# Snorkel Audio Snorkel Audio is an audio software developer based in Berlin, Germany. We make: - **Snorkel**, a creative VST/AU synthesizer plugin for Windows, macOS, and iPad. - **Wave Collider**, a VST/AU audio effect for Windows and macOS that blends two audio signals through 25 modes. Also available as AUv3 for iPad through the App Store. - **Little Arp Monster**, a MIDI arpeggiator for Windows, macOS, and iPad that builds evolving patterns from chords, notes, and rests. - **Little Drum Machine**, a free drum machine for Windows, macOS, and iPad with a step grid, scenes, an Arranger, per-lane polyrhythms, a built-in mixer, and MIDI out. - **Little Duck**, a free tempo-synced ducker for Windows, macOS, and iPad, a "fake sidechain" volume shaper with no sidechain routing. - **Disto Disco**, a VST/AU audio effect for Windows and macOS that moves from classic distortion into delays, spectral effects, math and granular modes, with a step modulator on every dial. - Website: https://snorkelaudio.com - Email: hello@snorkelaudio.com --- # Snorkel (synthesizer plugin) Snorkel is a creative VST synthesizer plugin built for musicians who want to discover new musical ideas. It combines deep randomization with full manual control, generating musically meaningful starting points that the user can then shape and refine. - Product page: https://snorkelaudio.com - Formats: VST3 (Windows, macOS), AU (macOS), standalone iPad app - Free demo: https://snorkelaudio.com/snorkel/demo - Manual: https://snorkelaudio.com/snorkel/manual ## Core Concept Most synths give you a preset browser and leave you scrolling. Snorkel takes a different approach. Its deep randomization engine generates musically meaningful starting points, not random noise, but actual ideas you can work with. Every result is fully editable, so you're never locked into anything. Think of it as a creative partner that surfaces possibilities while you steer. ## Modules ### Patterns A grid-based 16-step pattern sequencer that lets you sketch rhythms and melodies quickly, ideal for fast idea generation and happy accidents. ### Arpeggiator A reimagined arpeggiator with 16 play modes (Up, Down, Up-Down, Down-Up, Converge, Diverge, Thirds, Skip, Pedal, Thumb, Spiral, Add One, Double, Stutter, Random, As Played), a programmable 16-step gate pattern grid, flexible chord input with multiple voicing options, and 16 independent scenes. Each scene has its own chord input, mode, rate, gate length, octave range, and gate pattern. ### Chords A chord generator with a built-in gater effect, well suited for combining harmony and rhythm in one place. ### Synth Three oscillators, analog-style character, dual filters, four LFOs, four envelopes, and a dedicated FX section. Each module (Patterns, Arpeggiator, Chords) has its own independent synth engine. ### Modulation Deep modulation with a dedicated step modulator that drives all generators and the synth for movement and variation. ### Sequencer Combine ideas from the individual generators and hear a full musical idea play out, from sketch to arrangement in one flow. ## Randomization Every module supports deep randomization. Hit randomize and get a completely new configuration: mode, gate pattern, chord voicing, rate, and all. The randomization engine is designed to produce musically useful results, not noise. Every generated parameter is fully editable, so you can keep what works and tweak the rest. ## Demo The demo is fully featured with no restrictions for 15 minutes per session. After that, a short audio interruption plays periodically as a reminder. No account required. ## System Requirements - macOS: AU and VST3, Universal Binary (Intel + Apple Silicon) - Windows: VST3, 64-bit - iPad: Standalone app available on the App Store --- # Wave Collider (audio effect) Wave Collider is a sonic playground where two audio signals meet through 25 blend modes, from classic vocoders and ring modulation to spectral splicing, probabilistic gating, scrub-style time-mangling, and granular clouds. A 16-step modulator sweeps the blend in time with the host, and every parameter is automatable. - Product page: https://snorkelaudio.com/wave-collider - Free demo: https://snorkelaudio.com/wave-collider/demo - Downloads: https://snorkelaudio.com/wave-collider/downloads - Manual: https://snorkelaudio.com/wave-collider/manual - App Store (iPad version): https://apps.apple.com/app/wave-collider/id6764826333 - Formats: VST3 (Windows, macOS), AU (macOS), AUv3 (iPad) ## Character Wave Collider is built for experimental and creative sound design. Feed it sound sources you would not normally pair, and it can be glitchy, trippy, harsh, and