POWER TIP
Building synths in Reaktor is quite an accessible process, because even if you only know a little bit about synthesis you’re likely to understand the concepts involved – oscillators, envelopes, and all the rest. And if you understand these concepts, you’ll understand most of Reaktor’s synthesisbased modules too. The same cannot be said for effects because we tend to see them as magical black boxes, rather than a collection of interconnected modules. So you may know what a particular effect does to a sound, but do you know what components and processes are actually used?
>KnobMan
Delay is a very simple effect, and so building a delay processor will allow us to focus on finding out more about Reaktor itself, in particular its Core level and how to customise panel graphics, rather than the deeper details of how different effects are created.
The #1 tool for creating knob and other controller graphics for use in audio plugins is KnobMan by g200kg (g200kg.com).
> Step by step 2. Creating a delay effect
The website is a bit patchy, but don’t be put off – KnobMan is a great tool. There are both installable and web versions available, as well as hundreds of downloadable examples of other people’s knobs… stop sniggering at the back of the class there!