← MIDI & Instruments
Mission 59 · World 7
Collision · Tension · Electric · Analog
Physical modelling + virtual analog.
Physics-based synthesis — the mallet hits the string, the bow drags, the tine rings.
+80 XP🏅 Physical
// WHAT IT DOES
Physical modeling means the synth calculates how a real object would vibrate rather than playing back a recording or generating a waveform. Collision models percussion (mallets hitting objects), Tension models strings (guitar, harp, bowed instruments), Electric models electric piano tines (Rhodes, Wurlitzer). The result sounds acoustic because it behaves acoustically.
Think of it like → A sample library takes a photo of a piano. Physical modeling builds a working piano inside the computer.
▸ WHY YOU CARE
- • They respond to velocity, modulation, and MPE in ways sampled instruments can't — playing harder changes the character of the sound, not just the volume.
- • No sample library can capture every combination of mallet hardness, string tension, and damping. Physical models can.
// SEE & HEAR IT
No simulator for this mission — read & quiz only.
▸ LISTEN FOR
- • How Tension changes character when you bow vs pluck vs strike the same string setup
- • The 'mechanical' noise in Electric that makes it feel physical rather than synthesized
▸ COMMON MISTAKES
- ✗ Treating these like subtractive synths — their parameters describe physical properties, not audio ones
- ✗ Low polyphony on physical models — they're CPU-heavy; limit voices aggressively
// QUIZ (QUICK)
Question 1 / 30 correct
Tension models…