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Phase and Amplitude Distortion Methods for Digital Synthesis of Classic Analog Waveforms

An essential component of digital emulations of subtractive synthesizer systems are the algorithms used to generate the classic oscillator waveforms of sawtooth, square and triangle waves. Not only should these be perceived to be authentic sonically, but they should also exhibit minimal aliasing distortions and be computationally efficient to implement. This paper examines a set of novel techniques for the production of the classic oscillator waveforms of Analogue subtractive synthesis that are derived from using amplitude or phase distortion of a mono-component input waveform. Expressions for the outputs of these distortion methods are given that allow parameter control to ensure proper bandlimited behavior. Additionally, their implementation is demonstrably efficient. Lastly, the results presented illustrate their equivalence to their original Analogue counterparts

Authors: Timoney, Joseph; Lazzarini, Victor; Carty, Brian; Pekonen, Jussi
Affiliations: Helsinki University of Technology, Espoo, Finland; NUI Maynooth, Maynooth, Ireland(See document for exact affiliation information.)
AES Convention:126 (May 2009) Paper Number:7792 Import into BibTeX
Subject:Sound Design and Processing

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