[sdiy] some design questions from a beginner

[Grant Richter]

There is no correct way to make electronic music or build a music
synthesizer. Just get some electronic sound/noise makers and use them to
stimulate your musical creativity.

Each person on this list has a very strong opinion about the correct way to
build a music synthesizer. At last count, there were 500+ conflicting but
equally correct approaches. Pick any set you like, they are all very
entertaining and give hours of fun.

While it may seem confusing that 500+ ideas can all be right at the same
time, this is exactly why you can be fascinated with electronic music for a
lifetime. There are better and worse ways to achieve an engineering goal,
but the final judgement always rests with the artist that uses the
instrument.

Ignore anyone who tries to dictate the correct way to make art, their
fascists and only want to destroy what they can not understand.

> and, finally, do special effects (ring modulation, distortion, AM) go between
> the VCF and VCA typically? what are the effects of placing them in other
> places? i can't imagine that they'd go between the ADSR and VCA on the
> gate/trigger
> signal, but who knows.

Traditionally, effects are applied after the VCA. But each patch (order of
modules) produces a unique "sound class" which usually produces sounds not
duplicated exactly by other patches.