Particles page
Learn how to use the Particles page in Claire, which adjusts the behavior of the Particles engine generating a cloud of additional notes.
The Particles page lets you adjust the behavior of the Particles engine, which generates a cloud of additional ghost notes.
Click Particles at the top right of the instrument to open the Particles page.
The row of controls at the top of the Particles page is always visible:
From left to right, it contains the following controls:
Particles Preset selector: Shows the name of the loaded preset for the Particles engine. Clicking the preset name opens the Preset Browser where you can select another Particles preset. You can also click the little left/right arrow next to the preset name to quickly load the previous or next preset from the browser’s result list without opening the browser. For more information on the Particles Browser, refer to Particles Browser.
Particles On/Off switch: Turns the Particles engine on or off. This switch mirrors the on/off switch located next to the Particles button in the top right corner of the instrument.
Particles Edit button (pencil icon): Switches the Particles page between a visual animation of the particles and the detailed parameters of the Particles engine.
Piano/Particles Blend fader: Adjusts the blend between the main piano sound on the left, and the particles on the right.
When the Particles Edit button is off, the Particles page shows an real-time animation of the particles as they are generated. As you play and hold keys on your keyboard, the additional notes generated by the Particles engine appear as colored circles whose position indicates their pitch (vertical axis) and their stereo panning (horizontal axis), while their color indicates from which source sample(s) they are originating.
When the Particles Edit button is on, the Particles engine’s parameters are organized into three sections:
Algorithm section: Adjusts the algorithm used to generate the particles. This will affect the timings and pitches at which the particles will be triggered. Refer to Algorithm section.
Sources section: Selects and adjusts the two base samples triggered by the Particles engine. Refer to Sources section.
Effects section: Configures the effects processing the particles. Refer to Effects section.
Note
When the Particles Edit button is on and the parameters displayed, you can also click the little cross in the top right corner to hide the parameters and show instead the particles’ animation.
Particles Browser
The Particles Browser lets you find and load Particles presets from the Claire factory library.
To open the Particles Browser, click the name of the current Particles preset in the top left corner of the Particles page:
The Particles Browser follows this typical workflow:
In the left part of the Browser, you can click the properties describing the type of particles that you are looking for.
In the right part of the Browser, the list shows the presets matching the properties that you have selected.
The Particles Browser provides the following controls:
Tag filter: You can click the tags describing the particles that you are looking for. The PRESETS list on the right is updated accordingly. The Tag filter is organized into three columns, from left to right: Type, Character, and Style. As you select tags, the color intensity of the remaining tags indicates whether or not some presets are available:
Highlighted tags are already selected. You can click them to deselect them and widen the scope of your search.
Normal tags are not selected but they have matching presets in the current PRESETS list. You can select them to further narrow your search.
Faded tags are not selected and they do not have any matching presets in the current PRESETS list. You cannot select them, unless you deselect other tags first.
Favorites: You can click the star icons to add or remove presets to/from your Favorites. The star icons are lit for the presets set as Favorites. This way, you can quickly create a custom collection of your most beloved presets. You can then display only your Favorites by clicking the topmost star icon next to the PRESETS header. Click the topmost star icon again to display also non-Favorite presets.
PRESETS list: Shows the presets matching the tags selected in the Tag filter on the left. You can click a preset to load it and try it directly on your keyboard or in your DAW. You can double-click a preset to load it and close the Browser.
OK (check mark): Keeps the selected preset loaded and closes the Particles Browser. This is the same as double-clicking the preset in the PRESETS list.
Cancel (cross): Closes the Particles Browser without changing anything. Your instrument returns to its previous state.
Algorithm section
The Algorithm section of the Particles page lets you fine-tune the moments and pitches at which the particles will be triggered:
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The section contains the following controls, from top to bottom:
Mode Preset selector: Selects predefined ranges for the pitches of the particles. The Particles algorithm uses both an octave range and a tonal shift range: The pitch of each particle is set randomly within these ranges. This selector provides a collection of predefined values for both ranges. You can click the preset name to open a drop-down menu and select the desired preset, or click the arrow icons next to it to quickly load the previous or next preset from the menu. Note that if you adjust the ranges using the Mode Edit icon on the right, your manual adjustments will override the settings from the selected preset.
Mode Edit button (nut icon): Opens a Mode Edit panel in which you can manually adjust the octave range and the tonal shift range used to create the particles.
Quantize On/Off switch: Switches the input quantization on or off. This feature works only if the Sync button below is switched on as well. When the Quantize button is on, the particles are triggered in sync with the tempo. The quantization is applied according to the note value set in the Quantize menu next to it.
Quantize menu: Sets the quantization value used when the Quantize On/Off switch is on.
