User Manual
Mutable Instruments Braids
Intro
Overview
Getting started with Braids
Braids oscillator algorithms overview
Parameters
The setup menu
Inputs
Outputs
MI Braids module in use
Credits
The Mutable instruments Braids eurorack module was released 2013 and has since then become one of the most desirable and popular modules among the eurorack crowd. It is a voltage controlled digital oscillator featuring 45 different oscillator algorithms in a wide variety of synthesis paradigms. Hidden beneath the surface is a plethora of useful functions such as built in quantization scales, envelope, VCA and bit reduction – Braids is truly the Swiss-army knife of oscillators!
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- Setup button
- Down button
- Up button
- Edit dial
- FM modulation knob
- Timbre modulation knob
- Color knob
- Display
- Coarse tune knob
- Fine tune knob
- Timbre knob
- Trig input
- V/Oct CV input
- FM input
- Timbre CV input
- Color CV input
- Output
Braids is a very deep and versatile module, but here’s some steps on how to get started and getting to know your Braids module in Softube Modular:
1. Select your Braids module from the module select view (brought up via the “Add” button on the center bar). When your Braids module is selected and placed in the virtual rack, connect Braids out jack to main out in order to hear what it sounds like. You will hear a buzzy sawtooth sound, the CSAW algorithm.
2. Now add MIDI control over pitch by adding a MIDI- to-CV module, found among the DAW and MIDI interfacing modules in the module select view. When this module is selected and added to your rack, connect the MIDI note output on the MIDI-to-CV module to the V/Oct CV input jack. Now, when your DAW plays MIDI notes, you will hear Braids module pitch tracking the notes played.
3. Braids features a multitude of different oscillator algorithms. Change the currently used algorithm by turning the edit knob (click on and drag your mouse up or down). Changing algorithms can also be achieved by clicking on the up or down button located on the top right on the Braids module.
4. Some algorithms in Braids need to be excited, pushed or plucked into oscillation in order to be heard. Change algorithm to no 31, “Bell”. You’ll notice that this algorithm is dead silent. Connect the trig output of the MIDI-to-CV module to the trig input of Braids. Now, when playing a MIDI note in your DAW, an inharmonic Bell sound is heard. You can change some properties of the bell sound by tweaking the timbre and color knobs.
5. Add a modulation source to perform some automatic tweaking of a parameter, for example by connecting an A-147 LFO to the timbre CV input of Braids. The modulation amount applied to timbre can now be set via the modulation “attenuverter” knob. Attenuverter means that no modulation is applied when this knob is at 12 o’clock, full positive modulation when it is fully clockwise, and of course full negative modulation when it is fully counter-clockwise.
6. Braids features a setup menu for deeper configuration. This mode is entered by clicking on the setup button. While in setup mode, this button remains lit to indicate that editing is being done within setup. Here you’ll find settings for samplerate, bit-depth, quantisation, the internal vca and envelope. These features are all described in detail in the section below called “The Setup menu”.
Braids oscillator algorithms overview
Mutable Instruments Braids features a formidable smorgasbord of different oscillator algorithms. There are 45 different oscillator algorithms, all listed below. The list below features a short description of each of the algorithms, what they are and what function the timbre and color knobs have.
Classic analog waveforms
Digital synthesis
Vocal synthesis and formants
Physical simulations
Wavetables
Noise
Setup: This button toggles between the Wave selection and Setup mode in Braids. When in Setup menu, this button is used to edit a value of a certain menu parameter (see further description below). You can always exit from the setup menu swiftly by clicking on the display.
Up arrow: This button is equal to turning the edit dial one step upwards in a menu or increasing a value by one when editing a setup option.
Down arrow: This button is equal to turning the edit dial one step downwards in a menu or increasing a value by one when editing a setup option.
Edit dial: This dial scrolls upwards and downwards and is used to select between different Braids' different algorithms and menus.
Fine: This is the fine tuning of Braids. Turning this knob tunes Braids one semitone up and down in pitch from its knob center position.
Coarse: This knob controls the coarse tuning of Braids. It has a full range frequency that span over 9 octaves for most of the oscillator algorithms.
FM: This knob is a so called attenuverter that controls the positive or negative frequency modulation of the currently selected oscillator algorithm. At counter-clockwise frequency modulation is at full minus 100%, at 12 o'clock 0% and at fully clockwise, it is at 100%.
Timbre: The Timbre knob performs different functions for each oscillator algorithm. The value set is an offset to the Timbre modulation entered via the Timbre CV in jack which is being attenuated via the Modulation knob (see description below).
Modulation: This knob is the amount of positive or negative modulation applied to the timbre parameter via the Timbre CV in jack.
Color: The Color knob also performs different functions for each oscillator algorithm. Its value is also an offset to the control signals entered via the Color CV in jack (see further description below).
The Setup menu on Braids can be entered at any time by clicking on the Setup button when in Wave selection mode. The display on Braids will then show the text “WAVE” on screen, indicating that we have now entered the first page of the setup menu. While in the menu, the Setup button LED remains lit green while browsing between the different setup options, and changes to lit red when setup is pressed again to edit/ change a parameter.
Selecting a setup option.
While editing a setup option, the setup button LED is lit red.
In the setup menu, the edit Dial and/or the up and down arrows are used to scroll between the different setup menu pages displaying the different setup parameters. The setup button is then used for entering and exiting edit of a certain setup parameter.
Exiting the setup menu is done by clicking the setup button again when on the “WAVE” screen (or on the “v 1.8” firmware version screen). But remember that you can always also swiftly exit from the setup menu by clicking on the display - this will send you directly to the currently used waveform page.
Listed below are all setup parameters:
WAVE: This is the “transition” page of the setup menu. If the setup button is clicked when on this page, setup menu is exited out to the Wave selection mode.
