Braids (2015)

Voltage-controlled monophonic digital sound source

Sound source… like an oscillator? Not really. Most of the timbres it generates are so complex that approaching them with a classic analog modular setup would require a full case of oscillators, filters, VCAs, waveshapers and ring-modulators – that’s why they call it a macro-oscillator – intricate digital synthesis algorithms wrapped in oscillator’s clothes.

Each synthesis algorithm is controlled by two voltage controllable continuously variable parameters, Timbre and Color. Very often, these parameters simultaneously affect several dimensions of timbre, creating very complex movements which would be hard to generate with a traditional setup.

Voltage-controlled digital oscillator featuring 33 synthesis algorithms from 8 categories:

• analog VCO emulation (morphing through triangle/sine, sawtooth, square, pulse waveshapes)
• direct digital synthesis
• vowel/formant synthesis (VOSIM, vowel synthesis, additive harmonics)
• 2-operator FM
• physical simulation of tubes and strings
• wavetable synthesis with smooth XY interpolation
• filtered/coloured/pitched noise
• granular/particular

Bonus features: Auto-calibration, note quantizer, sample/bit rate controls, basic AD envelope to modulate the timbre when receiving a trigger.

Technical characteristics (units manufactured in September 2015 or later)

• Trigger input
• CV input (1V/oct.)
• Exponential FM CV input, with attenuverter
• Timbre CV input with attenuverter
• Color CV input
• Audio output
• All inputs: 100k impedance, DC to 4kHz.
• 12-bit CV capture.
• 96kHz, 16-bit audio processing (some algorithms 2x or 4x oversampled).
• Cortex-M3 ARM processor.
• Open-source hardware and firmware.
• Easy firmware updates through an audio interface.

Additional technical details for units manufactured before September 2015:

• 5V voltage source needed (for example Mutable Instruments Volts).
• Current consumption: +12V: 15mA ; -12V: 15mA ; +5V: 85mA.

http://mutable-instruments.net/modules/braids