Above: The final synthesizer design, winner of 2nd place at the Monash University Spark Night Awards
What is it?
A physical modelling synthesizer is a musical instrument that generates its sounds with the help of computer models that simulate the physical properties of real instruments.
In this project, I created my own version of one of these synthesizers, using modern hardware. The synthesizer is capable of the following models:
- Commuted 1D Waveguide (Strings and tubes)
- Flute (variation of the 1-D waveguide model)
- Banded Waveguide (Bars – xylophone and marimbas)
- Karplus-Strong (Plucked string)
Furthermore, a 2D mesh simulation was created, however isn’t playable in real time.
Explanatory Video
Here is a 15 minute long video that goes through how the instrument works, and the history of digital waveguides:
Final Report
As part of the final year project requirements, I had to create a report that detailed the entire process of creating the synthesizer. This is available in its entirety here. The report covers how the software works, the electrical schematics, and theory behind the models.
Code
The code for the synth is available on Github here. Audio samples of the various instruments are also available here. Big thanks to deadsy for his googoomuck synth project, it really helped me a lot in understanding how digital audio worked.
Poster
Finally, I created a poster to display on Spark Night (the final year project presentation night).
If you have any questions about the synth, or are interested in doing something similar, feel free to email me.