Signal Crate and Self-Built Tools...

I have been working on an audio application or software or toolset or whatever other label fits best for about a year now, called Signal Crate. It started as an exercise to learn better C programming, so I opted to build a simple oscillator, then a ring modulator, then an amplitude modulator...Soon enough came the interest in building an audio engine and implementing a modular design. The rest of the story goes on which I will expand upon later.

Curiosity is the primary driver for this entire project. Trying to see how something new could be built, control modules, OSC implementation, 14-bit MIDI support, and now almost 50 modules. The work of Trevor Wishart and the CDP is at the core of this too, there is something very important to me about having a direct connection to the tools that I am working with. This is why I got into learning coding and programming to begin with, because of an interest in understanding and to control my sound. Coming from the west coast tradition of instrument builders and creative design as a means to achieve musical goals, I began to see Signal Crate take a form where it made an argument to become my only toolset in music making. Once that realization happened, I started to write music with it, and develop tools that took over functionality of the DAWs in which I was working. Things like multitrack recording, editing and splicing, and utilities like normalization and stereo to mono conversion.

An old rule I had for myself with modular synths and hardware has now become new again, any tool I want to use is one that I must build. Signal Crate gives flexibility of classic modular synth design, audio FX processing, internal and external control via two major protocols or control voltage directly, and now offline rendering tools to layer and work with audio, in a unique way outside of graphical interfaces. All only done in the terminal.

I'll expand more on this philosophy and design approach as it unfolds, but as it stands today I just got Signal Crate working on Linux, specifically a Raspberry Pi 4. This further backs the move to be stripped of any reliability on premade tools. Is it redundant? Arguably yes. But right now, no other open source toolset fulfills so many points of musical variability without having to know a deep level of coding, or be relegated to a graphical patching environment. While it may not be there yet, Signal Crate aims to be a nice alternative for that, with minimal dependencies and space, just about 1.5MB and a handful of common libraries.

Finally, I built the platform for myself, out of curiosity and interest in becoming more engaged and familiar with my craft. It would be fun if others took interest but if they don't, that is quite alright! I am happy to be contributing to something artistically and cerebrally fulfilling all for myself, that is what music and life is about! If a community does grow around this project, I would be thrilled to see where it goes, like a fresh composition when instrumentalists run with it and make it their own.

February 28, 2026 Oneonta, NY

Signal Crate Repo

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