Combinations and Permutations | Shaper2 Walkthrough ep.2

In the previous blog post, we explored Shaper2’s parameters one by one, and that was quite a fun ride. However, we can do much more with Shaper2, mainly because of two reasons:

1. We can combine the parameters;
2. We can change the order of the four main ones (Gate, Shaper, Transform, Resonator).

Combining the parameters allows us, for example, to create extreme distortions by using the Shaper and Transform sections together. We can further add a Resonator on top of everything and then smoothen the high frequencies with the filter. Still, that wouldn’t be all we could do!

By dragging and dropping the four central parameters, we can change the signal flow. Such a change has a massive impact on our sound! For example, if we start our chain with the Shaper section, and then we put the Resonator before it, the source signal for the shaping function will be a whole different thing, and the distortion behavior will be something else.

Such a variation is valid for all the parameter combinations. Since the elements that we can arrange are four, we can have a total of 4! permutations, read “4 factorial”, which is 4·3·2·1=24.

You can see that there’s quite a lot to explore! However, don’t panic: our suggestion is to focus on a couple of sections at a time, try to swap them, and get familiar with how they sound. You’ll thus master the combinations and permutations in no time!

All of this was quite abstract, and we must not forget that the final purpose of Shaper2 is to make music. For this reason, we made a brief video that shows some examples of Shaper2’s permutations with various sounds: check it out below!