Been a bit busy to get back to this but,
SynthBaron writes:
>>Ok, I'm not trying to spoil your cheese here...but it gets to the point
where trying to articulate and synthesize an acoustic instrument is more
complicated then playing the real thing. While It would be neat to have a
real hardware synth that could accurately model whatever "analog" instrument
you please, coordinating both arms, feet, and breath controller can get a
little awkward.<<
The point of my efforts is to come up with the violin/viola/cello/bass
equivilent of what Yamaha's VL series of physical modeling synths does for
other instruments such as woodwind and brass. I want to write a synth that can
produce near perfect string sounds polyphonically, and will morph smoothly
between any loudness of notes, slide smoothly in pitch without chipmunking,
handle vibrato and protamento correctly and so on. There is no currently
shipping synth that can do this.
As for controlling the instrument, I was refering to a different set up
involving my motm. If I had keyboard pressure and velocity hooked up, I could
take away some of the other controllers. And learning a to play the whole
family of string instruments would not be easier, nor can they be played like
an ensemble in realtime. That's why samplers and romplers are so popular these
days.
Sikosky writes:
>>you know in this day and age, i think actually using a modular synthesiser
to 'synthesise' says more about the journey than the actual result - i mean,
why attempt to synthesise a violin, when you can just get a sample of one,
why wander into the hills with a canvas & watercolours when you can just
take a photo...<<
Exactly, sort of. I want to synthesize to get rid of some of the rigid
limitations of samples though, so it's more than just an excercise in synthesis.
J. D. McEachin writes:
>>Elhardt could spend YEARS pursuing his synthesized violin sound, and still
come up with a better sound than if he took violin lessons during that time.
He'll also be able to apply the techniques he learns to other synthesized
sounds.<<
Correct. I've already learned quite a bit about what needs to be done to get a
near perfect sustained acoustic timbre to match the real thing. I'll be able to
use some of that knowledge elsewhere. As synthesists, that's the instrument we
want to use. Who has the massive amount of time and dedication to try to master
a bunch of new instruments.
-Elhardt