Electronic Audio Experiments Prismatic Wall

Prismatic Wall is a sympathetic resonator designed to transmute incoming sounds into the vibrations of an illusory bank of tuned strings.

Part reverb and part synthesizer, its metallic yet warm timbres span from the subtle harmonic aura of a third bridge to the rich chromatic suspensions of a grand piano. The simulated vibrations form a sustaining spectral extension of your instrument that retains a tangible physicality despite its surrealist underpinnings. The resonances are reactive in nature: playing in tune excites specific pitches, while percussive attacks excite all the strings in tandem.

Prismatic Wall utilizes a physical string model formed by tuned delay lines. Tuning is achieved by varying the sample rate of the system, manipulating the physical model in decidedly non-physical ways. The Mode selector determines the interval spacing between strings, with each configuration carefully selected to maintain a sense of harmonic ambiguity. Damping and Decay change the brightness and sustain of the strings, ranging from short plucks to infinite drones.

The hardware combines primitive DSP with analog saturation and filtering for a sonic character untethered from a particular era. A fully digital user interface enables all parameters to be controlled via MIDI, saved as presets, and even modulated by the onboard LFO. In addition, the Morphing function enables controllable transitions between two distinct settings via the Aux footswitch or an expression/CV source.

Prismatic Wall is a distinct instrument in its own right, a device that refracts musical intent into a manifold of harmonic colors. Will you traverse its intricate layers?