Engine Guide - DSonic

1. Analog Kick Engine

dsonic_akick

Deep 808-style kicks to punchy house kicks. Features exponential pitch sweep, click transient, harmonic saturation, and comprehensive EQ. Inspired by classic analog drum machines.

Templates

dsonic_akick_deep808 dsonic_akick_house dsonic_akick_techno dsonic_akick_acoustic dsonic_akick_sub

Key Parameters

.bodyPitch()

20-200 Hz

Fundamental pitch of the kick body

.bodyDecay()

0.01-2 sec

Body decay time

.pitchEnvAmt()

-48 to 48 semi

Pitch sweep amount

.pitchEnvDecay()

0.001-0.5 sec

Pitch sweep time

.clickLevel()

0-1

Transient click amount

.driveAmt()

0-1

Saturation amount

.driveType()

soft|hard|fold|diode|tape

Saturation character

2. Dual Membrane Engine

dsonic_membrane

Physical model of a drum with two coupled membranes. Perfect for realistic snares with snare wire simulation, or experimental tuned membrane sounds. Features adjustable coupling, shell resonance, and strike characteristics.

Templates

dsonic_membrane_tightSnare dsonic_membrane_fatSnare dsonic_membrane_brushSnare dsonic_membrane_concertSnare

Key Parameters

.pitch1() / .pitch2()

20-500 Hz

Pitch of each membrane

.coupling12()

0-1

Membrane coupling strength

.wireLevel()

0-1

Snare wire buzz amount

.wireTension()

0-1

Snare wire tightness

.strikeType()

stick|mallet|brush|impulse

Strike character

.strikeHardness()

0-1

Strike attack intensity

3. Hybrid Snare Engine

dsonic_hsnare

Analog-style snare combining tuned body, sub bump, filtered noise, and FM harmonics. Great for punchy electronic snares from 80s gated to modern hip-hop.

Templates

dsonic_hsnare_analog dsonic_hsnare_gated dsonic_hsnare_hiphop dsonic_hsnare_clicky

Key Parameters

.bodyPitch()

80-400 Hz

Body fundamental

.bumpAmt()

0-1

Sub bump level

.noiseLevel()

0-1

Noise layer level

.noiseSnap()

0-1

Noise transient snap

.ringAmt()

0-1

Ring modulation

.driveAmt()

0-1

Distortion amount

4. Clap Engine

dsonic_hclap

Multi-hit clap with layered texture. Simulates multiple hands clapping with adjustable count, spread, and randomization. From tight finger snaps to big room crowd claps.

Templates

dsonic_hclap_classic dsonic_hclap_tight dsonic_hclap_bigRoom dsonic_hclap_snap

Key Parameters

.bodyResAmt()

0-1

Body resonance level

.transientLevel()

0-1

Transient attack level

.filterEnvAmt()

0-1

Filter sweep depth

.strikeType()

palm/fingers/cupped

Clap character

.earlyReflections()

0-1

Room reflections

5. Hat Engine

dsonic_hhat

TR-808 inspired hi-hat synthesizer. Features 6 square wave oscillators at inharmonic frequencies, dual bandpass filter paths, and optional FM/ring modulation for extended sound design. From tight closed hats to shimmering rides.

Templates

dsonic_hhat_closed dsonic_hhat_open dsonic_hhat_hat808 dsonic_hhat_ride dsonic_hhat_trashy

Key Parameters

.mode()

closed|open|pedal|ride|splash

Hat mode (affects decay)

.oscTune()

0.5-2

Master pitch multiplier

.hiFilterFreq()

4000-12000 Hz

High band center freq (808: 7100Hz)

.loFilterFreq()

1500-6000 Hz

Low band center freq (808: 3440Hz)

.bandBalance()

-1 to 1

Low vs high band mix

.decay()

0.01-3 sec

Overall decay time

6. Cymbal Engine

dsonic_hcymbal

Inharmonic cymbal synthesis for crashes, rides, and chinas. Features cluster density control, edge/top balance, and long sustaining tails.

