The Anti-Realtime Manifesto: Why I spent 8 years building a Python Audio DSP Library

Source: Dev.to

The Art School Experiment

While lecturing at a forward‑thinking art school in Jerusalem, I explored modular synths, live techno, and building custom instruments. After teaching Pro Tools and mixing for a few years, I realized my students were craving something more modern.

The Rabbit Hole

When the course ended, I took it as a sign to go deeper on my own. I spent the next few years studying AI and advanced mathematics, saving bits and pieces of code along the way. I was building a playground in my head.

What is audio‑dsp today?

Today, the library has grown into a massive collection of 65+ modules focused on offline rendering and sound design.

The Synths

• Classic dx7_fm_synth emulations
• physical_modeling_synth
• SAM‑inspired chip_tone

The Effects

• Standard filters plus experimental units such as temporal_gravity_warp, melt_spectrum, and fractional_calculus_compressor

The Sequencers

The generative aspect shines here. Tools like game_of_life, tree_composer, and raga_generator let you grow melodies rather than just write them.

Try It Yourself

I built this for the true music geeks—the ones who want to explore sonic possibilities that don’t exist in standard DAWs.

pip install audio-dsp

• Documentation: python_audio_dsp
• GitHub: github.com/Metallicode/python_audio_dsp

I’ve also been working on packaging this up properly (with some assistance from AI tools to get the docs and distribution ready), so it’s easier than ever to get started. A friend of mine has even started working on a UI wrapper for the project, so hopefully we will bridge the gap between code and interface soon.

Go break it. I can’t wait to hear what you make.