Wavetable Types

Wavetable Types

Wavetable Type is the collision/combine stage for the two routed inputs. It can select, mix, splice, compare, gate, divide, fold, quantise, or make one input control the other.

In Playground or a Morph endpoint, open Generator Taps / Wavetable Inputs and choose the Wavetable Type after selecting Input 1 and Input 2. Bulk Random can randomise this stage; Bulk Explorer can hold or vary it around a current patch.

🎹 If the list feels large, start with these:

Goal	Good first type
Hear Input 1 by itself	Input 1
Hear Input 2 by itself	Input 2
Simple combination	Sum
Hollow/subtractive combination	Difference or Smooth Difference
Interaction/ring-like colour	Multiply
Hard digital contrast	Comparator
Folding/shaping	Fold Sum

Then explore the categories below. For asymmetric types, swapping Input 1 and Input 2 can intentionally produce a different sound. See Source Taps and Routing.

Hard and literal behaviour

🔧 Some types deliberately preserve hard transitions or literal collision-stage levels. Comparator, selectors, gates, polarity flips, low-bit logic, Hard Clip Sum, and related hard modes do not inherit Smooth-engine neighbour smoothing. Literal-level modes preserve their rails, zeros, plateaus, and gated zero regions when the complete structural result still contains meaningful AC. A complete constant rail, closed-gate flatline, or other AC-dead result does not receive a literal-mode exemption from Table Safety.

Sources / Splices

Source selectors isolate one input. Splices divide the cycle into repeated Input 1/Input 2 blocks; higher × values create more rapid alternation and stronger high-frequency edge content.

UI	Type	What it does
0	Input 1	First generated source wave before combine/collision shaping
1	Input 2	Second generated source wave before combine/collision shaping
2	I1→I2 Splice	First half Input 1, second half Input 2
3	I2→I1 Splice	First half Input 2, second half Input 1
4	I1→I2 Splice ×2	Two repeated Input-1-then-Input-2 source blocks per cycle
5	I2→I1 Splice ×2	Two repeated Input-2-then-Input-1 source blocks per cycle
6	I1→I2 Splice ×4	Four repeated Input-1-then-Input-2 source blocks per cycle
7	I2→I1 Splice ×4	Four repeated Input-2-then-Input-1 source blocks per cycle
8	I1→I2 Splice ×8	Eight repeated Input-1-then-Input-2 source blocks per cycle
9	I2→I1 Splice ×8	Eight repeated Input-2-then-Input-1 source blocks per cycle
10	I1→I2 Splice ×16	Sixteen repeated Input-1-then-Input-2 source blocks per cycle
11	I2→I1 Splice ×16	Sixteen repeated Input-2-then-Input-1 source blocks per cycle

Blend / Difference

Useful for conventional mixing, subtraction, biasing, and smoother low-harmonic alternatives.

UI	Type	What it does
12	Sum	Input 1 and Input 2 added together
13	Difference	Input 1 minus Input 2
14	Abs Difference	Rectified source difference; buzzy and octave-like
15	Smooth Average	Heavily smoothed source average; rounded and mellow compared with Sum
16	Smooth Difference	Low-harmonic subtractive blend; much smoother and hollower than Difference
17	Mostly Input 1	Weighted blend biased toward Input 1
18	Mostly Input 2	Weighted blend biased toward Input 2

Dynamic Input Interaction

One source controls which source is heard or how strongly it enters. These modes are directional.

UI	Type	What it does
19	I1 Level Opens I2	Input 2 fades in as Input 1 gets louder; quiet Input 1 favours Input 1
20	I2 Level Opens I1	Input 1 fades in as Input 2 gets louder; quiet Input 2 favours Input 2
21	I1 Polarity Opens I2	Positive Input 1 favours Input 2; negative Input 1 favours Input 1
22	I2 Polarity Opens I1	Positive Input 2 favours Input 1; negative Input 2 favours Input 2
23	I1 Threshold Selects I1	If Input 1 is above ±50% full-scale, use Input 1; otherwise use Input 2
24	I1 Threshold Selects I2	If Input 1 is above ±50% full-scale, use Input 2; otherwise use Input 1
25	I2 Threshold Selects I2	If Input 2 is above ±50% full-scale, use Input 2; otherwise use Input 1
26	I2 Threshold Selects I1	If Input 2 is above ±50% full-scale, use Input 1; otherwise use Input 2

Compare / Edges

Min/Max select pointwise extremes; Comparator and Edge create hard, bright or derivative-like structures.

