Processor · Audio effect
Beards
Granular texture processor after Mutable Instruments Beads — a 4 second stereo buffer replayed by up to 32 grains, with feedback, freeze and reverb, controllable from Drift and Conductor.
Opinion
Best as a send on something sustained. A pad at Size 60%, Density 75%, Feedback 30% turns into a slowly shifting cloud; a drum loop at short Size and high Density becomes rhythmic grit. Put Drift on it and let Position and Density wander. The Tape quality adds a dark, crunchy character that sits well under a mix.
Functionality
Beards is a port of the grain engine in Emilie Gillet’s Mutable Instruments Beads (MIT). Stereo input is written into a 4 second buffer. Each grain reads from a point Position seconds back, with a length set by Size (below a third it plays backwards), an envelope set by Shape, a transposition set by Pitch, and a stereo pan. Density sets the grain rate: a steady clock below 48%, random clouds above 52%, and nothing between (use the Grain button). Four scatter controls randomise Position, Size, Shape and Pitch per grain. Transport sync (1/1 to 1/32) instead fires a grain on every bar/beat grid line while the host transport plays, locking the cloud to the tempo. Feedback recirculates the wet signal into the buffer, Freeze stops recording, and Quality chooses Digital, Vintage (12 bit) or Tape (8 bit mu-law).
Control from Drift and Conductor. On the MIDI in channel, CC 1 Position, 2 Size, 3 Density and 4 Dry/Wet match Drift’s default lanes, so Drift needs no setup; CC 5-12 reach Shape, Pitch, Feedback, Reverb and the scatters, and CC 64 freezes. On the Conductor channel, CC 21 Density, 22 Energy (Dry/Wet), 23 Mutation (scatter) and 24 = 127 Reset (fires a grain). Both channels are off by default. CCs move the controls but the panel does not follow.
Parameters
| Parameter | Range | Default | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Position | 0–100 % | 50 % | CC 1. Scatter randomises per grain |
| Size | 0–100 % | 50 % | CC 2. Below 33 % reverse |
| Shape | 0–100 % | 50 % | CC 5. Envelope plot shown on the panel |
| Pitch | −24 to +24 st | 0 | CC 6 |
| Density | 0–100 % | 75 % | CC 3, Conductor 21. 48–52 % is silent |
| Feedback | 0–100 % | 0 % | CC 7 |
| Dry/Wet | 0–100 % | 50 % | CC 4, Conductor 22 |
| Reverb | 0–100 % | 0 % | CC 8 |
| Freeze | off, on | off | CC 64 |
| Scatter (Position, Size, Shape, Pitch) | 0–100 % | 0 % | CC 10, 11, 12, 9; Conductor 23 |
| Quality | Digital, Vintage, Tape | Digital | |
| Grain | trigger | — | Conductor 24 = 127 |
| MIDI in | Off, 1–16, All | Off | |
| Conductor | Off, 1–16 | Off |
Status
Core DSP, deterministic tests, the VST3 target and the catalogue screenshot are complete. The Beads delay mode and CV/gate inputs are not ported. Host validation in REAPER remains.