Vector graphic synth
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A Vector graphic synthesizer is a music synthesizer which is controlled via frequency modulation of waveforms generated by a vector-graphics driven application programming interface.[1] Graphical waveform files may also be edited by most third-party vector graphics software programs such as XFig,[2] Adobe Illustrator or Inkscape.
Contents
Concept
The creation of a vector graphic synthesizer involves merging the flexibility and visual elements of multi-dimensional vector graphics environment with the wide array of technical tools currently offered by music synthesizers. The waveforms of various audio parameters such as volume, pitch and timbre as well as the oscillating kernel become controlled (in a time varying manner) by vector graphic curves produced using the vector graphic environment.
Audio File Manipulation Techniques
By implementing synthesizer waveforms inside a vector graphic interface, all waveform properties can be expressed by pure data stored in a master audio data file as one or more multi-dimensional image layers.[3] Since all curves are expressed as piecewise continuous functions, the pre-compression sampling rate is essentially infinite. Also, since each parameter waveform is expressed as a distinct mathematical vector, every curve can have standard 2D graphical manipulations applied to the controlling waveforms independently, including such transformations as rotation, reversal, or flipping of amplitude, frequency and pitch.
Two-Dimensional Vector Waveforms
An example of something which a two dimensional vector graphic interface to the synthesizer offers, is simple pitch inversion algorithms. Such algorithms may be obtained using different flip centroid points in pitch. As the time domain (the x-axis) is left unaltered, the pitch (y-axis) is flipped in such a way that each note produced by the pitch waveform still lands on the original scale, even though it has been flipped using the x-axis as a turning point.
The same two dimensional interface may also offer very accurate gating. This effect is the flipping of the volume envelope using the volume (y-axis) as the centroid point.
Three Dimensional Vector Waveforms
Three dimensional vector graphic interfaces would provide even more information with the possibility of storing the audio kernel as complex numbers, with for example the x-axis as the frequency axis and the y and z-axes as the complex Fourier series coefficients.
See also
External references
- ↑ http://intermorphic.com/blog/2009/05/02/vector-audio-comes-of-age-twitter-cdm-koan-parametric-sound-and-fx/ Intermorphic blog, "Vector Audio Comes of Age", posted on May 2nd, 2009 by Tim Cole
- ↑ http://mffmvectorbass.sourceforge.net/README MFFM Vector Bass README file
- ↑ http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.78.2161&rep=rep1&type=pdf An Internet Browser Plug-in for Real-time Sound Synthesis using Pure Data
