Effects Design in Advanced Production

In this course students will learn the fundamentals of effects processor design in analog and digital systems. Using modular synthesizers and Max/Gen/RNBO, students will design compressors, limiters, no-input mixers, autofilters, comb filters, delays, choruses, flangers, and reverbs. The course will teach students how simple components can be combined to produce complex, non-linear circuits—much in the same way that synthesizer modules can be restructured for varying forms of synthesis. Students will integrate the control systems of effects with synthesizing by analyzing the shared components of both systems. Special emphasis will be given to the role of feedback, as it undergirds most effect designs. Students will learn how negative feedback acts as a regulating force in compressor design and how algorithmic reverbs created from feedback delay networks implement positive feedback to simulate room resonances. Basic physical modeling techniques such as Karplus-Strong synthesis are also taught. This course will prepare students for a wide variety of industry positions including studio production, DSP, and hardware design.