Wax is a browser-based audio synthesis environment inspired by Max and other data-flow programming systems.
By adding devices to a virtual workspace and connecting them together, you can create custom digital signal processing algorithms.
All devices communicate to each other with audio signals, similar to a modular synthesizer.
As a supplement to the README document, this walkthrough video demonstrates how Wax works.
Wax runs entirely in the browser. When you load the web page, the virtual workspace is empty except for two speaker devices at the bottom.
To view a list of all objects, press the "all devices" button. This will list each device along with a link to its below documentation.
In the top-left corner of the web app, there is an examples folder containing several pre-patched system states to demonstrate how elements can be connected together. Select any element from the dropdown to load that state.
Double-click or press 'n' to open the interface for adding a device to the workspace. Then begin typing to find the object you want to add. Press enter or click the add button to add the device to the workspace.
For device documentation, click the i button at the top of the device.
Creating connections between two devices will create a data flow between them at audio rate, from the output of the source device to the input of the target device. Device outputs are listed as buttons on the bottom of the device, and device inputs are listed as button on the top.
Click-drag on the workspace to select multiple devices at once. Selected devices have a bold, white border. Selected devices are draggable to anywhere the workspace.
When a device is selected, press delete or click the x button to delete the device.
Some devices have text inputs which allow the user to type in values to control the device. These text inputs accept numbers or expressions in Facet, a live coding language based in JavaScript. Press enter to transmit the number or expression into the device, or if on a mobile device, press the regen button.
IMPORTANT: Many parameters are available via both the text input and as an audio rate data flow connection. In this case, the text input takes precedence, and the audio rate data flow connection will only modulate the parameter if the corresponding text input is empty.
As an example, here are several useful Facet commands, which allow you add tunable randomness to device parameters:
choose(). For example:choose([1,2,34]) // each time it's regenerated, it will choose either 1,2,3, or 4rf(). For example:rf(-1,1) // random float between -1 and 1ri(). For example:ri(10,60) // random integer between 10 and 60
Some devices have a regen button which causes all device parameters to regenerate every time a signal connected to regen goes above 0.5. For static numbers, this will have no effect, but if the device parameter is written as Facet code, the resulting can be different each time it's generated.
For example, if you have a number device, and you enter ri(10,1000) for its value, then each time the regen signal goes above 0.5, the output from number will be a new, random integer between 10 and 1000. If you entered choose([2,3,4,6,8]) as its value, then the output from number would be either 2, 3, 4, 6, or 8.
IMPORTANT: inputs will not regenerate while the cursor is inside of it. After modifying an input, click outside of it to begin regenerating.
- create new device:
n - duplicate selected device(s):
[command] + d - delete selected device(s):
delete - create number device:
f - create comment device:
c - create toggle device:
t - create slider device:
s - create button device:
b
In Wax, system states can be saved, reloaded, and shared.
Press the share URL button to copy the system state to your clipboard as a URL. NOTE: audio files will not be included and need to be sent separately.
Press the save button to save the system state as a zip file, including all audio files that were loaded.
Press the load button to load a previously saved .zip file, including all audio files.
With devices connected to a speaker objet, press the start recording button. When you want to stop, press the stop recording button, and enter the name for your wav file. It will then initiate an automatic download to your computer. NOTE: on mobile devices, recordings that include microphone input might sound garbled.
Computes the absolute value of the input signal.
Adds signal 1 to signal 2.
Generates an attack-decay-release envelope every time trigger in goes above 0.5.
attack (ms): the number of milliseconds to reach the envelope peak.decay (ms): the number of miliseconds to go from the envelope peak to thelevelvalue.level: the maximum value that the envelope reaches.release (ms): the number of milliseconds to go from thelevelvalue to silence.
Applies an allpass filter to signal in.
delay (ms)controls the delay of the allpass filter.
Computes the logical AND of signal in 1 signal in 2.
Applies a band-pass filter to signal in.
cutoffcontrols the center frequency of the filter.qcontrols the resonance of the filter at the cutoff.
Loads an audio buffer into the workpace so it can be accessed by the pattern object via the sample() Facet method.
Outputs a 1 while the button is pressed and otherwise outputs 0.
Compares the current sample with the previous sample value in the signal and returns 1 if the current sample value increased, -1 if it decreased, and 0 if it stayed the same.
