{"id":514,"date":"2010-01-30T13:27:17","date_gmt":"2010-01-30T12:27:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/macumbista.net\/?page_id=514"},"modified":"2012-11-22T23:21:46","modified_gmt":"2012-11-22T22:21:46","slug":"particlechamber","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/macumbista.net\/?page_id=514","title":{"rendered":"Particlechamber"},"content":{"rendered":"

Particlechamber by Derek Holzer<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\nParticlechamber<\/strong> is a 32-voice asynchronous granular synthesizer for real-time transformation of a soundfile. It is loosely based on the famous Travelizer instrument from Reaktor 3, however I think it’s much better because it is FREE!<\/p>\n

This abstraction can be used to time-stretch or time-compress a soundfile, although there are other tools [such as Frank Barknecht’s synchgrain<\/em> object] which do this “nicer”, but it’s main strength is in generating clouds of sonic particles, time-scrambling a file, or creating abstract textures. If one does a bit of reverse engineering, it can also be used as a tool for learning about the techniques of granular synthesis. I have left a subpatch inside the granreader <\/em>subpatch where others can add their own grain-level events, such as randomized or constant-Q filters or windowed envelopes, to see what is possible with this technique. Of course, I can only highly recommend Curtis Road’s amazing book Microsound<\/em> for those interested in learning more about granular synthesis.<\/p>\n

Download Particlechamber<\/strong> here:
\nhttp:\/\/www.puredata.info\/Members\/derek\/Particlechamber.zip<\/a><\/p>\n

Particlechamber Audio Example<\/h3>\n

Particlechamber<\/strong> was used to process the gongs on the following track:<\/p>\n

<\/param><\/param><\/embed><\/object> Derek holzer-metallophone drift<\/a> by macumbista<\/a><\/span> <\/p>\n

Running Particlechamber<\/h3>\n

Particlechamber<\/strong> requires a few externals to run. It uses freeverb~<\/em> for its reverb section [although you could easily replace it with another reverb], and uses the grid<\/em> external as a major GUI element [although you could hack your way around it if you can’t install grid<\/em> by sending numbers directly to the table_locator<\/em> subpatch. Look inside for details…]<\/p>\n

NOTE: the reverb section is currently broken, due to a change in the <\/em>freeverb~ object which took place since I originally published this. It will be fixed in the new 2010 release.<\/em><\/p>\n

I recommend using the current Pd-Extended<\/strong> version for your computer to run Particlechamber<\/strong>, found here:<\/p>\n

http:\/\/puredata.info\/downloads<\/a><\/p>\n

For those new to Pure Data, I can also recommend the Pure Data FLOSS Manual<\/strong> as an introduction:<\/p>\n

http:\/\/en.flossmanuals.net\/puredata<\/a><\/p>\n

Using Particlechamber<\/h3>\n

Open the Load<\/em> subpatch and click the bangs to load samples. It is better to do this before you start playing, because loading soundfiles can cause audible glitches in Pd’s performance. Sorry…<\/p>\n

The red buttons mute and un-mute the file granulator and the reverb. The large vertical sliders are gain for each section. The reverb is post-fader from the file granulator, and can be bypassed either by muting it or with the wet\/dry slider.<\/p>\n

The envelope<\/em> is a linear ramp, so a length of 0 means a pure triangular “window” for each grain. [(envelope x 2)+length=average grain length in ms]. Stereo_spread<\/em> randomly pans each grain to a wider or lesser field. The range<\/em> feature randomizes each parameter as a percentage plus or minus the given number.<\/p>\n

Asynch<\/em> randomizes which grains are passed through, from almost none to all. Vox <\/em>activates or deactivates each of the 32 voices. Grain_spread<\/em> makes small adjustments in the read position, which can be used to either add a reverb- or chorus-like effect, or to completely time-smear a file. Jitter<\/em> makes larger adjustments in the read position, resulting in various degrees of time-scrambling.<\/p>\n

The XY controller at the bottom determines the read position in the sample. This controller has an interpolation<\/em> scale, adjustable by the gear-shift on the right. This means that Particlechamber<\/strong> will scan more slowly or quickly through the file depending on the cursor’s Y position multiplied by the interpolation factor.<\/p>\n

Warranty & License<\/h3>\n

Particlechamber<\/strong> is free software and comes without any warranty that it will do ANYTHING like what I say it will. Enjoy it all the same. It is released under the GNU General Public License<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Particlechamber by Derek Holzer Particlechamber is a 32-voice asynchronous granular synthesizer for real-time transformation of a soundfile. It is loosely based on the famous Travelizer instrument from Reaktor 3, however I think it’s much better because it is FREE! This abstraction can be used to time-stretch or time-compress a soundfile, although there are other tools […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":370,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-514","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/macumbista.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/514","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/macumbista.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/macumbista.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/macumbista.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/macumbista.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=514"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/macumbista.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/514\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3106,"href":"http:\/\/macumbista.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/514\/revisions\/3106"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/macumbista.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/370"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/macumbista.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=514"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}