the those who were dancing back in the day now discovering how the sounds were made. I've become one of those fascinated with the tb303. Which, for all the misty eyes around the sound, is just a simple single transistor oscillator plus low pass filter with a sequencer. The huge amount of diverse info available makes studying the 303 a really fun intro to subtractive synthesis.

Re: Subtractive synths explained (2011)

#56

I’d highly recommend getting comfortable programming a subtractive synth to anyone interested in making music, particularly electronic music. I’ve been fooling around with music for about 20 years, but the path I took (trackers, which are sample based, then into VSTs with their huge preset libraries) plus a lack of self-discipline meant that I never really mastered making a sound from scratch on a synth. It’s only in…

I highly recommend Syntorial (https://www.syntorial.com/), it took me from nothing to being somewhat ok in almost no time at all.

Re: Subtractive synths explained (2011)

#57
post #43

I’d highly recommend getting comfortable programming a subtractive synth to anyone interested in making music, particularly electronic music. I’ve been fooling around with music for about 20 years, but the path I took (trackers, which are sample based, then into VSTs with their huge preset libraries) plus a lack of self-discipline meant that I never really mastered making a sound from scratch on a synth. It’s only in…

Would you say that it's a good first project for learning programming from the beginning as well or would other (easier) projects be more suited for this task?

Learning computer programming you mean? If you think creating something musical would motivate you, JavaScript using the WebAudio API isn’t a bad starting place, as it provides high level components such as oscillators and filters that you can plug together without needing to know the internals - for example, check out https://teropa.info/blog/2016/07/28/javascript-systems-music..., which is aimed more or less at newcomers to programming. Another good starting point if you are using Mac (and iOS, if you like) is AudioKit, which has some great interactive “playgrounds” and similar high level “blocks” of code as WebAudio, which you can wire together to get quick results.

If you want to write your own plugins or audio software you’ll need to learn C++ at some point, which I think is a fairly complex language to start with and likely to be frustrating in terms of getting quick results, but your mileage may vary!

A colleague of mine learned C++ as his first “real” language (which is now his job) because he started out playing around in SuperCollider (a DSL for computer music stuff) and wanted to turn his ideas into real plugins, but it can get pretty complex pretty quickly so I’d say you’d have to be pretty motivated to do this!

If you do want to go down this route I would probably start with the aforementioned SuperCollider or something similar (maybe Max/MSP) to get an idea of how the musical side of things works without having to master C++ at the same time, then when you feel confident you can start learning C++ - personally I’d recommend the JUCE framework as it is designed for audio apps, hides some of the complexity/gotchas of C++, and has some good tutorials for beginners: http://juce.com.

DSP stuff can get pretty maths heavy and I’ve not come across anything equivalent to the building blocks supplied by WebAudio/AudioKit for C++, although JUCE does now have some DSP modules such as filters which you can easily use, and there is sample code online... but you’ll probably have to get your hands dirty at some point :) Will Pirkle’s book on audio plugins provides quite a good intro to DSP but the code in the book is, to be honest, pretty outdated/bad style - he is apparently working on an updated version, but if you are able to take the code with a pinch of salt (e.g. write the examples yourself in JUCE rather than using his RackAFX framework) you might find it useful.

Feel free to reach out to me for more advice, my background is in web development but I’ve been working on audio stuff professionally for the last couple of years so have been through the learning process of C++ etc and would be happy to help if I can!

Re: Subtractive synths explained (2011)

#58
post #56

I’d highly recommend getting comfortable programming a subtractive synth to anyone interested in making music, particularly electronic music. I’ve been fooling around with music for about 20 years, but the path I took (trackers, which are sample based, then into VSTs with their huge preset libraries) plus a lack of self-discipline meant that I never really mastered making a sound from scratch on a synth. It’s only in…

I highly recommend Syntorial ( https://www.syntorial.com/ ), it took me from nothing to being somewhat ok in almost no time at all.

Yeah I did the first few parts of Syntorial and thought it was pretty great, maybe I’ll pick it up again one day!

Re: Subtractive synths explained (2011)

#60
post #59

The world needs a modern LaTeX textbook on the electronics of synthesizers (With lots of math), but I don't think one exists

There is Hal Chamberlin's Musical Applications of Microprocessors which is a pretty approachable book and has some good background theory, there is also Chowning's FM Synthesis book.
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