MOSAIC
Rhythmic granular processing with 64 grains
MOSAIC lets you reshape audio in real time, with up to 64 grains per track in a 4‑second buffer. Sculpt and twist your sound with precise control over grain shape and size, add per‑grain randomness to keep things evolving, or use it like a live audio arpeggiator for rhythmic textures.
Granular Device
Parameters
PITCH : Controls the pitch of the grains.
| Parameter Mode | Description |
|---|---|
| Scales | Learn more about Scales here. |
RATE : Controls the rate at which grains are generated.
| Parameter Mode | Description |
|---|---|
| 4/1 | 4 bars. |
| 2/1 | 2 bars. |
| 1/1 | 1 bar. |
| 1/2 | 1/2 bar. |
| 1/4 | 1 quarter note |
| 1/8 | 1 eighth note |
| 1/16 | 1 sixteenth note |
| 1/32 | 1 thirty-second note |
| 1/64 | 1 sixty-fourth note |
| FREE | Only available in TEMPO FREE mode. |
SIZE: Adjusts the size of individual grains. Values are in beats relative to the Global Tempo.
CONTOUR: Shapes the amplitude envelope of grains. At center, the envelope is a smooth sine curve. Negative values skew into a downward ramp; positive values into an upward ramp.
SCAN : Controls the playhead in the MOSAIC buffer. The playhead defines where grains are spawned, from slow drifting animations to fixed positions and delay-like offsets.
| Parameter Mode | Description |
|---|---|
| STRETCH | Grains drift through the captured audio for stretched textures. Sets playhead speed relative to the write head. |
| POSITION | Grains are spawned from a fixed position in the buffer. Sets the fixed playhead position; modulate it for custom scan animations. |
| DELAY SYNC | Grains are spawned from earlier in the buffer for a tempo-synced grain delay. Sets delay time in musical divisions, following the RATE division mode. |
| DELAY FREE | Grains are spawned from earlier in the buffer for a free-running grain delay. Sets delay time in seconds. |
Use POSITION mode together with LOCK to freeze the current buffer and scan through a captured sound without recording new audio into the buffer.
Modulate SCAN parameter and increase the modulator SPREAD parameter to animate grains across the stereo field. Learn more about Modulators here.
SPRAY : Adds random or smooth modulation to the playhead.
| Parameter Mode | Description |
|---|---|
| RANDOM | Adds per-grain random modulation to the playhead and stereo spread. |
| RANDOM MONO | Same as RANDOM, but in mono. |
| WARP | Adds smooth random fluctuation to the playhead. Higher values create wider animations. |
| WARP MONO | Same as WARP, but in mono. |
PATTERN: Applies a fixed pseudo‑random modulation pattern to PITCH. The sequence is unique per instance of MOSAIC.
WET : Controls how the dry and wet signals are mixed.
| Parameter Mode | Description |
|---|---|
| MIX | Default mode. Crossfades between the dry and wet signal. |
| SEND | Routes the incoming signal to the effect while leaving the dry signal unchanged, enabling send-style processing instead of insert processing. |
Actions
LOCK: Locks the MOSAIC buffer. Learn more about locking the buffer here.
Locking the Buffer
LOCK freezes the current MOSAIC buffer. While locked, no new audio is written into it, so the captured sound can be scanned, stretched, pitched, and reversed without being replaced by the track input.
The locked buffer is saved with the project. This makes it possible to build a project around a captured texture, recall it later, and use the same frozen material across Scenes.
Each MOSAIC instance has one buffer per project. The same buffer is shared by all Scenes in the project, so changing Scene will not load a different buffer. The LOCK state follows the same behavior: enabling or disabling LOCK applies across all Scenes.
Because writing to the buffer is disabled while LOCK is enabled, FEEDBACK is not available.
A locked buffer can continue to generate sound while the S4 is stopped. See MOSAIC RUNNING :: When Playing to make MOSAIC follow the transport.
Mosaic Transport
There are two modes for controlling how MOSAIC responds to the S4 play state:
| Mode | Description |
|---|---|
| Always | In this mode MOSAIC will always be running, whether or not the S4 is playing. This can be useful when processing live input. |
| When Playing | This mode makes MOSAIC follow the play state of the S4. When the S4 is stopped, MOSAIC stops as well. This is the default behaviour. |
Access these options from the Config Menu:
- Tap [CONFIG] to open the Config Menu
- Use the SELECT encoder or the [ACTION] buttons to navigate to the METER option
- The Mosaic Transport options are found under MOSAIC RUNNING