[PD] resonant comb filter series

[derek holzer]

Hi Pun Chik,

 > hi . can u send me an example patch of this harmonic series of resonant
 > comb filters...im really interested in learning this. an example patch
 > would be really nice

I'm a bit too busy to make a simple demo right now, but the principle is 
easy to understand:

A comb filter is simply a very short delay with a high amount of 
feedback. It is so short that it's length becomes an oscillating 
waveform. Try making a simple [delwrite~ delayname] and a [vd~ 
delayname]. Now make a feedback loop by connecting the [vd~ delayname] 
back into the [delwrite~ delayname], and multiply this by a number less 
than 1. Something between .9 and .99 will give you a good ringing sound. 
The output of the [vd~ delayname] also gets sent out to the [adc~] for 
you to hear.

Divide the samplerate by the frequency you want the comb filter to 
resonate at, then divide by 1000 to get the delay length to send to the 
[vd~ delayname]. It would be good to put your [delwrite~] and [vd~] 
objects in a subpatch with a [block~ 1] object, which sets the blocksize 
to 1 and allows for the shortest possible delay times [which in turn 
gives you the highest possible resonant frequencies].

To make a resonant series, make multiple instances of this [as 
abstractions, don't forget to use $0 in the "delayname"!], and send the 
base frequency to the first comb filter abstraction, and multiplications 
or divisions of that to subsequent "harmonic" subpatches. Integers 
[2,3,4...] will produce clean harmonics, while other numbers [.98, 1.34, 
2.22...] will be detuned to various degrees, resulting in an acoustic 
"beating" phenomenon as waveforms amplify and cancel each other out.

The same audio input is sent to all the comb filters. Sharp, percussive 
sounds will "ring" the filters, giving you a plucked-string kind of 
sound. Continuous sounds give something like a guitar or sitar type of 
drone. Try changing the multipliers of the "harmonic" filters for 
different drone or tonal effects.

All in all, I find it is much better for people to understand the 
principles of how these things work, so building your own will be great 
practice! Google for "karplus-strong" for more technical/mathmatical info.

Good luck,
derek


pun chik wrote:
> hi . can u send me an example patch of this harmonic series of resonant
> comb filters...im really interested in learning this. an example patch
> would be really nice
> many thanks
> punchik
> 
> On Tue, 08 Feb 2005 18:11:04 +0100, "derek holzer" <derek at x-i.net> said:
> 
>>Hi Marcus,
>>
>>marcus estes wrote:
>>
>>
>>>I'm a big fan of the Keith Fullerton Whitman album "Playthroughs," 
>>
>>Me too! I got a similar effect by using a harmonic series of resonant 
>>comb filters triggered by contact mike input. The mikes are attached to 
>>various bits and bobs I found in the Amazon... shells, plants, bones and 
>>other unidentifiable stuff that produce nice sounds when plucked, 
>>scraped or bowed. The comb filters are run through a granulating 
>>feedback delay that makes "clusters" of particles similar to what you 
>>hear on "Playthroughs" or "21:30 for Acoustic Guitar". Three or four 
>>delays set at irregular intervals [i.e. 3/4, 7/5, 5/9, etc] add further 
>>texture.
>>
>>
>>>I'm also a big fan of Derek Holzer's Particle Chamber patch. 
>>
>>Thanks! ;-)
>>
>>
>>>I have considered re-tooling the Particle Chamber for use with a live input,
>>>but that seems a bit tricky. 
>>
>>It's not too hard, really. Particle Chamber reads from static tables, 
>>grabbing sections of loaded soundfiles and playing them back. I've built 
>>a few adaptations for myself of this idea using delay lines instead of 
>>tables, and they perform on input audio in the same way. I just haven't 
>>cleaned them up for release yet. But if you compared the "guts" of each 
>>patch, you would find them almost identical except for the source of the 
>>sound. The mechanics remain pretty much the same. Play around with that 
>>for a while, and I promise to clean up my own version sometime in March 
>>for public release.
>>
>>best,
>>derek
>>
>>
>>-- 
>>derek holzer ::: http://www.umatic.nl
>>---Oblique Strategy # 36:
>>"Consult other sources
>>-promising
>>-unpromising"
>>
>>_______________________________________________
>>PD-list at iem.at mailing list
>>UNSUBSCRIBE and account-management ->
>>http://iem.at/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/pd-list


-- 
derek holzer ::: http://www.umatic.nl
---Oblique Strategy # 36:
"Consult other sources
-promising
-unpromising"