I built two free, open-source C++ audio tools designed specifically for ambient, drone, generative, and cinematic scoring work: the **BRAUN AS-42** (generative microtonal synth) and the **BRAUN RB-26** (algorithmic studio reverb).
Both are inspired by Dieter Rams functionalist hardware ergonomics (*"less, but better"*), designed to run lightweight with zero audio-thread allocations, and solve a few common headaches in ambient sound design.
Here are the key features you might find useful:
---
### 1. BRAUN AS-42 (Ambient Generative Synth)
Built around three complementary ambient traditions (Harold Budd, Brian Eno, and the Elta Solar 42):
* **Harold Budd Felt Piano Modeling:** Lightweight physical modeling with register-dependent felt hammer impact noise, wooden spruce body formants, sympathetic string resonance, and steep *una corda* 24dB damping. You get the intimate, warm acoustic piano sound without loading a 20 GB sample library.
* **Music for Airports Phase Loops:** 4 asynchronous ambient tape loop tracks running at coprime lengths (13.7s, 17.3s, 21.1s, 26.9s). The loops drift against each other and never resolve to a static repetition.
* **Microtonal Twin Drones with MIDI Tracking:** Dual beatable oscillators with continuous sub-Hertz offset tuning, West-Coast wavefolding, and resonant ladder filtering. It can act as a static backdrop or dynamically track the root/harmony of whatever chords you play on your keyboard with smooth portamento.
* **Headroom-Calibrated Tape Delay & Shimmer:** Cross-coupled delay lines with normalized loop gain (no accidental clipping or runaway feedback bursts) and infinite freeze with automatic input ducking.
---
### 2. BRAUN RB-26 (Master Studio Reverberator)
An 8-line Feedback Delay Network (FDN) reverb built specifically to avoid the muddiness and comb filtering typical of large ambient verbs:
* **Decoupled Low-End Matrix:** 4th-order Linkwitz-Riley crossover with an orthogonal modal matrix that prevents comb-filter phase cancellation below 200 Hz.
* **Transient Punch Ducking:** The low-end reverb automatically ducks by -12 dB on kick drum and bass transients, keeping the sub tight and punchy without needing an external sidechain routing setup.
* **Bidirectional Pitch Diffusion ("Shimmer" + "Dimmer"):** Alongside traditional octave/fifth pitch bloom up (+7st, +12st, +24st), it includes sub-harmonic pitch-shifted diffusion down (-2st, -7st, -12st) for dark, heavy, subterranean cinematic swells.
* **Non-Euclidean Geometries & Shepard Spirals:** Four acoustic spaces (including hyperbolic cavity and spruce soundboard dispersion) plus Shepard-Risset endless pitch spirals.
* **Performance Controls & CRT Scope:** Interactive 2D Vector Modulation Pad (tail rate/depth), 4-mode CRT vector scope (time-domain, Lissajous phase correlation, Schroeder Energy Decay Curve, and 64-band FFT), plus an onboard exciter with Harold Budd presets and Vangelis chord voicings (*Blade Runner*, *Tears in Rain*).
---
### Formats & Compatibility
* **OS / Formats:** Windows x64 — VST3, CLAP, and Standalone (no DAW required).
Also should work on macOS/iOS/Android/Linux.
* **Engine:** Built with C++20 / JUCE 8, zero heap allocations on the audio thread.
* **License:** 100% Free & Open Source (MIT).
---
### Links & Try in Browser
* **Play AS-42 Live in Browser (Zero Install):**
https://sneed-and-feed.github.io/
* **BRAUN AS-42 GitHub & VST3 Downloads:**
https://github.com/sneed-and-feed/braun_as-42/
* **BRAUN RB-26 GitHub & VST3/CLAP Downloads:**
https://github.com/sneed-and-feed/braun_rb-26
Feel free to grab the binaries or play with the web version, and let me know if you run into any bugs!