Mozaic: MutatoR

MutatoR is a script found on PatchStorage that allows to apply independant note mutations and humanization to all 16 midi channels with 64 user-defined configurations organized in 4 banks. MutatorR can issue pattern based or random note drops, velocity changes, transpositions with scales and destination channel routings independenly for each channel to transform the melodic and rhyhtmic qualities of the input material.

The script is based on the concepts of the CopyCat, Midi Matrix Switch and ToggleChannels.

Like its predecessors it needs a special project setup:

• All midi generators need to send on different midi output channels and need to be routed into the MutatoR script
• All sound generator reacting to the midi generators need to read their midi input from the MutatoR script and also need to apply an input channel filter to select the correct generator.
• The more midi generators there are, the more variety can be created
• For sonic variety, you can add alternative sound generators receiving on separate midi channels

(See Midi routing for multi-channel-midi processing plugins for an overview about this topic)

Basically all generated midi input is fed into MutatoR on up to 16 separate midi channels and all sound generators listen to the output of the script, but each only to a different one of the channels.

There are three main views

• The CHANNEL View shows the applied modifications on the pad labels of each channel with different colors for each for the channel modes (Thru, Apply or Mute)

• The CONFIG View shows one of four configration banks in batches of 16 pads labeled with user-defined names. The banks have different colors: lavender, violet, magenta and yellow. The current active config is highlighted in light blue.

• The EDITOR View consists of 10 pages with knobs per channel focusing on one mutation aspect per page.

and two secondary views (SWAP/COPY, HELP)

This view shows the applied modifications on the pad labels of each channel.

The color of the pad and its heading shows the channel state

• Thru / Unlit Note data passes unmodified
• Apply / Green Modifications are applied ( ' ' signals an alternative output channel)
• Muted / Red All notes of this channel are suppressed

Tap a channels pad to toggle between Apply/Muted state. Double tap a channel pad (or press shift after holding the pad) to toggle between Apply/Thru state.

The config view allows to select the active configuration by pressing the corresponding pad.

The banks display is changed via the bank select knob, the banks are easisly distinguised by their different pad colors (lavender, violet, magenta and yellow). The currently selected configuration is highlighted with light-blue color.

The config name shown in the pad can be changed on the Channel Mode page in the config editor. If no name is assigned, but the configuration differs from the default '« »' name is used.

• The CHAN/conf knob toggles between CHANNEL and CONFIG View
• The SHIFT button toggles to the CONFIG EDITOR View for the current configuration
• The HELP knob toggles description view
• Holding shift and then pressing a pad enters SWAP/COPY View to swap or copy channels or configs

Use the EDIT knob to change between 10 modifiers:

• 1/10 Channel Mode (Thru, Apply, Mute) and output channel assignment
• 2/10 Note Drop Probability (0-99 %)
• 3/10 Note Drop-Pattern (256 pattern, 1/1 to 1/16 division)
• 4/10 Note Drop-Pattern Sneak-In Probability (0-99%)
• 5/10 Note Velocity Humanization (1-100%)
• 6/10 Note Velocity Offset (-64/+64)
• 7/10 Note Transpose Offset (-24/+24 notes)
• 8/10 Note Transpose Random Probability (0-100%)
• 9/10 Transpose Random Down Range (0-12 notes)
• 10/10 Transpose Random Up Range (0-12 notes)

The channel knobs determine the mode of a channel. Each of the channels can either be

• routed through unmodified (turned fully left)
• routed to its original channel (position differs, but it the channels default)
• routed to a different channel (playing it note with a different spund generator)
• muted (turned fully right)

Double-tap of a channel knob changes between 'mute' and the last dialed channel. A doube-tap in thru mode, changes to the original channel.

The Channel Mode page allows to configure the name shown on configs pads in the config view. The knob in the upper row selects the base name from the list of

   Break, Breakdown, Bridge, Buildup, Chorus, Drop, Fill, Hook, Intro
   Middle 8, Motif, Outro, Part, Pre-Chorus, Refrain, Solo, Variation, Verse    

The two lower knobs change subsection from (A-G) and number (1-8)

The Drop-Pattern page allows to choose any 8-step pattern and a beat division.

Turning a channel knob chooses on of 16 four-step pattern, double-tap changes to eight-step pattern and turing the knob now chooses the pattern for the last four steps. A third double-tap allows to change the pattern beat division from full bar to 1/16. Underlining shows which of the three parts are edited.

The xx and yy highlight which of the channels is shown in the pattern visualizer.

The pattern is displayed as hexadecimal value on the knob (because there are not enough chars allowed on knobs) - but it is additionally shown in the pattern visualizer on the upper right knobs. New notes are played during the 1s, and muted during the 0s. It is also possible to edit the patterns using the visualizers knobs

Upper row

• The leftmost knob changes edited channel, double-tap disables the visualizer
• The middle knob changes the first 4 steps
• The right knob changes changes the last 4 steps, turned to the left only 4 steps are used

Lower row

• The leftmost knob just shows the decimal pattern id
• The middle knob changes the beat division

The pattern-step knobs apply a gray-code like sequence, which makes it easier to select musical relevant patterns. 1111 via 1000 to 1101, 0010 via 0111 to 0000

• The 'Note Drop Probability' is applied to active pattern elements (1) and specifies the chance for not playing.
• The 'Drop-Pattern Sneak-In Probability' is applied to de-activated pattern elements (0) and specifies the chance for playing instead of pattern-dropping.

On the four transposition editor pages, two extra knobs are shown that allow to choose one of 24 scale presets and a root note to which all channels that have dialed in a tranposition are quantised to.

Iy you don't want to tranpose, but still apply the scale quantisation, dial in an a non-zero random tranpose probability with an up and down range of zero semi-tones.