Sculpture is the physical modelling synth that is shipped with Logic Pro. It was released with Logic Pro 7 way back in 2004 but I have to admit that I've not given it a lot of attention until recently.
The problem I find with synths that claim to be able to accurately model real-life acoustic sounds is that if you want those type of sounds it is much easier to use a sample library.
What's more, physical modelling is a very different approach to synthesis than subtractive or FM, and I find that a lot of trial and error is required to get a feel for how the different parameters affect the resulting sound.
Just recently Native Instruments released a new Reaktor ensemble called Prism which claims to be able to produce "organic soundscapes, percussive keys, flutes and bells". Although Prism is not strictly-speaking a physical modelling synth, it inspired me to revisit Sculpture and make the effort to get a better understanding of how it works.
I have discovered that by using the "morph pad" that Sculpture incorporates you can come up some very beautiful evolving pad-type sounds.
The concept behind the morph pad is actually very cool (same as the "remix pad" concept that has been adopted by Camel Audio's Alchemy synth). Once you have programmed your basic pad sound you use the morph pad (pictured) to store "snapshots" of up to 5 variations of your patch. You create variations of your patch either by manually moving the synth parameters to new positions, or by using a "randomise" function that is provided. To create a sense of movement in your pad sound you draw an envelope on the morph pad which slowly modulates the synth parameters - and therefore the resulting sound - between each patch variation.
The reason the morph pad works so well is because changing the parameters of your physical model even slightly can produce very unexpected results. To create a similar kind of movement in a subtractive synth would require modulating many parameters with many different LFOs and/or envelopes.
Sculpture's physical modelling architecture uses the concept of "objects" rather than oscillators as sound sources.
I find that the most useful object for creating pad sounds is the "blow" model, being able to produce a range of smooth metallic or glassy sounds, rather like a waterphone or bowed vibraphone.
The "bow" and "wide bow" objects seem to produce very noisy, scratchy sounds which sound to me fairly harsh and unpleasant, kind of like a beginner violinist!
Evolving pads in Logic Sculpture by pedalsteeldrummer
Related links
Related links
- Logic Sculpture: http://www.apple.com/logicstudio/logicpro/
- Reaktor Prism: http://www.native-instruments.com
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