How It Works
Technical view
The current harmony family does not derive intervals from live pitch detection. Instead, it sums several separately synthesized picked-string phrases that are prewritten to sit above or below the dry demo phrase, offsets the right-side harmony copies by short delays, and shapes the combined layer with a high shelf controlled by `width`. `voice` acts as an overall harmony-level scaler, while the shared `blend` control is inactive in these patches. There is no live pitch tracking or key-aware interval selection in the current implementation.
- Pitch, Harmony & Detune
- waveshaping / saturation
- delay processing
- oscillator / LFO modulation
- DC blocking
Signal Path
Compiled preview chain
Preview source: An internally generated picked-string phrase is widened to stereo as the dry source; the current pitch family mostly layers separately synthesized picked-string phrases over that demo rather than pitch-shifting the dry input in real time.
- 1internal picked-string demo phrase
- 2stereo spread with a short right-channel delay
- 3multiple separately synthesized auxiliary pitch phrases
- 4staggered short right-side offsets for the synthetic layers
- 5high-shelf shaping on the summed harmony layer
- 6dry / harmony blend
- 7DC blocker
- 8output gain trim
- 9final tanh limiter
Preview source
An internally generated picked-string phrase is widened to stereo as the dry source; the current pitch family mostly layers separately synthesized picked-string phrases over that demo rather than pitch-shifting the dry input in real time.
Effect core
Dry phrase plus four separately synthesized auxiliary pitch phrases with staggered right-side offsets.
Signal path
The static waveform and the live player both reflect this compiled signal chain.
- internal picked-string demo phrase
- stereo spread with a short right-channel delay
- multiple separately synthesized auxiliary pitch phrases
- staggered short right-side offsets for the synthetic layers
- high-shelf shaping on the summed harmony layer
- dry / harmony blend
- DC blocker
- output gain trim
- final tanh limiter
Controls that matter
These are the currently active controls detected in the FAUST source for this effect.
- mix: Blends between the dry stereo preview phrase and the synthesized pitch layer.
- output_gain_db: Applies final post-effect level trim after DC blocking and before the output limiter.
- voice: Raises the level of the synthesized pitch layer before it is mixed with the dry source.
- width: Adjusts the high-shelf shaping on the synthesized pitch layer and its offset right-channel copy.
- blend: Declared in the shared control set but unused in the current preview code.
Code-backed analysis
The generated description is tied to the active helper blocks and routing found in the current DSP.
- demo
- fx
- outputStage
- leftDemo
- rightDemo
- leftFx
- rightFx
- phraseMono
Controls
Audible controls in this DSP
Blends between the dry stereo preview phrase and the synthesized pitch layer.
Lower settings stay closer to the direct phrase; higher settings push the synthetic transposed layer forward.
Applies final post-effect level trim after DC blocking and before the output limiter.
Matches loudness without changing the actual pitch-layer structure.
Raises the level of the synthesized pitch layer before it is mixed with the dry source.
Makes the auxiliary octave or transposed voice more prominent.
Adjusts the high-shelf shaping on the synthesized pitch layer and its offset right-channel copy.
Makes the synthetic layer darker at low settings and brighter and more open at high settings.
Declared in the shared control set but unused in the current preview code.
Changing it currently has no effect on the sound.
Analysis
Code-derived notes
Current implementation shares the same four-layer synthesized harmony architecture across 4-Voice Diatonic Harmony and Quadravox-Style Multi-Voice, with different prewritten note sets. 4-Voice Diatonic Harmony does not yet generate harmony from live pitch detection.
Active blocks
- demo
- fx
- outputStage
- leftDemo
- rightDemo
- leftFx
- rightFx
- phraseMono
- previewShiftSamples
- pitchLeft
- pitchRight
- pickedVoice
- pitchLayer1
- pitchLayer2
- pitchLayer3
- pitchLayer4
- fund
- pickEnv
- ampEnv
- triggerAt
- maxDelaySamples
Inactive helpers
- synthVoice
- organVoice
- bellVoice
- softsat
- quantize
- combLP
- echoOnly
- diffuser
Warnings
No current warnings are attached to this effect.
Source
- library/pitch-harmony-detune/4-voice-diatonic-harmony.dsp
- Output stage: DC blocker -> output gain trim -> final tanh limiter
- Library position: 207