Mutable Instruments Plaits

Mutable Instruments Plaits

Macro-Oscillator

Plaits is the spiritual successor of Mutable Instruments’ best-selling voltage-controlled sound source, Braids. Not just a mkII version: its hardware and software have been redesigned from scratch. Just like its predecessor, it offers direct access to a large palette of easily tweakable sounds, covering the whole gamut of synthesis techniques. What has changed is the interface: gone are the screen, menu system, hidden settings, and the long list of somewhat redundant synthesis models. Thanks to additional CV inputs, and to the use of 3 timbre-shaping parameters per model, Plaits is straightforward to use, and much closer to the ideal of one synthesis technique = one model. What were fragmented islands of sound in Braids are now part of a continuum of sounds. The module is very easy to use as a stand-alone voice or percussive source: its built-in low-pass gate allows the module to be operated without a VCF or VCA, and an internal decay envelope is normalled to some of the CV inputs. Great care has been taken regarding audio quality, anti-aliasing, and CV interpolation, resulting in a richer, cleaner sound. All this for less HP, mA, and €/$ than the original!

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Specifications 8 synthesis models for pitched sounds: * Two detuned virtual analog oscillators with continuously variable waveforms. * Variable slope triangle oscillator processed by a waveshaper and wavefolder. * 2-operator FM with continuously variable feedback path. * Two independently controllable formants modulated by a variable shape window (VOSIM, Pulsar, Grainlet, Casio CZ-style resonant filter...). * 24-harmonic additive oscillator. * Wavetable oscillator with four banks of 8x8 waves, with or without interpolation. * Chord generator, with divide down string/organ emulation or wavetables. * A collection of speech synthesis algorithms (formant filter, SAM, LPC), with phoneme control and formant shifting. Several banks of phonemes or segments of words are available. 8 synthesis models for noise and percussions: * Granular sawtooth or sine oscillator, with variable grain density, duration and frequency randomization. * Clocked noise processed by a variable shape resonant filter. * 8 layers of dust/particle noise processed by resonators or all-pass filters. * Extended Karplus-Strong (aka Rings' red mode), excited by bursts of white noise or dust noise. * Modal resonator (aka Rings' green mode), excited by a mallet or dust noise. * Analog kick drum emulation (two flavors). * Analog snare drum emulation (two flavors). * Analog high-hat emulation (two flavors). I/O and controls: * 2 model selection buttons, with 8 bicolor LEDs displaying the active model. * Main frequency control, 8 octaves. * Three dimensions of timbre control: harmonics, timbre, morph. * Attenuverters for the timbre, morph, and frequency modulation CV inputs. These CV inputs are normalized to the internal envelope generator. * Model selection, harmonics, timbre, morph, FM CV inputs. * Main V/O CV input, with a large input range (-3V to +7V). * Trigger input, triggering an internal D envelope, or the exciter for the physical/drum models. * Level CV input, controlling the internal digital low-pass gate, or acting as an accent control for the physical/drum models. Technical characteristics: * CV inputs: 100k input impedance, 4kHz, 16-bit. * Audio outputs: 48kHz, 16-bit, DC-coupled. * Cortex-M4 ARM processor. https://mutable-instruments.net/modules/plaits