Distortion & Safety (Pure Data Tutorial)

[@speedwolf]

Thanks man, Not only saved my ears and laptop speakers it also gave me a cheap and easy method to add crazy distortion safely to drums.

[@SoundSimulator]

2 in 1 package!!

[@rbat5555]

You could also play with [tanh~] (not Vanilla...but you could find a Vanilla abstraction from the Heavy Library) Similar to a soft clip distortion, very fun on drums!

[@pablodelpozo8930]

This is great advice! I always encourage my colleagues to use a safety mechanism like clip~ or in some other cases, in MaxMSP, the limi~ object, specially when working with feedback networks.

[@SoundSimulator]

Definitely! [clip~] is specially crucial when working with feedback!!

[@tuorbe]

agreed ! esp when working with microphones as input. I've been making some fun fbdns with condensor mic'd instrms (with phase inversion) and playing with using [dentist~] to knock out (most) bins, if they still start to spiral off into infinity [clip~] saves the day :)

[@SoundSimulator]

​@@tuorbe That's true! I sometimes forget that Pure Data & Max are great for working with acoustic instruments! Controlled feedback with acoustic instrument/vocal is fun too!!

[@TheOleHermit]

Another great instructional video. Yes, I have to be very careful to avoid clipping and blowing out my galvo amps. Been planning to add a software limiter from the Teensyduino library. Lots of fine tweaking in progress. Just got 8 waveform channels mapped to the Akai APC40 MIDI desk, using a great free MIDI connector app called Pocket MIDI. But, it doesn't have the virtual synth GUI of PD, so I'll be using both. It solves some of my patching issues with Cakewalk's DAW. I like the way that the 8 channels extend from the Akai controller up to the touchscreen PD GUI(s). Yeah, multiple PD GUI layers. Historical & 'How to DIY' documentary is in production. BR😎

[@SoundSimulator]

I really hope you have been documenting all of these! Always looking forward to seeing the project and a feature length documentary!

[@ermitec]

It introduces aliasing as it can be seen in the spectrum analyzer, this introduces non harmonic frequencies which even though can be used creatively, for oscillators does not sound "good", perhaps some upsampling would alleviate this issue.

[@SoundSimulator]

Yeah, that's something to look out for! Thanks for pointing that out!!

[@peexzar4127]

Gracias! Ya lo utilizo, pero con tus gráficos me queda muy claro su uso y sí es muy útil para la seguridad auditiva y para la generación de armónicos ✌️😁

[@SoundSimulator]

I'm glad you said that!! Yes, this video could've just been "Use [clip~]! It can be a limiter and also distortion!" but I wanted to show more of how it works visually!

[@dorklymorkly3290]

pure data should have a failsafe built in then, by default, and it has to be overridden by an object.

[@shu2985]

thanks! i wonder how to have a spectrum analyzer in pd? does it have an objects or external already, or do you program it? :D

[@josefranciscomarinespinoza8116]

Lot of thanks

[@SoundSimulator]

You're welcome! I'm glad you liked the video!!

[@ramalshebl60]

great tutorial, but this is referred to as hard-clipping, right?? how do we do soft-clipping instead?

[@Mr_Frequency]

Yes, soft clipping could be achieved by running it through a logistic or inverse tan function.

[@mastermeenie]

Does the dac~ object not clip at +1 and -1 anyway?

[@youcaillou]

Would you consider pd reverbs somewhat safe if we clipped to +/-1 before the dac~?

[@SoundSimulator]

I thiiiiink so? To be honest, I got traumatized by that reverb and didn't end up testing, haha. I mean, even if the volume is limited, no reverb should result in a wall of noise if you set the wrong parameter. Proceed with caution! :D

[@Jameslow2486]

Thanks for making

[@SoundSimulator]

You're welcome!!

[@luckysun1852]

before seeing this video, I usually open up audio hijack, run a session and put a limiter on it

[@SoundSimulator]

That's a valid approach too 👍

[@radiomature]

tanh!

[@SoundSimulator]

Yes! [tanh~] can be installed as an external! I'm surprised why it's not in vanilla Pure Data...

[@calixtopascoalel7023]

There is expr~ object, which has tanh implemented: [expr~ tanh($v1)] If there is need for more cpu performance, there is also a rational tanh approximation that works between -3 and 3: tanh(x) ~= x*(27+x*x) / (27+9*x*x) and that can also be patched as ordinary abstraction.