Marbles

Mutable Instruments 18HP
fw 1.1
RANDOM QUANTIZER GATE SEQUENCER CLOCK

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Random sampler with master clock. One t-section emits probabilistic gates, one x-section emits quantized random voltages. A deja-vu knob locks patterns and a scale learner stores up to six custom scales.

Patch Ideas · 8

★ Locked generative melody
Deja Vu full CW over an 8-step loop turns X1 into a repeatable in-key melody that can be unlocked by easing Deja Vu back.
Walkthrough
  1. Hold the X SCALE button and play a major scale on an external keyboard/sequencer into the t input jack to teach user scale slot 2. Release the button.
  2. Press X SCALE until the LED above slot 2 lights.
  3. Turn the DEJA VU knob fully clockwise.
  4. Press the LENGTH button and turn the LENGTH knob until 8 LEDs are lit.
  5. Set STEPS (x) to ~2 o'clock so the output is fully quantized.
  6. Set RATE (t) to noon (~2 Hz internal clock).
  7. Patch Marbles X1 → VCO V/OCT.
  8. Patch Marbles T1 → envelope TRIG, then envelope → VCA CV.
  9. Patch VCO → VCA → output. Ease DEJA VU back to ~3 o'clock any time to mutate one note per cycle.
Signal out X1 — quantized pitch CV, 0–5V, stepping through the same 8-note phrase until DEJA VU is eased.
Listen for A repeating 8-note in-key melody that locks tight on full CW, then starts swapping one note per cycle as you roll DEJA VU back.
▸ Show diagram
Patch diagramPatch diagram with 5 modules and 4 connections. Modules: Marbles, VCO, Envelope, VCA, VCA (In) -> Output. Signals: 1 audio, 1 cv, 1 pitch, 1 trigger.MarblesVCOEnvelopeVCAVCA (In) -> OutputScale: user slot 2 (major)Deja Vu: full CWLength: 8X11v/octT1trigV/Oct1v/octOutaudioTrigtrigOutcvCVcvInaudioaudiocvpitchtrigger
★ Bernoulli drum split
Bernoulli t-mode with bias at noon splits kick/snare as coin flips while T2 keeps a steady hat.
Walkthrough
  1. Press the t MODE button until the green LED is lit (Bernoulli).
  2. Set BIAS (t) to noon (50/50 kick vs snare).
  3. Set RATE (t) to ~1 o'clock (roughly 120 BPM-ish feel).
  4. Set JITTER (t) fully CCW for a tight grid.
  5. Patch a slow LFO (cycle ~20 s) → T JITTER CV, attenuverter at ~10 o'clock for subtle human feel.
  6. Patch Marbles T1 → kick module TRIG.
  7. Patch Marbles T3 → snare module TRIG.
  8. Patch Marbles T2 → hi-hat TRIG (fires every clock tick).
  9. Leave DEJA VU fully CCW for endless fresh patterns, or turn CW with LENGTH 8 to lock a groove.
Signal out T1, T2, T3 — three 0/+5 V gates. T1+T3 are the coin-flip split, T2 is steady.
Listen for Classic probabilistic drum pattern: hats on every beat, kick and snare trading hits like a rolled die, with a breathing feel from the LFO on jitter.
▸ Show diagram
Patch diagramPatch diagram with 5 modules and 4 connections. Modules: Marbles, LFO, Kick, Hat, Snare. Signals: 1 cv, 3 trigger.MarblesLFOKickHatSnaret Mode: Bernoulli (green)t Bias: noont Jitter: CCWT JITTER CVcvT1trigT2trigT3trigSlowcvTrigtrigTrigtrigTrigtrigcvtrigger
Shift-register harmonized voices
X shift-register mode makes X2 and X3 delayed echoes of X1 — three VCOs voice moving close-harmony chords.
Walkthrough
  1. Hold X SCALE and play a minor scale into the module to learn user slot 3; release to save.
  2. Press X SCALE until slot 3 LED lights.
  3. Press the x MODE button until the red LED is lit (shift register).
  4. Set STEPS (x) fully CW for full quantization, SPREAD (x) to ~1 o'clock, BIAS (x) to noon.
  5. Set RATE (x) to noon so x advances on every t tick (X CLOCK unpatched).
  6. Patch Marbles X1 → lead VCO V/OCT.
  7. Patch Marbles X2 → harmony VCO V/OCT (this is last tick's X1).
  8. Patch Marbles X3 → bass VCO V/OCT, optionally through a −1 octave offset (this is two ticks ago).
  9. Patch Marbles T2 → envelope TRIG; envelope → a mixer VCA receiving all three VCOs.
