What happened so far?
Aside from a crude mockup in Max MSP, a diagram helps envision the signal flow and processing points of the plug-in now. The diagram is also quite a handy tool to identify challenges, as it lays the main idea out in a layout that is simplified, but representative of the core idea. Parameters have been defined and narrowed down further.
I have also been provided with copies of all three volumes of Electronic Music and Sound Design – Theory and Practice with Max 8, which I am using as a reference and also a learning opportunity to further familiarise myself with the Max environment.
The objective at this is to research and further refine the direction of the project. At this point, the audio signal chain has the potential to work, but the time stretch unit does not work by integrating PaulXStretch into the patch as an external VST, since the audio needs to be manually imported and exported in the application.
Top Objects
In the mockup, the bangbang object proved very useful to initiate the loading of a list of parameters in a umenu – to experiment, this was done with a list of parameters from Valhalla Supermassive, but the same procedure could be useful later down the line for menus that should operate similarly.
Results and Reflection
The biggest challenge at the moment is the PaulXStretch implementation. The lack of documentation of the application makes it difficult to decipher which algorithms make the parameters work, and since it is at the top of the signal chain it blocks the audio signal from coming through to the next stages of processing. More research on the Paulstretch algorithm will be necessary. Furthermore, the commercial nature of my ideal reverb for this project makes it more difficult to implement, meaning that now is a good point to look into alternatives and emulations.
Objectives for Next Week
- Research reverb properties, documentation, and open source emulations/alternatives
- Research publications on the Paulstretch algorithm
- Find a good tool for pitch-shifting and EQ
Research Resources for Next Week
Timbral effects the Paulstretch audio time-stretching algorithm (Colin Malloy)
An approach for implementing time-stretching as a live realtime audio effect (Colin Malloy)
Max 8 Handbooks (Volume 1-3) – Alessandro Cipriani, Maurizio Giri
Valhalla Lear Resources (Plug-In Design)