UI	Type	What it does
27	Min	Takes the lower of the two continuous sources at each sample
28	Max	Takes the higher of the two continuous sources at each sample
29	Comparator	Hard ±1 output depending on whether Input 1 exceeds Input 2
30	Edge	Derivative-style mode that emphasises moving edges

Multiply / Divide / Polarity

Often useful for ring-like, gated, hollow, or unstable interactions. Direction matters for divide, gate, and polarity modes.

UI	Type	What it does
31	Multiply	Sources multiplied sample-by-sample
32	I1 Divided by I2	Input 1 is reshaped by Input 2 level; quiet Input 2 areas push Input 1 harder, with protection from runaway peaks
33	I2 Divided by I1	Input 2 is reshaped by Input 1 level; quiet Input 1 areas push Input 2 harder, with protection from runaway peaks
34	I1-Gated I2	Gate = Input 1; audio = Input 2. Input 2 passes while Input 1 is positive, otherwise silence
35	I2-Gated I1	Gate = Input 2; audio = Input 1. Input 1 passes while Input 2 is positive, otherwise silence
36	I1 Flips I2 Polarity	Input 1 controls Input 2 polarity: positive Input 1 passes Input 2 normally, negative Input 1 inverts Input 2
37	I2 Flips I1 Polarity	Input 2 controls Input 1 polarity: positive Input 2 passes Input 1 normally, negative Input 2 inverts Input 1

Low-Bit Logic

Very coarse digital collision. Expect stepped levels, discontinuities, and strong alias-prone harmonics.

UI	Type	What it does
38	Low-Bit OR	Very coarse digital source collision using bitwise OR
39	Low-Bit AND	Very coarse digital source collision using bitwise AND
40	Low-Bit XOR	Very coarse digital source collision using bitwise XOR

Folding / Shaping

Transforms a blend through folding, clipping, root/power curves, or trigonometric shaping.

UI	Type	What it does
41	Fold Sum	Wavefolded sum for rich synth-like harmonics
42	Fold Difference	Wavefolded difference for metallic hollow harmonics
43	Sine Shaper	Clean trigonometric rounding of the blended source
44	Soft Clip Sum	Soft-knee rounded compression of the source sum; gentler and less linear than Sum
45	Hard Clip Sum	Flat-topped clipped source sum with strong harmonics
46	Root Shape	Expands quiet/mid detail and brings low-level motion forward
47	Power Shape	Suppresses quiet/mid detail, leaving stronger peaks and gaps

Symmetry / Harmonics

Projects the combined material toward odd/even symmetry, with soft and hard variants.

UI	Type	What it does
48	Odd Soft	Smoothed odd-symmetric projection; rounded odd-harmonic emphasis
49	Even Soft	Smoothed even-symmetric projection; rounded hollow/formant emphasis
50	Odd Hard	Folded odd-edge mode with polarity gates and sharper odd-harmonic bite
51	Even Hard	Rectified even-ridge mode with hard plateaus and stronger even-harmonic bite

Window / Interference

Softens zero crossings/cycle edges or creates cyclic comb interference.

UI	Type	What it does
52	Zero-Cross Blend	Blends toward a sine-like curve near zero crossings
53	Hann Windowed	Raised-cosine cycle window that softens boundary bite
54	Cyclic Comb	Feed-forward phase-offset interference between the two sources; hollow, flangey, and metallic

Hidden compatibility types

Older JSON can still load several hidden legacy Wavetable Type identities that are intentionally unavailable as ordinary menu choices. This is compatibility behaviour rather than an extra bank of recommended types. Stable compatibility IDs belong in Compatibility and Versioning, not in the musician-facing menu inventory.

Choosing a type

• Begin with 0 – Input 1 and 1 – Input 2 to understand the routed inputs.
• Use Sum, Difference, Mostly Input 1/Input 2, or Smooth variants for controlled blending.
• Use Splices, Comparator, gates, logic, hard symmetry, or clipping for deliberate edges.
• Use Multiply, divide, polarity, comb, and Fold Difference for hollow or metallic structures.
• Always test directional modes after swapping Input 1 and Input 2.