Rings

Review

Rings is the module that brought physical modelling synthesis to the masses. Based on the resonator section of Mutable's Elements, it takes any excitation signal — a trigger, a noise burst, a contact microphone, a rhythmic pattern — and transforms it into a pitched, resonant sound. The results range from photorealistic plucked strings and metallic percussion to otherworldly drones and shimmering ambient washes.

Three resonator models cover an enormous range. Modal synthesis recreates the behaviour of vibrating plates, pipes, strings, and membranes. Sympathetic Strings uses a bank of comb filters for sitar-like resonance and rich harmonic stacking. Modulated/Inharmonic Strings extends Karplus-Strong with nonlinear elements for everything from clean plucks to gritty, evolving textures.

The selectable polyphony (1, 2, or 4 voices) is critical and often underappreciated. In 4-voice mode, each new trigger allocates a fresh voice while previous notes decay naturally — genuine polyphonic behaviour from a single module. The ODD and EVEN outputs split the harmonic content for stereo processing. Rings is nine years old and still sounds like nothing else.