aggressive, but also playful, beautiful, and subtle, depending on the mode and settings used. Bin interleave, scrub, step-modulated morphing, and probabilistic switching produce textures that sit between rhythm and chaos. Vocoders, amplitude follow, and gentle morphs produce smooth, musical results. The same plugin that makes brutal ring-mod overtones makes a vocoded pad two dials later. ## Features ### 25 Blend Modes Six families of blend modes covering Spectral, Modulation, Dynamics, Stochastic, Math, and Granular territory. Each mode has its own dials, designed to push the sound somewhere surprising while still leaving a useful musical zone in the middle of each range. ### 16-Step Modulator A built-in 16-step modulator adds movement and groove in sync with the host transport. It generates musically convincing sequences quickly, then lets you tweak from there. Length and division controls dial in anything from gentle drift to rapid stutter. ### Three Randomize Buttons Randomize the current mode's dials, the modulator pattern, or the entire patch. Every randomized parameter remains fully editable. ### Morph Macro A single dial that crossfades between Audio 1, the FX result, and Audio 2. Perfect for parameter automation and live performance: go from dry source to twisted blend to second source in one continuous gesture. ### Fully Automatable Every dial, switch, and modulator step is automatable from the host. ## All 25 Blend Modes **Spectral:** Classic Vocoder, FFT Vocoder, Distorted Vocoder, Frequency Splice, Spectral Gate, Phase Swap, Bin Interleave **Modulation:** Frequency Modulation, Amplitude Modulation, Ring Modulation **Dynamics:** Sidechain Duck, Amplitude Follow **Stochastic & Time:** Probabilistic, Scrub **Math:** Min, Max, Add, Subtract, Absolute Difference, Divide, Sign Multiply, XOR **Granular:** Rain, Hail, Cloud ## System Requirements ### Desktop (primary) - macOS: VST3 + AU, Universal Binary (Intel + Apple Silicon), macOS 12 or later - Windows: VST3, 64-bit, Windows 10 or later - A host that supports two audio inputs (most DAWs do; route the second input via a sidechain or auxiliary send) ### iPad (App Store, AUv3) - iPad with iPadOS 14 or later - An AUv3 host that supports two audio inputs, for example AUM - Wave Collider is AUv3 only on iPad. Single-input hosts will only feed it one of the two signals it needs. ### Routing in AUM (iPad) 1. Load Wave Collider as an effect on the first channel. That channel feeds Audio 1. 2. On a second channel, open the FX slot, choose "Multi-bus Audio Unit Instances" and pick the Wave Collider instance from the first channel. That channel feeds Audio 2. 3. Mute the second channel. Otherwise its unprocessed audio plays in the background alongside the blend. --- # Little Arp Monster (MIDI arpeggiator) Little Arp Monster is a MIDI arpeggiator that goes well beyond the usual. It builds highly musical patterns from chords, single notes, and rests, lets them evolve across a full arrangement, and adds a Spice dial for ideas no traditional arp would land on. It is a MIDI effect: it makes no sound on its own and instead drives any synth you own. - Product page: https://snorkelaudio.com/little-arp-monster - Free demo: https://snorkelaudio.com/little-arp-monster/demo - Downloads: https://snorkelaudio.com/little-arp-monster/downloads - Manual: https://snorkelaudio.com/little-arp-monster/manual - Formats: VST3 (Windows, macOS), AU (macOS), AUv3 (iPad) ## Character Little Arp Monster is for musicians who want to compose with an arpeggiator, not just repeat a pattern. Build a motif on the step grid, let scenes and the Arranger carry it through a track, and shape every accent with a modulation lane that locks to your notes. The same tool that lands a classic, tasteful arp finds ideas you would never stumble on yourself a few turns of the Spice dial later. ## Features ### Step Grid A 16-step grid where each step can be a chord, a single scale degree, or a rest. By default it shows the note rows plus a Modulation Lane on top; a Settings toggle expands it with extra degree rows for richer voicings. ### Spice A single dial that introduces musical variation and surprise. Low settings keep patterns tasteful and predictable; higher settings push toward ideas a traditional arpeggiator would never produce, while staying in key. ### Scenes and Arranger 16 scenes, each with its own settings and step grid, plus an Arranger that sequences scenes so a single motif can evolve across a full arrangement. ### Modulation Lane A per-step lane that drives Velocity, filter Cutoff, envelope Decay, or any CC, so accents and tone move in step with the