Curves and Timing
Each slot plays one hand-drawn curve. Shape it, then decide how fast it runs and what starts it.
Draw a curve
The curve editor shows one cycle of the movement, left to right. A thin line shows where the cycle is playing.
| To do this | Do this in the curve editor |
|---|---|
| Add a point | Click empty space. Keep holding to drag it into place. |
| Move a point | Drag it. |
| Bend a segment | Drag the handle in the middle of the segment up or down. |
| Delete a point | Right-click it. The first and last points stay. |
| Start from a shape | Right-click empty space, or click Shape. |
A curve can have up to 32 points.
Shape
Loads a starting shape into the curve.
Choose Ramp Up, Ramp Down, Triangle, Sine, Square or Exponential, then edit from there.
Sync and length
Locks the cycle to your DAW's tempo.
With Sync, choose a length from 1/32 to 16 bars, including triplet (T) and dotted (D) values. With Free, the cycle runs at its own Rate.
Rate
Cycles per second when the slot runs free.
For a triggered curve, Rate sets how long one pass takes.
Mode
Sets how the curve plays.
- Loop repeats the curve.
- Ping Pong plays it forwards, then backwards.
- One Shot plays it once from a trigger and rests at its end.
For One Shot, draw a curve that ends at zero, such as Ramp Down. It rests at its end between triggers, so it idles with no modulation and only moves when fired.
Phase
Shifts where in the curve the cycle starts.
Smooth
Rounds off hard edges so they don't step or click.
Trigger
Chooses what restarts the curve.
| Trigger | What restarts the curve |
|---|---|
| Clock | The DAW timeline. Loop and Ping Pong follow the song position. One Shot fires when playback starts. |
| Transport | Every time playback starts. |
| Audio | The input crossing the Thresh level. If the compressor's detector uses the external sidechain, the sidechain is what's heard. |
| MIDI | Any MIDI note sent to the plugin. How you route MIDI to an effect depends on your DAW. |
Once fired, a triggered curve runs for its synced length (at the song tempo) or its free Rate. A Trig lamp flashes in the corner of the curve editor each time a trigger fires.
Thresh
The input level that fires the Audio trigger.
It re-arms 6 dB below the threshold and never fires twice within 20 ms. Play the track and raise Thresh until the Trig lamp flashes once per hit.
On long, low notes such as 808s, a small audio buffer (64 or 128 samples) can make the Audio trigger fire again mid-note. Use a buffer of 256 samples or more, or lower Thresh.
Fire
Starts the slot by hand, whatever its trigger.
Use it to audition a One Shot shape without playing anything.