hey how do people feel about comb filters

my thoughts: i like what comb filters do to sounds but i don't necessarily like the metallic "sound" of a comb filter

(i may or may not be building some comb-filter based effects)

@wrl I feel pretty much the same. They are a very satisfying thing to reach for if you want to dramatically change a sound in a pinch. Comb filters do have a "sound", and that sound does get fatiguing and boring quickly IMO.

banks of tuned comb filters can be pretty sweet (Paul Lansky's 'word color' is a personal favorite of mine).

@paul i will check out "word color".

yeah i'm experimenting with putting stuff in the comb filter feedback path – saturators, filters, etc, anything to make the sound a little less... i dunno, bland? trying to find a way to make it a bit spicier.

@wrl mmm spicy combs!

have you tried using any sort of interpolated modulation of the delay time?

@paul what would be the modulation source?

@wrl well, I've only seen this used in the context of reverbs. they usually use low-frequency signals like sinusoidal LFOs or random line generators to add a bit of jitter. in that context, it simulates a higher-order reverb and smooths out the metallic ringing.

there might be some fun in having an audio-rate signal (sine wave) be the modulation source. then you could get some really messed up FM.

@paul yeaaaah got it. i tried it with noise modulation and it was bad, i'll try like an audio rate LFO or something, that seems like it could be cool

@wrl have you tried side-chaining the input signal to control stuff? that could be neat.

@paul this is usually a move of mine but i have not done it yet. i was thinking about putting an lpf in the feedback path and having the cutoff modulated by the fb signal itself. might be cool