Design your own waveform synths?

[Gene Zumchak]

Harry,

    You are absolutely correct.  While the dynamic changes are very important,
you can filter what's not there, obviously.  So the raw material you are
filtering can certainly make a better instrument sound if the harmonics have
some proximity to a real instrument spectrum.  You win!  Three cents beats two
cents.

Gene



"Bissell, Harry" wrote:

> List: (et-al)  I'll add 3 cents and now we have a nickel...
>         The dynamic changes in waveshape are certainly important (and maybe
> more important) than the initial waveform. BUT, the initial waveforms of the
> DW-8000 (et-al) are far more convincing to the ear as being recognizable as
> a conventional (ie well-known, blown, beat with fingers or a stick etc...)
> instrument. Variety is the spice of life, give me a wavetable generator for
> when I want to sound like John Tesh, and a square wave to sound like Keith
> Emerson.... (can I say those both in one sentence?)    :-) Harry Bissell
>
> > List,
> >
> >     May I add my own two cents.  Moog may have been the first to recognize
> > back
> > in the sixties that what is important about a sound or waveform is NOT its
> > shape
> > or frequency recipe (spectrum), but how it changes in time.  A plucked
> > string,
> > for example starts out with lots of harmonics.  The higher the harmonics,
> > the
> > faster they die out.  Eventually you are left with just the fundamental.
> > Hitting the Moog LPF with a transient, accomplished this.  A brass sound,
> > on
> > the  other hand, starts with the fundamental.  It takes some millieseconds
> > for
> > the harmonics to build up.  Sweep the filter from low to high and it gives
> > a
> > brass sound.  Accordingly, fabricating waveforms whose spectrum is
> > constant is
> > an exercise with little promise.  Instead fabricate waveforms digitally
> > that
> > change in time, and then you'll get interesting sounds.
> >
> > Gene Zumchak
> >
> >
> >
> > Martin Czech wrote:
> >
> > > > Actually, to do this you can do one of at least two things.  One,
> > download
> > > > a program called "Smorphi".  It allows you to draw your own waveforms
> > and
> > > > play around with them.  Two, a program called "Goldwave" allows you to
> > > > directly edit the samples that make up a .wav file.  Just make a tiny
> > .wav
> > > > file (like 100 samples), direct-edit the waveform to your heart's
> > content
> > >
> > > Right, sorry forgot about that.
> > >
> > > @ www.shareware.com
> > >
> > > And dont forget "granny" granular synthesis tools.
> > > Cool, works even on my 100MHz P5.
> > >
> > > m.c.