David,
Have you explored granular synthesis? Briefly, it is a technique for
deconstructing sound into "grains" (small snippets), and reconstructing to
make new timbres. Samples or oscillators can be used as the sound sources.
Operations include playing grains backwards and forwards, controlling grain
size and density, etc. Kinda sounds like what you are talking about.
Somewhere out there on the net is a freeware demo granular synthesis program
for PC. I can't think of its name, but I have it at home on one of my PCs.
Do a web search on "granular synthesis" and see what info you get.
BTW, these alternate techniques such as granular and FM synthesis CAN be
practiced on modulars, given enough hardware.
Dave Bradley
Principal Software Engineer
Engineering Animation, Inc.
daveb@...< snip a bunch of e-drum stuff>
> It's hard to explain--I visualize it a little better. It's basically about
> reversing the actual samples (that make up a whole "sample") in a linear
> fashion so that the sample overall folds over itself. The user
> could dictate
> the curve by which it reverses, etc. This wouldn't really be a
> MOTM kind of
> thing (although I guess it could be) but more of a VST Plugin
> kind of thing
> or standalone digital module.
>
> This may be a better explanation. Let's say the samples comprising a tone
> are represented by the letters of the alphabet so that the tone is:
> ABCDEFGHIJ
> Now we put it through the wringer thus: ABCDEFEDCDEFGHIJ
> Now we control the "curve" of the reversal:
> AAAABBBBCCCCDDDDEEEEFFFFEEEDDCDDEEEFFFFGGGGHHHHIIIIJJJJ
>