Moselle Soft Synth Project

[Swiss Frank]

Hi Guys,

I'm a big Korg fan from way back (having had a DW-8000 from 1985, and a Polysix being the first keyboard I ever touched).

I've spent a year or two on a large synth software project, and getting near the stage where I'll release it. I'm looking for a good forum to talk with other people who dig this stuff--while I'm sure there are some others on this forum, I do realize its predominantly a Korg forum.

If you have an idea of a more appropriate or targetted forum for this sort of project let me know.

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In 1948, computers were programmed with patch cords, but the size of projects grew unmanageable. That's when people started to dream of simply being able to write their software as equations, in what was to be called a programming language.

Synth software, so far, hasn't seemed to go in that direction. Instead it seems to fall into two broad categories: 1) those that attempt to reproduce the look of physical synth hardware, down to scratches, masking tape, and drooping patch cords; 2) spftware that is still graphical, but that works on a schematic basis. In fact even physical synths such as the V-Synth GT attempt to show you "traditional" knobs and switches on an LCD. (One wonders what the all-software recreation of THAT will look like in 10 years.)

As an additional option to musicians, therefore, I'm attempting to provide a text-based patch language for anyone that needs it. I have a PC program letting you edit and play patches (currently only with the computer keyboard and speaker).

In terms of spec, there's no limit to modules per voice or number of voices, though the computer will limit you somewhere. The sound modules currently are:

-- Oscillator
saw, and PW square and triangle
can be used at any frequency from LFO to audio
supports sync, FM

-- Envelope
infinite number of Levels and Rates
also accepts ADSR terminology (actually DAIDBSSR)

-- Filter
resonance (but doesn't self-resonate)
lo- or hi-pass
2, 4, 6-pole



Generally speaking, a voice with say 9 oscillators, 2 filters, 2 LFOs, a couple envelopes, can support at least 4-5 voice polyphony on a 2009 laptop. It could be a lot more efficient, but a modern computer will give enough horsepower to record at least one track at a time...

The "browser" software has a main window (showing CPU performance etc.,) patch editor, keybaord peformance input window, and oscilliscope.

I'm trying to attach some screenshots from Facebook.

Basic oscillator (actually, four of them, on the real-time oscilliscope):

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid= ... 1278661772

From the docs, explaining the DAIDBSSR notation (you can also use L0,R1,L1, etc. notation for more complex envelopes):

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid= ... 1278661772

Envelope in action, showing output with linear and log slopes:


A six-sine-oscillator FM patch a la DX7. (Note this can be filtered etc as you wish.)

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid= ... 1278661772

Another random display of a couple dozen cycles of a synth note:

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid= ... 1278661772

A single cycle of a note, showing in blue the sum of a bunch of detuned sawtooths (raised to various exponents to give them that curve and keep them from cancelling each other perfectly), and in green the same waveform after its gone through a lo- and hi-pass filter in parallel (which could also be thought of as a band-cut):

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid= ... 1278661772

The peformance input window allows playing around with patches without a MIDI input device (eg, on a laptop on the road). You can map the keybaord layout and the meaning of the keys flexibly in a config file; I made this file to match my Thinkpad, and show a couple octaves of key input:

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid= ... 1278661772