Looking for plugin type taxonomic categorization opinions

[SODDI]

And I forgot a whole other category - the DIY modular synth/FX software systems like Reaktor, Synth Edit and SynCModular (defunct).

They allow you to emulate a wide range of synth engines.

[runagate]

It's probably not welcome, but here I go adding my 2 cents. But I thought about it first.

....

If you want, we can talk about the division of the FX plug-ins into "Time Domain" and other.

It is certainly welcome!

Yet for the moment I disagree, due to users' usage based on higher-order categories.

I know that there's a different in DSP techniques between synthesis which generates waveforms and sample synthesis, which plays back (usually) Pulse Code Modulation "sampled" audio, and that wavetable synthesis, granular synthesis, etc. all share this method in common.

Unfortunately, this has next to nothing to do with how people use these different techniques, and even more so how the end product is heard.

Which is why I've lumped that type of "sampler" and ROMpler together into a separate category, suggesting things which are used to play back preexisting sounds usually in order to simulate things from the real, physical, acoustical world... sort of...

To be precise, playback of any digital audio file is "sample synthesis" by the technical definition, whether .WAV or .MP3 or whatever.

Also, "synthesizer" is an incorrect term, as the idea originally applied to tone generators which theoretically were going to be used to "synthesize" the emulation of physical instruments and such, e.g. "synth brass," and so calling the category "audio generators" would be much more precise. And calling such "audio generator" audioware "instruments" is certainly treading all over a lot of grey areas. But more importantly being precise in this instance, when the purpose of categorization is mainly to aid the searching and sorting of plugins so that users can browse them more easily, would be counterproductive and likely no one would be served. Which, I suppose, is the curse of all taxonomists - precision versus common usage versus traditionally grandfathered-in incorrect definitions or incorrect usage.

For instance, some of what inspired me years ago to look more deeply into some of these subjects is that I noticed that some terminological confusion arose from different fields' practitioners used the exact same terms to refer to different meanings. Which wouldn't be so bas, except that no one necessarily noticed that the words each were using meant different things in different contexts. Such is the way of the world, but it matters sometimes when highly exacting technical matters are being discussed. For that matter, there's barely an identifiable field devoted to audio processing in the sense that we use it in, and almost all of which derives from similar domains such as telephony, sonar, acoustic physics, psychoacoustics, etc. which is then repurposed for our sub-field. And our audio processing and generating for mainly aesthetic purposes domain throws together a weird and eclectic grab bag of specialists in fields that wouldn't ordinarily come together under other circumstances. How many people combine the skill sets of musician, audio engineer, mathematician conversant in DSP, audio processing, computer programming, etc.? When you've delved into what goes on behind the scenes in computer-aided music-making some of the strange and seemingly arbitrary features of the evolution of our particular field make a lot more sense, and we're simply lucky that we've managed to attract the talent that has become interested enough to contribute! Certainly there's little academic or career rewards in aiding artistic maniacs in making strange sounds.

As to the time-domain versus frequency-domain (I had a great idea for sub-zero matrices domain mathematics used in audio processing written down somewhere), that certainly needs to be addressed but, again, as a higher-order categorization I think the taxonomy of plugins isn't really the place to include it.

I'm having a hard enough time succinctly differentiating "filter effects" from "filter processors." Generally, the "filter effect" include resonant filters (I know there's a lot of filter types, Butterworth, FIR, etc. but that's another thing not best dealt with at the plugin taxonomy level), as well as (not necessarily resonant) modulated filters (e.g. wah wah, LFO- or Step Sequencer-modulated filters, envelope filters) but not all of which necessarily include resonant filters - yet we certainly categorize them into the same group. Whereas the processors which are still being applied aesthetically more often than not, just not as a "special effect," pretty much have the same "guts" inside as the effects, perhaps just sans the modulation. For that matter, equalizers are just filter banks but we categorize them differently from simple non-modulated Low Pass or High Pass filters used, say, in mastering. Yet the division between the "special effects" and "engineering-type processors" would be a very useful distinction for everyone...

