Idea for a modular analog component effect plugin

[greendoor]

Disclaimer: I haven't seen anything like this before, but it seems such an obvious idea, please excuse me if it has been done. Also, we have established in a recent thread that I am a fool with nothing worthy to offer KVR, so there is no need to waste your precious time abusing me. If what I am about to say offends you, please start a seperate thread to abuse me, so we can stay on topic.

What I would like to see in an effects plugin:

Imagine a plugin that is similar to a modular synth, except it is for the purpose of wiring models of electronic components together, for the purpose of building effects.

Imagine a blank slate, with nodes for Input and Output. Imagine you could choose components from a list: transformers, resistors, capicitors, tubes, transistors.

Imagine that you could draw nodes on this blank slate, and then draw in connecting wires, or connecting components. Imagine you could adjust the parameters of these components - e.g., you could set the resistance or capacitance or inductance values.

Imagine you could simply insert a transformer between input and output, and then play with various coil turns or taps to see how it affects the sound.

Imagine you could build a Fender Bassman tone stack from a schematic, and then alter resistors and capacitors to tweak your sound. Or build a FuzzFace from a schematic. Or a Vox wah, or Bucket Brigade delay, or whatever takes your fancy.

Imagine that each component was a simple VST .dll, so that many different developers could collaborate on the same project.

Imagine that you could export any created project as a standalone VST plugin.

Would this be of interest to anyone? Has this been done?

Is this too complicated for typical plugin users to comprehend?

[brok landers]

Disclaimer: I haven't seen anything like this before, but it seems such an obvious idea, please excuse me if it has been done. Also, we have established in a recent thread that I am a fool with nothing worthy to offer KVR, so there is no need to waste your precious time abusing me. If what I am about to say offends you, please start a seperate thread to abuse me, so we can stay on topic.

What I would like to see in an effects plugin:

Imagine a plugin that is similar to a modular synth, except it is for the purpose of wiring models of electronic components together, for the purpose of building effects.

Imagine a blank slate, with nodes for Input and Output. Imagine you could choose components from a list: transformers, resistors, capicitors, tubes, transistors.

Imagine that you could draw nodes on this blank slate, and then draw in connecting wires, or connecting components. Imagine you could adjust the parameters of these components - e.g., you could set the resistance or capacitance or inductance values.

Imagine you could simply insert a transformer between input and output, and then play with various coil turns or taps to see how it affects the sound.

Imagine you could build a Fender Bassman tone stack from a schematic, and then alter resistors and capacitors to tweak your sound. Or build a FuzzFace from a schematic. Or a Vox wah, or Bucket Brigade delay, or whatever takes your fancy.

Imagine that each component was a simple VST .dll, so that many different developers could collaborate on the same project.

Imagine that you could export any created project as a standalone VST plugin.

Would this be of interest to anyone? Has this been done?

Is this too complicated for typical plugin users to comprehend?

sorry if you might know about it allready.
even if its not as deep structured as you might desire, check this out:
http://www.kvraudio.com/get/670.html

[stefancrs]

Modeling analog components is _slow_ and practially not doable in real-time for audio usage. Softwares like 5spice (http://www.5spice.com/) and the like use heavy oversampling to simulate analog components in a digital environment.

The components can't be separate VST .dll's, because you need per-sample feedback connections etc to make most analog circuitries, and VST plugins render on a buffer basis, not per-sample basis.

[greendoor]

Thanks - yes, I checked out Quantum-fx db-audioware some time ago. It's more high level, and I wasn't so impressed. I'd rather just chain or route my own choice of VST plugins.

Some of the serious high-end analog stuff is actually very simple circuitry - less components means less noise. Optical compressors use a light dependant resistor and a light bulb - very simple circuit but highly effective.

It seems to me that it should be relatively easy to model individual components. I believe a lot of electronic circuit design is done with modeling software that is similar to what i'm describing.

I believe Torben's Kjaerhus stuff is put together in a similar fashion, according to his website.

[Kingston]

Imagine that you could draw nodes on this blank slate, and then draw in connecting wires, or connecting components. Imagine you could adjust the parameters of these components - e.g., you could set the resistance or capacitance or inductance values.

Imagine you could simply insert a transformer between input and output, and then play with various coil turns or taps to see how it affects the sound.

Imagine you could build a Fender Bassman tone stack from a schematic, and then alter resistors and capacitors to tweak your sound. Or build a FuzzFace from a schematic. Or a Vox wah, or Bucket Brigade delay, or whatever takes your fancy.

Well there is always spice and its variants. You draw a schematic and you can feed it audio to simulate things if you want to. There's just one drawback: it would take a renderfarm of machines to simulate something as complicated as even a guitar preamp in realtime! These things are extremely CPU intensive and that's why you don't see them anywhere around here. Sure there's a lot of "secondary effects" of analog circuitry being calculated by spice as well, like thermal effects and electrical bleed. Unfortunately omitting these still isn't enough.

The process of simplifying the model is something only extremely talented programmers and designers are able to achieve in good quality. Soon as you simplify, sound suffers.

There are several good methods to start simplifying and "digitasing" the scmematic models and the behaviour of analog circuits. One of them is state-space modelling, which is what sonalksis and simulanalog do. I suppose since the simulanalog guy is working on amplitube2 we'll see something interesting there as well.

[shamann]

I suppose since the simulanalog guy is working on amplitube2 we'll see something interesting there as well.

Is he? He did the Scarbee VKFX, too.

[Galaxy5111]

while it's not exactly what you asking for, this was just posted on the news page today
http://www.kvraudio.com/get/2003.html - PlugIn Constructor v1.0
haven't tested it out yet myself but it seems similar to synthedit only it doesn't do vstis' yet.