00:00Vector Delay is a polyphonic delay
00:02with a unique modulation system
controlled by a 2D particle simulation.
00:06In this video, we'll explore how to process sounds
with Vector Delay
00:10and how to use the particle simulation to control
elements within the sound.
00:16On the left of the device is the 2D particle system.
00:19This displays particles that are used
to affect elements of our sound.
00:23On the right-hand side of the device are additional controls
00:26and three tabs we'll use to adjust parameters of the delay,
as well as parameters
00:30that control the behavior of particles within the simulation.
00:34In the first tab of Vector Delay are the delay controls.
00:39Here you'll find the usual controls you'd expect
from a conventional delay,
00:42like Time, Feedback and a Multimode filter.
00:46There are a few novel controls as well:
Pitch lets you re-pitch only the delayed signal.
00:59Recycle feeds the re-pitched repeats back on themselves
to create a cascade of rising pitches.
01:12You can also play each repeat in reverse.
01:20At the bottom of the Delay Parameters tab
are five particle attribute controls
01:25that allow you to map attributes of the particle simulation
to elements within the delay.
01:30The first control uses the horizontal position of a particle
within the display to effect an element of the delay.
01:37Let's map this to control Pan.
01:46At the moment, there is only one particle active,
but you can use the Voices control
01:51to set anywhere between 1 and 16 voices.
01:58Because Vector Delay is polyphonic,
each particle represents a totally separate delay line
02:03with its own independent settings affected by the
corresponding particle's position within the display.
02:10The second particle attribute uses
the vertical position of a particle within the display
02:14to affect the element of the delay.
02:16Let's map this to Pitch.
02:25When an attribute is mapped to Pitch,
you can use the Scale setting
02:29to quantize the re-pitched values
to particular scales or intervals.
02:33Let's go with 7 semitones.
02:45The third attribute control uses a particle's distance
from the center to affect elements of the delay.
02:50Let's map this to Time.
02:52So the delay time of each delay line will change based on
its distance from the center of the display.
03:10The fourth control uses a particle's Speed
to affect an element of delay.
03:15Let's map this to Gain.
03:23The fifth control uses a particle's Mass
to effect an element of the delay.
03:27In the simulation, a particle's Mass
is represented by its size.
03:32You might have noticed that the Size, or Mass,
of each particle isn't currently changing.
03:36Let's first map Mass to affect Feedback.
03:45And then head over to the third tab where we'll find
some controls for the particle's system attributes.
03:53Here we find the Emitter, which is used
to create and destroy particles.
04:00When the Emitter is enabled, new particles will be created
at a rate set by the Rate control
04:05and they will last for a length of time set by the Life control.
04:09I'll increase Life to 4 beats and Rate to 2 notes,
04:13so particles are being created at a slow rate.
04:22The maximum number of particles that can exist
simultaneously is always set by the Voices control.
04:27So, Voices, Rate and Life work in tandem to control
how many particles will exist at any one time.
04:38You might start to notice that each new
particle's Mass is slightly different.
04:42You can set the mass at which new particles will be created
using the Mass control.
04:47And you can define a random mass for new particles using
the Random Mass control.
04:58Let's head over to the second tab where we can control
settings for the forces that move the particles.
05:03At the center of the display is
what is known as the Attractor.
05:07Particles are attracted to, or repelled from, the Attractor
based on the Strength control.
05:28The Mass of a particle also affects
how much it is attracted to or repelled by the Attractor.
05:34Particles can also be positively or negatively charged,
indicated by blue for a positively charged particle
05:40and yellow for a negative one. You can set whether
the Attractor attracts both positive and negative particles
05:46or only one or the other using the Attract setting.
05:57Magnetism can be used to set how much
oppositely charged particles attract or repel one another.
06:17You'll notice that very small adjustments
to these controls can have quite drastic results.
06:21And each element of the simulation
interacts with the others in particular ways.
06:26So start by making small adjustments to these controls
and noticing how they interact.
06:32Vector Delay is excellent at creating delays
that are complex and organic
06:36and works well for any style that benefits
from textured, evolving sound design.
06:41There are many other controls we haven't
discussed, but remember that you can use
06:44Live's Info View to discover
more about the controls in Vector Delay.
06:48Click the toggle in the bottom-left of Live's window
to open the Info View,
06:52then hover over any parameter within
Vector Delay to learn more about that control.
06:59Also, be sure to explore some
of the included Vector Delay presets
07:03to get an idea of the range of sounds possible
with Vector Delay.
