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always special vst3 / au / aax

mod

randomize

lfo → a knob · smooth cyclic sweep

the actual plugin layout: module · mod selector · cv source · history strip, in one window. click a row to switch; hover to hold

parthow many partials get tracked - few reduces a chord to its bones, many follows the whole texture

decayhow long each sine hangs on after the partial feeding it has gone

scanmoves an emphasis curve across the spectrum to decide which region's peaks get picked. it ranks the peaks and deliberately does not tilt their level.

noiseadds broadband white noise scaled by the summed partial level, so the air swells and ducks with the sine bank. it is generated, not recovered - the residue of the input is gone for good.

tunetransposes the whole bank against the input, up to two octaves either way. as it climbs the bank thins from the top: peaks that would transpose past nyquist are dropped from the search rather than folded back.

mixdry / wet blend.

spectral · wam-120 · standalone + cv modulation

always special

sympathy plead the fifth

US$25or every module · US$9/monthor all 74 · US$249one-time · 14-day free trial built in

buy always special · US$25 try it free · 14 days

vst3 · au · aax · macos 11+ · windows 10+ · no ilok · unlocks in the tangle rack too

§ what it does

sympathy plead the fifth

Rebuilds the input from its strongest partials. It finds the loudest frequencies in whatever you feed it and re-plays them on a bank of sine oscillators. None of the original signal reaches the output; everything you hear is the reconstruction.

High DECAY settings hold passing material as a sustained chord. TUNE transposes the oscillator bank against the input, so the rebuild can sit a fifth above the source.

It runs the same DSP as the module in Tangle; nothing is cut down for the standalone version. One licence covers both: this plugin, and the same module unlocked inside the rack.

§ every control

what each knob does

Six controls, no menus. Here they are on the panel itself.

partHow many partials get tracked - few reduces a chord to its bones, many follows the whole texture

decayHow long each sine hangs on after the partial feeding it has gone

scanMoves an emphasis curve across the spectrum to decide which region's peaks get picked. It ranks the peaks and deliberately does not tilt their level.

noiseAdds broadband white noise scaled by the summed partial level, so the air swells and ducks with the sine bank. It is generated, not recovered - the residue of the input is gone for good.

tuneTransposes the whole bank against the input, up to two octaves either way. As it climbs the bank thins from the top: peaks that would transpose past Nyquist are dropped from the search rather than folded back.

mixDry / wet blend.

§ built-in modulation

it modulates itself

Always Special ships with the full CV/logic modulation section every Tangle standalone carries. Pick a modulator, drag a patch cable onto any knob, and that control moves on its own, no DAW automation required.

lfoSmooth cyclic movement: sine, triangle, square, sample & hold, or a shape you draw.

curveA looping contour you draw by hand: smooth, spiked or stepped.

noiseStepped, smoothed or slewed randomness for texture and wander.

transientListens for hits, then fires a trigger plus an envelope on every transient it hears.

env followTracks how loud you are playing and turns that into a control voltage.

timingSpreads hits as evenly as possible across a bar, so rhythms land musically instead of bunched.

memoryA loop of random voltages that repeats until you let it mutate, one step at a time.

driftSix related voltages from two particles moving through a shared field: they drift together, not separately.

§ always recording

it keeps what you just played

A rolling capture strip runs beneath the panel, always recording the plugin's output. No transport, nothing to arm. Played something great while you were just tweaking? Click-drag across the history waveform to select it, then drag the slice straight into your DAW timeline.

ARM flips it to ring-capture for hands-free takes.

§ one purchase, two plugins

it unlocks in tangle too

Always Special is a module from Tangle, the free cable-patchable rack. Buying it here licenses both: this standalone plugin, and always special unlocked inside the rack, where you can patch it into any other module you own. There is no second purchase and no upgrade path; the rack itself costs nothing.

Sign in once in the rack and your licences follow your account: a module bought this morning appears at the next licence check, on every machine you install on.

try it free · 14 days all 74 modules →

§ the box

always special

US$25or every module · US$9/monthor all 74 · US$249one-time

buy always special · US$25 try it free · 14 days

formats: vst3 · audio unit (au) · aax
platforms: macos 11+ (universal) · windows 10+ (64-bit) — full requirements
in tangle: the same licence unlocks this module inside the free Tangle rack, patchable into every other module — one purchase, both plugins, nothing extra to buy
trial: 14 days, full function, then buy to keep patching
licence: no ilok · serial ASP-… by email
modulators: lfo · drawable curve · noise · transient, all included
currency: charged in us dollars · your bank converts at its own rate
refunds: 30-day money back, no questions
discontinued: if this plugin is retired your licence keeps working and your serial stays on your account — terms, section 1.3

always special

sympathy plead the fifth

what each knob does

it modulates itself

it keeps what you just played

it unlocks in tangle too

always special

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