If you follow me on twitter, you will have seen a few recent tweets about my latest experiments with Sci Fi bleeps and bloops.
I created a MaxMSP patch that allows me to process sound files in such a way that the original file is nearly unidentifiable, and the results sound nicely tech and Sci Fi.
My process there was that over time, I created a few simple individual patches performing this sort of processing:
- Phaser+Delay
- Time Stretcher
- Granulator
- Phaser+Phaseshift
- Ring Modulator
- Phasor+Pitch Shift
I decided to assemble those patches together in such a way that I could play with multiple parameters and multiple sounds at the same time.
In order to do so, I have mapped the various values and parameters of my patch to a midi controller [KORG nanoKONTROL2], and selected a few sounds a know work well with the different items of the patch to be chosen from a dropdown menu.
This is what the patch looks like:
All the different ‘instruments’ are contained in subpatches. They are all quite simple but create interestingly complex results when put together.
The subpatches:
Organised nicely in Presentation Mode, I can interact with the different values with my midi controller:
The mapping system:
I can then record the result to a wav file on disk, which I am free to edit in Reaper afterwards, selecting the nice bits and making cool sounds effects with these original sources.
Record to file:
This process can be quite infinite as I can then feed the processed sound back to the patch and see what comes out of it.
Here is a little demo of the patch and its ‘instruments’:
And some bleeps and bloops I made using this patch:
You can visit the Experiments page to hear more tracks 🙂