Mutable Instruments - Warps

Warps blends and combines two audio signals through a variety of cross-modulation algorithms – some of them emulating classic analog circuits, some of them purely digital. Most of these sonic transformations make the distinction between a carrier signal and a modulator signal: the former will be filtered or modulated to acquire some of the characteristics of the latter. Warps also includes a digital audio-rate oscillator which can replace the external carrier signal.

The cross-modulated sound can be sculpted with control voltages along 4 dimensions: by controlling the amplitude and distorting/waveshaping the input signals, by smoothly scanning through the collection of modulation algorithms, and by adjusting a timbre parameter controlling the brightness/harshness of the modulated signal.

Carrier and modulator both feature an audio input, a level control and a level CV input.

Seven algorithms are available between which can be blended using the large potentiometer and a CV. The sound can be controlled with the TIMBRE parameter and CV input:

• Crossfader: Timbre fades with constant power between carrier and modulator signal.
• Crossfolding: Carrier and modulator are summed and a little corss modulation is added. The resut is processed by a wave folder whose strangth is determined by Timbre.
• digital diode ring modulator: carrier and modulator are ring modulated pretty roughly. Timbre controls level and simulates a diode distortion.
• digital ring modulator, working cleaner than the one before, simulating an analog ring mod. Timbre controls level and adds soft clipping.
• XOR modulation: both signals are converted to 16Bit integers and these values are combined by an XOR logic. Timbre determines which Bits are XOR'ed together.
• Comparator and rectifier: carrier's negative portions are replaced by these of the modulator, on the other hand the absolute values of both signals are read out differently. Timbre morphs through these signals.
• Three vocoder algorithms with 20 bands, which differ in their envelope follwers' release times: from short releases to freezing the spectrum. Timbre warps the connections of analysis and synthesis sections and shifts formants.

Instead a second VCO you might as well use the internal digital oscillator which features voltage control of frequency, varoius waveforms and filtered noise. The internal VCO's signal is aviailable at the AUX socket.