LYMPHA 1.4
A scanned-string instrument for MPE controllers - Max for Live

Lympha is a 16-voice instrument made to be played with pressure, not just
triggered. It was built around the Expressive E Osmose and tested with it. It
follows the MPE standard, so other MPE controllers should work as well, and
ordinary keyboards are supported too.

Each note is a virtual string seen as 32 slow modes, one per harmonic. Steady
pressure gives a still, pure tone. Every fast gesture - a quick change of
pressure, the initial strike, a sideways wiggle of the key - leaves ripples
that keep swaying on their own, each harmonic at its own pace, and slowly die
away. Release a key quickly and the string stays where it was and goes on
sounding. The still part sits in the centre of the stereo image, the ripples
move around it.


REQUIREMENTS

- Ableton Live 12 with Max for Live (included in Live Suite).
- Made and tested with Live 12.4.6 (Max 9.1.5) on macOS, Apple Silicon.
  Not tested on Windows, on Live 11 or on Push in standalone mode.
- No external objects or extra files are needed: the device is a single .amxd.


INSTALLATION

1. Copy Lympha.amxd into your User Library, in the folder
       Max for Live Devices
2. Create the folder
       Presets / Instruments / Max Instrument / Lympha
   in your User Library and copy the four .adv files into it.
   The presets then appear under Lympha.amxd in Live's browser.

The presets look for the device in "Max for Live Devices" inside the User
Library, so step 1 matters. The location of your User Library is shown in
Live's Settings, on the Library page.


PLAYING IT

With an MPE controller (enable MPE for its input in Live's MIDI settings):
- Pressure sets the level and opens the spectrum. Slow pressure is smooth;
  quick changes leave ripples behind.
- Strike (velocity) plucks the string.
- Slide (CC74; on the Osmose, the aftertouch zone) brings out the Halo: a
  single harmonic that travels along the series, with a little air around it.
  The mod wheel moves it too.
- Sideways motion bends the pitch and stirs the string.
- The sustain pedal holds the notes.

With an ordinary keyboard or drawn MIDI notes: a held note that carries no
pressure of its own sustains at a level set by its velocity and by the
"Sustain" control. Channel or polyphonic aftertouch pushes it higher.

The small light next to "MIDI" flashes whenever MIDI reaches the device.


CONTROLS

String
  Bright     spectral slope: darker and purer to the left, more harmonics to
             the right
  Flow       how fast the first harmonic sways after a gesture
  Disperse   how the swaying speed changes going up the harmonics
  Ripple     how much wave a quick change of pressure leaves behind
  Memory     how long the waves last while the key is held
  Tail       how long the waves last after the key is released

Gesture
  Strike     how much the initial hit plucks the string
  Attack     how smoothly the string follows rising pressure
  Release    how smoothly the string follows falling pressure
  Curve      response to pressure
  Dynamics   how much pressure opens the spectrum
  Wiggle     how much sideways motion stirs the string
  Sustain    level of held notes that carry no pressure of their own

Halo
  Halo       level of the harmonic brought out by slide
  Position   starting point of the halo along the harmonic series
  Focus      how tightly the halo isolates one harmonic
  From, To   first and last harmonic of the halo's travel
  Breath     air noise around the halo harmonic

Air
  Wind       continuous random stirring of the string
  Width      stereo spread of the waves
  Phase      character of the stereo motion
  Volume     output volume

  Tune       fine tuning in cents
  Note PB    per-note pitch bend range in semitones (Live sends 48)
  Global PB  pitch bend range of the wheel in semitones

Every control has a description in Live's Info View. All parameters can be
automated, modulated and mapped; on Push they are arranged in four banks
(String, Gesture, Halo, Air).


PRESETS

Lympha     the sound the device opens with
Origin
Strange
Glaciers


NOTES

- The output has a soft knee above -4 dBFS and cannot exceed full scale.
  Large chords played hard reach it; lower "Volume" for more headroom.
- "Wind" and "Breath" use noise, so two renders of the same clip are not
  identical sample for sample.


VERSION

1.4   first public release
