Machines
A Machine is a sound engine — the DSP that generates audio on a track. Each track has its own selection of Machines, each with its own parameters and factory presets.
How Machines work
- Each of the 16 tracks runs one Machine at a time.
- Which Machines are available on a track is hard-wired in the DSP — this is how the tbd 16 stays responsive on a small CPU.
- The Rompler (sampler) is available on every track except Track 16.
- Track 16 is the Input track — it routes the external audio input through the mixer and FX.
- A Machine’s preset stores its parameter values plus the page/knob layout shown on the Sound Parameters screen.
Change the active Machine with Shift + FUNC3 (the Sound Preset browser). The left column is the Machine / group; the right column shows the presets for that Machine.
Machine reference
Click a Machine for the full profile — origin, character, parameters, and tips.
Drum synthesis
| Machine | Character | Based on |
|---|---|---|
| Synth Kick | Punchy synthetic kick | Mutable Instruments Plaits synthetic_bass_drum |
| Analog Bass Drum | Classic analog-style kick | Mutable Instruments Plaits analog_bass_drum |
| FM Kick / Bass | FM kick / tuned bass | CTAG FmKick (custom FM drum voice) |
| Digital Snare | Crisp modern snare | Mutable Instruments Plaits synthetic_snare_drum |
| Analog Snare | Warm analog-style snare | Mutable Instruments Plaits analog_snare_drum |
| Hi-Hat 1 | 808-style hi-hat | Mutable Instruments Plaits hi_hat |
| Hi-Hat 2 | Alt hi-hat preset | Mutable Instruments Plaits hi_hat |
| Rimshot | Short percussive rim | CTAG Rimshot by Robert Manzke |
| Clap | Layered analog clap | CTAG Clap by Robert Manzke |
Tonal synthesis
| Machine | Character | Based on |
|---|---|---|
| Acid Bass | 303-style acid line | Braids oscillator + diode-ladder filter |
| Mono Synth | Versatile mono voice | Mutable Instruments Braids macro oscillator |
| Wavetable Osc | Wavetable lead / pad | Braids-based wavetable oscillator |
| PolyPad | 24-voice chord pad | CTAG ChordSynth / PolyPad |
Sampler & Input
| Machine | Character | Based on |
|---|---|---|
| Rompler | Sample-playback voice | CTAG RomplerVoiceMinimal |
| Input | External audio passthrough | Track 16 only |
All Rompler tracks share one active sample kit. The kit is selected from the Project menu → Select kit. Each Rompler track picks a bank and slice inside that kit, so a single kit can drive up to 15 different sample sounds simultaneously.
Machine availability per track
Which Machines each track can host. A dot (●) means the Machine is available on that track in the factory default track setup.
| Machine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Synth Kick | ● | |||||||||||||||
| Analog Bass Drum | ● | |||||||||||||||
| FM Kick / Bass | ● | |||||||||||||||
| Digital Snare | ● | |||||||||||||||
| Analog Snare | ● | |||||||||||||||
| Hi-Hat 1 | ● | |||||||||||||||
| Hi-Hat 2 | ● | |||||||||||||||
| Rimshot | ● | |||||||||||||||
| Clap | ● | |||||||||||||||
| Acid Bass | ● | ● | ||||||||||||||
| Mono Synth | ● | ● | ||||||||||||||
| Wavetable Osc | ● | |||||||||||||||
| PolyPad | ● | |||||||||||||||
| Rompler | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | |
| Input | ● |
Track 16 is always the audio input — it cannot host a synth or sampler.
If you want a mostly-sample-based kit, load the sampler track setup from the Project menu → Change track setup (see Project Menu → Change Track Setup). It swaps most synth tracks to Rompler.
See also
- Macros & Presets — the three-layer model that turns a Machine into a playable instrument; also the Sound Preset browser reference.
- Sound Parameters — how to edit a Machine’s parameters on screen.
- Project Menu — Select kit and Change track setup for Rompler kits and machine assignments.
Credits & source
The tbd 16’s sound engines are the result of open-source work from several communities. On-device Machines are drawn from:
- CTAG TBD by Robert Manzke (Creative Technologies Arbeitsgruppe, FH Kiel) — the Rompler, Clap, Rimshot, PolyPad, FM Kick and the TBD03 acid-bass voice. Licensed under GPL 3.0. See the CTAG TBD project.
- Mutable Instruments open-source DSP — Plaits drum models power the Synth Kick, Analog Bass Drum, Digital/Analog Snare and the Hi-Hats; Braids provides the macro oscillator used by Mono Synth, Wavetable Osc and the TBD03 acid bass. Originally released by Émilie Gillet, MIT-licensed.
- TBD-16 integration layer (
rack/*, macro/preset system) by Per-Olov Jernberg (possan), LGPL 3.0.
Every Rack* file in the TBD-16 source lists the upstream header it wraps, so the exact lineage for every Machine is traceable in code.