RND pixels

the visual companion of RND synth

RND synth, from the inside

RND pixels started as our internal debugging tool: a window on everything RND synth does. we had so much fun with it that we decided to share it.

visualize

12 generative visuals move with the midi notes and the sound of RND synth.

control

tempo, levels, reverb, mute and solo, scale, tonic, patch type, tracks and engines.

save

every sound has a seed and a name: copy it, share it, load it to play it back.

get started

  1. 01

    update

    install firmware 1.4 on your RND synth:
    it unlocks patch types, tracks and engines in RND pixels.

  2. 02

    plug

    connect RND synth to your computer, tablet or phone with a USB-C cable.

  3. 03

    open

    go to pixels.cymaforma.com
    on computer or android: use chrome.
    on iphone or ipad: use MIDIWeb browser

12 ways to see your sound

pick a visual mode, or let each new patch choose.
click the screen to randomize the one you’re watching.
some follow the midi notes, some the audio, some both.

  • gol — conway's game of life, twelve rule sets: notes burst cells into life.

    gol

    midi

    conway's game of life, twelve rule sets: notes burst cells into life.

  • dust — a flock of particles: notes trigger eruptions, the bass pumps gravity.

    dust

    midi + audio

    a flock of particles: notes trigger eruptions, the bass pumps gravity.

  • manifesto — the oblique strategies of Brian Eno & Peter Schmidt, one card at a time, in kinetic type.

    manifesto

    midi

    the oblique strategies of Brian Eno & Peter Schmidt, one card at a time, in kinetic type.

  • rutt-etra — a digital descendant of the Vasulka scan processor: your camera becomes a terrain of scan lines.

    rutt-etra

    midi

    a digital descendant of the Vasulka scan processor: your camera becomes a terrain of scan lines.

  • tunnel — some pixels love to travel: a grid rippled by four kinds of waves.

    tunnel

    midi

    some pixels love to travel: a grid rippled by four kinds of waves.

  • hand — the terminal remembering what hands look like. not always polite.

    hand

    midi

    the terminal remembering what hands look like. not always polite.

  • diffusion — gray–scott chemistry: notes inject catalyst into a living culture.

    diffusion

    midi

    gray–scott chemistry: notes inject catalyst into a living culture.

  • chladni — Ernst Chladni's singing plates: every patch is a new plate, and thousands of grains walk to its nodal lines.

    chladni

    midi

    Ernst Chladni's singing plates: every patch is a new plate, and thousands of grains walk to its nodal lines.

  • slices — the incoming sound, sliced in time: waveform or spectrum.

    slices

    audio

    the incoming sound, sliced in time: waveform or spectrum.

  • scope — the lab: waveforms, spectrum and stereo field.

    scope

    audio

    the lab: waveforms, spectrum and stereo field.

  • cthugha — an oscilloscope on acid, after Kevin 'Zaph' Burfitt's 1993 original.

    cthugha

    midi + audio

    an oscilloscope on acid, after Kevin 'Zaph' Burfitt's 1993 original.

  • radio — every live radio station on the globe: click a point to tune in. globe relief: NASA Earth Observatory / GEBCO.

    radio

    midi

    every live radio station on the globe: click a point to tune in. globe relief: NASA Earth Observatory / GEBCO.

the control table

press tab in RND pixels to open it; on a phone or tablet, tap with two fingers.

  • visualize

    pick one of the 12 visuals, see what moves it, hear RND synth through your computer.

  • follow

    what RND synth is playing, live: the notes of each track and the clock.

  • mix

    set the tempo, then the volume and reverb of each track. mute and solo for live performance.

  • lock

    choose a patch type, a tonic, a scale, the tracks or the engines: your choice stays on every new patch.

  • save

    copy the seed or the name of a patch, load it to play it back.

RNDpixels
audio monitoring
tracks4
track 1
track 2
track 3
track 4
type—
reset
visualgol
deviceRND synth
engine
—
—
—
—
tonic—
seed—
impactmidi
version1.4
note / vel
—
—
—
—
name—
score0
bpm—
volume [dB]
0.0ms
0.0ms
0.0ms
0.0ms
scale—
seed or nameload
date—
clockinternal
reverb [dB]
—
—
—
—

every patch has a name

RND synth holds 4 294 967 296 sounds. each one has an ID.

  1. 1press the button: a new patch is born, with its seed and its name.
  2. 2copy: click the seed or the name. keep it, share it.
  3. 3load: paste it in the load cell, your patch comes back.

locks travel with the seed: a suffix adds them to the id. change the number of tracks or an engine, and the patch goes off-seed: a one-off that no seed can bring back.

back to random

change any settings in RND pixels, and they’re locked: they stay on every new patch, even after power off.

one gesture erases every lock and sends every parameter back to random, don’t forget it.

in RND pixels

press reset

without RND pixels

hold the button down while powering RND synth on

explore RND pixels

on computer or android: use chrome.
on iphone or ipad: use MIDIWeb browser.