  10. Turn DEJA VU to ~2 o'clock with LENGTH 4 for a short evolving chord progression.
Signal out X1/X2/X3 — three quantized pitch CVs, 0–5V, each one step behind the previous.
Listen for A three-voice rolling canon in minor: the bass plays what the harmony played a moment ago, which played what the lead just played. Moves like a constantly shifting chord.
▸ Show diagram
Patch diagramPatch diagram with 6 modules and 5 connections. Modules: Marbles, Lead VCO, Harmony VCO, Bass VCO, Envelope, Mixer VCA. Signals: 1 cv, 3 pitch, 1 trigger.MarblesLead VCOHarmony VCOBass VCOEnvelopeMixer VCAx Mode: Shift Register (red)Scale: minor (slot 3)Deja Vu: ~2 o'clockLength: 4X11v/octX21v/octX31v/octT2trigV/Oct1v/octV/Oct1v/octV/Oct1v/octTrigtrigOutcvCVcvcvpitchtrigger
Slow Y transposition
X1 plays the melody while Y — updating 16× slower and sharing the scale — walks the whole phrase to new keys.
Walkthrough
  1. Press X SCALE until a user scale slot (e.g. slot 2 major) is selected.
  2. Set STEPS (x) fully CW (fully quantized).
  3. Set SPREAD (x) to ~1 o'clock and BIAS (x) to noon for mid-register melody.
  4. Set RATE (t) to noon (~2 Hz); leave T CLOCK and X CLOCK unpatched.
  5. Patch Marbles X1 → precision adder IN 1.
  6. Patch Marbles Y → precision adder IN 2. Y updates ~16× slower than X1.
  7. Patch adder OUT → melody VCO V/OCT.
  8. Patch Marbles T1 → envelope TRIG; envelope → VCA CV; VCO → VCA → output.
  9. Optional: turn DEJA VU CW with LENGTH 8 so the local melody repeats while Y keeps drifting the key.
Signal out Adder OUT — summed pitch CV (X1 melody + Y transposition), 0–~10 V, feeding one V/OCT jack.
Listen for A fast quantized melody that stays the same shape but every 16 notes or so slides up or down into a new key — like a modulating music-box.
▸ Show diagram
Patch diagramPatch diagram with 4 modules and 4 connections. Modules: Marbles, Adder, VCO, Envelope. Signals: 3 pitch, 1 trigger.MarblesAdderVCOEnvelopeScale: user slot 2Steps (x): full CWX11v/octY1v/octT1trigIn 11v/octIn 21v/octOut1v/octV/Oct1v/octTrigtrig11. slow transpositionpitchtrigger
Clusters mode for Berlin rhythm
Clusters t-mode bursts gates in dense flurries separated by silence — a Berlin-school rhythm engine.
Walkthrough
  1. Press the t MODE button until the orange LED is lit (clusters).
  2. Set BIAS (t) to ~2 o'clock for denser bursts.
  3. Set JITTER (t) fully CCW for tight cluster timing.
  4. Set RATE (t) to ~1 o'clock.
  5. Patch Marbles T1 → kick TRIG.
  6. Patch Marbles T3 → tom TRIG (fills).
  7. Patch Marbles T2 → external sequencer CLOCK IN (sequencer advances one step per cluster tick).
  8. Optional: DEJA VU ~3 o'clock + LENGTH 8 to loop a favorite flurry.
Signal out T1, T2, T3 — three 0/+5 V gate streams that fire in correlated bursts instead of evenly.
Listen for Rhythmic flurries: three or four fast hits, a breath of silence, then another burst — the classic gurgling Berlin-school cluster groove.
▸ Show diagram
Patch diagramPatch diagram with 4 modules and 3 connections. Modules: Marbles, Kick, Sequencer, Tom. Signals: 2 trigger, 1 clock.MarblesKickSequencerTomt Mode: Clusters (orange)t Bias: ~2 o'clockt Jitter: CCWT1trigT2clkT3trigTrigtrigClockclkTrigtrigtriggerclock
★ Quantized random bass + lead
X1 as a low-register bass and X3 as a high-register lead, each with its own gate, for an independent two-voice ostinato.
Walkthrough
  1. Hold X SCALE and teach Marbles a pentatonic scale into slot 4; release.
  2. Press X SCALE until slot 4 LED lights.
  3. Press x MODE until the green LED is lit (independent — three separate random streams).
  4. Set STEPS (x) fully CW (fully quantized).
  5. Set BIAS (x) CCW (~9 o'clock) to shift the distribution low, SPREAD (x) ~1 o'clock.
  6. Set DEJA VU to ~3 o'clock with LENGTH 8 for a mutating ostinato.
