Enclosures v2 — Manual
2. Interface
3. Playback Modes
4. Core Parameters
5. Layer Parameters
6. Presets
7. Generation Modes
1. Overview
Enclosures is a multichannel envelope generator designed for animated, continuously variable modulation.
The module outputs 8 independent envelopes.
Each envelope is generated from the same mode characteristic,
then differentiated per channel through internal variation controls.
The mode system provides 37 envelope algorithms, each with a distinct geometric and temporal behavior.
Depending on the selected mode, envelopes can range from stable and minimal
to dense, oscillatory, or strongly deformed trajectories.
2. Interface
The interface is organized into several functional areas,
each dedicated to a specific aspect of envelope generation and modulation control.
Generation Panel
Defines how envelopes are generated. The module generates an envelope for each incoming Note On event.
Mode Selector: selects the generation algorithm. Each mode defines a specific behavior for time distribution and value evolution.
Points: controls the number of breakpoints in the envelope. Higher values increase structural complexity.
Rebuild: generates a completely new envelope.
Deform: modifies the current envelope while preserving its overall structure.
Hold: reuses the same envelope without any change (useful for manual editing).
Start / End, Character, Curve, Quantize, Drift, Spread: global generation parameters (see Core Parameters).
Envelope Display
A multi-layered visual representation of the generated envelopes.
Each line represents one envelope channel. All envelopes share the same start and end points.
Differences between trajectories reflect the current generation mode and parameter settings.
This display reflects the actual modulation signals being produced.
Presets & Playback
Controls related to state recall and playback behavior.
Presets: save and recall complete states of the device.
Playback Mode: click the icon to switch between Triggered (envelopes restart on each note)
and Scan (manual traversal of the envelope shape).
Time Mode (Hz / Sync): defines whether envelope duration is free-running or synchronized to Live's tempo.
Scan: navigates through the 8 envelopes.
Jitter: amount of jitter around the scanned position of the envelope.
Time & Trigger Control
Defines how envelopes evolve over time.
Speed / Duration: sets the total duration of the envelope.
Grid: defines the grid size.
Rebuild: manually creates a new envelope.
Velocity Mapping (Lin / Exp): controls how incoming MIDI velocity affects envelope intensity.
Smooth: applies smoothing to all output signals.
Per-Channel Processing
Each envelope channel can be independently processed.
Stretch: scales the duration of the envelope. Click label: random values. Double-click: reset to 1.
Pre-Delay: adds delay before envelope playback. Click label: random per envelope. Double-click: reset to 0.
Smooth: applies per-channel smoothing.
Map: assigns the envelope to a target parameter.
Min / Max: defines the output range of the modulation signal.
3. Playback Modes
Rate mode
Envelope progression is driven by a playback rate,
either in free frequency (Hz) or synchronized to host tempo
(relative clock division/multiplication).
Manual scan mode
Envelope playback is replaced by direct position scanning.
The shape is read from a manually controlled position parameter,
allowing static reads or externally driven traversal.
4. Core Parameters
Start
Defines the shared starting point from which all envelopes originate.
End
Defines the common destination point all envelopes converge to.
Character
Controls the structural intensity of the selected mode.
At low values, the mode remains restrained and its signature is lightly expressed.
At higher values, the intrinsic character of the selected mode is pushed forward
and becomes clearly pronounced, with stronger mode-specific traits.
Curve
Controls interpolation between breakpoints.
At 0%, segment interpolation is linear.
As the value increases, interpolation becomes exponential relative to segment direction
(upward or downward slope), which changes perceived attack/release dynamics.
Quantize
Attracts internal breakpoints to a musical grid based on the number of points
(e.g. 8 points = eighth notes, 16 = sixteenth notes).
At 0, positions are free. At 1, full snap to grid.
In-between values create partial attraction — from rubato to metronomic.
Drift
Controls trigger-to-trigger evolution of breakpoint timing and level.
At 0%, envelope playback is repeatable.
As the value increases, internal points progressively shift over successive triggers,
introducing controlled wandering and instability in the envelope trajectory
while maintaining bounded behavior.
Spread
Controls divergence across the 8 channels.
At low values, channels remain closely correlated.
