Mutable Instruments goes beyond the Clouds with the Beads Eurorack ‘texture synthesizer’

Mutable Instruments has introduced the Beads ‘texture synthesizer’ - a wholesale reinvention of Clouds, one of the most beloved Eurorack modules of all time. This promises to do “(most of) whatever a Clouds does (but better)”.

The fundamental concept is the same - to offer live granular processing of an audio signal - and the labelling on the interface will be familiar to Clouds users, too. However, Beads promises a crisper and broader sound palette, more control, better playability and new features.

Spec improvements include higher audio quality, a longer buffer, better interpolation and anti-aliasing algorithms and DSP blocks that run at a faster rate. Your granular processing can now explore the likes of formants, wavetables, hard-sync type sounds and crisper noise, too.

There’s a refined range of parameters, so you can enjoy the likes of reverse playback and percussive envelopes.

Beads is available now priced at $359/€299. Find out more on the Mutable Instruments website.

Ben Rogerson

I’m the Deputy Editor of MusicRadar, having worked on the site since its launch in 2007. I previously spent eight years working on our sister magazine, Computer Music. I’ve been playing the piano, gigging in bands and failing to finish tracks at home for more than 30 years, 24 of which I’ve also spent writing about music and the ever-changing technology used to make it. 

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