TBDings

A modal / string-resonator voice covering plucked strings, struck modal bars, sympathetic strings (with chord quantization) and FM-bell timbres — wrapped with a wavefolder, a 5-shape envelope, three modulation modes (tremolo · pitch-envelope AM · polyphonic AM with optional harmonic snap) and a continuous AIR excitation source for steel-pan / wind-chime drone work.

Available on: Track 12 (Lead2) and Track 15 (Chordo) — selectable on both, alongside the track defaults (Wavetable Osc on Lead2, PolyPad on Chordo). Each instance is independently allocated — you can host TBDings twice for layered resonators.
Built on: Mutable Instruments Rings (modal resonator + sympathetic-string synthesis).

Character

Rings is a physical-modelling resonator — strike it with a pluck or excite it with continuous noise (AIR), and the model rings out per the resonator’s material, structure and damping. Each Rings model brings a different timbre family: modal bars, string clusters, FM bells, sympathetically-resonating string sets.

The TBD-16 wrapper adds a post-Rings wavefolder for harmonic grit (velocity-driven), three modulation modes for tremolo / AM / polyphonic-AM drama, a 5-shape envelope morph for plucked-vs-sustained character, and a global AIR master that fans across both TBDings slots — turn AIR up and the resonator hums at the played pitch continuously, even between notes.

Models

The Model knob picks one of 6 Rings resonator engines. SymQ is the chord-aware variant — pick it from the Model knob to enable the Chord knob.

Label Engine Character
Modal Modal resonator Bell- / bar-like modal voice; the most “tuned” character
Symp Sympathetic strings Multi-string cluster; chord knob silent here
Strg Inharmonic string (Karplus) Plucked-string with inharmonicity
FM FM-voice Bell / metallic FM timbres
SymQ Sympathetic strings, quantized Chord-aware sympathetic strings — Chord knob picks the chord type
S+Rv String + reverb Plucked string with internal reverb tail

Parameters

The default TBDings performance macro is organised as 4 pages, ordered for live performance: voicing controls on page 1, envelope-driven dramatic controls on page 2, supportive controls on later pages. Mirrors the TBDaits layout convention (Voice / Mod / … with Model + engine-aware knob on page 1).

Voice

The 4 main voicing controls. Model + Chord are adjacent because Chord’s display is engine-aware (only audible when Model = SymQ).

Parameter What it does
Model Engine selector (6 models — see table above)
Chord Chord type. Display reads “off” unless Model = SymQ — the knob is musically inert in the other 5 models, so the OLED tells the truth. Encoder still turns (you can pre-set the chord for when you switch into SymQ mode). 11 chord types: oct, 5, sus4, m, m7, m9, m11, 69, M9, M7, M
Bright Excitation brightness — opens / closes the resonator’s tonal centre
Damp Resonator damping — short pluck (CCW) vs sustained ring (CW). The natural decay-time control

Mod

Output-stage modulation drama controls (tremolo / AM with three modes, plus optional harmonic-snap quantizer) — one click from the Voice page for performance build/drops.

Parameter What it does
MDpth Modulation depth — the universal “drama” knob for build-ups and drops
MRate Modulation rate (mode-dependent: tremolo Hz, pitch-env decay speed, AM ratio)
MType Modulation mode: Trem (sine tremolo), PEnv (per-strum pitch envelope down from 2× note frequency), Poly (pitch-relative AM)
MSnap Harmonic-snap quantizer for Poly mode. When MType = Poly, snaps the AM frequency to harmonic ratios of the played note (0.5×, 1×, 2×, 3×, 4×, 5×, 6×, 8×). Display reads “off” when MType ≠ Poly — the toggle is musically inert in Trem and PEnv modes, so the OLED tells the truth. Encoder still works (you can pre-set the snap value before switching to Poly)

Two engine-aware knobs that say “off” when inert. TBDings has two controls that the underlying DSP only consults in specific modes:

  • Chord — only audible when Model = SymQ. Reads “off” in the other 5 models.
  • MSnap — only meaningful when MType = Poly. Reads “off” in Trem and PEnv modes.

In both cases the encoder still turns (so you can pre-set the value for when you switch into the active mode) — only the visible readout reflects the current functional state. This honest-display pattern means you never wonder “is this knob broken?” — the OLED tells you whenever the knob is currently doing nothing.

Excite

Excitation source + envelope shape — controls how the resonator is driven.

