Setting Up Optimizations

To create a design, you must define the Acoustic Target, the Shape Configuration, and the Evolution Settings.

1. Acoustic Target

The acoustic target represents the sound you want your didgeridoo to produce. Defining these targets requires a basic understanding of didgeridoo physics. For a deeper dive, check out this introductory article on reading Didgelab outputs.

Basic Targets

• Frequency Tuning: Tune the resonant peaks that define the fundamental note and the toots. For each peak, you can set:
  • Tune: Select a specific note (e.g., B1, A2) to set the target frequency.
  • Impedance Amplitude: Set how "strong" the peak should be (choose "Ignore" if you only care about the pitch).
  • Weight: A higher weight tells the optimizer to prioritize this specific peak.
• Scale Tuning: Automatically tune all peaks to a specific scale (e.g., harmonic major).
• Peak Quantity: Encourages the design to support a high number of resonant peaks.
• Peak Amplitude: Encourages the design to produce higher, more pronounced peaks.

Weights and Tips

Weights determine the priority of a target. When the optimizer encounters a conflict between two goals, it will favor the one with the higher weight.

• Prioritize the drone: If you need a specific key (e.g., D), give the fundamental note a very high weight.
• Keep it simple: Start with just a few targets for your first design. Adding too many targets can make the optimization process difficult to balance.

2. Shape Configuration

This section defines the physical boundaries of your instrument, such as length, bell size, and bore style.

• Ranges: You can set minimum and maximum values (e.g., length between 1500mm and 1700mm).
• Forced Diameters: Define specific diameters at certain points—ideal for creating joints in multi-part didgeridoos.
• Preview: Use the preview function to visualize the generated shape before running the full optimization.

3. Evolution Settings

Finally, configure how the software should process your design.

• Clone from existing optimization: Save time by copying the shape, targets, or results from a previous run to continue refining a design.
• Optimization name: Give your project a name. If left blank, the system generates a default name based on famous movie quotes.
• Duration: Optimizations run over a series of "generations."
  • Medium (50 generations): Takes ~30 minutes.
  • Long (1000 generations): Can take up to 10 hours.
  • Note: Runtime depends on bore complexity and current server load.

Community Etiquette & Resources

Didgelab is a free tool with limited computational resources. Currently, the system can only process three optimizations in parallel globally.

Please be mindful of other users:

1. Run only one optimization at a time.
2. Start with a short "test run" (e.g., 50 generations). If the results look promising, use those results to start a longer, more intensive optimization.