At higher values, per-channel timing, amplitude, and internal motion diverge,
increasing spatial and behavioral separation.
5. Layer Parameters
[Per-layer parameters: time stretching, pre-delay, smoothing, scaling, signal inversion.]
6. Presets
[Preset management: saving a state, recalling, organizing presets.]
7. Generation Modes
Each envelope in Enclosures v2 is generated by a mode —
an algorithm that shapes the path from a start value to an end value.
Modes are grouped by class.
Each mode has a Character parameter
that controls its behaviour from subtle to extreme.
PATHS
arch — An asymmetric dome above a linear trajectory.
Concept: A lifted phrase that rises, peaks, then settles back.
Character: low = shallow arch, near linear; high = taller arch with a clearer peak shifted left or right.
Drift: low = still apex; high = a wind-like flutter at the summit grows in amplitude, width and frequency — the arch vibrates under strain.
Spread: low = channels share the same apex; high = per-channel jitter of apex position and arch height.
Try it for lifted, intentional phrases that rise, peak, then return.
ascending — Random points sorted upward in time and value.
Concept: A statistically rising contour with uneven steps.
Character: low = subtler irregularity; high = stronger staircase-like irregular timing while still overall rising.
Spread: low = channels articulate alike; high = per-channel jitter of value and timing roughness — some channels step evenly, others feel highly irregular.
Try it for rising envelopes that feel statistical rather than hand-drawn.
bowed — A curved rise/fall with a subtle bow-like tension in the middle.
Concept: It mimics a bowed gesture: slow tension build, then controlled release.
Character: low = gentle curve; high = stronger bend and more pronounced acceleration profile.
Try it for organic, performed gestures instead of a plain ramp.
collapse — The opposite feeling of whisper: it holds longer, then drops fast near the end.
Concept: A structure that seems stable, then suddenly gives way.
Character: low = smooth, controlled decline; high = abrupt near-vertical collapse.
Drift: low = predictable break point and fall speed; high = break point and fall stiffness become highly variable, with pre-break tension oscillations and time warping.
Spread: low = channels collapse together; high = per-channel jitter of break point and fall speed — structures give way independently.
Try it for breakpoints that should feel like a structure giving way at the last moment.
ramp — A straight move from start to end with evenly spaced time and value steps.
Concept: The neutral reference shape, ideal when you want pure, direct motion.
Character: low = perfectly linear and clean;
high = sudden vertical jumps appear between points, so the ramp becomes broken and unpredictable.
Drift: low = abrupt jumps; high = the same jumps are progressively smoothed into fast ramps.
Spread: low = channels share the same jump amplitudes; high = per-channel jitter of jump size.
Try it for readable, direct transitions, or to injecting controlled discontinuities.
s-logistic — An S-curve transition that can stay smooth or become chaotic across its path.
Concept: A controlled move that can morph from clean intention to living instability.
Character: low = almost pure S-curve; high = dense chaotic modulation across the whole envelope.
Drift: low = stable behavior over time; high = the curve moves through calmer and wilder zones inside one envelope.
Spread: low = channels stay close; high = channels diverge strongly, each taking a noticeably different path.
Try it for expressive moves that can range from smooth motion to controlled instability.
surface-tension — Rises to a dome, holds, then breaks and collapses.
Concept: A stretched membrane that finally ruptures.
Character: low = later break, slower collapse, calmer profile;
high = earlier/unpredictable break with faster collapse and taller tension shape.
Drift: low = stable break position and collapse speed; high = break point and collapse speed jitter unpredictably.
Spread: low = channels rupture the same way; high = per-channel jitter of peak position and dome height.
Try it for fragile states that hold, then suddenly fail.
whiplash — Slow build, a pre-crack wind-up dip, a late violent snap, a return flick, and a short oscillating tail.
Concept: A whip concentrates all energy into one crack — preceded by an opposing pull and followed by a rebound.
Character: low = wider, softer crack with mild rebound; high = narrow, hard, later crack with strong rebound and denser tail.
Drift: low = tight, precise transient; high = slight timing and value uncertainty on non-structural points.
Spread: low = all channels crack at the same moment; high = strongly staggered crack timing with per-channel snap amplitude and tail frequency.
