Mutable Instruments Beads
Mutable Instruments Beads £260
Is this reimagining of popular texture synth Clouds a case of blue-sky thinking? Rob Redman investigates
CONTACT WHO: Mutable Instruments WEB: mutableinstruments.com
KEY FEATURES Four levels of sample rate, Random and equally rates of granule playback, Internal modulation from the attenurandomizers
THE PROS & CONS
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Lots of character
Can act as a wavetable voice without audio input
Emulations for tape wow and flutter
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Feedback, mix and reverb can only be modulated individually
ATTENURANDOMIZERS
We all know that one of the keys to a successful modular setup is modulation. Yes, VCAs are the things we know we need most of but only because we use them to dictate the where and when of our modulations. Well, in Beads, Mutable Instruments have taken this to a new height, with attenuators that, turned clockwise, act as you’d expect, attenuating the incoming modulation source. However on Beads they’re called attenurandomizers, as a turn counter-clockwise internally randomises the attribute they’re attached to. Plug in an external mod source and this counter clockwise turn instead increases the external modulation. This is a fantastic addition to modular that I hope gains traction, as that one small pot can control three different styles of modulation. The only downside is that there are no attenurandomisers for grain density or the assignable input for feedback, mix and reverb. Density would’ve been useful but I imagine modulating the seed might go some way.