My latest revisions of my #ShermanikFilterbank preset has seen me refit my mixer and aged #ShermanFilterbank in to my workspace for A/B comparison adjustments of resonance response, amplification and overall feel.
I have a confession. I built my preset after my audio interface failed and wanted to explore these sounds, but until today have not had a local comparison to work with.
1/n
I was not thrilled to find that filter 1 on my hardware unit is faulty, but filter 2 works fine and sounds reasonably similar to my preset.
My plan is to spend some time aligning the response of the various knobs in the preset to be closer aligned to the hardware unit. And fortunately I can do most of that with only one working filter.
2/n
Much of today disappeared into comparison testing my #BitwigStudio #ShermanikFilterbank preset. I’ve decided that it sounds so different that it is now at v4.0.
Is it a good idea to knowingly use a semi-non-functional piece of hardware as a guide? Maybe. Have I found that everything influences everything else in a messy-yet-musically pleasing manner? Yes!
I had built the ADSR portion as entirely focused on modulating the resonance, but in reality the cutoff frequency bounces a little…
3/n
Or a lot depending on how much it is added or subtracted. The envelope follower in previous versions was too responsive and slowing it allows for “fluttering”.
The resonance wants to sit just on the edge of self-oscillation so the pitch doesn’t dip if it goes too deep into self-oscillation.
The cutoff frequency then becomes somewhat “elastic” based on how much modulation is added or removed.
It feels like I need to do a bit of gain management to enable proper howling. It’s getting close.
4/n
The fluttering resonant frequency response is one of the things I have been trying to achieve where the filters ride and sing along the leading edge of the envelope follower. Or “chirp” across the transient. And suddenly the #TB303 origins rise into focus.
No #AI could solve this #ElectronicMusic #3BodyProblem - it takes deliberate personal struggle, critical listening and a willingness to adopt radical ideas of interdependent relationships to understand and bring to life.
5/n
My #BucketList has meeting #HermanGillis of #Sherman at the top. I would love to have a few hours to talk with him and appreciate his process of discovery. He is an under-appreciated #genius .
Now I need to rewrite my instructions page and curate versions so previous editions remain available in case anyone is actually using my preset for production and #music snd #SoundDesign purposes.
6/6
Postscript. Here is a little audio sample of my #BitwigStudio #ShermanikFilterbank v4.0 in development. There are #BonkWave #ElectronicMusic possibilities here. Mind your ears as it gets screechy and loud.
Post postscript. Today my #ShermanFilterbank is behaving more typically today. Dirty pot made better by using? Switching and turn it back on again?
More critical listening shows I was close but not on the mark yesterday. Today? A lot closer. I want to add some basic switches to adjust the envelope follower to smooth it and attenuate in heavy signal conditions.
#ElectronicMusicProduction in #BitwigStudio with custom grid presets…
Post post postscript. Clearly there are things that happen to semiconductors as they age and so I have added an "Age" modulator that introduces random cross-modulated wiggles that attenuate in the longer the gate is open. #Wibbly #ElectronicMusicProduction in #BitwigStudio and ideal for #BonkWave - whew.
Time for bed and dreaming of making some exciting music.
Chris Mills