analogue synthesis: doepfer like modules

one way would be to go to doepfer.de and read the PDF manuals on their modular-synthesizer modules of the A-100. Everything is available online for free.

I am toying with a similar idea, and this is where I started. maybe once you get started a bit deeper we can exchange some modules...

start with the Oscillator A 110 and try to build something that has a few of the features. You will probably need the tutorials and the help files a lot.

But it's a great way to learn a lot about synthesis. I think it's a monstrous task to actually build a modular synth in MaxMSP, but once you start you learn so much, that it will certainly be worth it.

Kai

This sounds veery interesting.

I would love to be able to follow this project, and hopefully participate

@k9 yes i just downloaded the A100_info pdf..i'll build a simple vco oscillator and post it here so we can discuss some basic modularity-issues

I think saving the patches as individual files, then using bpatchers to patch everything together gives you a nice feeling of virtual modularity.

Kai

k9 wrote on Wed, 15 April 2009 07:57I think saving the patches as individual files, then using bpatchers to patch everything together gives you a nice feeling of virtual modularity.

Kai

indeed, I think that's one of the original purposes for bpatcher, to have everything as contained units with some room for uniqueness (using arguments), but able to communicate with the larger picture as well. Lots you can do with them for a project like this, like with [pattrstorage @greedy 1].

Having a master control for each bank of modules is very handy for setting things while you create, especially having a "default" button which gets everything to a state that you know should sound like X, so you can keep track of what's happening as things grow and get more complex. You could have a [receive reset] in each bpatch which sets everything to the original defaults, like freq = 0, level = 0, waveform = sine... whatever makes sense. Also I usually have a "bank bpatcher" which itself has the (8 or however many) bpatch modules in it, so you can utilize scroll bars in just that part of the main patch. That way you can have multiple independent parts of the main UI which go well off the screen, but the main patch doesn't need to scroll all over the place.

using numbers into "patching_rect $1 $2 $3 $4" for your bpatchers, then saving the groups as presets, would let you save different spatial layouts of your bpatchers that you could switch between. you can even work a little magic with [mousestate] to make elements draggable, though popup windows are easier to set up for this. look at [thispatcher] to see about window messages, like floating on or off, which can be helpful. There's also the All Windows Active toggle which changes the feel of working with multiple windows.

You can use matrix~ to route everything around and change where things go on the fly, and preset these master routing settings. So one of a bank of (say) 8 main oscillators can go to any of 8 LFO's, or ring modulators, or other effects, all in Runtime and without changing any cords. And of course there's poly~ which definitely should be investigated for multiple synth generation that has a modular feel, like with different #s of things active at different times.

With all the great tools provided in Max I don't think it's a monstrous task

...and it's true, one will learn a lot not just about synthesis, but patching and UI concerns too.

best of luck!

rebuilding the analog original would mean to implement a lot of artificial limits into the maxmsp enviroment.
in maxmsp you have the option to plug 5 cables to 1 target, or the other way round, or both.
this means max gives you far more possibilties than a doepfer or buchla will ever do. use them!

I replicated a bunch of the doepfer modules as best I could in max about a year ago, and it sounds amazing. Ill make it available someday. I plan to make it into a whole virtual max doepfer type bpatcher abstraction collection.

I should also mention that a huuuuge part of my achieving of analogueish sound qualty was to use tanh~ after every amped CV and audio signal, this made it so when you turned them up passed their top value you got more of an analogue type warming response then flat clipping which makes things very digital. that was the single most important thing I learned.

Axiom-Crux wrote on Wed, 15 April 2009 18:23I should also mention that a huuuuge part of my achieving of analogueish sound qualty was to use tanh~ after every amped CV and audio signal, this made it so when you turned them up passed their top value you got more of an analogue type warming response then flat clipping which makes things very digital. that was the single most important thing I learned.

hei thanks for this tip..i hope you could post a basic osc with al the tricks that make it sounds good that could be a solid start to build upon