Clips any values in signal in 1 below minimum or above maximum to be equal to minimum and maximum, respectively.
Returns metronomic subdivisions of root click time (ms). Each outlet runs at a different, increasingly faster speed.
Applies a comb filter effect to the input signal. feedback expect a range of floats 0 - 1.
Stores text in the workspace which can be saved and loaded as part of system presets.
Imparts the spectral envelope of modulator signal in onto carrier signal in.
Counts upwards from 0 to maximum, incrementing every time trigger goes above 0.5. hit maximum will output a 1 while the counter is at its maximum and a 0 otherwise.
setimmediately sets the counter to that value.
Generates a sine wave between -1 and 1, oscillating at frequency (hz).
Applies a delay effect to signal in, lasting delay time (ms) and feeding back based on feedback.
wetcontrols dry/wet balance and expects a range of floats 0 - 1.
Divides signal 1 and signal 2.
Downsamples signal in by amount, which expects a range of floats 0 - 1. Higher amount values produce more downsampling.
Generates a new value in a random walk of values between 0 and maximum, with step being the maximum value between each step, every time trigger goes above 0.5.
Computes the logical EQUALS of signal in 1 signal in 2.
Applies a FFT-based bandpass filter to the input signal, passing only frequencies between low and high.
Folds any values in signal in 1 below minimum or above maximum. If the input value exceeds maximum, the output will be the amount above subtracted from maximum. If the input value is below minimum, the output will be the amount below added to from minimum.
Computes the boolean representation of whether signal in 1 is greater than signal in 2.
Applies a high-pass filter to signal in.
cutoffcontrols the center frequency of the filter.qcontrols the resonance of the filter at the cutoff.
Converts an input value in hz to its equivalent number in milliseconds.
Converts an input value in hz to its equivalent number in samples.
Computes the boolean representation of whether signal in 1 is greater than signal in 2.
Applies a peak-limiter to signal in 1.
Applies a low-pass filter to signal in.
cutoffcontrols the center frequency of the filter.qcontrols the resonance of the filter at the cutoff.
Returns the selected microphone input device as a signal. Due to web audio API limitations, the first two input channels of the microphone are available via signal out 1 and signal out 2. If the microphone has one input channel, that channel will be available on signal out 1.
NOTE: if audio is muted when a microphone is added, audio will resume so that the microphone is created correctly.
Mixes signal in 1 and signal in 2 together using a crossfade parameter between 0 and 1. A crossfade value of 0.5 will mix the signals together equally, and a crossfade value of 0 or 1 will return only the signal at that input.
Outputs two floats between -1 and 1 corresponding to the device's orientation in space.
- The
pitchoutlet returns the device's tilt upwards or downwards: pointing straight up is 1; pointing straight down is -1; and resting flat is 0. - The
rolloutlet returns the device's rotational position around its front-to-back axis. - NOTE: this device is only available on mobile devices which report device motion data via DeviceMotionEvents.
Converts an input value in ms to its equivalent number in hz.
Converts an input value in ms to its equivalent number in samples.
Converts an input value of a MIDI note number to its corresponding frequency in hz.
Computes the modulo operand of signal in.
Generates white noise.
Returns value as a signal.
Computes the logical OR of signal in 1 signal in 2.
Overdrives signal in by amount, which expects a range of floats 0 - 1. Higher amount values produce more distortion.
Generates a customizable wavetable using Facet, a live coding language based in JavaScript.
phasevalues between 0 and 1 select a corresponding relative position in the wavetable.- Every time the
enterkey is pressed, the pattern will reevaluate. Hold thecommandkey while pressingenterin order to avoid creating a newline. - The
sizeoutlet returns a signal corresponding to the number of samples in the pattern. - NOTE: FacetPatterns must be initialized with
_. So the allpatterndevices should have code looking like the following examples, which are all valid:_.noise(16)_.ramp(100,30,32).key('c','minor').mtof()_.from([20,40,40,80,80,80,80,160,160,160,160,160,160,160,160]).shuffle().palindrome()
Applies a time-domain frequency shift effect of shift amount to signal in. A shift amount of 2 will be twice as high frequency. The signal out 1 and signal out 2 outlets both return unique signals that have different phase rotations of the input signal. signal out 1 contains phase rotations at 0 and 180 degrees, and signal out 2 contains phase rotations at 90 and 270 degrees.
