KNS01

programming

Jan 14

KNS01 is a Max for Live prototype device that explores modeling of analog modules, basic oscillator shapes plus a ladder filter. Additionally, the device is setup to explore polyphonic expression without needing an MPE controller – with various sets of independent controls for pitch bend and detuning, panning and timbre.

Overview

KNS01 is a prototype synth of sorts. In this particular instrument I wanted to explore a handful of design topics, both on the programming (Max/MSP) and sonic fronts.

With the programming side of things, the sound engine was developed almost entirely in Gen, with polyphony handled by RNBO; the hope is to one day port this instrument to either other plugin formats (AU/VST), and/or the web.

Sonically, I’ve been tinkering with ‘analog’ sounding oscillators, so I digged into a number of sites and forums in search for various anti-aliased oscillator designs as well trying out the various ladder designs that are readily available – at this stage I’m using the design found in Csound, as I found it the more ‘unstable’ – more resonance and slightly unpredictable (in terms of volumes, etc.), which I found in the end to be more musical. BTW, I highly recommend Vult DSP analog models (found on VCV Rack and Voltage Modular), designed by Leonardo Laguna Ruiz. What you’ll find here doesn’t really come near those modules, which are beautiful! But they present a decent compromise for working with Max externals that have been relatively easy to implement (one day perhaps I’ll learn C++ and port his designs into Max – they can be found in Pure Data, as far as I understand).

There’s a third element which is performance control. For the past year, I toyed with various MPE controllers: Roli designs, Sensel, Keith McMillen’s K-Board. Currently, I’m feeling that ther musical expansion we can get from these controllers, we can hone with traditional controllers.

With that said, I got myself a relatively cheap MIDI controller, the Korg nanoKEY Studio…

There are various reasons why I picked this controller in particular:

It combines the best of all worlds: cheap, portable, a variety of controls.
It offers Bluetooth MIDI, which is much welcome to move around on stage!
After experimenting with alternate controllers, I came to the conclusion that (for myself), I prefer to have a standard keyboard. In the world of electronic music and sound design, yes we can open up expression to the ‘non-tonal’ realms, but overall, I found it easier to adapt a standard (tonal) keyboard to perform ‘non-tonal’ sounds, than the reverse (adapting a non-standard keyboard to tonal needs).
Because I’m still interested in polyphonic expression, the included X/Y trackpad comes in quite handy (more on this soon).
Another realization that I arrived at is that, for all the experimental expressiveness one can find in alternate controllers – at least in my case, working with other performers onstage – at the end of the day, I really appreciate having precise controls, i.e. a knob that when it’s at minimum, it really is at minimum, when it’s in the middle, I can also find that precise setting, etc.

In conclusion, the Korg’s physical components are a little ‘light to the touch’ in my opinion and they could be more precise still (e.g. knobs skip every other number from 0-127), but for the price I paid, I’m content with what I got. Still, the combination of all th above made it a great controller to be on the move, be portable, and try experimenting with all these ideas.

Now, the deeper thought behind all this. I’ve played the viola for many years, and I can see now the beauty behind these ancient designs. Changing pressure on the bow, at the same time as I change its speed and also slide my left hand across the fingerboard – that’s a combination of many parameters that move together to create very subtle sound variations; and that’s what I understand the development of MPE to be: it’s to give digital controllers a more complex/complete expressiveness. Still, the challenge is to find a compromise between ‘too many controls’ and ‘too little.’ When we are only playing with say the cutoff frequency of a filter, that alone renders the expression in the sound one-dimensional and (to me), not quite yet all that musical. However, when we have way too many controls at hand, the first thing to go is our ‘musical mindset’, as we end up being distracted with all the technical details of controlling too many things at once.

And there is the reason for developing this instrument: I wanted not only to play with synth components (oscillators, filters, etc.) that are ‘musical’ but also experiment with polyphonic expression, manually, so to speak.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at the four basic panels behind the KNS 01…