mi-UGens
Description
Mutable Instruments was a popular Eurorack module company from Normandy. The designer, engineer, and founder of Mutable Instruments, Émilie Gillet, has made all of her work open source. Volker Böhm has taken the time to port some of these modules to SuperCollider under the project title mi-UGens (no affiliation with Mutable Instruments).
Significant further work to make mi-UGens functional in Tidal was done by a large number of forum users, documented in this thread by @chrislo
Contents
- Installation Method (opens a new page) for Windows, Mac and Linux
- Synth Reference for miOmi, miBraids and miPlaits
- Effects Reference for miVerb, miClouds, miRings, etc
Synths
All mi-UGens Synth modules support the following common SynthDef parameters
Supported parameters (default value)
| Parameter | Default |
|---|---|
freq | 440 |
sustain | 1 |
pan | 0 |
begin | 0 |
end | 1 |
speed | 1 |
accelerate | 0 |
omi
Description: miOmi or "Ominous Voice", an almost vibraphone-like synth, electric bass lows and tinkling highs. omi does not take any extra parameters.
Example:
d1 $ s "omi" <| note "a [~ g] [c b] [g gs]"
# octave "<3 4 5 6 7 8>"
# sustain "{1 2 1}%8"
braids
Description: miBraids is a voltage-controlled monophonic digital sound source. Each algorithm is controlled by two continuously variable parameters, timbre and color. More information...
| Parameter (def) | Range | Description |
|---|---|---|
model (0) | 0-47 | 48 available model selections, for details on each of the models see this manual |
timbre (0.5) | 0.0-1.0 | model specific tone control |
color (0.5) | 0.0-1.0 | model specific tone control |
Example:
d1 $ s "braids" <| note "a [~ g] [c b] [g gs]"
# octave "<3 4 5 6 7 8>"
# sustain "{1 2 1}%8"
# model (slow 48 $ run 48)
# timbre (slow 3 sine)
# color (saw)
plaits
Description: miPlaits is the spiritual successor of miBraids, with direct access to a large palette of easily tweakable raw sonic material, covering the whole gamut of synthesis techniques. More information...
| Parameter (def) | Range | Description |
|---|---|---|
engine (0) | 0-15 | 16 available engine selections, the later numbers focus on noisy and percussive sounds. All engines are detailed in the Plaits engine page |
timbre (0.5) | 0.0-1.0 | engine specific tone control - sweeps the spectral content from dark/sparse to bright/dense |
harm (0.5) | 0.0-1.0 | engine specific tone control - harmonics controls the frequency spread or the balance between the various constituents of the tone |
morph (0.5) | 0.0-1.0 | engine specific tone control - explores lateral timbral variations |
level (1) | 0.0-1.0 | Opens the internal low-pass gate, to simultaneously control the amplitude and brightness of the output signal. Also acts as an accent control when triggering the physical or percussive models |
lpgdecay (0) | 0.0-1.0 | adjust the ringing time of the LPG and the decay time of the internal envelope |
lpgcolour (0) | 0.0-1.0 | adjust the response of the LPG, from VCFA to VCA |
lpg d c | see above | convenience function for simultaneous lpgdecay and lpgcolour control |
mode (0) | 0-1 | synthdef specific mode to control signal mixing, more information |
Example:
d1 $ s "plaits" <| note "a [~ g] [c b] [g gs]"
# octave "<3 4 5 6 7 8>"
# sustain "{1 2 1}%8"
# engine (slow 16 $ run 16)
# timbre (slow 3 sine)
# harm (slow 4 saw)
# morph (slow 9 saw)
# level (slow 8 sine)
tides
Description: miTides is a tidal (not, Tidal) modulator based on the concept of Flow (a voltage goes up) and Ebb (a voltage goes back to it's initial level). More information...
