[sdiy] Percussion synthesis, any interest?

[Tim Parkhurst]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: The Peasant [mailto:epeasant at telusplanet.net]
> Subject: [sdiy] Percussion synthesis, any interest?
> 
> Hello Everyone,
> 
> Well, I've had absolutely no feedback on my latest post
> regarding my drum synth project. Is there any interest at
> all in analogue percussion synthesis on this list? Or can
> anyone recommend another mailing list more appropriate to
> this area? I would very much like to find some people who
> are interested in the nuts and bolts of percussion
> synthesis with analogue electronics, so if anyone can help
> I would very much appreciate it.
> 
> Take care,
> Doug
> ______________________
> The Electronic Peasant
> 
> www.electronicpeasant.com

Hi Doug,

Yeah, I'm interested. Truth be told, I've played drums for years but I'm
only a "hunt and peck" keyboard player at best. :)

A couple of thoughts:

1) I think you might be able to leave off the Skin Attack controls. I can
see having a slow attack for the shell tone (especially if you're
synthesizing a very large drum), but I think the skin wouldn't need it.

2) I know it means more knobs, but how about including pan controls for the
outputs? Especially for the toms.

3) I really like the /2 and /4 outputs for the toms. Should get you some
very beefy sounds.

4) I might label things a bit differently
     
     VCO Sweep         as   Tone Sweep or Freq Sweep
     LFO/VCO Attack    as   Mod Level Attack or Mod Level Envelope Attack
     VCO LFO           as   Tone FM or OSC FM

I personally found the LFO/VCO nomenclature a little confusing. At first, I
thought you could switch the mod source between sub audio (LFO) and audio
(VCO) rates. I figured it out after looking over the block diagrams, but I
think different terminology might make it easier to understand. On the other
hand, if you're the only person who'll ever use it then I wouldn't worry
about it. :)

5) Along the same lines as item 4, maybe draw a box around the LFO section
and use the panel graphics to make the different 'blocks' more apparent
(LFO, EGs, VCO). I do a lot of interface / face panel design so I could take
a stab at this if you'd like. Just some simple boxes and lines might make
things easier to interpret. Of course, the really cool way would be to show
a block diagram on the face panel and then graphically link the controls to
the different 'sub modules' but this would take much more panel space. 

Whaddaya think?


Tim Servo
"All that spirits desire, spirits attain." -Kahlil Gibran



***************************************************************************
This message is confidential.  The information contained in
this e-mail message is intended only for confidential use of the
recipient(s) named above. If the reader of this message is not the intended
recipient or an agent responsible for delivering it to the intended
recipient, you are hereby notified that you have received this document in
error and that any review, dissemination, distribution, or copying of this
message is strictly prohibited.  If you have received this communication in
error, please notify us immediately by e-mail, and delete the original
message.
***************************************************************************