Sculptor: Exploring timbral spaces in real time

Characterization of the timbre of a sound from its spectrum or time series is of limited use in the context of electroacoustics because of the huge da ta set that is usually involved. The concept of a timbral space offers the potential to characterize sounds using a smaller set of variables, but it i s not clear how the signal-derived parameters map onto their psychoacoustic correlates. Sculptor is a package that enables the analysis, parameterizat ion, and editing of sounds in real time, requiring only inexpensive hardwar e. State-space techniques are used to decompose models of a selected sound into parallel second-order sections. The second-order resonator parameters can then be edited and the results auditioned in real time. The source code of the package is available, so that researchers may provide additional fu nctionality as required.