Luckily, the DSP underpinnings of different filter types, phase-correlation features, etc. can all be included in the "Traits" metatagging-type scheme, otherwise the splitting of hairs in the taxonomies would be counterproductive to their purpose.

I've split "echo" type delays, choruses, flangers, phasers and such into separate, same-tier categories (which once I read what ya'll have posted here should have been obvious to me in the first place). I am uncertain about three things at the moment, though:

1) I imagine that "Ensemble/Choir" effects and "Voice Doubling" should both fall under Choruses' category as they're almost always meant to be used in similar ways, but I'm not entirely sure since their DSP methods seem to differ more than slightly. Any advice?

2) The "Resonators" and "Comb Filter Banks" seem to belong together, even though its not obvious to those who actually know what comb filtering is why that would be a separate category from flangers and phasers, but they seem to be used the same way as "resonators" (of which I have many which aren't comb filter banks, if anyone needs examples to see wtf I'm talking about, but think along the lines of the sympathetic strings of a sitar; in fact, I use two such effects on M-Theory VSTi in the song I recently posted in the Café), which is why I specify comb filter banks in the group's name. Things like Oli Larkin's Dronebox VSTfx, which I couldn't do without!

3) "Instrument Body" type resonators/reverbs... there's a few I have and use, such as that impart the various acoustic guitar body resonation, or kazoo-emulation, or those I think SynthGeek makes with the "viola, contrabass, bassoon, etc." drop-down "resonators" lists...

[edit]

check out Nibiruby B.Serrano

4 band resonator.
It consists of 4 parallels band-pass filters with resonance and spread.
4 LFO routable to Frequency and Spread via the digital matric.

Or, similarly, Rezon8 by Rob Herder from the KVR Dev Challenge

[runagate]

Here's a quickie, partial list of Traits that've already made it into my list:

There will be so many more.

I would be extremely happy should anyone else want to add any they can think of to this thread!