Templates

dsonic_hcymbal_crash dsonic_hcymbal_ride dsonic_hcymbal_china dsonic_hcymbal_splash

Key Parameters

.size()

0-1

Cymbal size

.decay()

0.5-10 sec

Sustain time

.richness()

0-1

Harmonic richness

.clusterDensity()

0-1

Partial density

.metalCharacter()

0-1

Clean to trashy

7. Tom/Conga Engine

dsonic_htom

Pitched membrane drums with pitch ramps. From floor toms to high congas, with adjustable tension, overtones, and strike characteristics.

Templates

dsonic_htom_floorTom dsonic_htom_rackTom dsonic_htom_congaHigh dsonic_htom_congaLow dsonic_htom_electroTom

Key Parameters

.pitch()

40-400 Hz

Fundamental pitch

.pitchEnvAmt()

-24 to 24 semi

Pitch bend amount

.tension()

0-1

Skin tension

.overtoneAmt()

0-1

Overtone level

.clickLevel()

0-1

Attack click

8. Rim/Clave Engine

dsonic_hrim

Percussion variety engine for rimshots, claves, cowbells, woodblocks, and metal blocks. Short, pitched percussion with optional snare timbre.

Templates

dsonic_hrim_rimshot dsonic_hrim_clave dsonic_hrim_cowbell dsonic_hrim_woodblock dsonic_hrim_agogo

Key Parameters

.type()

rim|clave|cowbell|woodblock|metalblock

Percussion type

.pitch()

200-2000 Hz

Fundamental pitch

.dualStrike()

0-1

Double hit amount

.snareTimbreAmt()

0-1

Snare character blend

9. Shaker Engine

dsonic_shaker

Granular percussion modeling for shakers, maracas, cabasas, and tambourines. Simulates particles rattling with adjustable grain characteristics.

Templates

dsonic_shaker_shaker dsonic_shaker_maraca dsonic_shaker_cabasa dsonic_shaker_sand dsonic_shaker_tambourine

Key Parameters

.rattleType()

sand|beads|seeds|metallic

Particle material

.grainSize()

0-1

Particle size

.grainDensity()

0-1

Particle count

.hardness()

0-1

Impact hardness

10. Fold/Wavetable Engine

dsonic_fold

Waveshaping and wavetable-based drum synthesis. Features wave folding with asymmetry control, wavetable morphing, and complex modulation for aggressive, distorted sounds.

Templates

dsonic_fold_foldKick dsonic_fold_wavetablePerc dsonic_fold_resonant dsonic_fold_noiseTone

Key Parameters

.algorithm()

Synthesis algorithm

.foldAmt()

0-1

Fold intensity

.foldSymmetry()

0-1

Fold symmetry

.tablePosition()

0-1

Wavetable position

.pitchEnvAmt()

-48 to 48 semi

Pitch sweep

11. Impact Engine

dsonic_impact

Multi-layer percussion synthesizer for textural, organic sounds. Features 3 layers: Transient (attack), Body (tone), and Tail (ambience). Perfect for brushes, mallets, rain sticks, wind chimes, singing bowls, and wood textures.

Templates

dsonic_impact_brush dsonic_impact_mallet dsonic_impact_rainstick dsonic_impact_windchime dsonic_impact_softbell dsonic_impact_woodtexture dsonic_impact_bowlstrike

Key Parameters

.transType()

impulse|click|brush|mallet|noise-burst

Transient layer type

.bodyType()

sine|triangle|noise|filtered-noise|resonant

Body layer type

.tailType()

noise-tail|reverb-like|shimmer|damped

Tail layer type

.bodyPitch()

20-2000 Hz

Body fundamental pitch

.layerMix()

0-1

Body vs tail balance

.tailColor()

0-1

Tail brightness (dark to bright)

12. FM Percussion Engine

dsonic_fmperc

FM synthesis-based drums with up to 4 operators. Creates electric kicks, bells, metallic hits, and complex timbres. Features multiple algorithms and modulation index control.

Templates

dsonic_fmperc_fmKick dsonic_fmperc_fmBell dsonic_fmperc_fmMetal dsonic_fmperc_fmPluck

Key Parameters

.algorithm()

1-8

FM routing algorithm

.modIndex()

0-10

Modulation depth

.modIndexDecay()

0.01-0.5 sec

Mod index envelope

.brightness()

0-1

Overall brightness

.inharmonicityBias()

-1 to 1

Pitch detuning