Analog Elements?

Hi, first post in the forum but have been using reaktor for a while now and would first like to thank all the builders for the great synths and effects, i am interested in starting to build now and know various things already but im wondering about something.

I am planning to make a bass synth and the idea is to make it sound retro and a warm sound and from what i have read most analog synths have various things which give them the warm sound but i havent really come across many macros covering analog componants like transformers, vacuum tubes (valves), transistors etc so im just wondering if it's actually possible to recreate these using reaktors maths modules and filtering etc. At the moment i don't really understand core stuff and will have to read into it for sure so if possible if anyone knows how standard maths would be alot easier for me to follow. So yeah is there any of these elements in any current synths etc i could look at or maybe any macros would be a huge help. Thanks

 

You'll have a more fruitful time, I think, exploring what comes easy in Reaktor first. Analog and digital synthesis are built on the same principles -- oscillators, control signals, mutilations. They differ in how they accomplish those particular tasks, but if you're just starting out, the commonalities are much, much bigger than the differences.

First try plugging a sawtooth oscillator through a low-pass filter and modulating the various controls (attack time, release time, filter pitch, etc.) Those broad brush strokes will get you 95% of the way to most common synth sounds. The details will flesh themselves out from that foundation.

 

Ah yeah i have actually done that and know theres a few sharktooth style saw's macros in the library which is basically what some analog gear waveforms will look like. I actually know a fair bit about synthesis in general but just new to the reaktor platform in terms of actually making complete projects.

What i had in mind was to have a set of oscs of all sorts and then have a valve with a mix control to enhance the oscs and make them more phat sounding but also use the analog componants in distortion effects etc later or in other projects.

Im guessing some of these elements are similar to slight overdrive or saturations however i havent really seen much stuff online about recreating them in reaktor etc so no doubt they are very different. But im sure they might be able to be re-created with a few special maths setups or macros but have no idea how so i was hoping someone might be able to help me on the way, Thanks

 

i would also love some tips about how to emulate analog artifacts!

 

Search these forums using key words like analog, emulation, vintage etc.

I remember some very good threads way back (2002 - 2006).
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IMHO the key to emulate analog feel is to break away from the mathematical perfect oscillators, filters etc. Add random factors to just any parameter. Also try leak some signals where it's not supposed to go....and add some saturators/unlinear respons along the signal and control path.

In my uploads I've made some simple stuff. But you can do so much more...

 

My suspicion is that if you just play around and make a bunch of stuff for a while you'll eventually strike upon a definition of "phat" that is meaningful to you. For some people that means distortion, for others phase relationships between oscillators, for others detuning the oscillators, for others weird unpredictable resonances across the keyboard ... all of which are programmable, as soon as you know what it is that you're trying to do.

 

Sorry i don't mean to sound ungrateful but the question i asked wasn't how to get a phat sound, i can already see how some synths achieve that in the library, but i wanted help on the actual componants mentioned transformers, vacuum tubes etc

A bass synth would be just one example of a use for them really but i would be interested in putting them in a compressor etc also which wouldn't even use oscs for a vintage feel but other uses too.

 

If you want to emulate a tube and are willing to ignore the possibility that the output at time t depends on previous values of the input (that is, sluggishness), then you could just use a distortion unit as an approximation. If you want to take sluggishness into account, you'd need some sort of low-pass filter involved as well. This isn't based on any physical model of a tube, but it would get you something that behaves similarly.

I suspect sluggishness for typical vacuum tubes may be negligible in the range of human hearing, but I'm not sure on that point.
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If yuo check out the thread called something like "Help on Amp/Mic/Cab simulation for guitar" by HorusChild, he talks about a paper that described how to model a tube.

 

Thanks i will search for the thread, doesnt have to be spot on really for any of these things just a fairly reasonable recreation in digital form because i know they react differently after having been run for a certain amount of time and room temperature on some units etc.

Edit -

http://www.native-instruments.com/forum/showthread.php?t=67222

Heres the thread (i think) for reference