<all Vendor Names>
<VSTi or VSTfx type>
32-bit Plugin
64-bit Plugin
VST v1
VST v2
VST v2.4
VST v3
VST v3.5
VST v3.5.2
Made with SynthEdit
Made with SynthMaker
Handcoded in <programming language>
Modular Synth
Has Modulation Matrix
Low Pass Filter
High Pass Filter
Band Pass Filter
Band Reject Filter
FIR Filter
IIR Filter
Side-chain Filter
Effect is Stereo
Effect is Mono
Effect is Multichannel/Surround
[auditomod] Envelope Follower
has Envelope Filter
[fx] has Envelope Filter
4-pole Filter
2-pole Filter
6-pole Filter
8-pole Filter
Supports .TUN microtuning files
MIDI Note-Controllable Effect
XY Pad Modulation
XY Pad Modulation with Physics
XYZ Pad Modulation
XYZ Pad Modulation with Physics
MOOG-style Filter
MIDI-Controllable Envelope
Multipass Filter
Peaking (BP+) Filter
Master Section with Clipping
MIDI Learn
Parameter Smoothing
Warped Linear Prediction Coding
Stochastic Step Sequencer
Dual Filter Mode (single-knob filter)
Warped Analysis Filter (a la qWarpFilter by Mutagene)
Step Sequencer - Swing
Step Sequencer - Offset
Step Sequencer - Slope Between Steps
Linear Phase Filter
Parameter Randomizer
X dB/octave Filter
Oversampled Internally
Nonlinear Filter
Barberpole Flanger
Through-Zero Flanger
Through-Zero Phaser
X-Stage Flanger
X-Stage Phaser
[auditomod] Used Delayed Copy of Incoming Audio
Supports Host sampling rate up to 44.1 kHz
Supports Host sampling rate up to 96 kHz
SSE Optimized
FFTW Library as Dependency
Mute Effect Channel in Signal Flow
Bypass Effect Channel in Signal Flow
Solo Effect Channel in Signal Flow
Multi-Tap Delay
X number of Delay Lines
[auditomod] Zero-Crossing Detector
[auditomod] Frequency Detector
[auditomod] Pitch Detector
[auditomod] Amplitude Detector
[auditomod] Tempo Detector/Beat Detector
Frequency-Warped Lattice Filter (2WarpDelay VSTfx by Mutagene)
Image File as Modulation Source
Dub Delay
Tape Delay
Analog Delay
Digital Delay
Wow & Flutter
Tooltips
X Seconds Max Delay Time
Ping-Pong Delay
Left/Center/Right Channel Independent Delays
Input Gain
Output Gain
Input Limiter
Output Limiter
MIDI Keytracking
Synch To Host Tempo
Bouncing Ball Delay
Bouncing Ball Algorithm Modulation Source
Spectral Delay
S&H (sample and hold of Random LFO) Modulation Source
Side-Chain Ducking
Ducking Delay
Reverb Freeze Feature
Pitch-Shifting Delay
Arpeggiating Delay
Granular Delay
X/Y Beat-Synch Delay
Tap Tempo Synch
Biquad Filter
Tape Noise Generator
Bucker-Brigade Delay
Disc Echo Emulator
Tape Echo Emulator
FFT Effect
FFT Frequency Masking
FFT Delay (Dynamic FFT delay by Twisted Lemon)
Spectral Compositing Algorithm (developed by Christopher Penrose, e.g. Ether VSTfx by Jez Wells)
FFT Frequency Warp (e.g. WARP VSTfx by mdsp)
FFT Dynamics (e.g. LEVELS VSTfx by mdsp)
FFT Contrast (e.g. KONTRAST VSTfx by mdsp)
FFT Cross-Synthesis (developed by Christopher Penrose, e.g. Shapee VSTfx by Jez Wells)
FFT Spectral Averaging (all these next from SoundMagic Spectral by Micheal Norris, sadly Mac OSX AU pluings)
FFT Spectral Bin Shift
FFT Spectral Blurring
FFT Spectral DroneMaker
FFT Spectral Emergence
FFT Spectral Filterbank
FFT Spectral Gate and Hold
FFT Spectral Gliding Filters
FFT Spectral Granulization
FFT Spectral Harmonizer
FFT Spectral Partials Glide
FFT Spectral Pitch Shift
FFT Spectral Pulsing
FFT Spectral Shimmer
FFT Spectral Shuffle
Spectral Transient Shaper
Spectral Distortion
AGC (Automatic Gain Compensation)
Spectral AGC
Spectral Spatializer

Notably, some "Traits" till only apply to certain categories, such as denoting that a VSTi "has" a Band Pass Filter, or a VSTi is multitimbral (since, so far as I know, no keyboard-controlled effect is...), or 16-pole applies specifically to a flanger, a phaser or a filter, etc.

[runagate]

Here's some uncertainties I'm concerned with today:

1) Plugins that remedy denormal problems (of which there's at least 2; seems to work just like Dithering plugins from what I can tell)

2) plugins that stream audio out of the DAW, such as ShoutVST by Gargaj (streams into Icecast online), tubePlug by t-u-b-e, Wormhole2 by Plasq

3) DC Offset fixing plugins (very useful, everyone should have one)

4) non-musical audio generators (test tones, Shepard tones, all sorts of odds and ends in this category)

5) Chammel Muter

6) External DSP integration (MatPlug by IHA, which connects the VST interface with Matlab, I seem to recall some scripting VSTs which obviously I can't use)

7) VST Hosts as VSTs (Sensomusic's Usine, FL Studio, Acon Digital Media's EffectChainer VST, etc.)

I can't copy/paste the updated taxonomy list nicely, which has been partially reorganized and had a lot added to it, because KVR Forum doesn't catch the tabular formatting from my word processor...

