Ableton’s physical modelling perc synth
Collision is a mallet percussion synthesiser built with Applied Acoustics Systems using physical modelling. It works the way a real instrument does: something strikes an object, and the object resonates. A mallet or a burst of filtered noise provides the strike. Then two resonators decide what’s being hit, from a wooden beam or marimba bar to a string, a drum skin, a metal plate, or an open or closed tube. You can change the material, size, damping and where the object is struck. That makes realistic marimbas, vibraphones and glockenspiels easy to build. Collision is just as good at sounds no instrument could make, such as glassy bells, metallic hits and shimmering, bowed-sounding drones. The two resonators can run in series, like a bar above a resonating tube, or in parallel. It’s especially good for melodic percussion, tuned hits and organic textures. Collision is included in Live Standard and Suite.
Features
Mallet with stiffness, impact noise and colour
Noise exciter with its own filter and ADSR envelope, for bowed and washy tones
Two resonators that can be linked or set independently
Seven resonator types: Beam, Marimba, String, Membrane, Plate, Pipe and Tube
Material, decay and brightness controls, with an X/Y pad for quick changes
Inharmonicity to stretch or compress overtones for metallic and bell tones
Hit position and listening position on each resonator
Tuning with pitch envelope for each resonator
Serial or parallel resonator structure
Quality setting to balance sound against CPU use
Two LFOs with multiple destinations
MIDI and MPE tab for routing pitch bend, mod wheel, pressure and slide
Great for
Marimbas, vibes and glockenspiels
Bells and metallic hits
Tuned percussion
Organic drones and textures
Natural techno melodic lines
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