synaptic resonance

Synaptic Resonance is a neural vocoder-style effect where incoming audio excites a 2D simulation that then drives a 40-band resonant filter bank.

The point was not just to make another vocoder with a more unusual interface. The point was to let the sound pass through a system that behaves more like a living lattice than a direct band-opening analysis stage.

Incoming audio, or optional sidechain input, stimulates a two-dimensional field of neurons connected by synapse-like behaviour. A separate read plane then samples that activity and maps it to a bank of steep resonant bandpass filters. So the input does not directly control the output bands. It first excites a system with charge, inhibition, fatigue, recovery, and memory-like imbalance, and that system shapes the response.

That is what makes it different from a regular vocoder. It can do the expected vocoder-like thing if you keep the planes fairly close and use sidechain in a more direct way. But as you move the planes apart, rotate them, or modulate them, the lattice starts to matter more. Then it turns into something less literal: animated resonant filtering, unstable spectral movement, and sometimes a kind of half-biological, half-synthetic texture that is difficult to get from a more normal filter bank.

It is a good fit for:
- vocoder and resonator processing
- hybrid carrier/modulator setups
- animated spectral movement
- users who like model-driven DSP behaviour
- experimental tools that still have direct controls.

It is probably not the right plugin if you want:
- transparent utility filtering
- completely deterministic static-band behaviour
- very light CPU use
- a strict traditional vocoder only.

A big part of the concept is that the visuals are tied to the same system that drives the sound. The animated lattice is not there just to look busy. It is the same engine seen from another side.

There are no hidden panels or extra pages. Everything important is in front of you.

Highlights
- 2D neural simulation core
- separate Stim and Read planes
- 40 resonant fixed bands
- sidechain-capable carrier/modulator workflows
- movement that stays connected to the source without tracking it literally.

Compatibility
- macOS 10.15+
- Windows 10/11
- macOS: AU / VST3
- Windows: VST3.

Full walkthrough:
{See video at top of page}

Sound demo / patch ideas:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ix7s8ming7o