# xaoc Devices — Sopot - [Manual PDF](../../manuals/DocFractaosEN-V1.5.pdf) --- [Fractaos Manual PDF](https://kaona.fr/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/FRACTAOS_manual_1.5.pdf) # Using Kaona Fractaos for dense, hyper-complex percussion Fractaos is primarily a **4-voice polyphonic fractal oscillator / synth voice**, not just an effect. That makes it very good for **building an entire percussion ecosystem inside one module**, especially because it has: - **4 voices** - **4 trig inputs** - **4 separate 1V/oct inputs** - **5 dedicated Drum fractals** - per-voice envelopes and filters - MIDI or CV polyphony - multitimbral mode with different presets per voice For dense rhythmic music, the key idea is to treat Fractaos as a **multi-lane percussion synthesizer**, where each voice becomes a different drum machine lane or hybrid percussion voice. --- ## Why Fractaos is strong for complex percussion From the manual, these features matter most: - **Drum fractals**: Kick, Tom, Snare, HiHat, Cymbal - **Rule30, Collatz, Lorenz, Hénon, Hilbert** geometric fractals can also become percussive or pseudo-rhythmic - **Triggered primitive/LFO behavior** using the **Loop/Trig/Morph/Spread/Chaos** switches - **Per-voice trig inputs** for direct rhythmic control - **Multitimbral mode** lets each voice load a different preset - **ADSR with very short attack** - **Texture** and **Chaos** can make hits gritty, unstable, metallic, noisy, or explosive - **Morph** can blend drum attacks with pitched/fractal tails This means Fractaos can do: - normal drum synthesis - hybrid acoustic/digital percussion - metallic strikes - glitch hats - tuned tom lattices - chaotic fills - polyrhythmic layered percussion clouds --- # Best overall strategy ## 1. Use it as a 4-part percussion synth Assign each voice a role like: - **Voice 1**: Kick - **Voice 2**: Snare or noisy mid percussion - **Voice 3**: HiHat / metallic ticks - **Voice 4**: Cymbal / tom / weird accent voice Use the **4 trig inputs** from different trigger lanes of your sequencer. This is the most direct route to **independent polyrhythms and odd-meter percussion**. ## 2. Use MULTI mode MULTI is one of the best features for your goal. Load different presets per voice, for example: - Voice 1: Kick preset - Voice 2: Snare preset - Voice 3: HiHat preset - Voice 4: Rule30 glitch percussion preset This gives you a **single module behaving like four different drum voices**. Because MULTI supports separate MIDI channels too, you can also sequence each voice independently from a DAW or MIDI sequencer if desired. --- # Patch ideas for polyrhythms and complex time signatures ## A. 4-lane polyrhythm patch Feed the 4 trig inputs from four clock divisions/multiplications: - Voice 1 trig: every 5 steps - Voice 2 trig: every 7 steps - Voice 3 trig: every 11 steps - Voice 4 trig: every 13 steps This creates long-form evolving percussion cycles. Since Fractaos has distinct timbral identities per voice, the result feels composed rather than random. ### Suggested voice setup - V1: **Kick** - V2: **Snare** - V3: **HiHat** - V4: **Rule30** or **Cymbal** Use very short envelopes on hats and medium release on tom/cymbal voices. --- ## B. Complex meter drum kit Program different track lengths in your trigger sequencer: - Kick: 16 steps - Snare: 15 steps - Hats: 9 steps - Accent voice: 14 steps Fractaos will handle this well because each voice is independently triggered. The percussion models plus chaotic fractals let the repeated phase-shifting patterns stay interesting. --- ## C. Euclidean burst percussion Use Euclidean triggers into the 4 trig inputs: - Kick: 5 hits over 16 - Snare: 3 hits over 8 - Hat: 11 hits over 16 - Metallic percussion: 7 hits over 12 Then change **Chaos** and **Texture** live for controlled mutation. This is where Fractaos shines: you can keep the rhythm source stable while the timbre mutates organically. --- # The most useful fractals for percussion ## Dedicated Drum fractals These are your obvious starting point. ### Kick Use for: - pulse anchors - broken techno kicks - tuned low percussion Manual notes: - **Depth** = tail length - **Chaos** = hardness/dirt/explosiveness - MIDI/CV pitch still matters tonally #### Good use Keep **Attack near minimum**, moderate **Decay**, low or zero **Sustain**, short-medium **Release**. Use **Morph** to blend in a geometric primitive for click or tonal tail. --- ### Tom Great for: - polyrhythmic tuned tom lines - odd-meter