[Edit: Scrapped all the delay line considerations because none of them can do short enough delays for my purposes, which is stuff like instrument body modeling (violin = .02ms for a 500hz resonance), karplus strong, etc. I replaced it with something I can program my own algorithms with in PureData. Also I'll be able to do stuff like modal synthesis in 'hardware' without needing to buy a dedicated module (or trust anyone else's implementation). I'll also be able to upload my custom talking vowel filter that I already have ready to go (5 formants deep!) :D. I just hope the processor is strong enough to keep up. The Salt has a better processor but both audio in and out are only 44.1hz which is fine for final products but not for stuff that's still being processed.]
Hello all, I've been lurking this site for quite a while now and am considering pulling the trigger on (starting) a build in the near future. My budget is set at 4k, but I know the general advice is to purchase modules slowly. I've been playing with synths, virtual modular programs, and things like CSound and PureData for over 10 years so I do have an idea what I'm doing, how things work, and what my goals are. I will be extending off a Behringer Neutron which I've had for around a year now. I love the immediate and tactile nature of it, and find it way more inspiring than clicking around on a computer. It's also far more performable, and I don't have to spend hours trying to patch up a MIDI control interface to interact with what I create -- the knobs are just there.
This is the build to work toward, and I've outlined my goals and potential solutions to them below. I'm looking for feedback! If you see anything important I've overlooked, know of a more efficient way, or see separate modules that may be reduced to one single module I haven't thought of please let me know!
(note: the bitbox is not going to be in the rack. It's a placeholder for the blackbox which costs exactly the same)
Goal:
Primary: Physical modeling, TZFM, Utility holes in Neutron
Secondary: Generative
What the primary goal requires:
1 TZFM oscillator
a way to model an instrument's body
cover the most frequent things I wish I had while patching the Neutron:
1 full wave rectifier (to pair with neutron slew for an envelope follower)
1+ VCA
1+ EG
9000 attenuverters
Secondary goal requires:
Clock toys
LFOs
Sequencers
Quantizer
etc.
Choices (*frontrunner, current choice):
TZFM osc:
FM ogre
Only does sin waves but has a 's