# Kaona Instruments — Fractaos - [Manual PDF](../../manuals/DocFractaosEN-V1.5.pdf) --- [Fractaos User Manual v1.5 (PDF)](https://kaona.fr/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Fractaos_Manual_1.5.pdf) # Using Fractaos for densely rhythmic, hyper-complex percussion Fractaos is unusually good for this because it is not just a “pretty poly oscillator” — it has: - **4 voices** - **4 trig inputs** - **4 separate 1V/oct inputs** - **5 dedicated drum fractals** - **per-voice envelopes** - **multitimbral mode** - **driver/follower oscillator interactions** - **LFO/one-shot primitive modulation** - **texture/filter behavior** - **drone and chord-spread behaviors for layered clusters** That means you can treat it like a **4-part percussion synth**, a **polyrhythmic drum ensemble**, or a **hybrid drum+pitched fracture machine**. --- ## Best overall mindset For hyper-complex percussion, think of Fractaos as: - **Voice 1:** kick / low thud / sub impact - **Voice 2:** snare / rim / metallic body - **Voice 3:** hat / shaker / granular tick stream - **Voice 4:** cymbal / tom / glitch accent / tonal stab Then drive those four voices from: - separate triggers with **different loop lengths** - different clock divisions/multiplications - separate pitch CV lanes - different MIDI channels in **MULTI** mode - or combinations of CV trig + MIDI note streams This is where the complexity comes from: **independent voice timing + different timbres + different pitch behavior + different envelopes**. --- # Core strategies ## 1. Use the 5 Drum fractals as your starting percussion engine The manual gives you these drum models: - **Kick** - **Tom** - **Snare** - **HiHat** - **Cymbal** These are not samples. They are modeled one-shots with: - excitation - resonances - filtered noise - micro-variation That means they respond musically to parameter motion, rather than just replaying fixed samples. ### Why this matters for complex rhythm When you run dense irregular patterns, repeated hits can get boring fast. Fractaos avoids that because: - **Chaos** changes hit variation, instability, roughness, internal detuning - **Depth** changes decay/open-ness/tail - **Morph** can blend the drum with a geometric fractal - **Texture** can reshape resonance/formant behavior - **Pitch CV / MIDI note** still affects drum color So even a repeating trigger pattern can become **constantly shifting percussion**. --- ## 2. Make each voice a different rhythmic identity Because Fractaos has **4 trig inputs and 4 pitch inputs**, use four separate sequencer lanes. Example setup: ### Voice allocation - **Voice 1:** Kick — sequence in 11 steps - **Voice 2:** Snare — sequence in 7 steps - **Voice 3:** HiHat — sequence in 13 steps - **Voice 4:** Cymbal/Tom — sequence in 5 steps This instantly creates a **long non-repeating composite cycle**. ### Good clock/pattern ideas - Kick on a sparse Euclidean lane - Snare with occasional ratchets - HiHat on a fast clock with probability/skips - Tom or Cymbal on odd accents every 5 or 9 pulses If your modular has: - clock dividers - burst generators - Euclidean sequencers - logic modules - probability triggers - sequential switches …Fractaos will reward all of them. --- ## 3. Use MULTI mode as a percussion kit Fractaos’s **MULTI mode** is one of the best features for this use. In MULTI: - each voice can load a **different preset** - each voice can listen on a **different MIDI channel** - LIVE voices can remain hands-on - preset voices keep their own stored settings So you can build a **4-piece percussion kit**, where each voice is a distinct instrument patch. ### Example percussion kit in MULTI - **Voice 1 preset:** short Kick, low pitch, low morph, medium chaos - **Voice 2 preset:** noisy Snare blended with Cantor or Rule30 - **Voice 3 preset:** sharp HiHat with short depth and high texture - **Voice 4 preset:** Cymbal blended with Hilbert for metallic upper noise Then sequence them separately by MIDI channel or trig/CV logic. ### Why MULTI is powerful here It lets you maintain: - distinct tone per voice - distinct volume per voice - stable roles in a composition - independent sequencing behavior This is ideal for **polymetric percussion architecture**. --- # Make Fractaos sound punchy and percussive ## 4. Use short ADSR settings globally for impact Fractaos shares ADSR settings across voices, so dial them with