Building instruments
Grid sound sources
Choose oscillators, noise and retro sound modules, with every source control and port.
The Grid sound sources make tones and noise for your instrument. Add them in the Module browser and connect their audio output to a filter, amplifier or output. See the modular Grid for the editing steps.
Pitch, notes and loudness
Note Input supplies three different signals. Connect Pitch to an oscillator’s Pitch input to follow notes, Gate to an envelope’s Gate, and velocity to a compatible loudness control. Pitch zero means C4; a change of 1 is one octave. An oscillator with no pitch cable uses its frequency setting.
An oscillator makes a continuous tone. To make notes start and stop, use an envelope and Gain / VCA. A typical chain is Oscillator → Gain / VCA → Output, with ADSR controlling the VCA’s gain input.
Oscillators and noise
These names and parameter labels match the module inspector. Select a card to see every control; the card itself shows only its first few. Numeric ranges are the inspector’s ranges.
| Module | Use and connections | Controls |
|---|---|---|
| Note Input | Turns played notes into pitch, gate and velocity. Notes → Pitch, Gate, velocity. |
No parameter controls. |
| Oscillator | A tone with five waveform choices. Pitch → out. |
waveform: sine, tri, saw, square, pulse; frequency: 20–20000 Hz; pulseWidth: 0.01–0.99 |
| Noise | White, pink or brown noise. none → out. |
color: white, pink, brown; amplitude: 0–1 ratio |
| Wavetable | A tone using one of four built-in waves. Pitch → out. |
frequency: 20–20000 Hz; shape: saw, square, triangle, sine; amplitude: 0–2 ratio |
| Sub Oscillator | A low companion oscillator; set its frequency for the desired interval. Pitch → out. |
frequency: 20–20000 Hz; waveform: sine, tri, saw, square, pulse; pulseWidth: 0.01–0.99; octave: -1, -2 |
| Supersaw | Up to seven detuned saw waves. Pitch → out. |
frequency: 20–20000 Hz; unison: 1–7; detuneCents: 0–100 (displayed as semitones; acts in cents); amplitude: 0–2 ratio |
| FM Operator | A sine carrier shaped by another audio signal in FM, phase modulation or ring mode. Pitch, mod → out. |
frequency: 20–20000 Hz; mode: fm, pm, ring; index: 0–50; feedback: 0–1 ratio |
| Ring Mod | Multiplies two sounds. a, b → out. |
No parameter controls. |
| Sync Oscillator | A slave oscillator reset by a rising zero crossing at sync. Pitch, sync → out. |
frequency: 20–20000 Hz; waveform: saw, square, pulse, triangle; pulseWidth: 0.01–0.99 |
The frequency setting is the oscillator’s base pitch in Hz. pulseWidth changes the balance of the two parts of a pulse wave. amplitude sets source level before later processing. On Supersaw, unison changes how many saws are combined, and detuneCents spreads their pitches. The spread is measured in cents: 100 cents is one semitone. Sub Oscillator starts at a lower frequency, but its visible octave selector currently does not change the pitch; use frequency to set the interval.
For FM Operator, patch a second source into mod. index controls modulation depth; feedback increases its feedback character. Begin with a low index and level, then raise them while listening. Ring Mod has no frequency knob because it multiplies the sounds arriving at a and b.
Retro sound modules
These modules deliberately produce coarse or aliased tones. They are sound-building modules rather than an emulation of a particular console.
| Module | Use and connections | Controls |
|---|---|---|
| Chip Pulse | Retro pulse tone with four duty cycles. Pitch → out. |
frequency: 20–20000 Hz; duty: 12.5%, 25%, 50%, 75% |
| Chip Triangle | A stepped triangle tone. Pitch → out. |
frequency: 20–20000 Hz |
| LFSR Noise | Clocked digital noise with a long or short repeat pattern. Pitch → out. |
frequency: 1–20000 Hz; mode: long, short |
| Chip Wavetable | A low-resolution wave tone with four built-in shapes. Pitch → out. |
frequency: 20–20000 Hz; waveform: sine, saw, triangle, pulse25 |
| Bitcrusher | Reduces bit depth; dither adds noise to soften quantisation. in → out. |
bits: 1–24; dither: off, on |
| Sample Rate Reducer | Holds samples at a lower update rate for rough digital tones. in → out. |
rateHz: 1–96000 Hz |
You can process any audio with Bitcrusher or Sample Rate Reducer, including a smooth oscillator or a bounced sample. Their digital roughness is part of the effect. For more processing choices, see Grid filters and modulation and Grid effect modules.