We say...
A pre-owned Mutable Instruments Beads in good condition. It has no original packaging but comes with a eurorack power cable.
Manufacturer's description
REINVENTING A CLASSIC
Beads is a reinvention of Mutable Instruments’ Clouds.
The concept is the same, live granular processing of an incoming audio signal, and the labels on the panel remain familiar.
The similarities stop here. The hardware and software have been redesigned from the ground up, with several goals in mind: a crisper and broader sound palette, more control, better playability, and direct access to exciting new features.
DOTTING THE I’S AND CROSSING THE T’S
Beads’ vastly improved specifications allow a higher audio quality, a longer buffer, the use of better interpolation and anti-aliasing algorithms, and key DSP blocks to run at a faster rate. Granulation can now get into new territories, such as formants, wavetables, hard-sync-like sounds, or crispy noise.
The range of parameters, their response to knob turns or modulations have all been refined, for new possibilities such as reverse playback or percussive envelopes.
CONTROL, CHAOS AND CHARACTER
Control. To trigger or schedule grains, Beads provides new features to divide or randomize an external clock or trigger stream, spray bursts of grains in response to a gate, or get the grain rate to track a V/O CV or the frequency of an external oscillator.
Chaos. Each key parameter of a grain comes with its own attenurandomizer. They allow direct CV control of a parameter, CV control of the random spread of this parameter, or internal randomization using some of Marbles’ algorithms.
Character. Beads provides four audio quality settings, which go well beyond buffer sample rate and bit-depth: they affect the clock of the converters, the amplitude limiting and saturation of the signal path, the tone of the reverb, and additional media-emulation effects. From a pristine digital device to a dirty cassette, through a mode reproducing some of Clouds’ characteristics.
MODES?
Beads can operate as a delay without the need to switch to a different mode: just ask it to play a never-ending grain. Its DENSITY, TIME and SEED controls are repurposed to allow various features such as tap-tempo, beat slicing, time-stretching, or comb-filtering at rates tracking V/O.
Without any audio input, Beads will granularize 8 internal banks of wavetables.
All parameters have a dedicated knob.
Audio acquisition
Stereo I/O with automatic level detection.
Manual override of the level detection.
Automatic mono/stereo switching through patch cable detection.
Recording time: 4s (48kHz 16-bit, stereo) to 32s (24kHz µ-law, mono).
Four quality modes, with different tone and reverb characters:
48kHz 16-bit
32kHz 12-bit with Clouds emulation
24kHz 12-bit with a hi-fi dry signal path
24kHz µ-law with cassette emulation
The FREEZE button and the gate input freezes the content of the recording buffer, allowing you to dive into its sonic details.
Auto-saving of the FREEZE buffer.
Granular synthesis
Three grain generation mode:
Latched (continuous), with a periodic or randomized rate, tracking V/O.
Gated, with bursts of grains triggered by the press of the SEED button or an external gate.
Clocked, with randomization or division of an external clock or trigger signal.
Four grain parameters:
TIME. Temporal position within the buffer.
SIZE. Grain duration from 0.03 to 4 seconds, forward or backward playback.
SHAPE. Morphing between four key shapes of the grain envelope: solid rectangular, snappy decay, smooth bell, or reversed.
PITCH. With V/O tracking.
Attenurandomizers
Available for each of the four parameters of a grain, sampled each time a grain is started:
Direct CV control.
CV control of the amount of gaussian randomization.
Internal randomization with an independent, uniform or peaky, random source.
Delay
Control of both the base delay clock rate (DENSITY), and its multiplication (TIME), with optional random taps.
Tap tempo with the SEED button or an external signal.
Enveloping of delay repeats, with the SHAPE setting.
Pitch shifting of the delayed signal, controlled by PITCH.
Signal flow
Feedback path delay: 1 sample.
Independent knobs for feedback, dry/wet amount, and reverb amount.
CV input assignable to each of these three parameters, or to variable combinations of them.
When unpatched, the R output jack is summed to the L output.
Optional generation of a gate signal on the R output.
How much is my shipping?
Shipping is automatically calculated before you submit your payment information. Simply add items to your cart and proceed to the checkout page, where you'll be offered shipping options and their prices. In the UK, 'next working day' shipping is free if the order value is over £150, and £5 otherwise. We can also ship on a 'next working day before 12pm' service, which costs £6 for orders over £150 and £7.50 for orders under £150.
Shipping to mainland EU typically costs between £7 and £20, depending on the shipping method and the size and weight of the order.
Do you ship to my country?
