Objective

As you may have inferred from my path so far, I'm learning each opcode one by one. I read the documentation, set up a test system, and then try different variations to see if I can generate a sound that I like. Today I'm working with hsboscil.

Strategy

hsboscil takes a different approach. The timbre of the sound is controlled by three main factors:

• Fundamental Frequency--(ibasfrq in hsb01.csd, below) Answers the question "What note is that?"
• Tonality--(ktone) Not at all like the tone control on a guitar, this seems to refer to the "bend factor" of the higher octave harmonics relative to the fundamental. In other words, ktone = 1 gives standard octaves (no bending).
• Brightness--(kbright) The relative weighting of the higher harmonics.

In contrast to subtractive synthesis, which starts from a waveform with high harmonic content and uses filters to shape its timbre, hsboscil apparently generates the harmonic profile by adding the actual waveforms.

Result

I tried four instrument variations, each playing permutations of an Em69 arpeggio:

1. 1001 -- Constant tone and brightness.
2. 1002 -- Tonality used as vibrato; constant brightness.
3. 1003 -- Tonality constant; brightness exponentially descending.
4. 1004 -- Tonality as vibrato and brightness exponentially descending.

Conclusion

I was very pleased with the sound of the fourth instrument (1004), which is reminiscent of a Fender Rhodes, but not a mere clone. This instrument has a lot of potential for future exploration -- several parameters I chose were given arbitrary limits or parameters (the shape of the exponential curve, the pattern of the vibrato.)

The next task would be to make this instrument 'subtly in stereo'.