percussion in mind. ### Percussive envelope starting point - **Attack:** as low as possible - **Decay:** short to medium - **Sustain:** 0 or near 0 - **Release:** short, but not always zero - **Curve:** exponential or logarithmic depending on desired snap ### Important manual note Even with **Sustain = 0**, Release still matters if the note is released before decay finishes. So for CV/gate percussion you can get useful expressive differences from gate length. ### For punch Use: - very fast attack - short decay - low sustain - short release - curve toward exponential feel This gives tighter transient emphasis. --- ## 5. Use Depth as your “drum open/close/length” macro On drum fractals: - **Depth** mainly controls **duration** - on **HiHat**, it controls opening/closing - on **Kick/Tom/Cymbal**, it changes tail length and resonance decay ### Rhythmic application Modulate or manually vary Depth between pattern sections: - short hats in busy fills - longer cymbals for phrase endings - tighter kick for dense passages - longer toms for sparse accents If your patch can’t CV Depth directly, save several presets with different depth states and use them in MULTI or preset changes. --- ## 6. Use Chaos for humanized instability and aggression On drum fractals, **Chaos** affects: - variation between hits - roughness - instability - detuning - explosiveness This is one of the best controls for “alive” percussion. ### How to use it musically - **Low chaos:** clean electro hits - **Medium chaos:** lively modular drums - **High chaos:** broken, unstable, splattering percussion ### Great trick Patch a stepped random CV or a slow modulation into: - **F-Chaos** - **P-Chaos** Use attenuation carefully. Small amounts go far. That gives you: - slight hit-to-hit change - timbral drift over bar cycles - asymmetry across repeated figures For hyper-complex patterns, this prevents static machine-gun repetition. --- ## 7. Morph drums into pitched or metallic hybrids This is where Fractaos gets special. Per the manual: - Drum curves can’t be FM’d - but **Morph** can blend a drum with the second geometric fractal So you can create: - percussive attack + tonal tail - snare transient + pitched body - cymbal hit + harmonic cloud - kick impact + distorted oscillator bloom ### Excellent pairings - **Kick + Sierpinski/Koch** = tight body with harmonic tone - **Snare + Rule30** = noisy fractured snare - **HiHat + Hilbert** = stepped metallic clockwork hat - **Cymbal + Dragon/Rössler** = unstable shimmering metal - **Tom + Fibonacci** = tunable melodic drum ### For punch Keep Morph low to medium: - enough to add body - not so much that you lose attack ### For weird fills Push Morph higher on selected voices or sections so percussion becomes part-note, part-impact. This is perfect in complex meters where you want the drums to blur into melodic rhythm. --- # Advanced rhythmic modulation techniques ## 8. Use primitive LFO as a one-shot contour generator The switches **Loop** and **Trig** are critical. From the manual: - **Loop OFF + Trig ON** = one-shot modulation restarted on each note - **Loop ON + Trig ON** = loops while note is held - **Loop ON + Trig OFF** = free-running - **Loop OFF + Trig OFF** = inactive except special modes like FM For percussion, the killer move is: ### Use one-shot primitive modulation Set: - **Loop OFF** - **Trig ON** Now every hit retriggers the primitive-derived motion. Use switch targets: - **Morph** - **Spread** - **Chaos** This turns each hit into a micro-event with internal motion. ### Example uses - **Morph ON:** each hit shifts from attack to tonal tail - **Chaos ON:** each hit blooms into instability - **Spread ON:** each hit detunes internally like flams or metallic wobble This is extremely useful for making percussion feel animated and “composed” rather than static. --- ## 9. Use Speed + Amount to make different rhythmic densities The primitive modulation has: - **Speed** = rate - **Amount** = depth/intensity Since Speed goes very slow up to 12 Hz, you can use it two ways: ### Slow modulation For long-cycle form: - very slow Speed - medium Amount This makes the drum timbre evolve over many bars while your trigger patterns stay dense. ### Fast modulation For micro-rhythm: - higher Speed - modest Amount This creates: - buzzing hats - tearing snares - unstable metallic ticks - trembling kick harmonics With