PLUNGE controls explained

One voice, laid out in signal order

PLUNGE is a single monophonic voice, and its controls follow the signal path: oscillator mix, pitch behaviour, harmonic and noise layers, envelope, then distortion and tone. Reading them in that order is the fastest way to understand why a knob does what it does.

Oscillator mix

• OSC Sine0–1, default 1.0
• OSC Tri0–1, default 0
• OSC Square0–1, default 0
• OSC Saw0–1, default 0

Reading the oscillator mix

These four are weights, not a selector — you can run sine and triangle together. Sine alone is the classic 808 body; adding triangle and square puts edge into the attack without moving the fundamental. Saw is mostly there for the reese side of the engine.

Harmonics

• Harmonic 20–1, default 0.2
• Harmonic 30–1, default 0.05

Reading the harmonics

Second and third harmonic sine layers added on top of the fundamental. They are what make an 808 audible on a phone speaker: the fundamental is below what a small driver reproduces, so the ear reconstructs the note from these. Push them when the low end disappears on laptops.

Pitch: drop, second drop, glide

• Drop Amount1–4×, default 1.8
• Drop Time1–200 ms, default 45
• Drop2 Onoff by default
• Drop2 Amount1–4×, default 1.4
• Drop2 Time1–300 ms, default 120
• Glide1–300 ms, default 80

Reading drop and glide

Drop is the per-note pitch dive that gives an 808 its attack: the note starts at Drop Amount times its target frequency and falls to pitch over Drop Time. A short, high drop punches; a long one whoops. Drop2 adds a second, slower stage on top — that is the two-step feel.

Glide is how long the voice takes to slide from one note to the next. Because PLUNGE is legato and monophonic, overlapping notes glide rather than retrigger; the Retrigger control switches that behaviour if you want each note to start fresh.

Envelope

• Attack1–50 ms, default 4
• Release0.05–2 s, default 0.9
• Decay Onoff by default
• Decay0.05–2 s, default 0.35

Reading the envelope

Attack stays short by default because a slow attack on a sub reads as a fade-in rather than a note. Release is the tail after note-off. Decay is optional and separate: turn it on when you want the body to fall away while the note is still held — that is what makes a staccato 808 pattern breathe instead of sustaining flat.

Distortion and tone

• Drive1–10, default 1.5
• Dist ModeSoft · Hard · Fold
• Tone200–8000 Hz, default 3500

Reading distortion and tone

Soft is a saturating curve, Hard is a clip, and Fold wavefolds — Fold is the one that generates new upper harmonics rather than just squaring the ones present, which is why it changes the character rather than the level. Tone is a two-stage low-pass after the distortion, so it tames what Drive created rather than what the oscillators produced.

Layers

• Cowbell0–1, default 0
• Noise TypeDefault (Tape) · Tape · Vinyl
• Noise Amount0–0.5, default 0
• Thump0–1, default 0
• Vibrato Rate0–10 Hz, default 0
• Vibrato Depth0–0.1, default 0

Reading the layers

Cowbell adds the two metallic partials that define the phonk sound. Noise lays a tape or vinyl bed under the note — the amount knob is the real on/off, and the type names which bed it reaches for. Thump is a short low-mid punch at the start of each note, useful when the 808 is doing the kick's job as well as its own. Vibrato is off in most presets and is there for sustained, sung-sounding lines.

Reese and unison

• Unison Onoff by default
• Unison Voices1–9, default 6
• Unison Detune0–50 cents, default 18
• Unison Width0–1, default 0.6
• Sub0–1, default 0

Reading reese mode

Turning Unison on switches the voice from a single oscillator to a detuned stack — that is reese. Voices sets how many, Detune how far apart in cents, Width how far they spread in the stereo field. Sub adds a mono sine underneath the stack.

The low end stays mono regardless of Width: everything below roughly 110 Hz is summed, so a wide reese still survives a mono club system. You do not have to manage that yourself.

Output and voice mode

• RetriggerLegato · Retrigger
• Output−24 to +6 dB, default 0

Reading the output section

Legato glides between overlapping notes; Retrigger restarts the envelope and the pitch drop on every note. Output is your fader for the instrument. Presets carry their own internal level trim separately, so switching presets does not move the fader you set.