Mutable InstrumentsTides Tidal Modulator (2018)

Mutable Instruments Tides 2018

Tides 2018, from Mutable Instruments, is a complex signal generator that can be used in many different modes, from envelope to LFO to shapeable audio oscillator. A development in the lineage of looping function generators such as the classic Serge DUSG and Buchla 281, Tides brings its own strengths to the modular ecosystem.

At the core is a simple skewable function generator, capable of acting in AD or AR modes (great for sequencer or keyboard control), as well as looping LFO-style functionality. A following wavetable-based waveshaper section allows alteration of curve shape, and further shaping section offers wavefolder and filter-based introduction of gnarly kinks or gentle smoothing, respectively. Throw it into audio range and the result is an oscillator offering a bounty of peculiar waveshapes.

The 2018 version of Tides offers four distinct outputs with different output modes, allowing each to produce a different waveshape, different amplitude, different timing, or different frequency. For everything from quadrature performance to chord generation and beyond, the Tides 2018 takes all the tricks of its predecessor and expands on them, making it a powerful central source of control, modulation, or sound.

Tides Features

• Update to Mutable's original Tides featuring multiple output modes
• AD, AR, and Looping envelope behavior
• Three frequency ranges: 2 minutes–2Hz, 0.125Hz–32Hz, 8Hz–2kHz
• Wave slope/asymmetry control with CV
• Shape control with CV (wavetable-based shaping)
• Smoothness control with CV (2-pole filter-based smoothing, wavefolder-based kinking)
• Syncable via external clock, audio, or any fluctuating signal
• 4 distinct output modes: different waveshapes, different amplitudes, differetn times, different frequencies
• Different Waveshapes mode produces main signal, asymmetric triangle, EOA gate, EOR gate
• Different Amplitudes mode produces controllable dispatching of main signal to each output
• Different Times mode produces voltage-controlled phase and apex shifting
• Different Frequencies allows creation of chords, polyrhythmic LFOs, envelopes, etc.
• 16-bit CV inputs, 14-bit outputs