Pulsar synthesis

The Pulsar synthesis is one of Curtis Roads described type of synthetic sound generation and belongs to the group of granular synthesis . While with other synthesis forms a whole band is generated from the specific waveform and then pitch-shifted depending on the frequency , the oscillators of pulsar synthesis generate individual periods of pulsaret length and intergrain time, which can be changed in length independently of the fundamental frequency.

functionality

The oscillators of pulsar synthesis are sound generators that provide the usual raw material of waveforms (such as sine or sawtooth ). They differ from other forms of synthesis only in that they generate the waveform in individual pulses ( grains ) and the pulsaret length can be changed during generation. A grain consists of the pulsaret length, which contains the actual waveform, and the integrain time. The integrain time is the zero line to fill the period. As with any other form of granular synthesis, these grains are copied and put together depending on the fundamental frequency. By greatly increasing the pulsaret length, it can make it longer than the basic period. As a result, the next pulsaret is started before the end of the previous one and overlaps it for a brief moment.

Difference to pulse width modulation

The pulse width modulation is a modulation type that is used for many synthetic forms and is therefore not a separate type of synthesis. The width of the pulse (pulsaret length) can be changed, but the period remains the same. Thus, only the ratio of pulsaret length and integrain time is changed directly, while the constant periods as a whole band of the waveform are pitchshifted depending on the desired frequency. With pulsar synthesis, however, the individual components of the period (pulsaret length and integrain time) can be varied. Thus, for example, the pulsaret length and the integrain time can be increased while the ratio remains the same. This is possible because the next period can start before the previous one is completed. Thus, the pulsar synthesis is also considered an independent form of synthesis.

Occurrence

The first VSTi synthesizer that works with pulsar synthesis is the NUKLEAR from Hamburg-Audio, released in 2011. The pulse modeling synthesis (IMS) is a further development of the pulsar synthesis. It was used in the 2013 RayBlaster by Tone2.

See also

Granular Synthesis | Pulse width modulation

literature

• Curtis Roads: Microsound. MIT Press, Cambridge MA et al. 2004, ISBN 0-262-68154-4 .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Hamburg-Audio ( Memento of the original from October 23, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.