This week, I worked on writing code for the unison detune effect (branch). I did some research online about the actual application of unison detune in commercial synthesizers, and I learned some of the different parameters and modes for configuring the effect. For one, the spacing between the detuned frequencies and the central, original frequency could be designated as:
- standard: where the spacing is the same throughout, like: | | | | |
- exponential: where the spacing increases as the difference between the frequency increases, like: | ||| |
- inverse logarithmic: where the spacing decreases as the difference between the frequency increases, like: || | ||
Since we are only using one rotary knob to control the unison effect, we were not planning to implement multiple modes. I decided to write my implementation as the exponential mode, because from what I heard from some of the examples online, the resulting sound given by this mode has the most potential, and it sounds the closest to our expectation of the unison detune effect.
I am on schedule so far. My stereo decoder is still on its way, and it will hopefully arrive soon. After receiving the necessary board elements for playing audible sound, I will be able to tune the parameters more easily. Next week, after integration, we will be done with our third checkpoint. After that, we can start on our fourth checkpoint of implementing the arpeggiator effects.