Density: Defines the shortest delay between two particles. The delay before triggering the next particle is randomly taken between this value and the value of the Variation slider. The value is measured in note values if Sync is on, in milliseconds otherwise.
Tri: Switches to triplets the random rhythmic pattern at which particles are triggered.
Sync: When Sync is switched on, the delays between particles depend on the tempo: the delay ranges set by the Density and Variation sliders switch to note values, and the delays between particles are random note values within that range.
Variation: Defines the longest delay between two particles. The delay before triggering the next particle is randomly taken between the value of the Density slider and this value. The value is measured in note values if Sync is on, in milliseconds otherwise.
Decay: Adjusts the duration of the decaying cloud after a key is pressed. When set to Infinite (at full right), the cloud will continue until all keys are released.
Pre-Delay: When Pre-Delay is switched on, a delay is introduced between your original note and the resulting particles. When switched off, the particle cloud starts straight away as you press the key.
Split: When Split is switched on, the panning, velocity, octave range and tonal shift range are calculated individually for each sound sources. When Split is switched off, the same parameter values are used for both sound sources.
Sources section
The Particles engine can blend two different samples as sources to generate the particles. You can set up these sources in the Sources section of the Particles page:
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The section contains the following controls, from top to bottom:
Source A selector: Displays the name of the sample used as source A. Clicking the name opens a mini Source Browser in which you can choose another sample for source A by selecting a sample category on the left and a sample on the right:
You can also click the little arrows next to the sample name to quickly load the previous or next sample from the mini Source Browser without opening it.
Source Mix slider: Adjusts the mix between source A and source B.
Source B selector: Displays the name of the sample used as source B. Clicking the name opens a mini Source Browser in which you can choose another sample for source B by selecting a sample category on the left and a sample on the right:
You can also click the little arrows next to the sample name to quickly load the previous or next sample from the mini Source Browser without opening it.
Attack A: Increases the attack time of the source as you drag the slider to the right.
Attack B: Increases the attack time of the source as you drag the slider to the right.
Cut A: Increases the decay time of the source as you drag the slider to the right.
Cut B: Increases the decay time of the source as you drag the slider to the right.
Dynamic: Adjusts the dynamic range of the particles by adjusting their volume while still using the same velocity samples (these are set by the Timbre slider). The particles will be triggered at random velocities within this range. Drag left to shrink, or drag right to expand the dynamic range.
Timbre: Changes the timbre (or tone color) of the particles from soft to hard by readjusting the sample mapping. The particles will be triggered at random timbres within this range. The Timbre slider is bipolar: at the middle position, it allows all timbres. From the middle position, drag the slider to the right to progressively limit the particles to harder sounds, and drag it to the left to progressively limit the particles to softer sounds.
Vel (Velocity): When this button is switched on, the particles’ timbre also reacts to the incoming MIDI velocities, making the Particles engine dynamically playable.
Effects section
The Particles engine provides two freely assignable effect units to shape the sound of the particles, and a diffusion effect to add space to the particle cloud. You can set these up in the Effects section of the Particles page:
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Each of the two insert effects provides the following controls:
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Insert Effect On/Off switch: Turns the insert effect on or off.
Insert Effect Preset selector: Displays the name of the loaded effect preset. Clicking the name opens a mini Effect Browser in which you can choose another insert effect by selecting an effect category on the left and an effect on the right:
You can also click the little arrows next to the effect name to quickly load the previous or next effect from the mini Effect Browser without opening it.
Insert Effect Amount slider: Adjusts the amount of effect applied to the particles.
The Diffusion effect provides the following controls:
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Diffusion On/Off switch: Turns the Diffusion effect on or off.
Diffusion Preset selector: Displays the name of the loaded Diffusion preset. Clicking the preset name opens a drop-down menu in which you can select another preset. You can also click the little arrows next to the preset name to quickly load the next or previous preset from the menu.
Strength: Adjusts the strength of the Diffusion effect.
Time: Adjusts the delay or reverb time and thereby the perceived size of the diffusion space.
Sync Mode menu: This menu appears only if a delay preset is selected in the Diffusion Preset selector. This menu selects between four modes that determine the behavior of the Time control.
Free: The delay time can bee freely adjusted in milliseconds.
Straight: The delay time can be adjusted in even note divisions (1/16, 1/8, 1/4, etc.) relative to Kontakt’s global tempo.
Dotted: The delay time can be adjusted in dotted note divisions (1/16d, 1/8d, 1/4d, etc.) relative to Kontakt’s global tempo.
Triplets: The delay time can be adjusted in triplet note divisions (1/16t, 1/8t, 1/4t, etc.) relative to Kontakt’s global tempo.
Note
The effects in this Effects section affect only the particles. The effects dedicated to the main piano sound are available on the Effect and Space pages. Refer to Effect page and Space page for more information.