Soundhack

On this project I helped Tom Erbe of Soundhack and Make Noise. He wanted to update his audio suite plugins both visually and internally. This was my first take on "modernizing" the design with a clean, minimal look, while still keeping his signature Soundhack knobs.

We tightened up some of the code, and updated to 64 bit architecture. Tom's end decision was sticking with his original design, with a more tidied look and user-friendly interface than his previous version.

Chrous

Designed for a VST class at UCSD. This effect imitates the 1970s Eminent Solina's lush built in Chorus. Each switch on the VST turns a delay line either off or on, and has 100% maximum depth.

Three delay lines are tapped and each line has a separate LFO, controlling its fluctuation between 17-23ms of time to create a more natural swirling lush effect. When the three signals are then added back to the original, one signal is sent to the left stereo channel, one to the right stereo channel, and the other to both. This action creates a larger stereo width compared to all three being combined into one mono field.

This patch was constructed to take audio sampling to a new level by continuously resampling/reselecting different sections of an inserted WAV file and allowing the EPS to "play" for you. Each horizontal row of squares of the bottom triangle is a selectable step sequencer that is controlled by a universal clock/bpm. In addition, each row has a separate amount of steps per sequencer (1 step, 2 step, 4 step, ..... 16 step), allowing for complex polyrhythms. The sampling proportion is controlled by a Phase Vocoder that shrinks or stretches the selected area of the loaded sample, then transposes it to a specific key (set by the user). 

A final project written in Pure Data for Computer Music II (ICAM UCSD), under the instruction of Tom Erbe (Soundhack and Make Noise). The aim of the piece was to use a phase vocoder in realtime. Though the recording/sampling takes place 1/1000th of a second before the playback and is not "realtime", it still has a smooth transition.

The project guidelines required multiple effects and a synthesizer built from scratch. In the PD patch there is a FM synthesizer, loop capabilities, delay, interactive delay line, and interactive feedback loop. The delay line time is controlled by the frequency played from low to high. Example: If using a guitar, the Low E would give a chorus effect due to a faster delay line time, and higher frequencies (higher notes/strings) create flange and eventually to delay/echo on the highest notes. The feedback of the delay line is controlled via RMS values of how hard a guitar is strummed. The harder the guitar is strummed, the longer the feedback value.

A Pure Data patch to experiment with signal paths to create a virtual synthesizer. From the ground up, the patch has two main oscillators that allow the user to add square, sine, and ramp (saw) waves. Two oscillators are used to play around with detuning the original signal and to "fatten up" the original signal. The signal is manipulated by a simple ADSR which becomes colored by a VCF that is designed around the theory used for a Moog Ladder filter and a SVF (State Variable Filter [HP,LP,BP,AP]). To be more spectrally interesting, I also added the ability for the synth to have FM synthesis and a "death" section that sends the FM synthesis theory into chaos by jumping around in frequency in large steps through a random number generator with specific rules controlling usable pitches. Of course, if you just want to play and not think about how it works, the program is setup to be used with a midi keyboard. A realtime oscilloscope and ADSR window is provided for those who can't help but stare at the beauty of waveforms.