Parameter What it does
Air Continuous noise excitation amount. AIR turns the resonator into a hummed drone at the played pitch — try this for steel-pan or wind-chime textures. The global AIR master CC (channel 13 / CC 67) fans across all enabled TBDings instances
Pluck Manual extra-strum CC (rising-edge). Fires an additional excitation pulse at the resonator — useful for repeated plucks layered over a held note. Note: every note-on (sequencer step or keyboard) also strums the resonator regardless of this CC’s state
VelAmt Velocity → wavefolder drive amount (not amplitude). Scales how hard the post-Rings triangle wavefolder distorts the output: 0% = clean, 100% = heavy harmonic fold. Higher per-note velocity at higher VelAmt = louder + crunchier
EnvSh Envelope shape morph — interpolates between 5 named shapes (Plck → Pad). The shape modulates internal brightness (and adds a small per-strum pitch bloom); the resonator’s own ringing decay (Damp) sets the audible tail length, not EnvSh

Reson

Secondary resonator controls — pitch detune, structural character, polyphony.

Parameter What it does
Freq Pitch detune (±12 semitones / 1 octave around the played MIDI note). Hi-res NRPM knob — sub-cent precision at center, octave at extremes
Struct Resonator structure parameter (per-model: inharmonicity, modal coupling, string interval, etc.)
Pos Excitation position along the resonator — closer to the centre = darker harmonics; off-centre = richer overtone mix
Poly Internal polyphony: 1v / 2v / 4v. Higher polyphony = more overlap between strums

Global AIR master

Track 13’s CC 67 acts as a TBDings AIR master: the value fans out to every enabled TBDings instance’s Air parameter, letting you crossfade between “all dry” and “all hummed drone” with a single CC. Useful in performance for one-handed AIR control across both TBDings slots simultaneously.

Set Model = SymQ, pick a chord with the Chord knob (11 snappy detents), and play a single MIDI root note — TBDings voices the full chord on the resonator. Lock Chord per step in the sequencer to step through chord progressions on a held root.

Crank Air for drone work — the resonator hums continuously at the played pitch even between sequencer steps. Combine with Damp at the top of its range for sustained pad textures.

Use MType = PEnv with high MDpth for a per-strum pitch-down “talking” effect — each note attacks from above the played pitch and falls toward it. Great for melodic bass plucks.

Playing TBDings

With the sequencer: per-step velocity drives the wavefolder via VelAmt, so harder steps sound brighter / crunchier. Lock Chord per step (in SymQ mode) to step through chord changes on a sustained root note. Lock MType for drama drops (kick into Poly AM with MSnap on for sudden timbre shifts).

With an external keyboard: each note re-strums the resonator. Held keys sustain via the resonator’s natural decay (Damp knob controls the decay time). The Pluck CC can re-strum without re-triggering the envelope — useful for staccato pluck patterns over a single held envelope state.

Two TBDings slots: Track 12 hosts TBDings as the boot default; Track 15 can also host TBDings (selectable from the Setup screen). Each instance has its own preset, params and AIR value — but the global AIR master CC fans across both, letting you crossfade them together.

See also

  • TBDaits — 24-engine Plaits-extended voice (DX7 / Wave Terrain / String Machine and more).
  • Mono Synth — single-engine Braids-based monophonic alternative.
  • PolyPad — chord-pad voice with built-in chord generator.

Origin & credits

TBDings wraps the Mutable Instruments Rings modal-resonator DSP for the TBD-16 PicoSeqRack plugin host.

Rings is © 2015 Émilie Gillet, MIT-licensed. The DSP provides 6 resonator models (Modal, Sympathetic Strings, Inharmonic String, FM Voice, Sympathetic-Strings-Quantized, String + Reverb) plus an internal strummer for note-onset detection.

The TBD-16 wrapper adds:

  • A 5-shape envelope morph + velocity-routed wavefolder for harmonic grit
  • Three modulation modes (Tremolo / Pitch-Envelope AM / Polyphonic AM with optional harmonic snap)
  • A continuous AIR excitation source so the resonator can hum at note pitch between strums
  • A global AIR master CC fanning across all TBDings instances for performance-grade single-knob drone control
  • PSRAM placement-new for rings::Part + rings::Strummer so the wrapper doesn’t blow the PicoSeqRack object size budget

The wrapper’s design draws from the Korg phase8-style “single-strum acoustic synthesis” idiom — the project codename internally is “FaseAcht.”