Plays an audio file at rate every time trigger goes above 0.5.
- The
syncoutlet signal is the current playback position normalized between 0 and 1. A signal above 0.5 for theloopsignal will loop file playback. - The
start posandend posvalues control the relative start and end point of audio file playback and expect values between 0 and 1.
Generates a synthetic string pluck at frequency (hz) Hz using Karplus-Strong synthesis. damping controls how long the string resonates and expects values between 0 and 1.
Generates a phasor between 0 and 1, oscillating at frequency (hz).
Applies a time-domain pitch shift effect of shift amount to signal in. The signal out 1 and signal out 2 outlets both return unique signals that have different phase rotations of the input signal. signal out 1 contains phase rotations at 0 and 180 degrees, and signal out 2 contains phase rotations at 90 and 270 degrees.
Returns a random number between 0 and maximum, every time trigger goes above 0.5.
Smooths signal in by linearly ramping from its previous value to its new value, ramping up over up slope (ms) and down over down slope (ms).
Records signal in L and signal in R to a stereo audio buffer for length (seconds) seconds.
- A signal that rises above 0.5 in
start/stopwill start the recording, and a signal that falls below 0.5 will stop it. You can use atoggleUI element to controlstart/stop. - To export the last recording, send a signal that rises above 0.5 to
save. You can use abuttonUI element to controlsave.
Generates a rectangle wave between -1 and 1, oscillating at frequency (hz) and with configurable pulsewidth.
Applies a reverb effect to signal in.
feedbackcontrols feedback of the delay lines.sizefunctions as a coefficient, multiplying all delay line times and expects a range of floats 0 - 1.wetcontrols dry/wet balance and expects a range of floats 0 - 1.
Rounds signal in to the nearest integer.
Rotates the 4 input signals rightwards every time trigger goes above 0.5. In other words, signal in 1 will cyclically move from its initial output position at signal out 1, to signal out 2, then signal out 3, and finally signal out 4 before wrapping back to signal out 1 again.
Applies a sample-and-hold effect to signal in, holding its value every time trigger goes above 0.5.
Generates a sawtooth wave between -1 and 1, oscillating at frequency (hz).
Converts an input value in samples to its equivalent number in hz.
Converts an input value in samples to its equivalent number in ms.
Translates signal in into a different number range.
low inis the minimum value insignal in.high inis the maximum value insignal in.low outis the minimum value desired in the output.high outis the minimum value desired in the output.exponentscales the output range according to an exponential curve and should be greater than or equal to 1.
Decides whether to pass or mute signal in every time the signal goes above 0.1, based on prob.
Smooths signal in by logarithmically ramping from its previous value to its new value, ramping up over up slope (ms) and down over down slope (ms).
Outputs a float between 0 and 1. Move the slider to change the offset.
Connects to the speakers of the computer's selected audio output device on channel speaker channel.
NOTE: if you change want to use a different audio output device, you will need to reload the page. Make sure to save your state beforehand so you can reload it.
Slows a signal down so it only changes once for every interval (ms) that passes.
Computes the square root of signal in 1.
Applies a declicking algorithm to the input signal with user control over when to avoid clicks. From the Cyling '74 RNBO Documentation of swanramp:: "Performs click compensation using Miller Puckette's switch-and-ramp technique. When the right inlet receives a positive value, swanramp~ triggers a ramp that starts from the value of the last sample in the left inlet and goes down to zero over the number of samples specified. This ramp is mixed with the input signal to prevent clicks."
Multiplies signal 1 and signal 2.
Generates a triangle wave between -1 and 1, oscillating at frequency (hz) and with configurable pulsewidth.
Outputs a 0 when the button is off and outputs a 1 when the button is on. Click the button to switch states.
Reads through an audio file like a wavetable, with phase values between 0 and 1 selecting a corresponding relative position in the audio file.
Wraps any values in signal in 1 below minimum or above maximum. If the input value exceeds maximum, the output will be the amount exceeded plus minimum . If the input value is below minimum, the output will be the amount below subtracted from maximum.
- The
sizeoutlet returns a signal corresponding to the number of samples in the pattern.