Simple Mode

Simple Mode is the easier way to use Kiwisynth. It hides the knobs and the synth terms, and lets you shape a sound by feel. It is a good place to start if you are new, and a fast place to work even if you are not. Anything you make here can be opened later in the full editor.

The Sound Map

The Sound Map is a single pad you drag around. Moving left and right takes the sound from dark to bright. Moving up and down takes it from smooth to harsh. Marks on the pad show roughly where bass, lead, pad, keys and pluck sounds tend to sit, as a guide. You are listening and steering, not setting numbers.

The Timbre Library

The Timbre Library is a short list of starting tones, grouped into families, each shown with a small picture of its shape. Pick one to give the patch that basic character, then shape it further with the Sound Map and the character blocks.

Character blocks

Below are five rows of blocks. Each row covers one quality of the sound.

• Tone, how bright or dark it is.
• Punch, how sharp its attack is.
• Movement, how much it shifts and breathes.
• Space, how much room and depth it has.
• Density, how thick and full it is.

Each row runs in steps from less to more. Click a step and Kiwisynth makes whatever changes that takes, movement included. Each row also has a button that adds life to it on its own, and a reset that clears it.

Saving and resetting

A save button stores your sound as a preset, the same as in the full editor. A reset clears all the character block choices so you can start again.

The same instrument

Simple Mode is not a cut-down version of Kiwisynth. It plays through the same engine and the same effects. A sound made here can be opened in the full editor at any time, where every choice you made appears as ordinary controls.