FOUR MORE AGENTS OF CHAOS…
Newfangled Audio Pendulate 1
Pendulate is a free monosynth plugin. It’s an eccentric virtual synth that takes some inspiration from Don Buchla’s West Coast modular designs, including
Low Pass Gates and a wavefolder. Its most interesting feature, however, is the Chaotic Oscillator, which is a sound generator based around a dual-pendulum design, which can add unpredictability and instability to the oscillator waveform itself. At higher levels, this results in a distortionlike effect that is similar, although tonally different, to wavefolding of audio-rate filter modulation. For a more complex take on the same idea try Pendulate’s paid-for sibling Generate, which adds polyphony and extra Chaos modes for the oscillators.
Audiomodern Riffer 2
There are countless MIDI sequencer plugins that include probability or chance functionality. In fact, most DAWs now offer at least some form of probability sequencing, including Ableton Live 11
(see p53). Of all the randomised sequencer plugins we’ve tried though, Audiomodern’s Riffer is a favourite. It’s an easy-to-use tool that allows users to set a scale, number of steps and complexity of a sequence and then let the plugin autogenerate a pattern. It’s a fantastic creative blockbuster when it comes to generating lead and basslines. Version 3.0 has added the ability to output polyphonic patterns or send up to four independent riffs to separate place simultaneously – very cool!
Logic Pro’s Scripter 3
Logic’s Scripter plugin is an often overlooked MIDI effect that lets users create custom sequencing tools using JavaScript editing. While creating custom scripts may seem daunting, it comes stocked with lots of customisable presets. The Drum Probability Sequencer allows full probability step sequencing that can be used on drums and melodic devices alike. While it’s not the most visually inspiring sequencer out there, there’s plenty of depth for creating patterns with an element of unpredictability. The bonus of Scripter’s JavaScript-based nature is that it’s entirely possible to customise presets or build your own sequencing devices from the ground up.
Elektron, Arturia and Novation gear 4
Most Elektron gear comes tooled-up with both chance and conditional sequencing tools. These allow users to not only input probability for individual steps, but also set conditions, such as having triggers that only sound after a certain amount of sequencer cycles. Novation and Arturia have both incorporated chance into recent sequencer gear. Novation’s Launchpad Pro is particularly interesting, letting users not only set a probability value for steps, but offering a Mutation function that can add spontaneous pitch variation. On the Arturia front, the KeyStep Pro includes step probability settings and a fun ‘Walk’ mode that semi-randomises the direction of the arpeggiator.