Beetlecrab Audio Tempera 2.1 firmware is out now, and it turns the granular Synthesizer into a live, granular FX processor.
Tempera is a fascinating, portable granular Synthesizer designed for live performances. The unique tactile touch interface allows you to move through samples with your finger and apply emitting granular synthesis with up to 4096 grains simultaneously.
These finger movements can be recorded and played back in sync with your other gear. Tempera received a solid feature boost and firmware polish with firmware 2.0 in June 2024. Beetlecrab Audio has just dropped Tempera 2.1, another major update that turns into a live effects processor.
Beetlecrab Audio Tempera 2.1
Tempera 2.1 is a free update for all users. The synth has a 6.35mm stereo input on the back. This is an alternative to the SD card or the built-in microphone for sampling audio into the device. Good, the input is now part of another major feature.
Beetlecrab Audio has implemented a live granular effects processor mode in Tempera 2.1. In practice, the engine continuously records a track into its memory while emitters can be placed on it. Rather than the playhead moving across the track, the track itself is scrolling under your fingers.
Using the Tempera to manipulate live signals is another big step for the granular synth, but that’s not all you get in the new firmware 2.1. It also ships with a new custom-designed comb filter (rake filter) designed for granular synthesis.
It has an optionally amplitude-modulated feedback path, and the rate is the same as the comb feedback frequency, and both can be key-tracked. Then, it ships with new modulation destinations, sources, and plotter-scope visualizations. Note velocity, note tracking, and grain pan are new routing options.
The built-in delay and reverb also got an algorithm makeover. The reverb is smoother and more lush, while the delay’s bandpass filter is more pronounced.
You can also work with a new attack option for grain emission, which makes the first emitted grain sharper, resulting in long, smooth grains with a sharp attack at the same time.
Beetlecrab Audio also added MIDI program change support to the canvas feature (firmware 2.0), allowing you to quickly load them from external MIDI devices. There are also new exotic and pentatonic scales for the keyboard mode, and the latter can now output MIDI notes as well.
More Features
There are more new features to explore and improvements for the engine:
- improved filter visualizations for better overview and understanding of wath the filter is doing
- new “align X=off” option where grain can be emitted in between tracks. When that happens, the grain will play a weighted sum of the neighboring tracks, in other words, when smoothly moving across the tracks, they will be cross-faded
- new filter send option to toggle each emitter to go to the main per-voice filter or not
- tap tempo and internal clock control
- MIDI clock improvements with built-in tempo corrections
- Automatic track tuning based on indicated BPM/Hz in the audio filename ( for example, Drums125bpm.wav…)
- more firmware polishing and streamlining
First Impression
I got the firmware 2.1 a few days before the release. But I haven’t looked at it in detail yet because of NAMM coverage. I find the possibility of using the synth as a live, granular effect processor unit very exciting.
The remaining new features are nice engine extensions that squeeze even more out of the granular engine.
The new Beetlecrab Audio Tempera 2.1 update is available now as a free download. Tempera is priced at 670€ + tax + shipping within the EU and $720 USD + shipping + import tax to the US.
More information here: Beetlecrab Audio
The Tempera is easily the most inspiring piece of hardware I’ve bought. Ever. I got mine about a year ago and I’ve made more with it than anything else I own. It’s such a cool device with so much potential.
I mean, provided you’re into the experimental side of things. It’s not a hardcore DnB or House machine or anything. Even then, though, there’s room in those genres for it, too.