FROM THE LAB: We’re enrolling now for our Modular Courses!
Mutable Instruments Warps module has found a place in many systems, and the latest Parasite firmware update may draw more users with it’s redesign of the interface and additional modes. The nine modes that are included in the original Warps design are still accessible, in fact some have been given more detailed controls. With 4 very useful new modes added on top of the existing and expanded functions, the new Parasite firmware is going to be very popular.
Warps stands out from the crowd with it’s giant glowing knob and slim design, which immediately make any system look like a Droid. The module packs a punch, featuring a Ring Mod, Vocoder and more, available by morphing through them with the aforementioned giant knob. And while these functions are each well designed, modulating through them could give the user a shock, as some include extremely loud modes depending on the Timbre knob position.
The new Parasite firmware update (a hack of Mutable Instruments open source software by Matthias Puech) for Warps was released this weekend, and brought a new method of accessing the modes as well as the 4 new modes that extend the range of the module. Instead of fading between the 9 modes via the large knob, now each mode is accessed by holding the Internal Oscillator button and rotating the large knob, which will blink when selecting a mode. Each symbol on the panel around the knob represents a different mode, with the final mode containing the original 9 functions in their recognizable orientation around the knob.
The other 8 modes include the 4 new options as well as the Warps Easter Egg Frequency Shifter mode and expanded versions of the included Wavefolder, Ring Modulator and Vocoder. The new modes include a Binaural Doppler Panner (which can be used in a stereo orientation to create the effect of a moving sound source), a Dual Bit-Mangler (a bit crusher combined with cross modulation), a new Comparator (with a Chebyshev waveshaper) and an amazing 3 mode Chorus/Flanger/Delay (which includes an open feedback mode, a dual delay, a tape delay and ping-pong mode).
These improvements are very easy to implement by following the standard Mutable Instruments firmware update procedure for Warps, using the Parasite audio file. Restart your system power after connecting your audio interface to the Carrier audio input on Warps, and then play the audio file, which will reprogram the module. The firmware update should be finished when the audio file has completed playing, and should instantly switch into an operational state.
This firmware is a major improvement on what was already a very handy module. And since the update is simple, there’s no reason not to try it yourself.
What is your favorite Parasite mode? Let us know in the comments!
Want to know more about Ring Mods, Vocoders and the rest? Check out our Courses!!