Almost certainly - the site will give you an estimate of shipping costs if you add an item to the cart and then enter your country and postcode. If you have specific requirements (such as if you prefer UPS over FedEx, for example) then let us know in advance and we'll try to work something out for you.
Shipping methods
We use a combination of DPD, Royal Mail and Parcelforce for the UK, and for international orders it's either DHL, FedEx, UPS, Royal Mail or Parcelforce depending on where you are in the world. If you have a particular preference then try to let us know BEFORE you order so we can look into it for you. Please note that there may occasionally be additional shipping charges if you live in a remote area, depending on what surcharges are applied by the shipper. We'll get in touch to discuss this with you in such cases.
Dispatch times
For UK orders, we aim to dispatch the same working day if we get the order before 16:00. If you have a really urgent situation then of course drop us an email before ordering and we'll always do our absolute best to accommodate you.
For international orders, we normally dispatch the same day if we get the order before 13:00 but again, occasionally it might be the next day before we can send it out, and sometimes the couriers may come to collect a little earlier than scheduled which would also push an order into the next day.
Saturday/Sunday shipping
If you're in the UK and you order before 16:00 on a Friday then we can send something for a Saturday or Sunday delivery with DPD. This is FREE for order values over £350, £5 for order values between £75 and £250, and £7 for order values under £75. (NB: this applies to UK mainland addresses only). Please note that any orders placed after 16:00 on a Friday will ship on the Monday.
International shipping times
Since April 2020, the couriers we use have suspended guarantees for shipping times, so even though we're paying them for priority services - 24-48 hours for most of the world - in practice it's often an extra day on top and sometimes it can be longer. There is absolutely nothing we can do about this, unfortunately. If you are outside the UK and it's a life-or-death situation where you absolutely MUST have that passive mult for the next day then... it may be better to find a local supplier.
Pre-orders
If a product is listed as a pre-order, it means we've ordered it from the supplier but it's not physically in stock yet. The product listing will include an estimated shipping date based on the best information we have from the supplier, but do bear in mind this is subject to change and is not a guaranteed date.
If you place an order containing a mixture of in-stock and pre-order items, we'll normally hold off on shipping anything until the pre-order item(s) have arrived, rather than splitting it into multiple shipments. If you need the in-stock items sooner, we'd recommend placing separate orders. As always, please get in touch if you have questions.
Product Overview
We say...
A pre-owned Mutable Instruments Beads in good condition. It has no original packaging but comes with a eurorack power cable.
Manufacturer's description
REINVENTING A CLASSIC
Beads is a reinvention of Mutable Instruments’ Clouds.
The concept is the same, live granular processing of an incoming audio signal, and the labels on the panel remain familiar.
The similarities stop here. The hardware and software have been redesigned from the ground up, with several goals in mind: a crisper and broader sound palette, more control, better playability, and direct access to exciting new features.
DOTTING THE I’S AND CROSSING THE T’S
Beads’ vastly improved specifications allow a higher audio quality, a longer buffer, the use of better interpolation and anti-aliasing algorithms, and key DSP blocks to run at a faster rate. Granulation can now get into new territories, such as formants, wavetables, hard-sync-like sounds, or crispy noise.
The range of parameters, their response to knob turns or modulations have all been refined, for new possibilities such as reverse playback or percussive envelopes.
CONTROL, CHAOS AND CHARACTER
Control. To trigger or schedule grains, Beads provides new features to divide or randomize an external clock or trigger stream, spray bursts of grains in response to a gate, or get the grain rate to track a V/O CV or the frequency of an external oscillator.
Chaos. Each key parameter of a grain comes with its own attenurandomizer. They allow direct CV control of a parameter, CV control of the random spread of this parameter, or internal randomization using some of Marbles’ algorithms.
Character. Beads provides four audio quality settings, which go well beyond buffer sample rate and bit-depth: they affect the clock of the converters, the amplitude limiting and saturation of the signal path, the tone of the reverb, and additional media-emulation effects. From a pristine digital device to a dirty cassette, through a mode reproducing some of Clouds’ characteristics.
MODES?
Beads can operate as a delay without the need to switch to a different mode: just ask it to play a never-ending grain. Its DENSITY, TIME and SEED controls are repurposed to allow various features such as tap-tempo, beat slicing, time-stretching, or comb-filtering at rates tracking V/O.
Without any audio input, Beads will granularize 8 internal banks of wavetables.
All parameters have a dedicated knob.
Audio acquisition
Stereo I/O with automatic level detection.
Manual override of the level detection.
Automatic mono/stereo switching through patch cable detection.
Recording time: 4s (48kHz 16-bit, stereo) to 32s (24kHz µ-law, mono).
