A sequenced fx machine

posted by on 2014.01.19, under Supercollider
19:

Ever wondered how to make a sequenced fx machine, where the effects cut each other out (like dbGlitch, say)? Here’s a very simple example

SynthDef(\fx, {arg out = 0, in, trig = 0, lag = 0.1, grid = 1/2, bit = 7, sample = 5000;
    var sig, del;
    sig = In.ar(in,2)*0.5 + Select.ar(trig, [In.ar(in, 2)*0.5, LocalIn.ar(2), LPF.ar(Decimator.ar(In.ar(in,2)*0.5, sample, bit), 6000)]);
    del = DelayL.ar(sig, 1.0, Lag.kr(grid, lag));
    LocalOut.ar(HPF.ar(del*(trig.clip(0, 1)), 2000));
    Out.ar(out, Pan2.ar(sig[0], TRand.kr(-0.5, 0.5, trig)*trig));
}).add;

which uses the Ugen Select.ar, which functions as a “one-to-many” audio switch*. The delay part works as a simple beat repeater, and the other effect is a bit-crusher. After instantiating an audio bus, you can then delegate the sequencing to a Pmono

~rep = Bus.audio(s, 2);

Pmono(\fx, *[\trig : Pwrand([0, 1, 2], [0.4, 0.3, 0.3], inf),
    \grid: Prand([1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/16], inf),
    \bit: Prand([7, 10, 8, 24], inf),
    \sample: Pwhite(1000, 10100, inf),
    \lag: Pwhite(0, 0.1, inf),
    \in: ~rep,
    \dur: 1/8]).play(quant: 4);

Whatever you send to ~rep will be processed by the fx SynthDef (be careful with the order of execution, or use Group to be on the safe side). If you have already SynthDefs for the single effects you would like to use, it is more convenient to send the audio to single busses, and then add a SynthDef at the tail of the synth chain containing a Select.ar Ugen which will choose among the different effects. You will have to run additional Pmonos to control the various parameters, though.
Notice that this approach to sequenced fx machines is quite expensive, since the various effects will run constantly on the server.
Anyway, in this simple case it sounds like

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

*You can use a similar approach in Max/Msp, Reaktor, etc.

{ no comment } :| { Tags: , }

First L!vE K@ding session!

posted by on 2014.01.13, under Supercollider
13:

As promised, here’s my first live coding screencast! The video unfortunately turned out to be not very good: ffmpeg on Linux failed me miserably. I thought it was worth sharing anyways, so, here it is. 😉
Some comments: I have used some SynthDefs that I have already prepared and some samples that I have loaded beforehand. This is achieved by the tabs “initialize” and “synths” that you see in the video. This is not a “blank page” approach to live coding, but it’s what I have realized works for me, since I am more interested in improvising patterns than the actual sound synthesis (which I also did in this session, by the way). In particular, one of the SynthDefs which I am really liking is \looper, a custom made looper which allows me to capture audio from other synths and control its parameters to get nice glitchy patterns. I’m really liking it. :) On the other end, \pad_fm is a very simple pad with fm modulation. Of course, if anybody is interested in these SynthDefs I will certainly share.
Oh, also almost everything happens in ProxySpace.
Enjoy 😉

{ 2 comments } :| { Tags: , , , }

pagetop