Sound Synthesis in MaxMSP
This post includes code examples in MaxMSP, demonstrating basic principles of audio digital signal processing and sound synthesis.
Amplitude Modulation
Following is a basic amplitude modulation example, a technique used in digital signal processing.
To open the examples you need to install MaxMSP.
Here is the link to download the amplitude module max file.
Ring Modulation
In this ring modulation example there are two carrier frequencies that are simultaneously being processed by the same modulator frequency resulting in a specific sound synthesis technique.
Here is the link to download the maxpat file.
Frequency Modulation
Following, there is another code example written in MaxMSP that shows a very interesting synthesis method named Frequency Modulation. For more info concerning this technique have a look at this tutorial.
Here is the link to download the maxpat file
Additive Synthesis
The next example demonstrates the principles of additive synthesis, a very popular synthesis technique that essentially uses the addition of sine waves to create more complex timbres. The following code is also written is MaxMSP.
Here is the link to download the maxpat file.
Discrete Summation
Discrete summation in sound synthesis was introduced in the 70s, as a mathematical formula that could be applied to sound synthesis to create complex and interesting sound spectra. Here is a link to a few more details concerning the synthesis method, and following you may find the code example in MaxMSP.
Here is the link to download the maxpat file.
Waveshaping
The last synthesis method uses a waveshaping technique to generate the new sound spectrum. With a Chebyshev polynomial a non-linear function is used to modulate the carrier oscillator. The transfer function that is created distorts the original signal in unlimited different ways. You may have a look at this tutorial in Waveshaping, and check the following code written in MaxMSP.
Here is the link to download the maxpat file.