META: This parameter changes the behavior of the FM CV input if engaged. When META is set to “on”, the FM CV input jack can be used to change between the different oscillator synthesis models.
BITS: This parameter sets the bit-depth of the data sent to the (emulated) DAC.
RATE: Selects the refresh rate of the (emulated) Braids DAC.
TSRC: This parameter selects a trigger source. “EXT.” uses the gate/trigger input jack while “AUTO” option makes Braids detect changes in the V/Oct CV input larger than a semitone and generates trigger on each of these.
TDLY: Trigger Delay. This parameter applies a delay between the moment the trigger is received and the moment the note is “struck” on the physical models.
|\ATT: This is the attack time of the internal AD envelope generator.
|\DEC: This is the decay time of the internal AD envelope generator.
|\FM: This is the amount of FM modulation induced by the internal AD envelope generator when triggered.
|\TIM: This is the amount of Timbre modulation induced by the internal AD envelope generator when triggered.
|\COL: This is the amount of Color modulation induced by the internal AD envelope generator when triggered.
|\VCA: This toggles the internal VCA on and off (default value). When set to “on”, Braids will remain silent until the internal AD envelope generator is triggered as it will then control the VCA level.
RANG: This parameter determines the range of the Coarse knob. The option “EXT. “ adjust the range of this knob to +/- 4 octaves around the note received on the V/Oct CV input (if this option is selected a very low frequency will be heard if nothing is connected to V/Oct CV input). The option “FREE” (default value) adjust the range of the coarse knob to +/- 4 octaves centered around C3 (261.5 Hz). The optional “XTND” mode provides a larger frequency range but disables accurate V/Oct scaling as a side effect. The last option “440” locks the oscillator frequency to 440Hz exactly – helpful when tuning another VCO.
OCTV: Octave selection. Transpose the oscillator up or down.
QNTZ: Quantization of incoming cv on the V/Oct CV input jack. The frequency can be quantized to semitones, to any one of the other available scales or disabled (default value).
ROOT: This setup parameter selects the root note for the selected quantizer scale.
FLAT: When engaged, this parameter applies a detuning in the lower and higher frequencies to recreate the tuning imperfections of VCOs.
DRFT: This parameter recreates the drifting of a badly designed VCO.
SIGN: When engaged, this parameter applies grunge, glitches and imperfections to the output signal.
v 1.8: This is the last item in the setup menu and it shows the firmware version being emulated in Braids for Modular. Clicking on setup here also exits to the Wave selection menu.
Trig in jack: The trig in jack on Braids has three functions: Braids physical models need to be “excited” by an impulse on this input to give birth to a sound. Other models will treat the trigger as a reset signal, bringing the phase of the oscillator algorithm to 0. This envelope can also be used to trigger the internal AD envelope applied to the parameters of your choice in order to create sound animation without the need of an external envelope.
V/Oct CV in jack: This is the 1V/Oct frequency input. Use this input to control the pitch of Braids from the MIDI-to-CV module or from a CV sequencer.
FM in: This is a frequency modulation CV input. The Scale and polarity of the signal input here is controlled via the FM attenuverter knob.
Timbre: This is the CV modulation input of the Timbre parameter of each oscillator model in Braids. The CV modulation that is input via the Timbre CV in jack is being attenuated via the Modulation attenuverter knob to add a positive or negative modulation to the offset value set by the Timbre knob on the panel.
Color: This is the CV modulation input of the Color parameter of each oscillator model in Braids. The CV modulation that is input via the Color CV in jack is being added to the offset set via the Color knob on the panel.
Out: This is the main output jack for audio output. Connect this to main output of modular to hear the results of your tweaks.
There are many fun uses for a module as versatile as Mutable Instruments Braids, but here’s some examples:
Standalone Synth
By activating the VCA function among the setup functions in Braids, the internal VCA will linked to the internal envelope. This example shows how you to link up your Braids module after VCA is set to “on” and TSCR to “Exti”.
Polyphonic Synth voice
A similar technique that is described above can of course be used to create polyphonic voices (see example pictured above). Only downside to using the internal envelope of Braids is that it does not contain a sustain/ hold level and thus are not suitable for long sustained chords.
Wavetables
The oscillator algorithms “WTBL”, “WMAP”, “WLIN” and “WTx4” are all different takes on wavetable synthesis. This technique, used in some of the most iconic early digital synths, plays back parts of pre-recorded and processed single cycle waveforms. The timbre knob and CV input modulation set currently played back waveform. In the example pictured an LFO is sweeping the wavetable of a chord set in the “WTx4” oscillator mode.
Acoustic modelling
Using some the acoustic modelling oscillator algorithms such as “PLUK” can produce some really exciting results, especially in combination with some of the special microtonal quantisation modes such as “JAPA” or “GAME” that can be selected in the setup menu.
Drums
Braids has some very nice analog drum models for bassdrum, snare and cymbal-noise built in. In the example pictured the algorithms “KICK” and “SNAR” are triggered from the trigger-sequencer. A combination of the “CYMB” algorithm, a Doepfer A-132-3 DVCA and two envelopes are used to create open and closed hihat.
Wave sequencing
So called wave sequencing patches can also be creating with Braids by switching on the META function in the setup menu. This enables the user to create sequences where the CV for each step will control the algorithms currently used. In the example pictured, the META functionality is used to create a (monophonic) drum track where the CV knobs for each triggered step will determine which kind of drum will be played back as well as the pitch of that drum.
Eric Hampusgård – Programming, modeling
Émilie Gillet – Original code, feedback
Kristofer Ulfves – Project management, presets, validation, user manual
Oscar Öberg – Programming, mentoring
Arvid Rosén – Mentoring
Bitplant – GUI graphics