additive_synthesis

Multi-Oscillator Synthesizer

A simple real-time additive synthesizer written in C using SDL2 and SDL_ttf.
It allows you to create and control multiple oscillators, mix them in real-time, and visualize the waveform.

Features

• Up to 8 oscillators simultaneously
• Supports four wave types:
  • Sine
  • Square
  • Triangle
  • Saw
• Real-time audio playback via SDL
• Visual waveform display
• Adjustable frequency, amplitude, and wave type for each oscillator
• Click to select oscillators, add or remove them dynamically

Controls

Action	Key / Interaction
Play / Pause	SPACE
Change selected oscillator type	TAB
Increase frequency	UP arrow
Decrease frequency	DOWN arrow
Increase amplitude	RIGHT arrow
Decrease amplitude	LEFT arrow
Select oscillator	Click on the oscillator in the list
Add new oscillator	Click + button
Remove selected oscillator	BACKSPACE
Exit program	ESC

Requirements

• SDL2
• SDL2_ttf
• C compiler (GCC/Clang)

On macOS:

You can install SDL2 via Homebrew:

brew install sdl2 sdl2_ttf

On Linux:

sudo apt install libsdl2-dev libsdl2-ttf-dev

Build instructions

This project contains a Makefile. To build the program, simply run:

make        

This will compile the code and produce the executable. To run the program:

./add_synth       

Or u can build and run the programm with one command:

make run

To remove compiled files and start fresh, you can use:

make clean

Notes

• The program uses a fixed sample rate of 44100 Hz.

• The font path is currently set to a macOS system font (/System/Library/Fonts/Supplemental/Arial.ttf). Update the path if running on another OS.

• Maximum 8 oscillators allowed at a time.