Controlling the VOSIM sound synthesis system

Abstract

This paper gives first a brief glance at an alternative system for digital sound synthesis which is known under the name VOSIM. The cycle of a VOSIM time function consists of a series of sin²‐pulses. The amplitude of the successive pulses decreases uniformally. After the last pulse there is a delay. The main parameters for describing a VOSIM signal are: pulse width, number of pulses, rate by which the pulses decay, length of delay and overall‐amplitude. The model suggests additional parameters which have to do with how the sound changes as it progresses. VOSIM is particularly suitable for producing sounds with formants such as speech and musical sounds. VOSIM oscillators are intelligent ones and as a consequence they are complex to control. For this reason the MIDIM control language has been developed and will be discussed briefly in the last part of this paper. For a more comprehensive presentation of the MIDIM language cf. pp. 83–161 of this issue.