Re: [linux-audio-user] Decent reverb, and DSP in hardware?

From: Mark Constable <markc@email-addr-hidden>
Date: Wed Jan 26 2005 - 17:13:31 EET

Steve Harris wrote:
> Well, I'm not a reverb expert, but my impression is that convolved reverbs
> are the way to go*. The actual code is relativly simple, and we allready
> have open source examples, and its possible for people with decent
> recording equimpent and access to spaces with interesting acoustics, or
> artificial reverb units to capture thier own impulses. They can also be
> synthsised using a method similar to raytracing.

Sounds encouraging. Surely there is a really obvious and
common set of a dozen or so presets that would cover 90%
of most users needs ?

To me, the main need for a highly configurable interface
is because there is no obious "Hall 1" thing to click on
so, sure, we need reverbs interfaces with lots of intricate
and barely understandable options... if these mythical presets
were well targetted and convincing then most folks would not
need to understand the inner sanctum of audio engineering
to have some half decent onboard reverb.

> The downside is that the parameters you can control are very limited, and
> it burns quite a lot of CPU power, and there can be latency. The upside is
> that the sound can be very good.

Most encouraging.

> There is an obivious technique to prevent any latency problems, but bits
> of it are probably patented by Lake DSP, though the situation is a bit
> murky.
>
> If I had more time I'd like to take the code in brutefir and make it into
> a DSSI plugin with a simple dropdown select-an-impulse, set gain type
> interface.

Sounds like a plan.

> I have a sizeable library of impulses, but unfortuantly I dont know the
> provenance of many of them.

Uhm, what's that mean in English :-)

> * In the interests of full disclose, I have an addiction to convolution
> that should be decalred :)

Sounds like a safe enough addiction... Steve, what would you
outline as the most direct path to solving the general problem
of not having decent open sourced reverb code under linux ?

In my wildest dreams I'd like to think "we the community"
could get it together to even fund an effort like this to
ensure "we" have a solution sooner than later. I mean, it's
going to cost me, and anyone else, quite some dollars to
buy decent hardware so it makes practical sense to me to put
those dollars into an open sourced solution that is then
available to everyone. Pay once, use everywhere.

--markc
Received on Wed Jan 26 20:15:14 2005

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