[sdiy] Taking a Step towards - - --((FUTURE-PREDICTIONS))-- - -

[Magnus Danielson]

From: "Paul Maddox" <P.Maddox at signal.qinetiq.com>
Subject: Re: [sdiy] Taking a Step towards - - --((FUTURE-PREDICTIONS))-- - -
Date: Thu, 15 Jan 2004 10:11:15 -0000
Message-ID: <036901c3db4f$e9ba5cf0$a45e23c0 at dra.hmg.gb>

> Magnus,

Paul,

> >Characterisation, we need characterisation!
> 
> agreed, character is what synths are all about..
> its the sound that comes out thats important, not how it works and what it
> looks like..

The sound we get and the control we have over it.

> >What about cold analogue gear?
> 
> I've *NEVER* heard anyone say anything analogue was 'cold', if you know of
> such an exmaple PLEASE let me know, so next time this debate starts I can
> fire it back...

Let's see if we can find a good example ;O)

Actually, you find that people keep saying that certain synths sounds "too
thin" and isn't "warm enough" and that synth falls out of fashion, since the
preference is towards "warm" synths. So I think there is plenty of examples if
you THINK about it.

> >Um... you mean 1,024 MHz or PPG where doing serious magic back then...
> (knows
> >better).
> 
> depends , to me 1G = 1000M, the point was that the top oscillator frequencey
> needed was astronomical.

Eh... now I don't understand... how did you get THERE?

> >Anyway, yes... 1 MHz seems high. There is a neat app in the CA 3080
> datasheet
> >showing how you can make a continous sweep from 1 Hz to 1 MHz using a pair
> of
> >CA 3080 and a CA3160. The frequency control is at one of the Iabc inputs so
> a
> >standard expo-curcuit using PNP transistors (see ASM-1 VCF for instance)
> should
> >allow for a fairly straight-forward way of acheiving a full-range analog
> >oscillator to control a PPG-style wavetable. So, what's the problem? Known
> >components and not too uncommon techniques. Well, high-freq tracking is
> just
> >not being explored.
> 
> agreed, there's more to be done, but no-ones trying, no-one seems to want
> to.

Um... ain't I?

> >Anyway, there is a path there. It hasn't been walked for quite some time,
> but
> >it's there. I'm doing this partly to annoy you, but partly to show my point
> >that we keep thinking in a little too much the same fashion all the time.
> 
> scary stuff!

Yeap! ;O)

Also, you where ranting along in chockingly the same tracks as you said others
where into, so it got extra ammusing... ;O)

> >Indeed. And then there where PPG gear before the 360.
> 
> yeah, then look at the realizer, people laughed at it in 1986, now look....

Yeap. When you look at what happend in which version of the PPG stuff you see
an interesting line of steppwise developements. The Realizer is certainly a
natural direction even if it was excessive at the time. Today you get the same
kind of power in such a small box that you don't have to hurt your foot if you
drop the synth on it.

> >It's dirt-cheap today. We can spend much more resources in processing on a
> >single function than in the early days. Today it is really just the
> imagination
> >which puts the limit except for a few SERIOUSLY powerhungry things.
> 
> yep.
> 
> > IMHO one error is that a too low sampling frequency is being used.
> 
> that depends on what system you're using, is 192Khz at 24bit high enough?

Again you are too limited in your mind. Who said the OUTPUT had to be in a
high sampling frequency format? The processing might have advantages by
running in high samplingspeed and then we can drop it as we go out of there...
down to 192 kHz for instance. Since processing power is cheap now we can do
stuff like that.

You must learn to ask what assumptions did I make along a certain design-line.
Can I make any different assumptions. Let's do something crazy and see where it
takes us! Let's just seriously blow the top off and come up with bizzare
solutions for a while, and then try making them real and do various tricks to
make it work. That's really the only way to come up with something new and
fresh. That's almost the only way to really get the good ideas, break the old
borders but do it with knowledge!

Cheers,
Magnus