Audio node
Stardust Synth
Ornament instrument -- listens to a rhythm and sprinkles golden grains around it: echoes, offbeats, pickups, and answers into the pauses. Add inside an Audio Modular System.
Inputs
| Port | Type | Default |
|---|---|---|
| EnableTurns the fairy off without removing it. Grains already ringing fade naturally. | bool | true |
| NotesThe stream it LISTENS to — not what it plays. From these onsets it learns the rhythm and sprinkles its own grains around it. | float | — |
| DustWhat one grain sounds like — music box, ice, harp strings, silver. All tiny, high and soft. | int | 0 |
| SpiritWhere the dust lands: echoes after what rang, glitter between beats, a grace note before the next one, or answers into the pauses. Harp Cascade and Dust Rain pour. | int | 0 |
| LevelOutput volume. Clamped to 0…1.5. | float | 0.7 |
| DensityHow much magic falls — a probability gate on every gesture. 0 is eternal silence. Clamped to 0…1. | float | 0.6 |
| RestHow precious the dust is: each grain spends from a pouch that refills slowly, and Rest raises the price — high values hold long true pauses. Clamped to 0…1. | float | 0.4 |
| SurpriseDeterministic deviations — octave leaps, twin grains, and the withheld grain that never falls. Same Seed, same surprises. Clamped to 0…1. | float | 0.3 |
| CascadeHow often one grain blossoms into MANY — a spilled handful, a harp run, or a shower of rain. A big blossom empties the pouch; the silence after is part of the wonder. Clamped to 0…1. | float | 0.5 |
| ShineBrightness of the grains. Clamped to 0…1. | float | 0.6 |
| SoftThe ceiling on how hard any grain may land — a caress, not a hit. Clamped to 0.05…1. | float | 0.5 |
| SpaceStereo spread of the grains. Clamped to 0…1. | float | 0.7 |
| SeedThe fairy's identity: the same seed over the same stream replays the same dust, surprises included. | int | 0 |
| Max VoicesRings that may overlap at once. Clamped to 1…8 — a spilled handful is up to eight, so lowering this makes heaps steal their own grains. | int | 8 |
Outputs
| Port | Type |
|---|---|
| NotesThe stream it LISTENS to — not what it plays. From these onsets it learns the rhythm and sprinkles its own grains around it. | float |
How It Works
Stardust listens to a Notes stream and ornaments AROUND it rather than doubling it: golden-ratio echoes, offbeat glitter, pickup grains before a beat, and a trail that answers a pause. Restraint is mechanical — a "stardust pouch" limits how much it may sprinkle, so it never turns into a wall — and its memory of the phrase fades sixteen beats after silence.
Fourteen dust timbres and ten spirits set the character; cascades, showers and spills are the gestures it uses.
Use Cases
- Ornament a melody — cable the same Notes stream that drives a lead instrument.
- Fill the pauses — its answers land where the melody rests.
- Texture layer — with Composer set to Listen it decorates the whole arrangement.
Tips
- Rest and Density together decide whether it is a sparkle or a shower.
- Give it something to listen to — without a Notes stream it has nothing to ornament.
Open Stardust Synth in the interactive catalog →
Stardust Synth is one of 381 nodes in Grafit Pro.
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