Four quality modes, with different tone and reverb characters:
48kHz 16-bit
32kHz 12-bit with Clouds emulation
24kHz 12-bit with a hi-fi dry signal path
24kHz µ-law with cassette emulation
The FREEZE button and the gate input freezes the content of the recording buffer, allowing you to dive into its sonic details.
Auto-saving of the FREEZE buffer.
Granular synthesis
Three grain generation mode:
Latched (continuous), with a periodic or randomized rate, tracking V/O.
Gated, with bursts of grains triggered by the press of the SEED button or an external gate.
Clocked, with randomization or division of an external clock or trigger signal.
Four grain parameters:
TIME. Temporal position within the buffer.
SIZE. Grain duration from 0.03 to 4 seconds, forward or backward playback.
SHAPE. Morphing between four key shapes of the grain envelope: solid rectangular, snappy decay, smooth bell, or reversed.
PITCH. With V/O tracking.
Attenurandomizers
Available for each of the four parameters of a grain, sampled each time a grain is started:
Direct CV control.
CV control of the amount of gaussian randomization.
Internal randomization with an independent, uniform or peaky, random source.
Delay
Control of both the base delay clock rate (DENSITY), and its multiplication (TIME), with optional random taps.
Tap tempo with the SEED button or an external signal.
Enveloping of delay repeats, with the SHAPE setting.
Pitch shifting of the delayed signal, controlled by PITCH.
Signal flow
Feedback path delay: 1 sample.
Independent knobs for feedback, dry/wet amount, and reverb amount.
CV input assignable to each of these three parameters, or to variable combinations of them.
When unpatched, the R output jack is summed to the L output.
Optional generation of a gate signal on the R output.
Technical Specs
Shipping Details
How much is my shipping?
Shipping is automatically calculated before you submit your payment information. Simply add items to your cart and proceed to the checkout page, where you'll be offered shipping options and their prices. In the UK, 'next working day' shipping is free if the order value is over £150, and £5 otherwise. We can also ship on a 'next working day before 12pm' service, which costs £6 for orders over £150 and £7.50 for orders under £150.
Shipping to mainland EU typically costs between £7 and £20, depending on the shipping method and the size and weight of the order.
Do you ship to my country?
Almost certainly - the site will give you an estimate of shipping costs if you add an item to the cart and then enter your country and postcode. If you have specific requirements (such as if you prefer UPS over FedEx, for example) then let us know in advance and we'll try to work something out for you.
Shipping methods
We use a combination of DPD, Royal Mail and Parcelforce for the UK, and for international orders it's either DHL, FedEx, UPS, Royal Mail or Parcelforce depending on where you are in the world. If you have a particular preference then try to let us know BEFORE you order so we can look into it for you. Please note that there may occasionally be additional shipping charges if you live in a remote area, depending on what surcharges are applied by the shipper. We'll get in touch to discuss this with you in such cases.
Dispatch times
For UK orders, we aim to dispatch the same working day if we get the order before 16:00. If you have a really urgent situation then of course drop us an email before ordering and we'll always do our absolute best to accommodate you.
For international orders, we normally dispatch the same day if we get the order before 13:00 but again, occasionally it might be the next day before we can send it out, and sometimes the couriers may come to collect a little earlier than scheduled which would also push an order into the next day.
Saturday/Sunday shipping
If you're in the UK and you order before 16:00 on a Friday then we can send something for a Saturday or Sunday delivery with DPD. This is FREE for order values over £350, £5 for order values between £75 and £250, and £7 for order values under £75. (NB: this applies to UK mainland addresses only). Please note that any orders placed after 16:00 on a Friday will ship on the Monday.
International shipping times
Since April 2020, the couriers we use have suspended guarantees for shipping times, so even though we're paying them for priority services - 24-48 hours for most of the world - in practice it's often an extra day on top and sometimes it can be longer. There is absolutely nothing we can do about this, unfortunately. If you are outside the UK and it's a life-or-death situation where you absolutely MUST have that passive mult for the next day then... it may be better to find a local supplier.
Pre-orders
If a product is listed as a pre-order, it means we've ordered it from the supplier but it's not physically in stock yet. The product listing will include an estimated shipping date based on the best information we have from the supplier, but do bear in mind this is subject to change and is not a guaranteed date.
If you place an order containing a mixture of in-stock and pre-order items, we'll normally hold off on shipping anything until the pre-order item(s) have arrived, rather than splitting it into multiple shipments. If you need the in-stock items sooner, we'd recommend placing separate orders. As always, please get in touch if you have questions.