Code: Select all

1)	INSTRUMENTS
a.	Synthesizers
i.	Additive Synthesis
ii.	Frequency Modulation Synthesis
iii.	Granular Synthesis
iv.	Hybrid Synthesis (synths that use multiple synthesis methods)
v.	Physical Modelling Synthesis
vi.	Ring Modulation Synthesis
vii.	Spectral Synthesis
viii.	Virtual Analog Synthesis (OSCs & VCOs & usually VCAs thus "Subtractive Synthesis")
1.	VA Subtractive
2.	VA non-Subtractive? (i.e. doesn't use resonant filters)
ix.	Wavedraw Oscillator Synthesis
x.	Wavetable Synthesis
1.	Scanned Synthesis
2.	Image Oscillator Synthesis
b.	Samplers
i.	Sampler
ii.	ROMpler
iii.	Looper (of pre-recorded audio, as opposed to live audio input capture)
2)	EFFECTS
a.	Amplitude Modulation (AM)
i.	Amplitude Envelope
1.	Swell Effect
ii.	Rhythmic Gater
iii.	Tremolo
b.	Auditomod (audio-analysis as a modulation source)
i.	Drum Sample Replacer
ii.	Audio-Driven Drum Synthesizer (e.g. Groove Analogizer by NUSofting)
iii.	Audio-Driven Synth (e.g. Grumblebum by Tweakbench; sometimes I think of these as "resynthesis fx")
1.	Pitch-Tracking Oscillator(s)
c.	Buffer Delay Effects
i.	Buffer Stutterer
1.	Timestretch
2.	Repearter/Freezer
ii.	Granulization
1.	Granulization Delay
2.	Grain Cloud
iii.	Looper
1.	Loaded Loop Slicer/Sequencer
2.	Live Audio Input Slicer/Re-Sequencer
iv.	Varispeed
1.	Tapestop Effect
2.	Backwards Playback Effect
3.	Varispeed Audio Scrubbing
d.	Chorus Fx
i.	Chorus
ii.	Choir/Ensemble Effect
iii.	Voice Doubler
e.	Comb & Resonator FX
i.	Comb Filter Bank
ii.	Resonator Effect
f.	Convolution
i.	Convolution Reverb
ii.	Impulse Response Hardware Emulation
g.	Cross-Modulation
i.	Frequency Modulation (FM)
ii.	Phase Distortion (PD)
iii.	Phase Vocoder
iv.	Ring Modulation (RM)
v.	Spectral Morphing (2-audio input cross-convolution generally)
vi.	FFT Vocoder
vii.	Time Domain Vocoder
h.	Delay FX (likely separate these all into their own categories?)
i.	Distortion
i.	Clipper
ii.	Waveshaper
1.	Odd or Even Order Harmonic Distortion via low-order Chebyshev Polynomials (e.g. Soundhack +chebyshev VSTfx)
j.	Filter FX (resonant filters and modulated filter effects)
i.	Filter Bank
ii.	Enveloper Filter
iii.	Sequenced Filter
iv.	Low Pass Filter
v.	Band Pass Filter
vi.	Peaking Filter (Band Pass Plus)
vii.	Bend Reject Filter
viii.	Notch Filter
k.	Flanger FX
l.	Formant FX
i.	Formant Filter
1.	Vowelizer
ii.	Formant Shifter
m.	Frequency Shifters
i.	Pitch Shifter FX
1.	Harmonizer
2.	Pitch Correction (auto-tuner)
3.	Flutter Correction (possibly should be in Processor Taxa?)
4.	Octaver
ii.	Vibrato
n.	Hardware Simulators
i.	AmpSim
ii.	SpeakerSim
1.	Leslie Speaker Effect
iii.	MicSim
iv.	TubeSim
v.	TapeSim
o.	Lo-Fi Effects
i.	Bitcrusher (almost all Bitcrusher FX include Sample Decimation)
ii.	Sample Decimation
iii.	Vinylizer
p.	Multi-Fx Unit
q.	Panning Effects
i.	Autopan
ii.	Rotary Effect
iii.	Doppler Effect
r.	Phaser FX
s.	Physical Modeling FX (not sure if these belong together or sorted based on end result?)
i.	PM Plate Reverb
ii.	PM Analog Circuit Model Emulation of Gear?
iii.	PM String Resonator
t.	Reverb FX
i.	Instrumental Resonation Emulation (e.g. acoustic guitar soundboard simulation)
