An Introductory Guide to Virtual Analog Modelling
The Intersection of Analog and Digital Audio Processing
Audio circuits, such as guitar pedals and amplifiers, process input signals to output signals with specific audio effects. The process of replicating the electrical behaviour of these circuits in a digital environment is known as Virtual Analog (VA) modelling. This session aims to provide a basic understanding of VA modelling and explore various methods to achieve it. Finally, using these methods as a foundation, we will look at modelling the circuit of the MXR Distortion+ guitar pedal that emulates the circuit’s behaviour.
Sohyun Im
Research Assistant
Queen Mary University of London
Sohyun Im is a Research Assistant at the Centre for Digital Music, Queen Mary University of London, where she is working on the Universal Acoustic Vision project in partnership with Meta Reality Labs. Her current research focuses on multichannel audio processing, acoustic imaging, machine learning, and real-time spatial audio systems for wearable devices.
She received her Master of Science in Sound and Music Computing from Queen Mary University of London, where her dissertation explored music structure analysis using machine learning. She also holds a Bachelor of Science in Sound Engineering from the University of West London, where her final-year project focused on virtual analogue modelling.
Outside her research, Sohyun has been actively involved in two London-based communities: Dynamic Cast, a peer-to-peer C++ study group supporting people underrepresented in technology; and the Oxford and Cambridge Musical Club, where she performs as a classical pianist.