Try it for violent, cathartic accents where everything culminates in one instant.
whisper — Starts close to the initial value, then accelerates late toward the target.
Concept: A held breath that releases near the end.
Character: low = mild, soft acceleration; high = very quiet start and fast, late arrival.
Spread: low = channels breathe alike; high = per-channel fundamental frequency jitter — a chorus of breaths at slightly different pitches.
Try it for fades or modulations that should feel restrained at first, then suddenly commit.
OSCILLATIONS
breathing — A breathing-like wave layered on top of the start-to-end path.
Concept: Inhale/exhale motion, soft and cyclical.
Character: low = fewer, smaller waves; high = more cycles and stronger amplitude.
Drift: low = steady breath depth; high = breath depth evolves across the envelope — the breathing deepens or fades over time.
Spread: low = channels breathe in sync; high = per-channel cycle count and breathing phase offset — some channels inhale while others exhale.
Try it for pulsing motion that feels natural and organic.
multisine — Multiple sine layers summed into one rich moving shape.
Concept: Several simple waves fuse into one animated, musical contour.
Character: low = simpler wave mix; high = denser harmonic content and more detailed movement.
Drift: low = fixed phase relationships; high = per-partial phase drift that continuously morphs the spectral blend over time.
Spread: low = channels share the same timbre; high = per-channel partial-amplitude jitter — each channel has its own spectral color.
Try it for complex but still musical oscillation.
orbit — Timing alternates between slow and fast zones, like orbital motion.
Concept: The envelope "orbits" its target, lingering in some zones and rushing through others.
Character: low = near-uniform timing; high = stronger elliptical timing contrast (clear slow/fast sections).
Drift: low = pure Keplerian motion; high = a non-Keplerian perturbation (as if a distant third body pulled on the orbit) wobbles the trajectory.
Spread: low = channels share the same orbit; high = per-channel eccentricity and inclination jitter — each channel follows its own orbital geometry.
Try it for uneven momentum without random chaos.
pendulum — A centered back-and-forth swing that gradually settles.
Concept: A suspended weight swinging side to side.
Character: low = smaller swing and faster settling; high = wider swing and slower damping.
Try it for hypnotic, regular movement that is calmer than spring-damping.
sine — A clean, regular sine wave layered on the trajectory.
Concept: A pure periodic wobble with predictable rhythm.
Character: low = fewer cycles and lighter movement; high = more cycles and deeper oscillation.
Drift: low = steady phase; high = slow phase modulation, like a gentle vibrato inside the cycle.
Spread: low = channels stay in sync; high = per-channel cycle count and phase offset — channels beat against each other.
Try it for predictable periodic motion (cleaner and steadier than breathing).
sweep — A broad directional pass that scans across the trajectory with controlled momentum.
Concept: A steady sweep through the modulation range, more like scanning than striking.
Character: low = smoother, slower, more even travel;
high = stronger directional push, wider excursion, and clearer acceleration/deceleration.
Drift: low = monotonic sweep speed; high = sweep clock wobbles — slowdowns and accelerations appear inside the pass.
Spread: low = channels sweep in sync; high = per-channel base frequency jitter — each channel scans from a slightly different pitch.
Try it for readable scanning motion or a pronounced pass across the modulation space.
KINETICS
bloom — Early oscillations grow, then decay.
Concept: A motion that blooms open before fading.
Character: low = earlier and softer peak; high = later, larger peak with richer motion before decay.
Try it for modulations that open up first, then relax.
bouncing-ball — A drop-and-bounce motion with physically spaced impacts.
Concept: Repeated impacts that lose energy bounce after bounce, with gravity-shaped arcs.
Character: low = fewer bounces with soft gravity, floating feel; high = more bounces with stronger gravity, fast and physical.
Drift: low = clean, firm floor contacts; high = time jitter on in-air segments — impacts stay percussive, arcs feel buffeted.
Spread: low = channels share the same rebound heights; high = per-channel restitution offset — some balls bounce higher, others die sooner.
Try it for impact-like modulation and rhythmic decay gestures.
impulse — Linear path with one sharp burst and an asymmetric decay tail.
