Quality Audio Prototyping: a prototype system for unified sound retrieval and procedural generation

2026-05-30

AI Summary

This work addresses the fragmented and cumbersome workflow in sound design, where audio retrieval and procedural synthesis are typically treated as disjoint processes. To bridge this gap, the authors propose a unified framework that integrates content-based audio similarity retrieval, real-time procedural synthesis, and perception-driven rule-based parameter recommendation—marking the first such integration in the field. The system incorporates a custom encoder, a real-time synthesis model, and an intelligent guidance assistant, significantly lowering the barrier to procedural synthesis while preserving user creative autonomy. Subjective evaluations demonstrate that five out of six synthesis models yield notably improved audio quality, and user studies confirm that the tool enhances both workflow efficiency and usability.

Abstract

Sound design workflows frequently oscillate between time-consuming library searches and the complexity of procedural synthesis, with practitioners typically relying on disconnected tools to address each challenge separately. This paper introduces Quality Audio Prototyping (QuAP), a working prototype that unifies content-based audio retrieval and procedural sound generation within a single interface, reducing the procedural distance between a narrative concept and its sonic realisation. QuAP integrates a similarity-based retrieval engine with real-time procedural audio models, complemented by a rule-based assistant that provides perceptually informed parameter guidance, offering definitions and recommendations derived from empirical optimisation rather than requiring prior synthesis knowledge. Preliminary evaluation confirms the viability of this approach: subjective assessment demonstrated statistically significant quality improvements in five of six embedded synthesis models, and an encoder ablation study established the preferred retrieval architecture on a sound effect dataset. A user evaluation with 16 practitioners confirmed the tool's workflow utility, with all participants agreeing that the parameter assistant preserved creative agency while lowering the barrier to procedural interaction.

Problem

• sound design
• audio retrieval
• procedural synthesis
• creative workflow
• sonic realisation

Innovation

• unified audio retrieval
• procedural sound generation
• perceptually informed parameter guidance
• creative agency
• real-time audio synthesis