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4. Resynthesising an image file with MetaSynth

1 U&I Software’s MetaSynth has been around for decades, and has become something of a legend thanks to its usage as a sound effects tool in TheMatrix and on Aphex Twin tracks. Let’s see what it can do for us. By default, the Effects Room opens. Click Image Synth.

2 As you can see, we’ve got a grid in the centre of the GUI. This is where we will be working with our image. It’s a bit small, so let’s go to the Size menus in the upperright and select 512 for both Size X and Size Y. Our grid will now expand, giving us a bigger playground in which to play.

3 By default, MetaSynth creates a mono signal, and any picture we bring in will appear as a black and white image. We want to make a stereo sound. Toggle the little grey waveform icon just above the upper-left corner. That icon will change to show that we’re now working in stereo.

4 Now let’s bring in our image file. We can do this by clicking the little ‘floppy disk’ widget in the upper-left of the Image Synth window. We’ll select Open Picture File from the menu of options. Now we’ll locate our file – we’re using a photo of a Tibetan violin named Sarangi.jpg.

5 Our photo is now in the grid. Before we listen to it, go over to the right and reduce Gain to around 17. To hear our photo, go to the lower-right and click the leftmost speaker widget to preview the sound. A graphic representation of the waveform appears up top.

6 We can now do all manner of unusual things to our image and sound. Go to the Apply Filter menu in the upper-left and choose a preset filter, then click the lower-left Twice Faster button a few times. We also add a Reverb effect from the lower-right.