Mutable Instruments Marbles User Manual

Marbles’ recipe for random music
1. Start with a clock – generated internally or divided/mul-
tiplied from an external clock signal.
2. If required, add some jitter to it, from slight humaniza-
tion to complete chaos.
3. Split this randomized clock into two streams of random
triggers to generate two contrasting rhythmic patterns
complementing the main clock.
4. Generate three random voltages in sync with the rhyth-
mic patterns obtained at the previous step.
5. Transform the random voltages to spread them further
apart, or concentrate them around a specific voltage.
6. Add a pinch of lag-processing to obtain smooth random
modulations... or quantization to get random tunes.
Steps 1 to 3 are handled by the left half of the module, the
random rhythms being generated on the outputs labelledt.
In your Eurorack system such duties might have been per-
formed by modules like Grids and Branches.
Steps 4 to 6 are handled by the right half of the module, the
random voltages being generated on the outputs labelledX.
A large number of modules would be necessary to patch
this functionality: a triple noise source and sample&hold,
waveshapers, quantizers, and lag processors.
And now let’s take it further: what if everything the module
did could be controlled by a slowly evolving or lockable loop,
like with Music Thing’s Turing Machine? That’s what the
DEJA VU section is for.
Time to dive into the details!

Mutable Instruments Marbles Specifications

General

Depth	25 mm
Type	Random Sampler
Channels	3
Clock Input	Yes
Gate Outputs	3
CV Outputs	3
Voltage Range	-5V to +5V

Summary

About Marbles

Installation

Online Manual and Help

Marbles' Recipe for Random Music

t Generator

DEJA VU Section

Probability of Re-cycling Random Decisions/Voltages

Controls the probability of reusing past random data or sampling new data.

Loop Length

Sets the length of the sequence loop for DEJA VU.

X Generator

Output Voltage Range

Defines the possible output voltage limits for the X generator.

Probability Distribution Width and Shape

Shapes the probability distribution of generated voltages.

Distribution Bias

Skews voltage distribution towards low or high values.

Horizontal and Vertical Steppiness

Adjusts the smoothness or quantization of voltage changes.

Control Reactions

How outputs react to J, K, L settings for different voltage flavors.

External Processing Mode

Y Generator

Shaping Voltage Distributions with SPREAD and BIAS

STEPS Quantizer

Selecting a Scale

Preset Scales

Programming a Scale

Tips and Tricks