| Parameter | Range | Description |
|---|---|---|
tidesshape (0.5) | 0.0-1.0 | shape of the ascending and descending segments |
tidessmooth (0.5) | 0.0-1.0 | waveshape transformation, 0.0-0.5 smooths edges, 0.5-1.0 adds kinks and bumps along the slope |
slope (0.5) | 0.0-1.0 | ratio between the durations of the ascending and descending segments |
shift (0.5) | 0.0-1.0 | mode specific control, adjusting amplitude and other parameters |
mode (2) | 0-3 | different output modes. For details see the Manual |
Example:
d1 $ s "tides" <| note "a [~ g] [c b] [g gs]"
# octave "<3 4 5 6 7 8>"
# sustain "{1 2 1}%8"
# mode "<0 1 2 3>"
# shift (slow 5 sine)
# tidesshape (slow 7 sine)
# tidessmooth (range 0.2 1 $ slow 8 sine)
# slope (slow 3 sine)
Effects
verb (global)
Description: miVerb is a gentle reverb implemented as a global effect with a large number of tweakable parameters
| Parameter | Range | Description |
|---|---|---|
verb w t d h | na | convenience function, combining wet, time, damp, and hp |
verbgain | 0.0-1.0+ | gain level |
verbwet | 0.0-1.0 | dry/wet mix |
verbtime | 0.0-1.0+ | sustain time, be careful with feedback using values over 1 |
verbdamp | 0.0-1.0 | suppression on the sustain, higher values suppress more quickly |
verbhp | 0.0-1.0 | smaller values emulate larger chamber spaces |
verbfreeze | 0 | 1 | enable with 1, freezes the last reverb event allowing it to tail off completely |
verbdiff | 0.0-1.0 | new verb events interact with existing verb trails, lower values for a more pronounced effect |
Example:
d1 $ s "[[bd sd], linnhats*8]"
# verb 0.9 0.9 0.1 0.2
clouds (global)
Description: miClouds is a granular audio processor. It creates textures and soundscapes by combining multiple overlapping, delayed, transposed and enveloped segments of sound taken from an audio recording buffer. More information...
| Parameter | Range | Description |
|---|---|---|
clouds p s d t | na | convenience function, combining pos, size, dens and tex |
cloudsblend w s f r | na | convenience function, combining wet, spread, fb and rvb |
cloudspos | 0.0-1.0 | selects from which part of the recording buffer the audio grains are played |
cloudssize | 0.0-1.0 | grain size |
cloudspitch | 0.0-1.0 | transposition |
cloudsdens | 0.0-1.0 | grain density |
cloudstex | 0.0-1.0 | grain texture, morphs through various shapes of grain envelopes |
cloudsgain | 0.0-1.0+ | gain level |
cloudswet | 0.0-1.0 | blend wet/dry mix |
cloudsspread | 0.0-1.0 | blend stereo spread |
cloudsfb | 0.0-1.0 | WARNING values over 0.3 get dangerous - blend feedback amount |
cloudsrvb | 0.0-1.0 | blend reverberation amount |
cloudsfreeze | 0 | 1 | stops the recording of incoming audio, granularization is now performed on the last piece of audio |
cloudsmode | 0-3 | infamous alternate modes, 0 = normal operation, 3 = spectral processor |
cloudslofi | 0.0-1.0 | undocumented |
Example:
d1 $ s "[[bd sd], [linnhats*8]]"
# clouds 0.1 0.5 0.05 0.1
# cloudsblend 1 0.2 0.33 0.8
elements
Description: miElements is a modal synthesis voice effect, generating raw sounds from a variety of sound creation techniques (bowing, blowing, or striking). More information...
