SuperCollider AU, Part 2: Creating Our First Plug-In

The combination of SuperColliderAU and AudioUnitBuilder is a wonderfully useful tool for quickly sketching out and prototyping working audio effect plug-ins. In this installment we’ll jump-start our SuperCollider setup by installing AudioUnitBuilder, tweaking it for Lion / Mountain Lion / SuperCollider 3.5 compatibility and taking a walk-through of one of the example AU projects. Then we’ll knuckle down and build our first custom plug-in.

SuperCollider AU, Part 1 : The Big Picture

Programming your own audio plug-ins, let’s face it, is not a casual undertaking. To even begin playing the game you need a solid grounding in DSP – along with some serious C, C++ and math chops – all tucked neatly into your belt. And that’s before you start diving into the frameworks of whichever platform it is you’re developing for. Wouldn’t it be neat if there was a kinder, gentler way into this world of streaming ones and zeros, even for reluctant programmers? Well there is, at least for Mac users.