# Timbre Space Representation of a Subtractive Synthesizer

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2009.11706 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2009.11706/

## Key facts

- Cited by 1 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 24 Sep 2020.

## Built on by (most cited first, 1 of 1)

- [One Billion Audio Sounds from GPU-enabled Modular Synthesis](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2104.12922/) (2021)

## Abstract (arXiv)

In this study, we produce a geometrically scaled perceptual timbre space from dissimilarity ratings of subtractive synthesized sounds and correlate the resulting dimensions with a set of acoustic descriptors. We curate a set of 15 sounds, produced by a synthesis model that uses varying source waveforms, frequency modulation (FM) and a lowpass filter with an enveloped cutoff frequency. Pairwise dissimilarity ratings were collected within an online browser-based experiment. We hypothesized that a varied waveform input source and enveloped filter would act as the main vehicles for timbral variation, providing novel acoustic correlates for the perception of synthesized timbres.