Hear the excitation
Begin bright enough to hear the noisy burst that starts each note.
Listen for: A tiny scrape at the front of the pitch.
Open PS-KS and try it →Plucked string from noise
A burst, a tuned delay and a feedback loop become something string-like.
Sound recipe8 minutesEasyacousticphysical
You will make
A responsive synthetic pluck whose pitch and decay emerge from a feedback loop.
Shape it, one move at a time
Control the damping
Increase damping to remove high frequencies on every trip around the delay.
Listen for: The imaginary string changing from hard and bright to soft and worn.
Open PS-KS and try it →Shape the decay
Raise feedback for a longer ring, but leave enough loss that notes eventually clear the space.
Listen for: A natural fade rather than an envelope simply turning down.
Open PS-KS and try it →Play different registers
Compare low and high notes. The same algorithm reveals different imperfections at different delay lengths.
Listen for: Low twang, high tick, and a family resemblance between them.
Open PS-KS and try it →Make it yours
- Darken the excitation for a nylon-string impression.
- Use very short notes in a repeating pattern to make the model feel percussive.