u.	Resynthesis FX
i.	Subharmonic Enhancement (adds bass synth to original signal)
ii.	Resynthesizer (various types, e.g. Additive, simple audio-tracking synth trigger, see Bojo Software's WaveChanger 3 VSTfx, DFX Geometer VSTfx or Lost Technology VSTfx)
v.	Spatial Effects
i.	Binaural 3D
3)	PROCESSORS
a.	AGC (Automatic Gain Compensation)
b.	Bass Enhancement
c.	Channel Strip (multi-processor equivalent to multi-fx)
i.	N-Track Mixer
d.	Dithering
e.	Dynamics Processors
i.	Compander
ii.	Compressor
iii.	Expander
iv.	Limiter
v.	Maximizer
vi.	Transient Shaper
vii.	Dynamic EQ
f.	Equalizers (EQ)
i.	Graphic EQ
ii.	Parametric EQ
g.	Exciter
h.	Filter Processors
i.	Filter Bank
ii.	Multi-Filter (multiple filter types)
iii.	Low Pass
iv.	High Pass
v.	Band Reject
vi.	Band Pass
vii.	Peak Filter
viii.	Notch Filter
i.	Latency Compensation Delay
j.	Noise Removal
i.	De-Clicker
ii.	De-Esser
iii.	De-Noiser
iv.	De-Clipper
v.	De-Crackler
vi.	De-Hisser
k.	Normalization
l.	Phase Correction
i.	Vocal Remover
m.	Routing Audio
i.	Audio AUX Bus (see MixBox VST by Tobybear)
ii.	Modular Routing Matrix
iii.	Stereo Splitter (to two mono channels)
iv.	Multiband Splitter
v.	Multiband Joiner (e.g. 3-Band Joiner VST by LOSER/Michael Gruhn)
vi.	Cross-Fader(s)
vii.	Crossover Multiband-Splitting to separate channels
viii.	Audio Summing Bus
ix.	Stereo Merger (two mono inputs into one stereo channel, useful for example for vocoder plugins that expect their two inputs on either side of a stereo pair; see Merger VST by Expert Sleepers)
x.	Transient-detecting Output Switcher (switches output channel each time a transient is detected in the input audio; see SwitcherPack by RedShift Media)
n.	Saturation
o.	Stereo Field Processing
i.	Stereoizer (from a mono input)
ii.	Monoizer
iii.	Stereo Width Processor
iv.	Mid-Side Processors
1.	M/S Encoder
2.	M/S Decoder
4)	MIDI
a.	MIDI Generators
i.	Audio Analysis as MIDI Note Message Source
1.	Audio Gate for Piezo Drum Pads (e.g. Drum Direction by FrettedSynth)
2.	Pitch-Tracking Note Generator
ii.	MIDI Note Generator
1.	Piano Roll
2.	Step Sequencer
3.	Tracker
4.	Matrix Sequencer
5.	Algorithmic MIDI Note Generator
6.	Stochastic MIDI Note Generator
iii.	MIDI Modulation Source
1.	MIDI LFO
2.	MIDI Step Sequencer
iv.	MIDI Program Change Messages
v.	MIDI SysEx (system exlusive) Messages
vi.	MIDI Arpeggiator
vii.	MIDI Auto-Chorder
viii.	MIDI Algorithmic Note Generator
ix.	MIDI Clock output (e.g. Clocker VST by Expert Sleepers)
x.	MIDI Stochastic Note Generator
xi.	MIDI GUI Interface
1.	GUI Instrument Control Surface
a.	Piano Keyboard
b.	Strum Pad
c.	Drum Pads
2.	MIDI XY Pad
a.	MIDI XYZ Pad
b.	MIDI XYZ Pad with Physics Emulation (ricochet, inertia, orbital)
3.	GUI DAW Control Surface
a.	GUI Mixer
b.	Mackie Control Universal GUI
xii.	Control Surface for specific External Hardware (synth, MIDI controller, etc.)
xiii.	MIDI Morphing (interpolate between two MIDI parameter settings then outputs them, see Middi Morphy VST by d3ck)
b.	MIDI Filters
i.	Audio-Analysis as MIDI Modulation Source
1.	Amplitude to MIDI
2.	Enveloper Detector to MIDI
3.	Frequency to MIDI
a.	Pitch to MIDI