  7. Patch Marbles X1 → bass VCO V/OCT (its low BIAS centre = bass range).
  8. Patch Marbles X3 → lead VCO V/OCT through a +2 oct offset (for clearer lead register).
  9. Patch Marbles T1 → bass envelope TRIG; T3 → lead envelope TRIG.
  10. Feed each VCO through its own VCA into the mixer.
Signal out X1 → bass pitch CV (0–5 V, low bias); X3 → lead pitch CV (0–5 V, shifted up externally). T1/T3 are the matching 0/+5 V gates.
Listen for A slowly-mutating two-part ostinato — pentatonic bass notes below, sparser lead on top — where each voice keeps its own rhythm thanks to T1 and T3 being uncorrelated.
▸ Show diagram
Patch diagramPatch diagram with 5 modules and 4 connections. Modules: Marbles, Bass VCO, +2oct Offset p> Lead VCO, Bass Env, Lead Env. Signals: 2 pitch, 2 trigger.MarblesBass VCO+2oct Offset p> Lead VCOBass EnvLead EnvScale: user slot 4 (pentatonic)x Mode: Independent (green)Deja Vu: ~3 o'clockLength: 8X11v/octX31v/octT1trigT3trigV/Oct1v/octV/Oct1v/octTrigtrigTrigtrigpitchtrigger
Divider-mode polyrhythm clock
Divider t-mode turns T1/T2/T3 into three related clock divisions of an external master — a bias-sweepable polyrhythm engine.
Walkthrough
  1. Press the t MODE button until the red LED is lit (divider).
  2. Set JITTER (t) fully CCW (zero) for pristine timing.
  3. Patch your master clock → Marbles T CLOCK. The internal oscillator is now overridden.
  4. Set BIAS (t) to noon to start; turn it to pick different ratio sets (e.g. 3:4:6 vs 4:5:7).
  5. Patch Marbles T1 → Sequencer 1 CLOCK IN.
  6. Patch Marbles T2 → Sequencer 2 CLOCK IN.
  7. Patch Marbles T3 → Sequencer 3 CLOCK IN.
  8. Optional: patch a slow LFO → T BIAS CV (attenuverter ~10 o'clock) to morph ratios over time.
Signal out T1/T2/T3 — three phase-locked 0/+5 V clock streams at different harmonic divisions of T CLOCK. Mult each with a stackable if you need more destinations.
Listen for Three sequencers stepping at related but different speeds — the classic interlocking polyrhythm feel where phrases line up every few bars.
▸ Show diagram
Patch diagramPatch diagram with 5 modules and 4 connections. Modules: Marbles, Master Clock, Sequencer 1, Sequencer 2, Sequencer 3. Signals: 4 clock.MarblesMaster ClockSequencer 1Sequencer 2Sequencer 3t Mode: Divider (red)t Jitter: 0T CLOCKclkT1clkT2clkT3clkOutclkClockclkClockclkClockclkclock
External clock, independent x rate
Feeding separate clocks to T CLOCK and X CLOCK lets you run fast arpeggios over a slow drum rhythm.
Walkthrough
  1. Patch your main modular clock → Marbles T CLOCK.
  2. Patch a fast clock (e.g. 8× the main rate, from a clock divider's ×8 output) → Marbles X CLOCK. This breaks the X-from-T normalization.
  3. Press X SCALE until a user scale is lit, and set STEPS (x) fully CW for full quantization.
  4. Set SPREAD (x) to ~1 o'clock and BIAS (x) to noon for mid-register.
  5. Press t MODE until green (Bernoulli); BIAS (t) at noon.
  6. Patch Marbles T1 → kick TRIG and T3 → snare TRIG for a slow beat.
  7. Patch Marbles X1 → arp VCO V/OCT.
  8. Patch Marbles T2 would re-fire on the slow grid — instead, mult the fast X CLOCK into the arp VCA envelope TRIG so each arp note gets an envelope.
  9. DEJA VU ~3 o'clock, LENGTH 16 to loop the arp while the drums stay free.
Signal out X1 — fast quantized pitch CV at 8× the t rate, 0–5 V. T1/T3 are the slow 0/+5 V drum gates.
Listen for A slow Bernoulli kick/snare groove underneath a rapid 8-notes-per-beat in-key arpeggio — the two layers are clock-locked but sit at completely different densities.
▸ Show diagram
Patch diagramPatch diagram with 7 modules and 6 connections. Signals: 1 pitch, 2 trigger, 3 clock.MarblesMaster ClockFast ClockKickSnareArp EnvArp VCOx Mode: IndependentSteps (x): full CWT CLOCKclkX CLOCKclkT1trigT3trigX11v/octOutclkOutclkTrigtrigTrigtrigTrigclkV/Oct1v/oct11. stackable/multpitchtriggerclock

