Gate Drift

$10.00

Also available in The Drift Pack at a greatly reduced price!

Gate Drift is a gate that opens and closes at random intervals. It can be used for all kinds of control and audio signals. You can define the shortest and longest times for how long the gate stays open and closed, and for the attack and release. The durations go up to one minute, which can be useful in generative ambient patches.

The cycle goes like this:

  1. Gate is closed. Wait for a random time between the gate closed MIN and MAX times (from 10 ms to one minute)
  2. Open the gate at a random speed between the attack MIN and MAX times (from 0 to one minute).
  3. When the gate is fully open, wait for a random time between the gate open MIN and MAX times.
  4. Close the gate at a random speed between the release MIN and MAX times.
  5. When the gate is fully closed, repeat.

You can choose between a linear and S-curve for the attack and release.

Gate Drift is useful for adding randomly and occasionally occurring elements into a patch. With audio signals, it works like a volume fader that opens only now and then. With control signals, it can fade in and out LFO's, DC voltages, etc.

Example: Feed the module a steady DC voltage that offsets an oscillator pitch by one octave, and route the gate output to the oscillator pitch modulation. Set the gate closed time to control how often the pitch bend occurs, and the gate open time to control how long it lasts. Set the attack and release to control the speed of the glide. Now you have a dramatic, unpredictable octave pitch bend!

Mono and stereo operation, use the left input and output jacks for mono.

Tips:

  • When you turn the module off by clicking the ON button, the gate closes and stops its regular cycle. While the module is off, you can manually open and close the gate by clicking any of the red/green status leds.
  • To enter exact values for the MIN and MAX times, double-click the knob, and enter the value in milliseconds, or add ā€sā€ for seconds.

Note: If a MIN knob is set higher than a MAX knob, they just internally switch places. The random range is always between these two values, no matter which one is larger.