Phonosyne

Phonosyne is my working system for sound design. Give it a text prompt, get back structured, validated .wav files.

What Is Phonosyne?

Phonosyne is a custom agent pipeline for creating unique audio samples from SuperCollider code.

How Phonosyne Works

Orchestrator: accepts prompt and controls other agents
  → Designer: generates soundscape of 18 samples
→ Orchestrator: attempts to generate a sample for each description
  → Analyzer: turns each description into synthesis instructions
  → Compiler: generates SuperCollider code from instructions

1. User Prompts the Orchestrator

It starts with a detailed prompt describing the vibe of the soundscape.

**Back Alley Boom Bap:** The sound of cracked concrete and rusted MPCs. Thick, neck-snapping kicks loop under vinyl hiss and analog rot. Broken soul samples flicker in the haze, distorted claps punch through layers of magnetic tape dust, and modular glitches warp the swing like a busted head nod in an abandoned lot. Pure rhythm decay.

2. Designer Creates a Soundscape Plan

The Orchestrator sends this to the Designer, which expands it into a structured plan.

An urban hum is synthesized using two LFPar oscillators at 55 Hz and 67 Hz with slow amplitude modulation (LFNoise1.kr(0.15)), then passed through an LPF at a fixed cutoff of 900 Hz (resonance Q=0.7), providing a dark, atmospheric undertone. The hum's amplitude envelope fades in over the first 2 seconds and out over the last 2 seconds for gentle entry/exit. Global FX: The summed signal is processed through a stereo chorus (Chorus effect: delay modulated between 13–24 ms, rate set to 0.23 Hz LFO, depth at 45%) for spatial widening. Tape flutter is simulated by inserting a DelayL line on the master bus, with delay time modulated by an LFNoise2.kr(0.4) LFO between ±5 ms; this imparts slow wow/flutter artifacts characteristic of vintage tape. Final chain includes a Compander set to -16 dB threshold, ratio 2.5:1 for glue, followed by Normalizer to -1 dBFS peak. All layers are carefully mixed: Kick/drive at full level; vinyl at -30 dB; hum at -18 dB; master output stereoized by chorus but mono-compatible. The result is a punchy, saturated drum groove with authentic lo-fi movement and deep urban ambience.

4. Compiler Generates SuperCollider Code

The Compiler takes the Analyzer’s instructions and generates a SuperCollider script to synthesize the sound. It runs the script, checks and fixes errors, and returns the path to a validated .wav file.