Behaviors

t Bernoulli mode t Mode green

Each tick of the master clock independently chooses T1 or T3 based on bias. T2 fires on every clock tick. Classic probabilistic rhythm generator.

t Clusters mode t Mode orange

Gates emitted in bursts (dense groups) separated by silences. Bias sets cluster density; jitter adds timing variance. Good for Berlin-school and generative rhythmic bursts.

t Divider mode t Mode red

T1/T2/T3 output harmonic ratios of master clock — bias selects the ratio. Works like a polyrhythmic clock divider with smooth bias-sweepable cross-fading.

x Shift-register mode x Mode red

X1, X2, X3 behave as a 3-stage shift register: each clock shifts X1→X2, X2→X3; X1 draws a new value. Produces relationships where X2 and X3 are echoes of X1.

Deja Vu locking Deja Vu full CW + LENGTH

At full CW the sequence loops exactly. Below CW, each step has a probability of being replaced by a new random value — so the loop slowly mutates. Can lock t and x independently via the sub-buttons.

Custom scale learner hold X Scale + external CV

Marbles learns up to six user scales from incoming V/OCT (press+hold scale button while playing notes). Slot 1 is chromatic, slots 2–6 are user-programmable.

Y slow companion Y output

Y emits a random voltage that updates 16× slower than X by default, but shares the same scale quantization. Useful for slow transposition offsets or timbral drift alongside a fast melody on X.

Internal vs external clocking patch T CLOCK

Patching T CLOCK replaces the internal oscillator. The internal oscillator is high-quality (sub-ms jitter) and syncable to modular-standard clocks.

X-clock fallback to T X CLOCK unpatched

With no X CLOCK cable, X updates at the same rate as T, so x-rate knob acts as a divider/multiplier relative to T. Patching X CLOCK lets x and t run at entirely independent rates.

Deja Vu pattern mutation Deja Vu knob between 50–100%

Between half-CW and full-CW the locked pattern has a non-zero chance of swapping one step per cycle. Produces the 'Music for Airports' slowly-evolving motif effect.

Controls

t section Rate (t) Master clock rate. Drives the three T1/T2/T3 gate outputs. Overridden by external clock when T CLOCK patched.
~0.5 Hz to ~100 Hz · bipolar attenuverter for T RATE CV
t section Bias (t) Sets gate distribution between T1 and T3. CCW = only T1, CW = only T3, noon = balanced. T2 always fires as coin-flip between them.
0-1 range · bipolar attenuverter for CV
t section Jitter (t) Random clock jitter / tempo instability. CCW = locked grid, CW = progressively more timing drift up to fully random.
0–100% · bipolar attenuverter for CV
t section t Mode Cycles Bernoulli (coin flip on each tick) · clusters (sparse/dense bursts) · divider (harmonic-ratio division of master clock).
Three LEDs indicate active mode · affects how T1/T2/T3 interrelate
Global (t & x) Deja Vu Pattern-locking probability. CCW = always fresh random. Noon = 50% probability a past step repeats. CW = full loop of length set by LENGTH.
Shared t & x by default · separate sections via t/x Deja Vu buttons
Global (t & x) Length (Deja Vu) Loop length when Deja Vu is active. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16 steps selectable.
LED row shows current length · hold Length button + turn knob to edit
x section Rate (x) X sample rate. Sets how often X1/X2/X3 redraw new voltages. Normalized to t clock but can be set independently.
External X CLOCK overrides · bipolar CV attenuverter
x section Spread (x) Width of the random distribution around center. CCW = narrow/centered, CW = wide.
0–100% · bipolar CV
x section Bias (x) Shifts center of the random distribution. Moves the average voltage up or down.
Bipolar · CV attenuverter available
x section Steps (x) Discrete-step count / quantization of the x output. Interacts with scale learner. Noon = continuous.
CW adds steps up to full scale quantization · CCW smooths toward continuous
x section x Mode Cycles identical-independent-independent · 3 voices of 1 octave · shift-register (voltages chain down X1→X2→X3).
Shift-register mode produces melodic-in-motion relationships between voices
t & x sections t Deja Vu / x Deja Vu buttons Independent enable/disable of Deja Vu for the t and x sections. Lets timing loop while CV stays free, or vice-versa.
LEDs indicate locked state

I/O

IN · 9

  • T CLOCK >1V clock CLK
    External clock for t section. Replaces internal oscillator.
  • X CLOCK >1V clock CLK
    External clock for x section. Falls back to T CLOCK (or internal if none).
    NORM → T CLOCK when unpatched
  • T RATE CV ±5V CV
    CV for t master rate.
  • T BIAS CV ±5V CV
    CV for t bias.
  • T JITTER CV ±5V CV
    CV for jitter amount.
  • X SPREAD CV ±5V CV
    CV for x distribution width.
  • X BIAS CV ±5V CV
    CV for x distribution center.
  • X STEPS CV ±5V CV
    CV for step count / quantization depth.
  • DEJA VU CV ±5V CV
    CV for deja-vu probability (global for t and x).

OUT · 3

  • T1 / T2 / T3 0/+5V gate GATE
    Three gate outputs. Distribution depends on t mode and bias. T2 is always a coin-flip between T1 and T3.
  • X1 / X2 / X3 0–5V (or quantized pitches) CV
    Three random CV outputs. Range, spread, and quantization set by x controls.
  • Y 0–5V CV
    Fourth random CV output. Slow noise-like voltage, 16× slower than X by default, quantized by the same scale.