Modulosphere

The Modulosphere is a spherical region that passes modulation through to whatever objects are inside it. Connect Modulators to it and choose, per connection, which kind of object it affects; anything within its radius is modulated, fading out toward the edge. Its radius, feather, position and intensity can themselves be modulated, so it can sweep through a model, breathe, or fade in with each note.

Moving a Modulosphere around sweeps its modulation across your instrument: objects it passes over are modulated while they are inside it and let go when it moves on. It works the other way round too, so an object whose position is modulated is modulated by a sphere while it moves through it.

The Modulosphere is drawn as a glass shell whose edge glows. While a Modulosphere is selected, the objects it holds are tinted by how strongly it reaches them.

Connecting Modulators#

A Modulosphere does not generate a signal of its own; it passes on the signal of each Modulator connected to it. Connect an LFO, an envelope, or any other Modulator to the sphere with a Modulator Link, then select the link and set:

• Affects: what the link modulates. This Sphere modulates the Modulosphere itself, such as its Radius or Position. Any other choice (Bodies, Anchors, Springs, Mics, Exciters, Modulators, FX, Delay Lines, or Resonators) passes the modulation on to every object of that kind inside the sphere.
• Target: the parameter to modulate on those objects, for example Mass on Bodies or Dry/Wet on FX.

An object at the center gets the link's full modulation, and it fades to nothing at the edge over the band the Feather sets. A Spring or Delay Line counts as inside when its midpoint is. A Resonator is reached as soon as any part of its surface is inside, as strongly as its closest point. Each link is its own route, so one sphere can, for example, sweep the Damping of the Bodies inside it with one LFO and the Filter Cutoff of the Filters inside it with another.

The sphere is always the receiving end: a link between a Modulator and a Modulosphere carries modulation into the sphere, whichever end you start the connection from. Anukari shows a connection hint on a sphere that nothing modulates, and on one whose links all have Affects set to This Sphere, since neither passes anything on.

Attraction#

A Modulosphere can also pull Bodies toward its center, or push them away, with its Attraction. This works on its own, with nothing connected to the sphere. Every Body inside accelerates at the same rate whatever its mass, and the pull fades out toward the edge just as the modulation does. An attracting sphere can also set a Resonator vibrating where the two overlap, when the sphere moves past it or its Attraction is modulated.

Modulosphere Properties#

• Mode: The specific type of behavior used for this Modulator. Each type has its own parameters and effects.
• Depth: Scales the Modulator's output before it reaches its targets. For a Modulosphere it is the intensity of everything the sphere passes on: at 0 it passes nothing. An envelope on the sphere's Depth fades the sphere in on each note.
• Radius: How far from its center the Modulosphere reaches. Objects inside this radius receive the modulation passed through the sphere; anything outside it is untouched.
• Feather: How much of the radius the modulation fades out over as objects approach the edge of the sphere: 0 is a hard edge, where everything inside is modulated fully, and 1 fades smoothly from full strength at the center to nothing at the edge. A higher Feather also widens the soft glow at the sphere's edge.
• Attraction: Pulls every Body inside the sphere toward its center, fading out at the edge exactly as the modulation does. Negative values push Bodies away instead; the push fades out at the edge too, so nothing is flung away forever. All Bodies accelerate at the same rate regardless of their mass. This works on its own: the sphere does not need anything connected to it to pull. Also excites overlapping regions of every Resonator. Put the sphere off a flat object's plane or beside a Bell's wall, then move it, release it, or modulate Attraction to excite vibration. Set to 0 for no force.
• Orientation and Position: Where the sphere sits in the 3D world. Position X, Y and Z can be modulated to move the sphere through the instrument; rotating a sphere only changes how it is drawn.