How to resolve AdBlock issue? Beetlecrab Tempera v2.0 Update
Following last year’s eye- and ear-opening unveiling of Tempera with a show - stopping showcase suitably captivating the musical masses assembled at SUPERBOOTH23 in Berlin, Beetlecrab introduces its v2.0 firmware update - ultimately improving the boutique innovative electronic musical instruments producer’s hardware granular synthesizer that allows for full hands-on approaches to both live performance and sound design with numerous new features and bug fixes to polish and streamline its workflow while further expanding its possibilities - as of June 25…
As a multi-sample, 16-voice polyphonic granular synthesizer that allows for full hands-on approaches to both live performance and sound design, Tempera invites its users to blend tones like paint on a canvas with pristine audio processing - interacting intuitively with the compact, sturdily-built box to quite literally invoke sounds from beneath their fingertips. For Tempera could well be thought of as eight parallel stereo tape tracks that are arranged alongside each other in columns to form a kind of 2D tape surface, with fingers becoming ‘generators’ (or so-called Emitters) of one or more ‘tape heads’ (Grains) riding across the surface. Said surface is actually a fully- polyphonic touch-sensitive control interface (TouchGrid) upon which Emitters are placed, in turn producing streams of Grains; eight audio samples are arranged in those columns, in other words, resulting in thousands of Grains travelling across the surface to build up chopped breakbeats, delicate grain clouds, dramatic orchestral scores, and lush soundscapes - simultaneously, even - when placing and moving Emitters on the TouchGrid. Tempera’s powerful granular engine can produce chaotic scatters, loops, movements, and organised rhythms. And all with precise scrubbing or broad sprays - to return to that analogy of painting on a canvas with pristine audio processing.
Far from resting on its laurels, however, Beetlecrab’s v2.0 firmware update for Tempera has been three months in the making, improving the already advanced hardware granular synthesizer in question with numerous new features and bug fixes to polish and streamline its workflow while further expanding its possibilities: pre-Emitters FX send level - allows for adjusting the amount of effects applied to each Emitter for better separation of percussive and tonal sounds, for example, while also making it easier to layer complex sounds; relative X and Y scrubbing - Grains can be scrubbed in two dimensions across the TouchGrid surface with the greatest of ease, which is a perfect pairing for the Tempera concept in itself; adjustable LED (Light Emitting Diode) and Emitters colours - users can personalise the look of their Tempera to suit their needs, including better separation for those with colour blindness; improved onboard keyboard - new chromatic piano-like keyboard layout with improved usability and clear visual feedback for standalone operation; improved random Grains detune - can now be quantised to fifths, octaves, or both, providing a natural shimmer or additional harmony; upgraded reverb - new algorithm provides richer and smoother reflections as well as faster diffusion properties that are perfect for producing lush and wide soundscapes; doubling of per-voice modulators from five to 10 - thereby allowing for twice as many modulations simultaneously, as well as improved modulator visualisation - better visual feedback helps clarify their visual behaviour; stable and reliable MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) clock sync - improved clock BPM (Beats Per Minute) detection, even with jittery sequencers, so Tempera synchronises well with other gear; Canvas quick-save - handy and speedy shortcut for saving projects; Emitters editing shortcut - makes it easier to edit, cycle, and organise Emitters configurations; new Global MIDI channel parameter - easily integrate Tempera into a bigger setup while allowing for pre-Emitters MIDI channels; and last, but by no means least, upgraded delay - dot mode added alongside smoother filter colouring. “It’s the biggest upgrade so far - like three packed into one.” So says Beetlecrab’s Andre Sklenar, subsequently adding: “The most important thing was feedback from the Tempera community.”
Clearly, community is of utmost importance to Beetlecrab, further evidenced by simultaneously announcing that its Gallery an online space dedicated to user-created patches, providing somewhere to download, explore, and share creations - is coming out of BETA status and now open to all as a source of creativity and inspiration. Tempera is available to purchase directly from Beetlecrab with a four-week lead time.
