canary vst3 / au / aax

randomize

no rolls

amount 100%

1 curve → a knob · a shape you draw, looping

the actual plugin layout: module · randomize · two modulator slots · history strip, in one window. click a tab to switch a slot; hover to hold

sizetank size: the delay-tap length, about 60 to 400 ms.

builduploop gain, 0.95 to 1.04. a little past centre it passes unity and the tank starts accumulating energy instead of decaying.

dampin-loop low-pass, 800 hz to 10 khz. it reads the opposite way to its name: turned up the tank keeps its top end, turned down the drone loses more high end on every pass.

limitceiling of the soft limiter that catches the buildup. low keeps the pad tight; high lets the tank get loud before it saturates.

bloomsoft drive inside the loop, which adds harmonic colour to the pad.

mixdry/wet balance. fully down is dry only; fully up is the effect alone.

reverbs · wam-75 · standalone + cv modulation

canary free buildup drone reverb

freefree · included with the tangle download

included free · download tangle browse the modules →

vst3 · au · aax · macos 11+ · windows 10+ · no ilok · in the rack and standalone

dry · the kookaburra on its own
default factory settings
churning nave warm · moving · punchy
roving cistern moving
midnight harbour dark
icy vault bright · grainy

§ every control

what each knob does

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

above unitybuildup pushes the loop gain past one, so held notes pile up into a drone.

caught by tanhlimit sets the ceiling the soft limiter clamps the tank to before it runs away.

warm, not shrilldamp rolls the highs off each cycle while bloom adds harmonic colour.

§ built-in modulation

it modulates itself

Canary ships with the full CV/logic modulation section every Tangle standalone carries. Two slots, each running one of six modulators: pick one from a slot's tabs, drag a patch cable onto any knob, and that control moves on its own, no DAW automation required. Both slots can run the same kind, each its own copy, and slot 2 can be switched off.

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.

§ 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

Canary is a module from Tangle, the free cable-patchable rack. It is free either way: it is in the rack from the moment you install it, and it installs as this standalone plugin at the same time.

Make a free account, download the installer, and both are there, with no serial to enter.

explore the tangle rack →

§ the box

canary