one-shot trig behavior, Speed becomes almost like the **internal shape speed of each transient**. --- ## 10. Use Spread as metallic detune or per-voice interval offset Outside Drone mode, **Spread** introduces detune between driver and follower. For percussion this is excellent for: - metallic broadening - pseudo-flams - pitch smear - resonant shell complexity ### Best applications - **Kick:** tiny Spread for thicker low-end - **Snare:** medium Spread for shell/noise separation - **HiHat/Cymbal:** larger Spread for metal shimmer - **Tom:** tuned detune for dual-head-like motion If you modulate Spread with the primitive, it can create **oscillating detune** that feels like animated resonances. That’s useful for: - industrial hats - broken cymbals - tuned percussion swarms --- ## 11. Texture is your “resonant articulation” control Texture is not just a filter amount. It affects: - fractal filter resonance - formant detection/application - organic micro-detuning - filter intensity This is huge for percussion. ### Low Texture - tighter - drier - more direct - better for kick/transient definition ### Medium Texture - more body - more resonant identity - snappier spectral articulation ### High Texture - ringing - formant-y - unstable - can become self-oscillatory on some materials ### Suggested use - Kick: low to medium - Snare: medium - HiHat: medium-high - Cymbal: medium-high to high - Experimental percussion: high with chaos modulation Texture is one of your main tools for moving from **drum machine** to **alien percussion organism**. --- # Best fractals for non-drum percussive synthesis You do not have to stick to the drum algorithms. ## 12. Use geometric fractals as percussion voices Some geometric fractals are very percussion-friendly. ### Strong candidates #### Rule30 Manual says: - pseudo-random cellular automaton - dense granular spectrum - perfect for percussive sounds, basses, etc. Use it for: - glitch hats - digital snares - granular ticks - noisy tom transients #### Collatz - stepped, jerky profile - ideal for rhythmic textures Use it for: - click sequences - clave-like pulses - mechanical percussion #### Hilbert - evolving rectangles - stable plateaus with abrupt changes Use it for: - robotic percussion - hard-edged zaps - square-ish impact tones #### Dragon - internal beating - expressive under chaos modulation Use it for: - resonant metallic strikes - unstable mid percussion #### Lorenz / Hénon / Logistic These can become unstable and irregular. Great for: - ghost percussion - broken fills - non-repeating accent voices --- ## 13. Build synthetic percussion from non-drum fractals Try this recipe: - Fractal Type: Rule30 or Collatz - Primitive: Hilbert or Koch - Attack: very short - Decay: short - Sustain: 0 - Release: short - Morph: low-medium - Texture: medium-high - Spread: medium - Chaos: medium This often yields: - clicks - zaps - metallic taps - pseudo-snare textures - articulate glitch percussion It’s great when you want percussive sounds that don’t read as conventional drums. --- # Polyrhythm and odd meter patch ideas ## 14. Four-lane polymeter patch Patch: - 4 independent trigger streams into the 4 trig inputs - 4 independent pitch CV lanes into the 4 pitch inputs Pattern lengths: - Voice 1: 8 - Voice 2: 5 - Voice 3: 7 - Voice 4: 11 Voice roles: - V1 Kick - V2 Snare - V3 HiHat - V4 Tom/Cymbal hybrid Result: - long evolving composite rhythm - repeating only after large cycle length - excellent for techno, IDM, ritual polyrhythm, broken beat ### Extra move Slightly modulate Chaos or Texture globally so each cycle mutates. --- ## 15. Complex time-signature percussion ensemble Use Fractaos voices as subgroups in different meters: - Voice 1 accents 4/4 anchor - Voice 2 runs 3 over 4 - Voice 3 runs 5-step hat phrase - Voice 4 runs 7-step metallic fill Because Fractaos has distinct voices, this works much better than forcing one mono drum voice to do everything. ### Good sound assignments - Anchor meter = Kick - 3-beat overlay = Snare/Tom - 5-beat overlay = HiHat - 7-beat overlay = Rule30/Cymbal glitch This gives the sensation of **interlocking percussive logic**. --- ## 16. Ratchet and burst patch Use an external burst generator or ratcheting trigger sequencer. Assign: - Cymbal or HiHat drum fractal - short Depth - medium Chaos - high Texture - primitive one-shot on Chaos or Morph Now bursts