| Parameter | Range | Description |
|---|---|---|
elementsstrength | (-1.0)-1.0 | attenuates (negative) or amplifies (positive) the excitation signal |
elementspitch | 0.0-1.0 | fundamental frequency of the resonator |
elementscontour | 0.0-1.0 | envelope applied to the bow/blow exciters |
elementsbowlevel | 0.0-1.0 | amplitude of scratching/bowing resonator |
elementsbowtimb | 0.0-1.0 | smoothness of the bow material |
elementsblowlevel | 0.0-1.0 | amount of granular blowing noise sent to the resonator |
elementsblowtimb | 0.0-1.0 | pitch/granulation rate of the noise generator |
elementsflow | 0.0-1.0 | airflow of the blow generator |
elementsstrikelevel | 0.0-1.0 | amount of percussive noise sent to the resonator |
elementsstriketimb | 0.0-1.0 | brightness/speed of the percussive excitation |
elementsmallet | 0.0-1.0 | changes the type of percussive noise |
elementsgeom | 0.0-1.0 | geometry and stiffness of the resonating structure, from plates, to strings, to bars/tubes, to bells/bowls |
elementsbright | 0.0-1.0 | low values simulate wood/nylon, high values simulate glass or steel |
elementsdamp | 0.0-1.0 | how quickly energy dissipates through the material |
elementspos | 0.0-1.0 | simulate different string/surface excitation points |
elementsspace | 0.0-1.0 | stereo width and amount of reverb applied to sound |
elementsmodel | 0 | 1 | undocumented |
elementseasteregg | 0 | 1 | undocumented |
Example:
d1 $ s "[[bd sd], linnhats*8]"
# elementsstrength "0.9"
# elementspitch (slow 3 sine)
# elementsblowlevel 0.6
# elementsblowtimb (slow 5 sine)
# elementsflow "{0.3 0.6 0.7}"
# elementsstrikelevel 1
# elementsstriketimb 0.1
# elementsmallet rand
# elementseasteregg "[1 | 0 | 0]"
# elementsmodel "[0 | 1]"
# elementscontour (slow 5 saw)
# elementsgeom 2
# elementsbright (slow 7 saw)
# elementsdamp 0
# elementspos 0.314
# elementsspace 0.9
mu
Description: miMu is a low frequency distortion effect, works best on long release, low frequency sounds
| Parameter | Range | Description |
|---|---|---|
mu | 0-5+ | adjusts gain and applies a low frequency distortion |
Example:
d1 $ s "bass1:1"
# mu 5
# gain 0.7
rings
Description: miRings is a resonator effect with three families of vibrating structures simulated. More information...
| Parameter | Range | Description |
|---|---|---|
rings f s b d p | na | convenience function |
ringsfreq (440) | 0-1500+ | adjusts pitch, higher values are higher pitches, does not enjoy being patterned much |
ringsstruct | 0.0-1.0 | model specific control, see the manual |
ringsbright | 0.0-1.0 | adjust level of higher harmonics in the signal |
ringsdamp | 0.0-1.0 | controls the decay time, smaller values for shorter decay |
ringspos | 0.0-1.0 | excitation position |
ringsmodel | 0 | 1 | toggle between modal, and sympathetic string resonators |
ringspoly | 0 | 1 | toggle polyphonic mode on |
ringsinternal | 0 | 1 | undocumented |
ringseasteregg | 0 | 1 | undocumented |
Example:
d1 $ s "[[bd sd], linnhats*8]"
# rings 100 rand 0.7 (slow 3 sine) 0.9
# ringsmodel "[0|1]"
# ringspoly "[0|1|0]"
# ringsinternal "[1|0|1|1]"
ripples
Description: miRipples is an analog 4 pole filter. More information...
| Parameter | Range | Description |
|---|---|---|
ripples c r d | na | convenience function |
ripplescf | 0.0-1.0 | cutoff frequency, 20Hz to 20kHz |
ripplesreson | 0.0-1.0+ | resonance, self resonance occurs from ~0.75 |
ripplesdrive | 0-5 | gain level |
Example:
d1 $ s "[[bd sd], linnhats*8]"
# ripplescf 0.4
# ripplesreson (range 0.5 1 $ slow 7 sine)
# ripplesdrive "{1 3 5}%2"
warps
Description: miWarps offers a variety of wave-shaping and cross-modulation effects. More information...
| Parameter | Range | Description |
|---|---|---|
warpsalgo | 0-7 | modulation algorithm. See the manual |
warpstimb | 0.0-1.0 | intensity of high harmonics, or algorithm tone control |
warpsosc | 0-3 | internal oscillator state and waveform |
warpsfreq | 0.0-1.0 | external carrier amplitude or internal oscillator frequency |
warpsvgain | 0.0-1.0 | non-functional? |
warpseasteregg | 0 | 1 | undocumented |
Example:
d1 $ s "[[bd sd], linnhats*8]"
# warpstimb (slow 5 sine)
# warpsosc "<0 1 2 3>"
# warpsalgo "<0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 6>"
# warpsfreq (slow 3 saw)
# warpseasteregg 1