Dr. Tape Resonator
Mallet instruments that ring, beat and settle like real objects.
The Resonator strikes an object and lets it ring. Each note is a set of resonances with its own decay, excited by a mallet whose contact changes with how hard you play. Choose the object, then decide how imperfect the instrument is: Intonation gives every key a fixed tuning offset like a real set of bars, Bloom adds close companion resonances that beat inside the note, and Body couples each note to a tube resonator. A standard reverb finishes the whole instrument.
When to use it
Use it for marimba and vibraphone parts, bell-like keys, chimes, hand-percussion patterns and metallic textures. The presets are all in one Bars category: Wood Bar and Metal Bar with Soft, Bright and Ringing variations, Finger Drum, Steel Drum, Tower Chimes, tube pairs, and in Space versions with reverb and scattered placement.
Controls
Strike
Object chooses Wood Bar, Metal Bar, Finger Drum, Steel Drum or Tower Chimes; new strikes use the new object while ringing notes finish as they were. Hardness spreads a soft strike over a longer contact and lets a hard one excite the upper modes. Strike point runs from near the end (0.05) to the centre (0.5); striking at a mode’s node excites less of it.
Resonance
Decay is the ring time at middle C; low notes ring longer, high notes shorter. Damping sets how quickly the upper modes die relative to the fundamental, so more damping leaves a rounder tail. Intonation, 0 to 25 cents, is the maximum imperfection: each key keeps its own sharp or flat offset across strikes, playback and reloads, with different patterns for wood and metal. Bloom adds the beating companions; it stays live on ringing notes.
Body
Body is the energy exchange with a tube under each note, Size its length (1 aligns the tube with the note, larger is lower), and Body Strike how directly the mallet hits the tube: zero is the clean coupled body, one the fully struck tube.
Playing
Ring lets the note finish naturally after release; Damped applies a damper on release with its own Release time. The sustain pedal holds the damper off, so the pedal lane works as on a piano.
Output
Placement is Keyboard, bass left and treble right, or Scattered, where each key has a fixed position of its own, arranged differently per object. Width scales the spread; 0.35 is a subtle start. Output trims the level.
Reverb
Off or On, Space Small Ambience, Room or Hall, and Amount. One shared space surrounds all notes.
Tips
- A few cents of Intonation does more for realism than any other control; the preset bars are perfectly tuned so you can hear the difference.
- Finger Drum with Scattered placement at low pitches makes a handpan-like pattern that stays in place however you play it.
- Bloom at 0.2 to 0.4 on a metal bar gives the slow shimmer of a vibraphone without a tremolo.
Control ranges
Strike
| Control | Range | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Object | Wood Bar · Metal Bar · Metal Plate · Wood Plate · Bell | Authored bars, plates and bell profiles. New strikes use this object; existing objects finish with their original geometry. |
| Hardness | 0 to 1, starts at 0.55 | Soft strikes spread the force over a longer contact. Hard strikes excite more upper modes. Velocity also changes the contact and energy. |
| Strike point | 0.05 to 0.5, starts at 0.38 | Strike position on the object: 0.05 is near the end; 0.5 is the center. A strike near a mode’s node excites less of that mode. Applies to the next strike. |
Resonance
| Control | Range | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Decay | 0.15 to 8 s, starts at 2.4 s | Fundamental ring time to −60 dB at middle C. Lower bars ring up to twice as long; higher bars up to half as long. |
| Damping | 0 to 1, starts at 0.55 | How quickly upper modes die away relative to the fundamental. More damping leaves a rounder tail. |
| Intonation | 0 to 25 ct, starts at 0 ct | Maximum tuning imperfection in cents. Zero is perfectly tuned; each key has its own fixed sharp or flat offset, remembered across strikes, playback and reloads. Wood and metal have distinct fixed patterns. |
| Bloom | 0 to 1, starts at 0 | Adds close companion resonances that beat and fade within each note. Zero preserves the pure bar. Changes remain live on ringing notes. |
Body
| Control | Range | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Body | 0 to 1, starts at 0 | Energy exchange with a tube resonator for each note. Zero preserves the bare object. Applies live. |
| Size | 0.5 to 2 ×, starts at 1 × | Relative tube length. Larger lowers the body resonances; 1 aligns its lowest resonance with the note. Applies live. |
| Body Strike | 0 to 1, starts at 0 | How strongly the strike directly excites the tube. Zero keeps the clean coupling-only body; one restores the fully struck body. Applies during strikes; it does not re-excite an already ringing note. |
Playing
| Control | Range | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Playing | Ring · Damped | Ring finishes naturally after key release. Damped applies the damper on release, deferred by the sustain pedal. Applies to new strikes. |
| Release | 0.03 to 1.5 s, starts at 0.18 s | Additional damper loss to −60 dB after release in Damped mode. The sustain pedal delays the damper. |
Output
| Control | Range | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Placement | Keyboard · Scattered | Keyboard spreads bass left and treble right. Scattered gives each key a fixed position, with a distinct arrangement for each object. Width controls the spread. |
| Width | 0 to 1, starts at 0.5 | Stereo spread of the note positions. Zero centers all notes. Scattered placement gives each key a stable location independent of pitch order. |
| Output | -36 to 0 dB, starts at -12 dB | Instrument output level. |
Reverb
| Control | Range | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Reverb | Off · On | Standard stereo reverb after the complete instrument. Off preserves the dry sound. |
| Space | Small Ambience · Room · Hall | Shared space around all notes. |
| Amount | 0 to 0.6, starts at 0.18 | Reverb wet/dry balance. |
15 factory presets.
See also
Changes
- FasterLower playback load for Resonator · 3 October 2026
Resonator uses less processing power during dense patterns and ringing loops. Its strikes, body resonance, stereo placement and complete decay tails keep the same sound.
- FasterThe Resonator plays dense parts with far less CPU · 27 September 2026
A busy Finger Drum arpeggio that overloaded the audio engine now plays comfortably, and the editor no longer redraws itself on every meter update during playback. The sound is unchanged.