[sdiy] ... Simulating a Moog

[john mahoney]

Julian,
Uh oh, this is like discussing religion and politics at a party! ;-)


> you could make a faithful digital reproduction of the Moog.

Ahem... This is a subject that can hardly be discussed without breaking down
into an endless loop of analog-vs-digital talk. Fortunately, SDIY is more
civilized than some other forums. I'll just say that some people will agree
with you while others will insist that analog can not be effectively
simulated; and, some feel that all digital audio is, um... lacking.


> I'm wondering whether anyone has done this, for a Moog or any other type
of analogue synth.?
> PS Perhaps simulating some of the obsolete semiconductors would be the
tricky part.

Good call! This, in fact, is the approach that Korg claims to have used for
their new (now shipping?) Legacy collection. Korg calls its technique
Component Modeling Technology (CMT). More info here, scroll down the page a
bit:
http://www.korg.com/gear/info.asp?A_PROD_NO=Legacy
As for the results, indications are that Korg have done quite a good job.

For what it's worth, there's one thing about the real-vs-emulations
arguments that bugs me: You'll find people saying they sound different, the
implication being that the emulation is inadequate. Yet, they will also say
that no two examples of an [insert vintage synth name here] sound alike,
either. (However, some softsynths deserve the criticism.)
--
john


----- Original Message ----- 
From: Julian Bunn
[snip]
It occurred to me that, given the circuit diagrams for e.g. a Moog, and a
lot of free time, one could enter everything into Spice and completely
simulate the behaviour of the instrument. With the results you could make a
faithful digital reproduction of the Moog. And you'd never need to touch a
soldering iron J

I'm wondering whether anyone has done this, for a Moog or any other type of
analogue synth.?

Julian

PS Perhaps simulating some of the obsolete semiconductors would be the
tricky part.