Intellijel Designs - Tetrapad

Intellijel’s Tetrapad can be used as flexibly as the touchscreen of a tablet. The module features four ribbon sensors, which evaluate finger positions and pressure. Additionally, there are four rotary encoders with push function. What can you do with it? – A whole lot! Thanks to a total of nine modes of operation, it is possible to play drums, melodies and chords, change CV controllable parameters fluently / gradually or quickly turn functions on and off. On top of that, the Tetrapad can also be used as a quadruple LFO. – An extremely handy live tool!

The Tetrapad’s four touch sensors respond to both the vertical position of your finger and its pressure. Their feel is excellent. Wiping motions can be carried out smoothly. The pressure sensitivity is editable. Depending on the selected mode of operation, markings and twelve-digit LED meters visualize, for instance, note values, fader positions or LFO rates. In addition to the touch sensors, there are four push encoders. The functionality varies here as well. – But wait, there is more! Using the modules shift button, it is possible to switch between several behaviors for some control elements. For choosing between the Tetrapad’s nine modes of operation, there is another button. Multicolored LEDs help you to keep up with all this functionality. CV, gate and / or trigger signals are emitted via a total of eight outputs.

The nine modes of operation at a glance:

• Fader mode: The touch sensors work like sliders. If you remove a finger from the surface, the selected value is either retained or the control element snaps back. Additional control voltages are generated by the touch sensors' pressure sensitivity. The encoders can be used to set a slew rate for each fader. In result, abrupt switching between two values leads to a slow parameter change. – Great for smooth, more or less automated volume fades, filter adjustments and so forth.
  
  
• Voltages mode: Each touch sensor is divided into two areas, giving you access to eight stored voltages per output. Again, there is a slew parameter. – Perfect for morphing between different sound settings or to activate several envelopes, switches, and so forth at the same time.
  
  
• Keyboard mode: Turns the touch sensors into a keyboard with eight keys. There are parameters for selecting a scale, octave, root note and an inversion. The latter is useful because, in addition to the note played, three transposed pitch CV signals are generated. Other voltages emitted by the module include position and pressure CVs as well as trigger and gate.
  
  
• Custom keyboard mode: Similar to the keyboard mode described above, only instead of pitches being assigned automatically according to predefined scales, here you can set a note per key. By the way: You can also define a glide time in both keyboard modes.
  
  
• Drum mode: The touch sensors generate position CVs and gate signals. All other control elements remain inactive.
  
  
• LFO mode: Turns the Tetrapad into a quadruple LFO. For each low frequency oscillator, a separate, either unipolar (positive / negative) or bipolar waveform can be selected. You can choose between triangle, saw tooth, ramp, square and random. The touch sensors are used to set the LFO rates. In addition to the waveforms, the module generates a pressure CV per ribbon controller.
  
  
• Switches mode: The touch sensors are divided into two areas so that eight buttons are created. There are two modes of operation, selectable per ribbon controller: Momentary and toggle.
  
  
• Chord mode: Here you can select a four note chord plus root note per touch sensor. The corresponding pitch CVs are emitted via output one to four. Chords can be inverted. Furthermore, it is possible to rotate them from output to output. Other voltages emitted by the module include position and pressure CVs as well as trigger and gate.
  
  
• Custom chord mode: Similar to the chord mode described above, but here you can define each note of the chords separately.