Mutable Instruments Elements

Modal synthesizer

CONCRETE SOUNDS FOR ABSTRACT MUSIC, ABSTRACT SOUNDS FOR MUSIQUE CONCRÈTE

Elements is a full-blown synthesis voice based on modal synthesis – an under-appreciated flavour of physical modelling synthesis with a strange and abstract feel.

Elements combines an exciter synthesis section generating raw, noisy sounds characteristic of bowing (filtered friction noise), blowing (pitch-controlled granular noise), or striking (stick, mallet, hammer or brush sample playback… or bursts of synthetic impulsions).

These sources, or external audio signals, are processed by a modal filter bank – an ensemble of 64 tuned band-pass filters simulating the response of various resonant structures (plates, strings, tubes…) with adjustable brightness and damping. A stereo ambience reverberator adds depth and presence to the sound.

All parameters have a very meaningful and well-delimited impact on the sound. When designing Elements, great care has been taken in selecting parameter ranges and control curves, producing a large palette of sounds – often beyond physical realism – but always well controlled and stable. The “dark spots” of noise and feedback are reached gradually, and they do still react to controls. The module is deliberately menu- and switch-free – what you dial/patch is what you hear!

34HP

25mm

+12V:130mA-12V:10mA

Excitation signal generator

• Three generators with mixer: bowing noise, blowing noise, percussive impulses.
• Envelope contour for bowing and blowing.
• Bowing noise generator: particle-like scratching noise with 2-pole low-pass filter.
• Blowing noise generator: granular pitched noise with wavetable-like scanning between various tone colors.
• Percussive impulse generator: interpolates through a collection of impulsive excitations – including sampled sticks, brushes and hammers, and models of damped mallets, plectrums, or bouncy particles. 2-pole low-pass filter and pitch control.

Modal resonator

• Internally uses 64 zero-delay feedback state variable filters.
• Coarse, fine and FM frequency controls.
• Geometry: Interpolates through a collection of structures, including plates, strings, tubes, bowls.
• Brightness. Specifies the character of the material the resonating structure is made of – from wood to glass, from nylon to steel.
• Damping. Adds damping to the sound – simulates a wet material or the muting of the vibrations.
• Position. Specifies at which point the structure is excited.
• Space. Creates an increasingly rich stereo output by capturing the sound at two different points of the structure, and then adds more space through algorithmic reverberation.

Designed for Eurorack

• All exciter and resonator parameters have a dedicated CV input with attenuverter.
• Strength input, for amplitude control of the exciter section.
• Frequency control through a V/O input controlling the main resonator frequency, and an FM input.
• Two audio inputs: one pre-envelope and diffuser, the other patched straight to the resonator.
• Stereo audio output, with adjustable width/reverberation. It is also possible to output the raw exciter signal on one channel, and the raw resonator signal on the other.

Specifications

• Input impedances: 100k.
• CV range: +/- 8V. CVs outside of this range are simply clipped.
• Audio input level: calibrated for modular (10 Vpp).
• Audio acquisition and restitution: 16-bit, 32kHz.
• Internal computations on 32-bit floating point numbers.