Concept: A single strike — hammer, plectrum, impact — brief and self-contained.
Character: low = soft, wide blow, elastic contact; high = precise, dry click, hard surface.
Drift: low = brief, nearly symmetric impulse; high = decay side extends asymmetrically — the strike lingers like a plucked string.
Spread: low = channels strike together; high = per-channel impact timing — each channel receives the blow at a distinct moment.
Try it for percussive emphasis inside an otherwise smooth move.
nerve — A train of 1 to 4 fast spikes with negative undershoots and progressive synaptic fatigue.
Concept: Neural-like firing: each spike has a sharp depolarization, a slower repolarization and an afterhyperpolarization, with amplitude decaying across the train.
Character: low = a single wide spike with light undershoot and long refractory period; high = more spikes, sharper peaks, deeper undershoots and tighter firing.
Drift: low = stable inter-spike interval; high = refractory period modulates across the train — the firing either tightens (growing excitation) or loosens (neural fatigue).
Spread: low = channels fire the same pattern; high = per-channel jitter of the spike count.
Try it for neural, twitch-like modulation and percussive articulations.
plunge — Fast fall followed by elastic rebounds that tighten over time.
Concept: A drop into impact, then increasingly stiff rebounds.
Character: low = shorter fall and softer rebound; high = longer free-fall feel, stronger overshoot, stiffer late rebounds.
Try it for drop-impact textures and kinetic transitions.
slingshot — Pull-back phase, then fast snap to target with damped overshoot.
Concept: Tension first, release second, with a recoil tail.
Character: low = shorter pull and milder snap; high = longer pull, stronger release, bigger overshoot.
Try it for dramatic tension-and-release gestures.
spring-damping — A damped spring response that overshoots and settles.
Concept: A hit-and-settle gesture like releasing a tense material.
Character: low = heavier, slower, more damped motion; high = lighter, brighter, faster oscillation with more ringing.
Drift: low = stable timing and values; high = extra jitter in time and amplitude.
Try it for physical, material-like responses (rubber, metal, tension release).
TEXTURES
chaotic — Deterministic chaos: no true randomness, but extreme sensitivity and non-repeating behavior.
Concept: Tiny initial differences explode into radically different trajectories.
Character: low = edge-of-chaos, more structured variation; high = fully chaotic motion.
Drift: low = evenly spaced samples; high = growing temporal jitter along the envelope — later samples feel more displaced than early ones.
Spread: low = channels remain similar;
high = tiny per-channel seed differences produce clearly different trajectories.
Try it for unstable, evolving movement that never loops the same way.
dissolution — Starts coherent, then gradually breaks into noisy fragments.
Concept: Order dissolves into debris over time.
Character: low = mostly intact trajectory; high = strong late-stage breakup and reduced smoothness.
Drift: low = dissolution stays in the late portion; high = dissolution starts earlier and feels rougher.
Spread: low = channels dissolve together; high = per-channel time offset — each channel breaks apart at a slightly different moment.
Try it for controlled decay from order to disorder.
even-time — Even time spacing with random values.
Concept: Stable clock, unstable amplitude.
Character: low = values stay near the straight path; high = values can deviate strongly.
Drift: low = adjacent values are independent; high = strong temporal correlation — values become smoothly linked instead of jumping.
Spread: low = channels share the same amplitude profile; high = per-channel windowed offset spreads the value paths apart in the middle.
Try it for reliable rhythm but unpredictable amplitude.
fracture — A coherent trajectory that splits into abrupt segments and discontinuities.
Concept: One gesture breaks apart into shards while still preserving an overall direction.
Character: low = mild internal breaks and short discontinuities;
high = stronger fragmentation, harder jumps, and a more broken contour.
Drift: low = symmetric fracturing; high = amplified asymmetric erosion — one slope direction is smoothed while the other stays sharp, like wind-carved terrain.
Spread: low = channels share the same fractal roughness; high = per-channel roughness jitter — some channels carry smoother fractal landscapes, others more jagged ones.
Try it for damaged, interrupted motion and envelopes that should feel segmented rather than continuous.
ink-diffusion — Motion diffuses like ink spreading, with memory from previous points.