tribal patterns - melodic percussion Because pitch tracks meaningfully, send different pitch CVs to different voices or sequence tom intervals. --- ### Snare Use for: - main backbeats - granular rimshot-like strikes - harsh industrial noise-snare hybrids At higher Chaos, it becomes more aggressive and unstable. --- ### HiHat Excellent for: - dense subdivisions - ratchets - metric modulation layers Depth controls opening/closing behavior. Great for: - one lane = tight hats - another lane = open hats --- ### Cymbal Use for: - accents - long-cycle punctuation - metallic wash in asymmetric patterns --- ## Geometric fractals that work well as percussion ### Rule30 One of the best non-drum percussion sources here. Manual calls it dense, granular, useful for percussion and basses. Use it for: - glitch hats - clicks - digital rimshots - random-ish burst textures ### Collatz Stepped, jerky, rhythmic profile. Very useful for: - woody percussive plucks - odd little click sequences - machine clatter ### Hilbert Stable plateaus with abrupt changes. Good for: - blocky digital percussion - chattering pulse-strikes - angular transient-heavy sounds ### Lorenz / Hénon Use as accent voices only. These can make: - unstable, swerving, chaotic percussion - fill sounds - broken snare tails - noisy impacts Best in slower rhythmic roles or special hits rather than the main groove. ### Koch / Mandelbrot / Sierpinski Good for: - tonal click percussion - bright synthetic claves - tuned mallet-like attacks when envelope is short --- # How to make Fractaos more punchy and percussive ## 1. Use very short ADSR settings For percussion: - **Attack**: minimum or near minimum - **Decay**: short to medium - **Sustain**: usually 0 - **Release**: short, unless you want tails This is essential. Fractaos has a synth-style voice architecture, so envelope discipline is what turns it from evolving oscillator to drum voice. ### Useful starting ADSR - Attack: 1–10 ms - Decay: 40–250 ms - Sustain: 0 - Release: 20–150 ms For cymbals or drones-as-percussion, use longer release. --- ## 2. Use Depth as drum duration On Drum fractals, **Depth mainly controls duration/tail behavior**. So for percussive pattern design: - low Depth = tight, punchy, dry - high Depth = boomy, open, smeared, ringing This is powerful if you automate or CV-sequence it across repeated hits. --- ## 3. Use Chaos for velocity-like variation Chaos is one of the best "humanize/violence" controls here. For percussion: - low Chaos = more repeatable, machine-like - medium Chaos = lively and animated - high Chaos = explosive, dirty, unstable Use this for: - accent patterns - fill sections - phrase-end variation If you have CV sequencing available, send stepped CV into **F-Chaos** to create evolving accent structures over fixed triggers. --- ## 4. Use Texture as impact complexity Texture is not just filter amount; it affects: - resonance - formant extraction - micro-detuning - filter intensity For percussion this becomes: - body resonance - metallic ring - noisy edge - unstable overtone splash ### Practical use - low Texture = drier, tighter hits - medium Texture = resonant, more physical - high Texture = metallic, organic, splintered For punchy drums, use **moderate Texture**, not always maximum. --- ## 5. Morph drums with geometric primitives This is a major trick. The manual says Drum curves can be blended with the second geometric fractal using **Morph**. This is huge for sound design. Examples: - **Kick + Sine-ish Rössler/Julia-like primitive** = tuned body + synthetic tail - **Snare + Rule30** = noise crack + glitch layer - **HiHat + Hilbert** = metallic hat + digital edge - **Tom + Fibonacci/Koch** = tuned membrane + harmonic ring This makes Fractaos much more unique than a standard drum synth. --- # Use the primitive modulation system rhythmically The primitive can behave like an internal modulation source, and the switches define what it modulates. ## Important switch behavior - **Loop ON** = free-running or looping modulation - **Trig ON** = note-triggered modulation restart - **Morph ON** = primitive modulates Morph - **Spread ON** = primitive modulates detune - **Chaos ON** = primitive modulates fractal chaos For percussion, **Trig ON** is especially useful because each hit can restart the modulation shape. --- ## Best switch combinations for percussion ### 1. Trig ON, Loop OFF This gives you a **one-shot modulation envelope per hit**. Excellent for: - transient shaping - hit-to-hit timbral articulation - fake pitch envelopes - pseudo-acoustic attack movement Use this for kicks, snares, toms. --- ### 2. Trig ON, Morph ON Every hit morphs during its lifespan. Result: - drum starts as attack, decays into another spectral shape - ideal for snares, toms, hybrid metallic percussion --- ### 3. Trig ON, Chaos ON Each hit has internal instability contour. Result: - attack starts cleaner and blooms into noise - or starts chaotic and settles - great for snares, cymbals, industrial percussion --- ### 4. Trig ON, Spread ON Per-hit detune sweeps. Result: - pseudo-flams - metallic widening - animated hats - unstable tom shells --- ## Speed and Amount for percussion - **Speed** controls primitive/LFO rate - **Amount** controls modulation intensity In triggered one-shot behavior, these act like a complex transient/decay shaper. ### Try: - fast Speed + moderate Amount = clicky, articulated attacks - medium Speed + higher Amount = audible motion inside each hit - slow Speed + low Amount = subtle drift over sustained percussion tails --- # Simplified FM mode for metallic percussion The manual describes a simplified FM mode: - Loop OFF - Trig OFF - Morph ON - Spread OFF - Chaos OFF Then **Amount** becomes bipolar: - lower half = internal feedback - center = neutral - upper half = primitive modulates main fractal frequency This is very useful for: - metallic hats - bells - zaps - synthetic cymbals - industrial clanks ## Important notes - FM does **not** work on Drum curves - FM works on geometric main fractals - high-register FM is limited for sound quality ### Best percussion FM candidates Use these as main fractals: - Rule30 - Hilbert - Koch - Mandelbrot - Rössler - Sierpinski Then apply short ADSR to turn them into struck tones. This gives you: - metallic ping percussion - glitch claves - synthetic cowbells - tuned digital strikes --- # Advanced percussion voice recipes ## 1. Industrial kick - Main fractal: **Kick** - Primitive: **Rule30** or **Hilbert** - Morph: low to medium - Chaos: medium-high - Depth: medium - Texture: medium-high - Trig ON - Morph ON or Chaos ON Result: punchy kick with shattered digital shell. --- ## 2. Hyper-detailed snare - Main fractal: **Snare** - Primitive: **Rule30** - Morph: 30–60% - Chaos: medium - Texture: medium-high - Speed: medium-fast - Amount: medium - Trig ON - Chaos ON Result: crack + noisy animated tail, ideal for IDM or broken beat. --- ## 3. Tick swarm hats - Main fractal: **HiHat** - Primitive: **Hilbert** or **Collatz** - Depth: low - Chaos: low-medium - Texture: medium - Speed: high - Amount: low-medium - Trig ON - Spread ON or Morph ON Result: articulate, machine-gun hats with internal micro-motion. --- ## 4. Metallic polyrhythm voice - Main fractal: **Koch** or **Sierpinski** - Primitive: **Rössler** or **Hilbert** - FM mode enabled - Very short envelope - High pitch - Texture: medium-high Result: tuned metallic accents, ideal against drum voices. --- ## 5. Chaotic fill voice - Main fractal: **Lorenz** or **Hénon** - Primitive: **Rule30** - Chaos: high - Morph: medium-high - Texture: medium - Trig ON - Chaos ON - Spread ON Use sparsely on a separate trigger lane for phrase endings. --- # Best sequencing approaches ## 1. Separate trigger lanes per voice This is the most important method for your goal. Use a trigger sequencer that supports: - separate lengths - probability - ratchets - clock division/multiplication - per-lane swing Send each lane to one Fractaos trig input. This lets Fractaos become the **sound engine**, while the sequencer handles structural complexity. --- ## 2. Sequence pitch CV into percussion voices Do not ignore pitch on drums. The manual says pitch still matters on Drum fractals. Use pitch CV for: - tuned kick lines - tom melodies - snare color changes - hi-hat brightness shifts - cymbal spectral movement Especially effective in odd meters where the pitch pattern length differs from trigger length. Example: - trig pattern = 7 steps - pitch pattern = 5 steps This creates evolving percussion phrases. --- ## 3. Modulate CV inputs with independent clocks Fractaos has CV control over: - Texture - Pitch - Spread - Morph - Speed - Amount - F-Chaos - P-Chaos For hyper-complex percussion, send stepped or slewed CV from different clock domains to these parameters. ### Most useful targets - **F-Chaos**: hit violence / unpredictability - **Morph**: hybridization across pattern - **Texture**: resonance/body/noise emphasis - **Amount**: modulation contour depth - **Spread**: width/detune instability Use one slow modulation cycle over many bars and one fast stepped source over a few beats. --- # Great rhythmic patch concepts ## Patch 1: Fractaos as a full IDM drum machine - Voice 1: Kick - Voice 2: Snare - Voice 3: HiHat - Voice 4: Rule30 percussion Trigger lengths: - V1: 16 - V2: 15 - V3: 9 - V4: 13 CV: - F-Chaos from random stepped sequencer - Morph from slow triangle LFO - Texture from accent sequencer Result: long, evolving composite groove. --- ## Patch 2: Tribal odd-meter tom engine - Voice 1: Tom low - Voice 2: Tom high - Voice 3: Snare - Voice 4: Cymbal Meters: - 5/8 tom cycle - 7/8 tom response - snare in 4-beat overlay - cymbal every 11 pulses Pitch-sequence the toms with independent CV lanes. Result: melodic percussion lattice. --- ## Patch 3: Glitch percussion matrix - Voice 1: Kick - Voice 2: Rule30 - Voice 3: Collatz - Voice 4: HiHat Enable triggered modulation on voices 2 and 3: - Trig ON - Morph ON - Chaos ON Short envelopes, high clock density, probability skips. Result: very dense microsound percussion. --- ## Patch 4: Hybrid acoustic/synthetic drum kit Use Drum curves as main fractals, geometric primitives as synthetic overtone layers. - Kick + Koch - Snare + Rule30 - Tom + Fibonacci - HiHat + Hilbert Set Morph differently on each voice. This gives a coherent kit with a shared synthetic identity. --- # Performance tricks ## 1. Use Chaos like a macro fill control During performance, raise Chaos on the active voice or globally via CV to push the groove into breakdown/fill territory. ## 2. Use Morph for transitions Morph from more acoustic-feeling drum body to more synthetic geometric tone over 8 or 16 bars. ## 3. Use Texture to move from tight to explosive Lower Texture in verses, raise it in climaxes. ## 4. Use LOAD mode for auditioning percussion presets Since presets are applied immediately in LOAD, you can browse drum identities quickly. ## 5. Use MULTI + LIVE together The manual says LIVE voices in MULTI still respond to panel controls normally. That means: - keep some voices locked as stable preset drums - leave one voice LIVE for active improvisation Very useful for live polyrhythmic performance. --- # Sound design advice for punch and clarity When making dense rhythms, the danger is mud. To keep things punchy: - Keep **kicks** low Texture / moderate Chaos - Keep **snares** shorter than you think - Use **hats** with low Depth - Reserve high Texture and long tails for one or two voices only - Use tuned percussion voices in different pitch zones - Put unstable fractals on sparse accents, not every subdivision Fractaos can get very rich very fast, so rhythmic density works best when **not every voice is equally chaotic**. --- # Best Fractaos roles in a complex-rhythm system Fractaos is especially good as: - **main percussion synth** - **hybrid drum machine voice bank** - **glitch percussion generator** - **polyrhythmic metallic percussion source** - **accent and fill synthesizer** - **multitimbral drum expander** It is less ideal as a fully self-generating rhythm sequencer by itself; it really benefits from being fed by: - trigger sequencers - Euclidean sequencers - logic modules - clock dividers - probability/rachet generators But as the **sound source**, it is extremely capable for your goal. --- # Short practical setup recommendation If I were building a hyper-complex percussion patch around Fractaos, I would do this: 1. Enter **MULTI** 2. Load: - V1 Kick - V2 Snare - V3 HiHat - V4 Rule30 or Tom 3. Set ADSR globally short and percussive 4. Send 4 independent trigger lanes 5. Send pitch CV to at least kick/tom/accent voices 6. Modulate: - F-Chaos with stepped random - Morph with slow CV - Texture with accent lane 7. Use Trig-based primitive modulation on snare and hats 8. Keep one voice LIVE for improvisation That will get you into **dense, asymmetrical, high-information percussion** very quickly. --- # Best takeaway The most powerful concept from this manual for your use case is: **Use Fractaos not as one poly synth, but as a 4-voice multitimbral fractal drum laboratory.** The combination of: - drum fractals - geometric percussive fractals - per-hit primitive retriggering - Morph blending - Chaos shaping - MULTI mode makes it especially suited to **complex percussion that feels alive, unstable, and mathematically intricate**. --- [Generated With Eurorack Processor](https://github.com/nstarke/eurorack-processor)