Quaver

Quaver pulses the level (tremolo), moves the sound between the speakers (auto-pan), or does the harmonic tremolo of 1960s amps, where the lows and highs pulse in turns. Sine, triangle or square, free or synced, and the square is softened so it never clicks.

The controls

Mode

Tremolo, Auto-pan or Harmonic.

Rate, Sync

How fast it pulses, free or locked to the song.

Depth

How strong the pulse is.

Shape

Sine is smooth, triangle is even, square is choppy.

Spread

Tremolo and Harmonic: offsets the two sides, so the pulse moves across the stereo field.

Best for

• Guitars: the classic amp tremolo
• Electric piano: auto-pan across the stereo field
• Pads: synced, rhythmic chopping
• Harmonic mode: a vintage, watery pulse on clean guitar

Starting points

Load Quaver, set these, then adjust by ear. In the plugin, Level match helps you judge the sound, not the loudness.

Hints and tips

• Sync to the song for anything rhythmic: free rates drift against the beat.
• Harmonic mode is subtler than a plain tremolo: try more Depth.
• Auto-pan keeps the total level steady, so it moves without dipping.

Chains it works best in

Every Original works in a chain with the others and with members' hardware. These are good places to start.

• Quaver then Platen: a surf guitar's tremolo and spring-like plate
• Quaver then Rebound: synced chops with echoes
• Brazier then Quaver: driven synth pulses

Watch out for

• Square shape at full Depth on vocals: it chops the words.
• Auto-pan on bass: the low end should stay in the centre.