become: - sizzling rolls - fractured hat swarms - metallic stutters With pitch CV changing during bursts, you can create **spectral rolls**, not just repeated hits. --- ## 17. Ghost-note architecture Use two voices for “main drums” and two for ghost layers. Example: - Voice 1: Kick - Voice 2: Snare - Voice 3: low-level Rule30 or Snare ghost notes - Voice 4: subtle metallic hat/texture accents Lower the volume of ghost voices in MULTI. Then sequence them with: - denser patterns - lower velocities if using MIDI velocity - more randomness - shorter envelopes This creates dense internal motion without cluttering the front layer. --- # MIDI-based complexity ideas ## 18. Use MIDI channels in MULTI for separate sequencer tracks In **multitimbral mode**, each voice can listen on its own MIDI channel. So from a DAW, tracker, or advanced hardware sequencer: - CH1 = kick lane - CH2 = snare lane - CH3 = hat lane - CH4 = cymbal/glitch lane This is ideal if you want: - tuplets against tuplets - deliberately irrational-feeling timing - alternating accents - probability automation - per-lane velocity programming Since Fractaos supports **MIDI velocity** and **aftertouch**, you can add performance variation from the sequencer too. ### Velocity use If enabled, use velocity to emphasize: - downbeats - ghost notes - burst tails - phrase accents ### Aftertouch use Manual says aftertouch affects internal movement rather than pitch. Great for: - swelling cymbal complexity - live pressure-driven turbulence - expressive transitions in dense sequences --- # Sound design recipes ## 19. Punchy modular kick - Drum: **Kick** - Depth: low-medium - Chaos: low-medium - Morph: very low - Spread: tiny amount - Texture: low-medium - ADSR: fastest attack, short decay, sustain 0, short release Optional: - add slight pitch CV accents - occasional chaos CV for dirtier strikes Result: tight but alive low-end. --- ## 20. Fractured IDM snare - Drum: **Snare** - Primitive: **Rule30** or **Hilbert** - Morph: medium - Chaos: medium-high - Primitive Chaos: medium - Texture: medium-high - Switches: **Trig ON**, **Loop OFF**, **Morph ON** or **Chaos ON** - Speed: medium-fast - Amount: moderate Result: snare hits with internal tearing motion and metallic fragmentation. --- ## 21. Metallic hat swarm - Drum: **HiHat** - Depth: short - Chaos: medium-high - Spread: medium-high - Texture: high - Primitive: **Koch** or **Dragon** - Trig one-shot modulation on Spread or Chaos Drive with: - fast clock - skip/probability - bursts Result: hyper-detailed animated hats. --- ## 22. Tuned tom matrix - Drum: **Tom** - Pitch CV sequence on odd pattern length - Morph: low-medium with **Fibonacci** or **Sierpinski** - Spread: low-medium - Texture: medium - Chaos: low-medium Result: melodic percussive line that can lock into odd meters. --- ## 23. Cymbal cloud accent voice - Drum: **Cymbal** - Depth: medium-high - Chaos: medium - Texture: high - Morph: medium with **Dragon** or **Rössler** - Speed: slow-medium - Amount: moderate Use sparsely on a 5-, 7-, or 9-step cycle. Result: evolving metallic punctuation that feels larger than a normal cymbal hit. --- # Performance methods ## 24. Save multiple percussion presets and rotate roles Because Fractaos supports SD-card presets, build a percussion library: - short kick - long kick - tight snare - noise snare - closed hat - open hat - metallic burst - tuned tom - glitch accent In MULTI, assign these per voice for different sections. This is especially useful in live sets where you want: - verse/chorus rhythm kit changes - denser breakdown kits - sparse intro drones that become percussion - reloadable structured complexity --- ## 25. Exploit LIVE voices inside MULTI Manual says LIVE voices in MULTI behave exactly like outside MULTI: panel controls still affect them. This is excellent live. ### Practical setup - Voices 1–2 = preset percussion anchors - Voices 3–4 = LIVE experimental percussion Then during performance: - twist Chaos - sweep Morph - animate Texture - push Spread - alter primitive behavior This gives you stable structure plus performable instability. --- ## 26. Use Drone mode for layered percussive clusters Drone mode may not sound obviously “percussion-oriented,” but it can be very useful. In Drone mode: - all 8 oscillators play continuously - Spread can move through unison, octave spread, or predefined chords/microtunings ### Percussive application Patch external VCAs or gates after Fractaos and rhythmically chop the drone output. Then Fractaos becomes a **continuously evolving cluster source** for: - struck chord-noise bursts - metallic stabs - tuned industrial hits - complex harmonic percussion swells Especially effective with: - Cluster / Ensemble / Aliasing / Cymbal-like sources - chord Spread zone - odd trigger chopping patterns This is a different but powerful route to dense rhythm. --- # Best external module pairings ## 27. Modules that make Fractaos shine for hyper-complex percussion Pair it with: - **Euclidean trigger sequencers** - **polymeter step sequencers** - **logic modules** (AND, XOR, OR) - **clock dividers/multipliers** - **burst generators** - **probability/skipping trigger tools** - **sequential switches** - **CV-addressed routers** - **VCAs and LPGs after the outputs** - **transient shapers / compressors** - **wavefolders / distortion after output** - **multiband or resonant filters downstream** ### Why downstream shaping helps Fractaos already generates intricate spectra, but external processing can make it more mix-ready: - VCA envelope for extra snap - LPG for woody articulation - distortion for transient edge - compression for punch - EQ for kick/snare separation --- # Important limitations to remember ## 28. Things to keep in mind - **Depth is stepped and cannot be CV modulated** - **ADSR settings are shared across voices** - **FM has no effect on Drum curves** - **Texture and drum models may use more computation** - **Primitive cannot be a texture or drum model** - in LOAD mode, pots/CVs do not control until returning to LIVE So for percussion architecture: - use **MULTI presets** for distinct drum voices - use triggers, pitch CV, Chaos CV, Morph CV, Spread CV, Texture CV for live variation - rely on external sequencing complexity more than expecting full internal modulation of every parameter --- # Best practical recipe for your goal If your goal is **densely rhythmic, hyper-complex percussion**, I would use Fractaos like this: ## Recommended master patch 1. Enter **MULTI mode** 2. Load: - V1 Kick preset - V2 Snare preset - V3 HiHat preset - V4 Cymbal/Rule30 hybrid preset 3. Feed each voice: - unique trigger stream - unique pitch CV or MIDI lane 4. Set global ADSR for short, punchy percussion 5. Use primitive modulation as **one-shot per-hit movement** 6. Add mild CV to Chaos and Morph 7. Use odd pattern lengths across voices 8. Mix external accent logic and ratchets 9. Process outputs with compression/distortion/filtering 10. Perform with LIVE voices or reload alternate kits That will get you into: - polyrhythm - polymeter - glitch percussion - metallic drum complexity - animated hits - non-repeating structures --- # Short patch examples ## Patch A: Broken polyrhythmic techno - V1 Kick on 4-step / 16th accents - V2 Snare on 7-step lane - V3 HiHat on 11-step lane with skips - V4 Rule30/Cymbal on 5-step sparse accents - Chaos CV from slow random - one-shot Morph modulation on snare and cymbal ## Patch B: IDM drum lattice - all 4 voices in MULTI - drum/geometric hybrids - ratchets on hats - pitch sequencing on tom/snare voices - odd bar lengths: 13, 9, 15, 8 - high Texture on upper voices - medium Spread on metallic voices ## Patch C: Ritual/tribal alien ensemble - Kick, Tom, Tom, Cymbal - long composite polymeter - lower chaos on low voices - higher chaos on cymbal voice - occasional morph into Fibonacci/Dragon - external reverb only on top voices --- # Final take Fractaos is not just capable of percussion — it’s especially strong for **percussion with internal motion**, **timbral instability**, and **hybrid drum/oscillator identities**. For complicated rhythmic music, its strength is the combination of: - **4 independently triggerable voices** - **MULTI kit behavior** - **drum fractals** - **geometric fractals for synthetic percussion** - **per-hit one-shot modulation** - **chaos-driven micro-variation** - **morphing between impact and pitched body** If you want, I can also give you: 1. a **4-voice Fractaos patch sheet** for IDM/glitch percussion 2. a **kick/snare/hat/cymbal preset design guide** 3. a **modular system pairing guide** showing what kinds of sequencers and utilities work best with Fractaos [Generated With Eurorack Processor](https://github.com/nstarke/eurorack-processor)