pattern. ### Audition Synth A built-in synth for hearing patterns immediately, available everywhere including the iPad AUv3. It is on by default in the iPad standalone app and off by default in a DAW, where you route MIDI to your own instrument. ### Drag MIDI (desktop) Drag the generated pattern straight out to a DAW track as a MIDI clip. ## Demo The demo allows 15 minutes of playback per day. When today's demo time is used up, MIDI output and the audition synth fall silent and Drag MIDI is disabled until you activate; the clock resets the next day. No account required. ## System Requirements - macOS: AU and VST3, Universal Binary (Intel + Apple Silicon) - Windows: VST3, 64-bit - iPad: AUv3, plus a standalone container app that registers the AUv3 --- # Little Drum Machine (drum machine) Little Drum Machine is a free drum machine for desktop and iPad, easy to use with all the necessary bits and none of the frills. Lay down beats on a step grid, keep them musical with Randomize and Mutate, build full arrangements from scenes, and mix and treat them inside the plugin. It plays its own sounds and can also send MIDI to drive other instruments. - Product page: https://snorkelaudio.com/little-drum-machine - Manual: https://snorkelaudio.com/little-drum-machine/manual - App Store (iPad version): https://apps.apple.com/app/little-drum-machine/id6787214757 - Formats: VST3 (Windows, macOS), AU (macOS), AUv3 (iPad) - Free, no account required ## Features ### Step Grid Every drum and every step on one screen. Tap steps in and drag up or down for per-step velocity, so accents and ghost notes live right in the grid. A swing control adds groove. ### Randomize and Mutate Randomize stays musical: kicks act like kicks, snares land where snares land. Mutate nudges the beat you already have somewhere new. Together they are a fast way out of a blank grid or a rut. ### Samples 32 samples across eight drum categories, four variants per drum, swappable per lane or per step. You can also load your own samples and build the kit you want. A dedicated Sample tab tunes, trims, and shapes every sample: pitch and fine-tune, volume trim, start point, attack, length, and decay, with a waveform view that draws the envelope over the audio. ### Scenes and Arranger 16 scenes per preset for variations, fills, and breakdowns, chained in the Arranger into a full arrangement. ### Polyrhythms and Polymeters An opt-in Polyrhythm mode gives every lane its own step count and loop length, so a lane can squeeze eleven steps into the time of twelve (a true tuplet) or loop a step early and drift against the kit. A Phase setting chooses whether lanes resync or keep drifting when scenes change. ### Mixer Per-drum volume, pan, three-band EQ, mute and solo, plus a master EQ. Each strip's three dials switch between the EQ and that lane's delay send, reverb send, and drive amount. ### FX A tempo-synced delay (Normal, Ping Pong, Tape, and a Free mode unlocked from the tempo), a reverb with seven rooms (Hall, Room, Plate, Bright, Shimmer, Ducked, Gated), and per-lane drive with five characters (Soft, Hard, Fold, Fuzz, Distortion) plus a bit crusher. Delay and reverb are fed by per-lane sends, so the snare can sit in a plate while the kick stays dry. A master glue compressor rides on one Amount knob, or you can dial in attack, release, ratio, and a parallel Mix yourself. ### MIDI In and Out Each drum can send MIDI on its own channel and note to sequence drum synths, other apps, or hardware. With MIDI In enabled, incoming notes trigger the drums live, so you can finger-drum from a pad controller or use Little Drum Machine as a drum sound module. ### Presets Thirty-one presets (Techno, House, Hip Hop, Drum & Bass, Jazz, and more), each a four-bar phrase with velocity grooves and swing dialed in. Some are built around the polyrhythm, star-mode and FX features. The preset menu also carries Default and Empty, which are starting points for your own patterns rather than patterns themselves. ## System Requirements - macOS: AU and VST3, Universal Binary (Intel + Apple Silicon) - Windows: VST3, 64-bit - iPad: AUv3 --- # Little Duck (tempo-synced ducker) Little Duck is a free tempo-synced ducker for desktop and iPad, a "fake sidechain" volume shaper. Real sidechain ducking needs a signal routed in from another track; Little Duck skips the wiring entirely. Pick a rate and it locks straight to the host's tempo, pumping the track the way a sidechained compressor would, with nothing to patch in. - Product page: https://snorkelaudio.com/little-duck - Manual: https://snorkelaudio.com/little-duck/manual - App Store (iPad version): https://apps.apple.com/app/little-duck-auv3/id6787215697 - Formats: VST3 (Windows, macOS), AU (macOS), AUv3 (iPad) - Free, no account required ## Features ### Shape the Pump Four dials, Depth, Attack, Release, and Shape, take you from a subtle breathing effect to the hard, classic EDM scoop. Attack and Release are set as a share of the cycle, so the shape of the pump holds steady whatever rate you pick. ### Live Curve Display A live curve display sits at the centre of the plugin, with a cycle-synced scope behind it showing the actual sound: what plays through and what gets ducked away, so you can judge the effect by eye as well as ear. ### Tempo Sync Five rates from 1/1 to 1/16, locked to the host transport with no sidechain input to route. ## System Requirements - macOS: AU and VST3, Universal Binary (Intel + Apple Silicon) - Windows: VST3, 64-bit - iPad: AUv3 --- # Disto Disco (audio effect) Disto Disco turns distortion into movement. It starts as a distortion effect but quickly goes somewhere stranger: classic drive modes share a dropdown with degrading echoes, vocoders and spectral gating, raw mathematical operations, and granular showers. Every dial has a rhythmic modulator of its own, so a static effect becomes something that grooves with the track, and Random with a Spice dial sends the whole patch somewhere new. - Product page: https://snorkelaudio.com/disto-disco - Free demo: https://snorkelaudio.com/disto-disco/demo - Downloads: https://snorkelaudio.com/disto-disco/downloads - Manual: https://snorkelaudio.com/disto-disco/manual - Formats: VST3 (Windows, macOS), AU (macOS) ## Character Disto Disco covers the whole range from smooth to broken. The Drive family does what a distortion plugin is expected to do, from gentle warmth through fuzz, wave folding, bit crushing and high gain. Past that the modes stop behaving like distortion: delays that degrade with every repeat, pitch-shifting echoes, resonators, vowel filters, vocoders, spectral gating and phase swapping, mathematical operations on two copies of the signal, and granular modes that scatter recent sound into grains. What ties them together is motion. Any dial can be handed to a 16-step modulator locked to the host, so the effect swings, stutters and evolves in time with the music instead of sitting still. ## Features ### 28 Modes in Five Families Each mode brings its own set of dials, and the MODE CONTROLS box swaps to match when you load one, so an effect gets the controls it actually needs without turning the interface into a wall of knobs. The families are Drive (7), Time (4), Spectral (7), Math (7) and Granular (3). ### A Modulator on Every Dial Every dial of the current mode, the three tone dials, Mix, Dynamics and Release each have their own 16-step modulator: a pattern that swings the dial around the value you set, in time with the host transport. Draw a pattern by hand, pick a shape, or let the modulator generate one, then set its length, smoothing and depth. ### Random and Spice Random re-rolls the mode, its dials and the movement on them. Spice sets how adventurous that is: at the bottom a press changes the mode and its dials and leaves nothing moving, and as it rises more modulators join in and the tone and envelope dials come into play. Patterns you have drawn by hand are never wiped, only switched on or off, so anything you built stays recoverable. ### Tone Stage and Envelope Follower A Low Cut, Tube and High Cut stage shapes the distorted signal before it meets the dry one. The envelope follower makes the amount of distortion track the input level, in either direction, so louder or quieter parts of the sound can be the more distorted ones. ### Mix and Output Control A Dry / Wet Mix blends the clean input back in, and the Levels box provides in and out meters, an output volume, and a soft clipper whose ceiling you set, catching peaks before they leave the plugin. ### Presets A factory bank with at least one starting point for every mode, plus your own saves. A preset stores the whole patch: the mode and every dial, the tone stage, envelope follower and Mix, the output trim and clip ceiling, and every modulator with its pattern, length, smoothing and depth. ### Fully Automatable Every dial, switch and modulator step is automatable from the host. ## All 28 Modes **Drive:** Soft, Growl, Fold, Fuzz, Roar, Lead, Crush **Time:** Delay, Helix, Resonator, Scrub **Spectral:** Lowpass, Bandpass, Vowel, Vocoder, Distorted Vocoder, Spectral Gate, Phase Swap **Math:** Max, Subtract, Absolute Difference, Divide, Squared, Sign Multiply, XOR **Granular:** Rain, Hail, Cloud ## Demo The demo never expires and the whole plugin is there to work with. