FX INTRODUCTION / WORK IN PROGRESS

Learn FX by listening and writing code

Change loudness, chop sounds, and distort waveforms. Explore small PCM transformations, filters, and reverb through editable Playground examples.

This series is a work in progress. Drafts of all 19 chapters, from Gain to formant voice experiments, are available. Their explanations and examples will be refined through listening.

Start here

  1. Gain: multiply the waveform — prototype
    Explore amplitude and loudness with the built-in Gain and multiplication in liveFx.
  2. Slicer: chop a sustained sound — prototype
    Change Gain periodically and carry the processing position forward in state.

Each article embeds an editable Playground. Run starts playback; Stop ends it. Edit code and press Run again to apply changes, then compare liveFx input and output in FX Monitor. Use View to switch between Oscilloscope and Spectrum. Stop the previous Playground before comparing.

Further topics (drafts)

Move from transforming the current sample to using history and storing past audio. The following drafts include simplified implementations for learning.

  1. Distortion — reshape waveforms to create harmonics
  2. Bitcrusher — amplitude steps and sample holding
  3. Filter — use the previous value to change sound
  4. EQ — adjust strength in separate frequency bands
  5. Wobble — move a filter periodically
  6. Envelope Follower — the basics of tracking input level
  7. Noise Gate — reduce quiet sounds
  8. Compressor — reduce loud sounds
  9. Delay — read past audio
  10. Flanger — move and mix a short delay
  11. Chorus — add movement and thickness
  12. Reverb — combine delays into reverb
  13. Combining FX — series, parallel, and processing order

Voice experiments with formants

Use liveFx to shape a harmonic-rich source into synthetic vowel colors. These are formant-filter experiments, not LPC emulation or microphone-driven vocoders.

  1. Formant vowels — F1, F2, F3 and continuous a / i / u / e / o morphing
  2. Formant voice — LFO-controlled resonances for a vocoder-like color
  3. Pitch and vowels — control source pitch and vowel color independently
  4. YM2612 formants — use FM feedback harmonics as the source and control pitch and vowels separately