Combellish (Beta)- Comb filter-based phase shifter-y-thing

[Duckett]

I had downloaded cbuntz's "Endless phaser stereo", and got to playing around with it; what I ended up with is certainly inefficient, and no doubt there's already easier/cleaner ways to get the results I did, but I like what it can do.

What's going on is basically a comb filter, 2 envelope followers, 3 frequency shifters, and 6 "interpolated delay from analog kit" (sorry, there's no credit in the schematic- is that Spogg's?). also having cannibalized the wet/dry blend module from MV's M7.. there's various minor adjustments to things like min/max values, floats, de-zipper constant, etc. The look of the thing is still at the "it'll do for now" stage, and I'm pretty sure my grasp of implementing a preset manager that works the way it's supposed to is flimsy (other than making sure the host can see parameters for automation).

Even though some folks might not have a way to automate plugin parameters, I still didn't want to try stuffing LFO options etc. as getting all that to work with my newbie kludge of a schematic is far beyond my meager talents. The pleasure for me in Combellish is mostly in light touches- the ability to nudge a knob or two to get juuust the right unique effect. It's of course good for the usual duties (turning a raw sawtooth into something string-machine-y, or erzatz rotary-type effects for organs, getting in touch with your inner Hendrix), but I've also enjoyed putting complete mixes through it barely wet, and twiddling knobs until a little spatial magic shines through.

Those who wish to improve anything, make a glistening GUI for it, etc.- please feel welcome to; I only ask that you not let my little half-grown mutant out in public until Daddy Duckett think's it's old enough to play with the big kids. Apologies if I've forgotten to credit any module's designers, certainly not intended. I made only 8 presets out of 64, not all knobs are labeled, some readout values aren't particularly logical, use at your own risk, do not operate heavy machinery or vehicles while using Combellish, blah blah. Hope somebody finds it at least... interesting?

[k brown]

I think it's crying out for a companion enhancer-y-thing called Brush-up-oid.

[Duckett]

LOL, absolutely. "Order now and receive 'Flossifizer' absolutely free!"

Just a lazy portmanteau of "comb" and "embellish". I'm sure you've heard this before, but when your synths started popping up, I was intrigued- then when I saw just how many of them there were, I was frankly astounded!
Even with knowing you weren't trying to emulate or make soundalikes, the research, design, and GUI work involved is no small potatoes. The great thing I've noticed with what are remembered now as "ye olde days" of VSTs was the repetition of a cycle most easily exemplified by things like drum machines, or the 303- instruments that grew to be appreciated for their own sounds, instead of what they were originally designed and marketed for.

I get a tad weary of the endless "who makes the best MiniMoog emu", etc. discussions elsewhere on teh interwebs.
The Elektrostudio bundle didn't sound exactly like the hardware originals, and yet they made a lot of people happy.
With your work, they look great, have things the originals didn't, are also free, and let people explore the quirks of both the original architecture, and what happens when that's expressed in a digital realm. What's not to like?

[k brown]

Woah - a free commercial Very kind words. and thanks for understanding the intent of my attempts.

[Duckett]

Hey, thank you- it's people like you, Spogg, and all the others who have been willing to to make great plugins as a labor of love, instead of a form of income (not knocking payware devs, just don't have time for those who automatically assume "free" = "garbage").

I forgot to mention- I'm mourning the death of my 2011 JBL LSR monitors (need to replace the capacitors), so Combellish was worked on without the benefit of hearing what it sounds like through speakers, as opposed to headphones.

I would at some point like to release Combellish out into the wild, but not before I at least get some feedback and have a chance to make what improvements I'm personally capable of; I know people are busy, and have better things to do than help me make a better plugin, but whatever can be offered would be greatly appreciated; I know Combellish runs fine on my 64-bit Win 7 sytem in REAPER.

[Spogg]

I like this!
I’ve always loved the sound of phasing and flanging for some reason.

I like that you’ve included a looped clip for testing, as well as a basic synth source. That’s very considerate of you, as test sound sources are often absent in uploads, so you then have to set that up yourself, and that starts off the auditioning process with a minor irritation.

What I found really frustrating was the lack of meaningful labels for the controls, so I messed about with it but couldn’t work out what did what. I presume that will come in time. Also I would like to see some sort of help text provided. For example I assumed the Attack/Decay sections were envelope generators, until I looked inside and saw they were envelope followers, but I couldn’t work out (easily) what they did.

I think this is showing a lot of promise and, if you work on it a bit more, it could well be a great plugin, so good luck and thanks for sharing.

Cheers

Spogg

[trogluddite]

Some lovely swirly sounds there, and very smooth sounding; I guess thanks to the oversampling. I did panic a bit at first when my laptop's CPU started maxing out - but it turned out it was the huge scope, not Combellish, that was getting too greedy (if anyone else experiences "spitty" audio, do try deleting the scope before passing judgement!)

It's also nice to find someone else who likes to play with frequency shifters - I've been messing around with them myself a lot lately, and I think they're a lovely alternative to modulated delays for a more subtle kind of phasing.

[Duckett]

Thanks much Spogg and trogluddite for the feedback; proper knob labeling will happen- what I'd like to eventually implement is a switchable "control tips on mouse hover", and I'll include an "About" box to describe the signal flow.

I will update Combellish when the next round of improvements is completed; again, thanks for the feedback!

[Duckett]

Suggestions implemented, plus four more stereo modes, minor tweaks, GUI changes; updated .fsm in original post.

[Duckett]

Another update- added additional L/R volume/pan controls, pre-chorus/flanger, changed hop values for freq shifters.

One thing I haven't figured out how to do correctly- setting default values for controls; for instance, I'd like the new volume controls to default to 100%, and the pan to default to hard left/hard right, respectively. The "default" settings (0-1) in the preset/properties have been changed to what I thought would be correct for each knob, but all knobs in Combellish default on init presets to some odd position around 8 o'clock. I know it must be something simple I'm missing, but don't know what.. could someone enlighten me?