My saugns program / SAU language project is mostly a personal experiment at present, and from early 2023 it has grown more original audio oscillator variations. I've explored using a wider range of non-periodic (or technically just very-long) waveforms in a through-zero oscillator. I've never seen a "noise oscillator" that can be fully modulated (FM & PM) elsewhere, as I've implemented. The design I use would allow this for other numerical sequences too, in place of PRNG noise functions.
The general idea is described in an article series on my blog, where the recent Part 4 on quasirandom sequences marks changing focus from types of pseudo-random noise oscillators. It's a start in exploring other kinds of numerical sequences that can be placed in an oscillator and drive a waveform with choice of pitch and interpolating line, but apart from using additive recurrence for deep metallic sounds, stuttery tones, and soft sawtooths, I think there's plenty else I haven't tried out. (Those who just want to look at waveforms and listen to audio clips can find most of it in Part 3.)
But there's a restriction on what kind of numerical sequences can be used this way with good performance and no need for a look-up table. They must have this form: a function f(n) = ..., where n is the position of the value in the sequence, and the value is to be inserted in the role analogous to a crest or a trough amplitude. And in constant time, the value for position n must be calculated from the integer n. This allows PRNG use (I have such functions), but beyond that and the additive recurrence "noise" (Part 4), any ideas for other things to try and plug in?
I think some of the kind of numerical sequences that may be interesting have mainly been explored for other things including graphics processing before. But there could also have been a wide range of audio generators using suitable sequences, only not inside of the kind of oscillator I want but in something less flexible.
Finally, I hope I made those articles understandable for any other developer who may be interested in exploring this variety of less typical oscillator. (Part 3 describes the algorithm.) I've not discussed this more than a few times on the web yet, but I think it has some potential as it allows for a wide range of sounds. (But I think most potential musical use would only happen if it arrives with a GUI, maybe as some plugin for this or that.)
Statistics: Posted by joelkp — Mon Aug 26, 2024 9:24 pm