so i guess i did kinda want to get into building my own plug-ins. it started out as me seeing if i could get a couple of open source plug-ins building on linux, mostly because i brought my naughty "plug-in collector" habits with me from windows.
like a lot of people, switching to linux was a chance to re-invent my musical journey, at least technically (and also to go on a plug-in diet). but, we really don't have a shortage of great audio software on linux... and more is showing up literally every day. it's never been a better time to switch to linux.
i've been very much into ultra-modern software these days, so i figured i would point my personal gang of digitals at some plug-in ideas... you know... just to taste the beer on my lips a little bit.
fast forward a couple of weeks... and now i see building my own studio processors... really getting in there and making choices about DSP, and design, as the ultimate version of "i don't use other people's presets." i want to get in there and discover my own sound. and i find myself really getting much more deeply involved with my own plug-ins. because i'm driving the design process, i'm automatically more in-tune with how best to use them in my music.
i'm still actively working on getting what's already on my plate (anpheq and glassmemphis) released... but i'm also learning more about what i like in a great reverb. i don't know what other people are listening for when they're auditioning reverbs... but when i'm doing it, i'm looking for a way to "glue on" the right space. and when i add the reverb to something, it should feel like it was always meant to be there, and that removing it makes the audio seem artificial. that's my standard.
this reverb i'm working on is called queencharlotte...
queencharlotte is designed to reverse engineer algorithmic reverbs from impulse responses of real places... i'm designing it to contain a curated set of real-space-based algorithms that i like in my music. you might like them, too? who knows!?
that user interface, tho. that user interface is far from my final answer. i haven't quite cracked it yet... glassmemphis has this trashy future-retro swagger that it just sort-of fell bass-ackwards into. anpheq has this clean and austere vibe that makes me want to finely balance frequencies. but queencharlotte hasn't quite found her vibe yet... she'll figure it out.
queencharlotte was inspired by a plugin called "Ambience" by OTODESK... which was one of those plug-ins i just wanted to get building on linux. famous last words.
the demo track is a writing outtake from the ultrasigil1 record i'm writing, called salt path. salt path is a weird little electronic dirge... tinkly little cymbal taps that keep the pace for angular guitars surfing on top of an analog poly (can you guess which one?)
i've rendered the track with two different reverb treatments. the first is based on a capture of the gold foil reverb by Studio Nord Bremen. the second is a full acoustic model of Spokane Woman's Club built from impulse responses in the OpenAir project. both versions include a render that's just the reverb return soloed, so you can hear just that part in isolation.
i like both of those for completely different reasons.
plugins when?
the fact that you're reading this site is a fantastic indicator that the plug-in releases are coming soon. they'll be available right here on this very web site. this is my new music practice forever home.