Nonlinear Oscillators?

[Sean Costello]

Hi all:

Has anyone out there tried to construct a nonlinear oscillator?  By
"nonlinear" I mean an oscillator that behaves like the nonlinear
elements in a traditional musical instrument (like an overblown reed, a
bowed string, etc.).  I would love to have a musical instrument that
could jump octaves like a wind instrument (i.e. with the same sort of
noisy transition, not just clean octave jumps), or generate chaotic
subharmonics like a Gyuto monk, or growl like a sax, or create
multiphonics like an oboe.

Any ideas?  I was thinking that perhaps linear feedback FM could be
used, where the output is fed back through a nonlinear element (like a
full-wave rectifier, or any of the Serge waveshapers, or perhaps
something like the Dual Slope Generator) before going back to the FM
input.  Ideally, the oscillator would be able to track through a
reasonable range under voltage control, and have the nonlinearities
under voltage control to a reasonable degree.  

My little fantasy is to design a TB-303 like box, that retains the
essential features (compact size, battery operated, programmable accent,
programmable slide, diode ladder filter, single oscillator), but with
the capability of creating far more chaotic and complex sounds (octave
jumps, chaotic subharmonics, roughness, growls, squeals, multiphonics).
I would prefer circuitry that emphasized simplicity, cheapness, and
nastiness, instead of precise circuitry that costs more in terms of
money and time.  

I like the idea of the TB-303, but it doesn't sound Kosmische enough for
me.  My ideal box would generate sounds in between Aphex Twin, early
Cluster, Penderecki, Jimi, Ligeti, Neil Young, and the Big Bang.  

Any and all input welcome.  If you know of easy ways to generate the
above sounds, I'd love to hear about it.  I have the feeling that this
might be the place for circuits that didn't work as they were intended
to, but made such an amazing sound that they were used anyway.

Thanks,

Sean Costello

P.S.  I can track down references for nonlinear oscillators in musical
instruments in the next few days, if anyone is interested - I have a few
papers about this that I copied off a few months back. Tonight I'll be
busy installing Linux, so as to run Csound/Cecilia, Common Lisp Music,
and other goodies, but I can create a list in a few days.