WahWah VST Plugin

Motivation

The WahWah VST plugin emulates the iconic sound of a Wah-Wah pedal, such as the renowned Cry-Baby. This plugin automates the wah-wah effect, freeing musicians from the need to manually control the pedal during performances. It's designed for ease of use, allowing artists to focus more on their creativity and performance.

Applications

This plugin is primarily aimed at guitarists but is versatile enough for live or studio use with other instruments like pianos. Being VST compatible, it integrates seamlessly into Digital Audio Workstations (DAWs), enhancing the creative possibilities across various musical genres.

Features

Functionality

Automated Pedal Control: Aligns the wah-wah effect with the onsets of musical phrases, eliminating the need for manual pedal adjustments.
Versatile Sound Manipulation: Users can tailor the sound with various adjustable parameters to fit their musical style and preference.

Demo Video

Parameters

Parameter	Description	Range	Default Value
Gain	Adjusts the input signal level.	0.0 to 1.0	0.0
Envelope Attack Rate	Controls the responsiveness of the effect to changes in input.	0.0001 to 0.1	0.001
Envelope Decay Rate	Controls how quickly the effect fades after input ceases.	0.0001 to 0.01	0.0005
Onset Threshold	Sets the sensitivity for detecting the start of musical notes.	0.0 to 1.0	0.15
Reset Threshold	Determines the level at which the effect resets.	0.0 to 1.0	0.05
Use Onset Detection	Enables or disables automatic detection of note beginnings.	Boolean	false
LFO Frequency	Frequency of the Low-Frequency Oscillator, which modulates the filter.	0.0 to 100.0	4.0
LFO Intensity	Depth of the filter modulation.	0.0 to 4000.0	100.0
Bandpass Low Frequency	Sets the lower boundary of the filter's frequency range.	0.0 to 9600.0	100.0
Bandpass High Frequency	Sets the upper boundary of the filter's frequency range.	0.0 to 9600.0	3000.0

Installation

Building the VST Plugin

Compile and bundle the plugin with the following command:

cargo xtask bundle WahWah --release

Note: The compiled VST object is located at target/bundled/WahWah.vst3. Remember to delete the previous version before recompiling, as it does not overwrite existing files.

Future Work

[ ] Preset Management: Users will be able to save and load their settings.
[ ] Enhanced DAW Integration: Include DAW automation and clock-syncing features.
[ ] Improved User Interface: Develop a more intuitive and visually appealing UI.
[ ] Expanded Modulation Options: Add additional LFO shapes and modulation sources.
[ ] Mobile Compatibility: Adapt the plugin for use in mobile DAW applications.

Development Guide

The plugin is built using the NIH-Plug framework, which you can explore here: NIH-Plug framework. The core functionality revolves around a dynamic bandpass filter controlled by an LFO and an onset-detection algorithm for automatic modulation.

Contributing

We highly value contributions and are particularly interested in the following areas, listed in order of importance:

Preset management implementation
User interface enhancements
DAW integration features
Expanding modulation capabilities
Adapting the plugin for mobile platforms

Developers are encouraged to contribute to these areas to help enhance the WahWah project. We appreciate your support and collaboration!

JoeCleveland / ASEFinal_WahWah

readme