NOTAM

May 1, 2001 12:00 PM, By Howard Jonathan Fredrics

           
 

NoTAM's DSP 1.0 ($27) is a remarkably inexpensive CD-ROM designed for teaching basic principles of the physics of sound, synthesis, and signal processing while offering serious sound-design and mixing tools for professionals and amateurs alike. Originally intended for use in Norwegian public schools, the disc includes a helpful beginner's tutorial with sound examples for illustrating concepts and techniques.

DSP is a standalone Windows application that installs on your PC, but you must have the CD in your drive to run it. The program consists of integrated synthesis and signal-processing tools for generating and modifying mono WAV files and also has recording capabilities. In the Mixer window, you assemble files into Projects that contain as many as five mono tracks. You can edit the volume and pan settings for each track individually using graphic envelopes prior to mixing down to stereo 16-bit WAV output.

In keeping with the program's budget-conscious nature, DSP should work with any standard Windows audio hardware. Although the printed documentation says that the program loads only mono files that are less than ten seconds, I recorded and loaded significantly longer files. The mono limitation, however, makes DSP unsuitable for working with stereo submixes.

Power and Convenience

DSP's main recording, editing, and synthesis functions are conveniently located within submenus of the Sound menu. There you have access to several synthesis techniques including simple FM, dual-formant buzz, plucked-string physical modeling, a white-noise generator, and 8-partial additive synthesis. Using the onscreen Record and Play buttons to record a sound from your computer's microphone or line input is ridiculously easy. However, you can't adjust input levels from within the program; you must use your system mixer for that. You can have only one file open at a time in the main editing window, so there's no way to cut, copy, or paste between files.

The program provides tools for fading and adjusting the amplitude of selected ranges, and navigation tools include Horizontal Zoom and Fit Selection Within Window. (According to the manufacturer, a vertical-zoom capability was omitted to limit window clutter and to simplify program operation.) Throughout the program, submenus feature a uniform interface with color-coded breakpoint envelopes and sliders available for most parameters. I wish it had precise displays of parameter and timeline values, but for teaching concepts, simplicity is a compelling virtue.

Sonic Food Processing

The Distortion submenu contains various tools for modifying sounds: Granular Synthesis, Time Stretching, Forward/Reverse Playback (scratch), Spectral Sieve, Spectrum Shift, and Random-note Playback. I found the Spectral Sieve and Spectrum Shift features to be especially unusual but musically useful. The filtering capabilities of the Spectral Sieve are well suited for homing in on varying degrees of the most significant spectral components, letting you create a wide range of sonic variants for a given sound. The Spectrum Shift tool adds or subtracts a fixed frequency from each of 40 analyzed partials, thus transforming harmonic spectra into wildly dissonant collections of inharmonic partials, an effect that works well on the spoken word.

The Effects submenu offers the standard fare of reverb, delay, and chorus, as well as a multimode filter, ring modulator, and harmonizer. Unlike most hardware delay units, DSP's delay has breakpoint envelopes for delay time and feedback amount, as well as wet and dry mix parameters; creating cool Doppler effects is a snap. In addition to the built-in reverb, the program provides a bonus utility for simulating various rooms. With that utility you can use a 3-D graphic to modify the placement of mic and source within a user-defined room size and shape.

Online Extras

NoTAM provides a handy Web site for downloading additional sound samples and exchanging music samples produced using the program. An essential FAQ section offers answers to questions about program features that are not thoroughly documented in the CD-ROM or the program booklet.

DSP has a handful of annoying omissions, including the absence of undo-editing and save-as features, awkward playback-range controls, and inconsistent and sometimes sketchy documentation. Aside from those drawbacks, DSP is simple to operate and provides considerable power to anyone interested in learning the basics of synthesis and signal processing while creating real pieces of music.

Overall EM Rating (1 through 5): 3.5

NoTAM/Electronic Music Foundation, Ltd. (distributor); tel. (518) 434-4110; e-mail cde@emf.org; Web www.notam.uio.no