4.	Zero-Crossing to MIDI
5.	Beat Counter to MIDI Tempo
ii.	MIDI Note Filters
1.	Force to Range (e.g. octave transposition, or a particular scale/mode)
2.	MIDI Note Velocity Control Curve
3.	MIDI Arpeggiator
4.	MIDI Note Velocity-Controlled MIDI Channel Switcher (see J's VST plugins)
5.	MIDI Chord Note-Channel-Switcher (see J's MIDI Tools VSTs)
6.	MIDI Note Delay
7.	MIDI Note Recorder/Playback/Looper
8.	MIDI Note Scale/Mode Quantizing
9.	Polyphony Limiter
10.	MIDI Sostenuto (Sustain Pedal Simulator)
iii.	Channel Rerouters
iv.	MIDI to QWERTY (see midi2qwerty VST by piz)
v.	CC# Filters
1.	MIDI CC Stepper (un-smooths incoming data)
2.	MIDI CC Control Curve Remapper/Editor (see NicFit's Control Curve VST)
3.	MIDI CC Smoother
4.	MIDI CC Re-Router (see MIDI patch bay VST by Daniel Smith Music)
5.	MIDI CC Jitter/Humanization/Randomizer
6.	MIDI CC Morpher
7.	MIDI CC Value Limiter
8.	MIDI CC Value Inverter
9.	MIDI Aftertouch to CC
10.	MIDI Monitor visualization?
5)	UTILITIES ("Other")
a.	Audio Analyzer/Visualization
i.	Spectrogram
ii.	Phase Correlation Meter
iii.	Peak Meter
iv.	Stereoscope
v.	Tempo Detector/Beat Counter
vi.	Waveform Visualizer
vii.	Loudness Analyzer
viii.	Oscilloscope
ix.	VU Meter
x.	Spectrum Analyzer
xi.	Sonogram
xii.	Bit Depth Meter
1.	Inter-Sample Distortion Meter
xiii.	Tuner (usually a Guitar Tuner)
b.	Audio Recorder
i.	N-Track Recorder
ii.	Wav File Recorder
iii.	Pre-Roll Recorder
c.	Controller Integration External HID (to MIDI or automation)
i.	ASCII to MIDI
1.	QWERTY keyboard to MIDI
ii.	Mouse to MIDI
1.	3D Mouse to MIDI
iii.	Touch Tablet to MIDI
iv.	Wiimote to MIDI
v.	Joystick/Gamepad to MIDI
d.	Information Feedback Utilities
i.	Clock (Bars/Bears/Ticks, Hours/Minutes/Seconds/Frames)
ii.	Time Counter (opposite of a Stop Watch)
iii.	Sheet Music Display
iv.	Notepad
v.	Metronome (whether outputs audio ticks or MIDI)
e.	External DSP Integration (e.g. MatPlug by IHA, which connects the VST-interface with Matlab)
f.	VST Host as VST (e.g. Usine as VST, FL Studio as VST, Acon Digital Media's EffectChainer VST)

[runagate]

Hmm, it seems hard to get helpful opinions around here nowadays. Which is odd, since I can think of innumerable developers and their plugins which could greatly expand the scope of these taxonomies.

I edited in the correct link for the Word Doc essay, tested it to make sure it works, and updated the document itself to include:

FX Categorization Essay, Synthesis Categorization Essay, Unclassifiable VST FX Essay

It's about 90 pages long. Bear in mind that none of it was ever edited for public consumption, and oftentimes uses some of my own shorthand and neologisms I use "in-house" when working on my hubristic projects with my co-conspirators over the last 5 years or so, but I'm pretty sure most things are either defined or you can safely ignore them if they're not clear in context. My thinking on such things has evolved over the years and if you think those essays are baroque, you should see the couple dozen notebooks full of scribblings sitting here in front of me from the intervening period of time.

[runagate]

ᛠ ⅊ ⨘ Ⰼ