The Free4orm Shapes section of RE4ORM FX is the place where you’ll add animation and movement to your sound. With it you can animate, pulse, randomize, rise, fall, and add other types of sonic movement to the effects parameters.
There are 8 independent Free4orm LFOs, one for each of the 8 effects panels. These are color-coded to help you visualize which Free4orm LFOs are assigned to which effects panels. To select one of the 8 Free4orm LFOs simply click on the name of the effect or on a parameter for one of the effects and the corresponding Free4orm LFO will automatically be shown.
To hear the effect of the Free4orm LFO on your effect parameters you must click one of the modulation buttons above the knobs as shown below. (Note, make sure the Free4orm LFO and the effect you are working with are enabled.) Doing this tells the associated Free4orm LFO to modulate this parameter. The left-pointing mod link button will modulate the parameter with inverted polarity. In this mode, as the Free4orm shape rises, the parameter value will lower and vice versa.
When you select one of the mod link buttons, you’ll see a gray bracket appear around the knob. This bracket sets the range (minimum and maximum value) for the Free4orm LFO modulation. Use your mouse to click drag UP or right on the left handle of the bracket to raise the minimum value. Use your mouse to click drag DOWN or left on the right handle of the bracket to lower the maximum value.
If the mod link buttons are not selected for a given parameter, then the Free4orm LFO will not modulate that parameter. You can still however set the value for this parameter by raising or lowering the knob value.
Editing Free4orm LFO Shapes
The Free4orm display shows the shape of the Free4orm LFO as well as a real-time indicator of the LFO position when it's running. Just below the waveform display are options for changing your Free4orm shape, including from left to right, the shape dropdown menu, and Save, Smooth, Sharpen, Draw and Warp buttons. Using these you can change the shape of the LFO in several ways.
Selecting Free4orm Shapes
Clicking on the name of the Free4orm shape (shown above as “Minaret”) shows a menu of Free4orm shapes which you can select. You can also use the arrow buttons to the left and right of the Free4orm shape menu to quickly select a Free4orm shape. If you edit the Free4orm shape you may rename it and save it for use in other RE4ORM FX presets. To do this right-click (control-click on Mac) on the name, enter your new name, and hit the save button to the right of the name.
Editing the LFO shape with a Mouse or Trackpad
There are two drawing modes for changing the shape of the Free4orm LFO. Select the pencil icon to draw in your waveform shape directly. Select the morph icon to warp the waveform shape. Feel free to use both modes of course as needed. Using the modifier keys (Control/Command, and Shift) while mousing will alter the waveform in additional ways.
Smooth Button
The smooth button will smooth out any sharp edges in your Free4orm shape. Use this if you like the overall effect of your Free4orm but just want to smooth out some of the sharp edges. This button will also force the beginning and end values of the Free4orm shape to match, thus avoiding possible audio glitches.
Sharpen Button
The sharpen button will do the opposite of the smooth button. It will sharpen the edges of your Free4orm shape. Use this if you like the effect of the Free4orm but want more drastic changes.
Surprise Me Option
If you right-click on the waveform itself you will see a Surprise Me option. This option will clear the current Free4orm shape and replace it with a randomly generated shape. Use this if you want to quickly experiment with different Free4orm shapes to see how they affect the sound.
Clear Option
If you right-click on the waveform itself you will see a Clear option. The clear option will erase the Free4orm shape and allow you to start from scratch and build your own shape using any of the methods described above.
Free4orm Save Button
The save button to the right of the Free4orm preset will save any custom edits you have made to the Free4orm LFO. Before pressing the save button you may want to rename your LFO shape. To do this, control-click (Mac) or right-click (Windows) on the name of the LFO shape until it highlights, then type in your new name and hit return.
Free4orm Time and Synchronization Parameters
The Free4orm LFO in RE4ORM FX is a little different than in the RE4ORM virtual instrument. This is because it’s an audio effect working inside a DAW project and therefore it needs to respond correctly to tempo, time signatures, and transport synchronization.
Amount Knob (AMOUNT)
The large Amount knob lets you set how much the Free4orm LFO will modulate the effects parameter(s) it is assigned to modulate. Typically this will be at its maximum value but you may find you want to turn it down to lessen the effect in some cases. If the Amount knob is less than 100% you will see the real-time modulation range reduced inside the brackets. If the Amount knob is zero, the Free4orm LFO will continue to run but you will not hear any modulation for any parameters it is assigned to.
Speed Knob (SPEED)
The large speed knob selects the speed of LFO. It is always synchronized to your DAW tempo and DAW time signature. To enable effects like risers that want to work over several bars/measures, we add additional functionality to select values greater than one bar/measure. The parameter display under the preset name tells you the value in bars of the speed parameter.
Free4orm Enable Button
At the top right of the Free4orm window is an enable button. Use this to preview the effect the Free4orm shape is having on your effect's parameters without having to change the Amount knob to zero.