The Morph module lets you perform realtime spectral
modification of one signal based on the spectrum of another signal. It can be a
powerful tool for creating rhythmic textures, vocal effects, morphed
guitar-synth sounds and more.
Before jumping into the Morph module, however, it's helpful to take a step back and look at how the Morph module does its tricks. You've got Spectron patched onto a track. That track is feeding Spectron the Input signal. You then load a WAV, AIFF or MP3 file in the Morph module. That's the Target signal. Drag the baseline up to the top as shown below (a quick way to specify 100% morphing) and play your track.
What happens at this point, as you play your track, is that the Target signal starts playing and your Input signal starts playing. Spectron morphing is realtime -- the Target signal is looping in the background, starting when you start playing the Input signal in your host app.
As the two signals play, Spectron compares the spectrum or frequency response of the two signals. When the spectrum of the Input signal is different than the Target signal, Spectron adjusts the frequency content of the Input Signal to match the instantaneous spectrum of the Target signal. So if a 100 Hz tone appears in the Target signal at 0 dB, Spectron looks at the 100 Hz band of the Input signal, and adjusts the gain to be 0 dB. Spectron does this for each frequency band -- up to 2048 individual bands are compared and adjusted in realtime.
This comparison and resynthesis is different than a vocoder or "trainable EQ", although the effects can be similar in some ways. But the real power of the Morph module in Spectron is its realtime node-specific morph capabilities -- transplanting both the spectral and time varying aspects of one signal onto another, with control over which frequency ranges are morphed.
With that background, here is an overview of the Morph module controls
Target File: Click this button to load a Target file. It can be a WAV, AIFF or MP3 file, but should have the same sample rate as your input signal for the best results.As mentioned before, the Target file will always begin playing when you start playing the Input signal from your host app, and continue to loop for as long as the host app is playing.
Note that .wav files must be uncompressed for Spectron to read them. Some loops and samples have a .wav file extension but contain compressed .wav data. Spectron will not be able to read these files.
Thresholds: As mentioned above, the Morph module will match the frequencies of the Input signal to match the spectrum of the Target signal. The threshold controls, however, let you limit the frequencies that the Morph module tries to match, based on their level. If a frequency band is below the threshold, the Morph module ignores it and won't try to boost it to match. This allows you to match the overall character of two signals without needlessly trying to match low level signals that could just be noise or "noncharacteristic" frequencies. As a rule of thumb, thresholds of -75 dB for both the Input and Target will pass through the overall characteristic of the sound without requiring Spectron to morph low level extraneous signals.
Nodes: In the Morph module, nodes represent which frequencies of the Input signal will be morphed to the Target signal, and by what amount. The higher the position of the node, the more the Input will be morphed to the Target.
Morph Tips
1) Morphing drum tracks (Input signals) to steady or constant sounds (Target signals) is a great way to turn drum tracks into rhythmic patterns. Try loading broad, steady synth pads as Target signals and combining them with percussive loops.
2) Morphing two rhythmic tracks isn't necessarily going to work. The Morph is realtime, so if your Input and Target signals are both time varying, the only time you'll hear anything is when the two match up and both have a signal. In short, you can't morph silence. Both signals need to have a signal at the same time.
3) Similar to the above tip, you can't morph frequencies that aren't there. In other words, the Morph module doesn't shift frequencies -- it adjusts the levels of existing frequencies. If your Input signal only has audio in the low frequencies, and your Target signal only has audio in the high frequencies, the combination will most likely be nothing at all. In short, for the best results morph signals that either have audio in similar frequency ranges, or provide either an Input or Target signal that has a broad spectrum of frequencies (e.g. synth pads, drums, vocal choirs, noise, etc.)
4) Sweep the morphing. Once you get a good combination of Input and Target signals, try LFOs or envelope triggers on the Input signal to create dynamic morphing effects. A snare drum that morphs to a scream when it's hit hard, for example.
5) You can use the Threshold controls to limit the noise or low level signals that are morphed, but you can also use them to create interesting harmonic effects. Try setting either the Target or Input threshold at -40 dB or so, and only the most dominant frequencies will be used by Spectron for morphing. This tends to create interesting chime-metallic effects, which combined with LFO or envelope triggers can provide some very unique tracks.