Concept: A stain that spreads and softens as it travels.
Character: low = thicker/viscous feel, slower spread; high = faster dilution and looser flow.
Try it for smearing, bleed-like transitions, and soft organic drift.
phi-spiral — Non-uniform timing that feels structured but never grid-locked.
Concept: Organic asymmetry with hidden geometric order underneath.
Character: low = subtler position jitter and modulation; high = more jitter and stronger amplitude shaping.
Drift: low = tight φ geometry; high = peak positions disperse further from their geometric timing — the spiral feels more organic and less geometric.
Spread: low = channels share the same spiral; high = per-channel jitter of amplitude and pivot position — each channel traces its own spiral geometry.
Try it for natural asymmetry with an underlying sense of order.
random-walk — Step-by-step wandering motion from the start value.
Concept: A path that meanders locally without a fixed long-term plan.
Character: low = small local moves, smoother path; high = larger steps, more erratic long-term direction.
Drift: low = each step is independent; high = step momentum (steps follow the previous direction) combined with a soft pull back toward the baseline.
Spread: low = channels share the same step size; high = per-channel step-amplitude jitter — some channels wander farther, others stay tight.
Try it for coherent local motion that remains globally unpredictable.
swarm — Many micro-oscillators move independently, then converge.
Concept: A crowd of small motions self-organizes into one shared destination.
Character: low = fewer agents and gentler variation;
high = denser movement, wider channel differences, more complex texture.
Drift: low = smooth agent flight; high = in-flight velocity perturbations — the swarm feels restless and nervous.
Try it for living, animated modulation that avoids mechanical repetition.
SEQUENCES
mirror — Random internal points on one side are mirrored on the other side.
Concept: One half invents the motion, the other half answers it in symmetry.
Setcurve: low = straighter segments; high = smoother and more rounded links.
Try it for balanced, symmetric motion that still feels alive.
quantize — Random timing with values restricted to fixed levels.
Concept: Free rhythm routed through a digital step grid.
Character: low = very coarse level set; high = many levels, close to continuous behavior.
Drift: low = every step picks a fresh level; high = higher probability of holding the previous level — long plateaus emerge.
Spread: low = all channels share the same grid resolution; high = per-channel level count — some channels snap coarser, others finer.
Try it for moving between hard digital stepping and near-analog smoothness.
staircase — Monotonic staircase (or triangle when start and end are similar) with near-instant steps.
Concept: Structured step-by-step climb or descent with optional instability.
Character: low = fewer large steps; high = more, smaller steps.
Drift (in deterministic mode): low = stable step heights; high = noticeable height jitter.
Spread: low = channels stay aligned; high = per-channel height offset and step-duration variation increase.
Setcurve: low = flat plateaus; high = plateaus bend into alternating arcs.
Try it for strict stepped gestures with optional organic instability.
step — Even timing with values snapped to discrete levels.
Concept: A minimal sequencer-style staircase.
Character: low = very few levels (binary feel); high = more levels and finer stepping.
Drift: low = every slot picks a fresh level; high = higher probability of holding the previous level — plateaus of varying length.
Spread: low = all channels share the same level count; high = per-channel grid resolution jitter.
Setcurve: low = hard edges; high = rounded transitions between steps.
Try it for sequencer-like modulation with clear plateaus.
spikes — Mostly flat baseline with short spikes to the target.
Concept: Quiet baseline punctuated by trigger-like hits.
Character: low = sparse spikes; high = dense spike activity.
Try it for intermittent trigger-like activity inside a quiet envelope.
stutter — Repeats a short motif, then progressively degrades it.
Concept: A looping memory that starts stable, then crumbles over time.
Character: low = almost exact repetition; high = heavy drift, erosion, and loss of motif identity.
Try it for glitchy repetition that can move from tight loop to broken memory.
swing — Pairs of points are redistributed into long-short timing for groove.
Concept: Straight timing is rephrased into a shuffle feel.
Character: low = near-straight timing with light jitter; high = strong long-short shuffle and larger value jitter.
Spread: low = channels groove similarly; high = channels diverge in swing texture.
Try it for turning rigid envelopes into rhythmic, musical phrasing.