Muff's Modules & More

[dualmono]

I'm wondering how to synthesizer the characteristics of a plucked string with yer basic set of modules.

I checked the "String modeling" chapter of James J. Clarks "Advanced Programming Techniques for Modular Synthesizers", but hes doing it with virtual delay modules, and I wasn't able to translate it to the analogue world really.
I also read up on the "Synth Secrets" series at soundonsound, but the part about plucked strings was very theoretical and didn't spark any ideas to be honest (except that I don't have enough modules, doh.), or should I say didn't pluck a string in me, ahem.


Any hints?

Edited: a stray 'e' and 'c'

[John Noble]

What kind of string? Pizzicato cello or metal fingerpicks on a banjo? Maybe a harp?

I luck into these sounds, mostly: sometimes it's just FM with a variable index, sometimes it's a wave folder, sometimes it's a big plate of spaghetti and I don't know how it happened.

[hiawog]

[edit: removed link to sos article] oh my bad you already read that; and you're right it's not very helpful. sorry for being an idiot.

[jah_vengeance]

would this not just be the karplus-strong technique?
ie, using a very short (bbD) delay, for the decay of a short noise burst

[Liddlepud]

Karplus strong using a Doepfer A188.1 BBD module

Have look on their page

http://www.doepfer.de/A1881.htm

[jjclark]

Hi, its James "J" Clark (no E)! And can just replace the virtual delay modules mentioned in my book with analog delay lines, as long as they have the right delay time range (typically shorter delays are better that longer delays for Karplus-Strong synthesis).

[aethersprite]

E340 > LPG

[megaohm]

Delay lines are definitely good for this, but not necessary.
Plus:

[dslocum]

[dualmono]

John Noble, everyone
I was thinking of clavinet like string sounds. I know theres a variety of clavinets, and you are able to adjust the pickups to drastically alter the sound and filter it (envelope follower/filter), but clavinet-like was the general idea (minus the envelope filter). Mostly a strong non dynamic attack and, if desired, long sustain with a nice stringy and buzzy (without being earpiercing) texture.
Not looking for a clavinet simulation, just this kind of timbre to dabble around with.

jah_vengeance, Liddlepudb
I will look into the karplus-strong technique.

jjclark
Oops. My apologies. I will edit that!
And I know exactly why that mistake happened. Just today, I was talking to my friend, who is in her end exams in philosophy and preparing for an oral exam about artificial intelligence, and we were talking about Isaac Asimov. Arthur C. Clarke came up, of course, and it was fresh in my mind when I posted my original question, if you catch my drift.

megaohm, John Noble
I will keep the VCF/VCA/Decay EG feedback and wavefolder in mind.

dslocum
Thank you for your thorough patch idea.
There it is again... Linear FM. Darn. Am I glad when the DPO hits my eurorack to finally be able to Lin FM without reaching to my Moon rack and a bucketload of adapter cables.

I was posting in a thread, where I tried to understand, whether an exponential input could be fed in such a way as to counter the exponential characteristic.
In that thread I was told, scaling a modulation to a logarithmic scale would yield the desired effect, but only for the positive voltages, which in turn could be countered by biasing the input of the log converter, but resulted in a very limited range.
Someone should develop a utility module for just this application. Grumble-grumble.



For the karplus-strong technique, would I need several delay units, or would one (the one I have is the Pittsburgh Analog Delay) suffice at a short repeat, high feedback settings?


This whole idea came up, because I remembered that I, like megaohm and John Noble, once accidently had a patch with a plucked string-like sound going. But I can't find either my recording of it (luckily I should add, for if I would find it, I'd be even more frustrated, because I wouldn't be able to figure out how I did it) nor the photo I took of it (if any).

So I once had it, but now its gone... Be embraced, oh wonderful world of modular patching.

The only hint I have, is that it was around the time when I experimented with the Maths 'bouncing ball' patch. Probably I used the bouncing ball patch to buzz the sustain of the 'string'. I tried to start with that, but I can't for my live recreate what I have in mind it sounded like.
And I'm dead sure, I even had it going like a plucked string on every ball bounce (probably with a second Maths) like so:
Sprooooooing___________________Sprooooooing_____Sprooooing_SproooingSp rooingSproing
Aaah, isn't this embarrassing... reverting to such a description while a professor is reading this...



@moderators
Thanks for moving me and my narrow eurorackhead into the correct sub-forum.

[jjclark]

For Karplus-Strong you only need one delay unit. Your main problem is going to be tuning it.

[JohnLRice]

I don't have a patch suggestion for you but I recommend getting the book The Acoustical Foundations of Music by John Backus

You may already have this book or similar knowledge but for anyone synthesizing the sounds of acoustic instruments, this is a great starting point as it explains how instruments and sound in general works and interacts.

[megaohm]

[Just me]

I was able to get clavinet and plucked string sounds out of my ARP Odyssey when I had it. I'll dig aroind and see if I have the patch sheets.

[dualmono]

[Funky40]

[Navs]

I've had very pleasing results with complex waveforms and envelopes.

Use a wavefolder or audio-rate PWM, a clean filter, one envelope to FM the VCO for plucked pitch bend and another with an extremely exponential decay for a natural 'tail'.

Some examples:

http://navsmodularlab.blogspot.de/2012/01/patch-of-day-highly-strung.h tml
http://navsmodularlab.blogspot.de/2010/03/potd-toppo-banjo-wonky-beat. html

If you want nylon string sounds, try some dynamic linear FM with an even C:M ratio, like 2:1 etc.