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Filter doesn't have keyboard tracking, yet. I've seen it on many synths and I definitely want to have it on the NV-1. Oh, you're right! On a very low C, full e

by tsenkov 11y ago

Filter doesn't have keyboard tracking, yet. I've seen it on many synths and I definitely want to have it on the NV-1. Oh, you're right! On a very low C, full emphasis and cutoff at 1. Is this bad?

chipsy 11y ago
It's bad if your synth is aiming to be a virtual analog. The correct behavior of extreme resonance, at least in a Moog-type filter, is self-oscillation [0], but actually achieving that through digital subtractive techniques remains CPU-intensive and a cutting-edge filter design challenge, because all the action is taking place at the top of the spectrum, where sampling rates start to matter. A generic "clean digital" filter sound that can do typical resonant sweeps would be acceptable for a web synth, and a purely additive emulation like that of IL Harmless would be good enough for almost everything. There's no such thing as a totally worthless sound, but some sounds are more immediately useful for musical purposes, and letting the filter break usually indicates a low attention to detail. Low-quality digital resonance tends to have a "dentist's drill" timbre to it, even when it's not broken. A last thought: I don't know how your envelopes are made right now, but they matter a great deal to the timbre. The curvature matters, as does the speed. You can use a generic filter with poor resonance performance, but the overall result will still sound pretty good with quality oscillators and well-tuned envelopes. [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVgIf71uWB4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVgIf71uWB4
- tsenkov 11y ago
  Thank you. This is very useful. I am not using my own filter, right now. It's the default LP one in the Web Audio. I think it is probably one of the "not-so-good" parts of it. I don't want to offend anyone from the guys that made the spec, they did more than anyone expected with this API, but I do notice this "dentist's drill" timbre. I always feel it like... "pixelated sound". As for the envelopes - I spent quite some time tuning them. Yet, this is the first time I work on such a project, so I don't know exactly how bad or good they are. Great info! Very useful.

by tsenkov 11y ago

Filter doesn't have keyboard tracking, yet. I've seen it on many synths and I definitely want to have it on the NV-1. Oh, you're right! On a very low C, full emphasis and cutoff at 1. Is this bad?

chipsy 11y ago

It's bad if your synth is aiming to be a virtual analog. The correct behavior of extreme resonance, at least in a Moog-type filter, is self-oscillation [0], but actually achieving that through digital subtractive techniques remains CPU-intensive and a cutting-edge filter design challenge, because all the action is taking place at the top of the spectrum, where sampling rates start to matter. A generic "clean digital" filter sound that can do typical resonant sweeps would be acceptable for a web synth, and a purely additive emulation like that of IL Harmless would be good enough for almost everything. There's no such thing as a totally worthless sound, but some sounds are more immediately useful for musical purposes, and letting the filter break usually indicates a low attention to detail. Low-quality digital resonance tends to have a "dentist's drill" timbre to it, even when it's not broken. A last thought: I don't know how your envelopes are made right now, but they matter a great deal to the timbre. The curvature matters, as does the speed. You can use a generic filter with poor resonance performance, but the overall result will still sound pretty good with quality oscillators and well-tuned envelopes. [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVgIf71uWB4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVgIf71uWB4

tsenkov 11y ago
Thank you. This is very useful. I am not using my own filter, right now. It's the default LP one in the Web Audio. I think it is probably one of the "not-so-good" parts of it. I don't want to offend anyone from the guys that made the spec, they did more than anyone expected with this API, but I do notice this "dentist's drill" timbre. I always feel it like... "pixelated sound". As for the envelopes - I spent quite some time tuning them. Yet, this is the first time I work on such a project, so I don't know exactly how bad or good they are. Great info! Very useful.