FUZZBOX PHYSICS

∿ CSCM 373-01 — CALARTS EXPERIMENTAL ANIMATION — WEB LABS

Waveform Distortion Lab

Seven clipping algorithms with real-time oscilloscopes, spectrum analyzers, and scrolling spectrograms. Feed in an oscillator, microphone, or audio file. Reverb chamber with five impulse responses. See harmonics appear as you increase drive.

hard clip soft clip / tanh asymmetric foldback bitcrush tube half-wave rectify reverb

Spectral Sculptor

Interactive spectrogram editor. A 2-second loop is analyzed with STFT and displayed as a full spectrogram. Click and drag to paint energy into the frequency domain. Audio resynthesizes via inverse FFT on release. Start from silence and build a sound from nothing.

STFT / ISTFT frequency painting radix-2 FFT mic recording

      Exercise: Building Timbre from Nothing
    

Digital Octavia

Stage-by-stage simulation of the Roger Mayer Octavia octave fuzz (1967). Five visible signal chain stages: input buffer, fuzz, transformer, full-wave rectifier, output filter. Each stage has its own oscilloscope showing before and after. Watch |x| double the frequency.

germanium / silicon transformer saturation full-wave rectify octave up diode model

Reverb Matching Lab

Record a clap in a real room, then try to match its reverb with a synthetic engine. Schroeder decay curves show how seven octave bands (125 Hz–8 kHz) die out over time. See how carpet absorbs highs, tile reflects everything, and a cathedral rings for seconds. A/B comparison with match scoring.

impulse response Schroeder integration RT60 frequency-dependent decay convolution reverb room acoustics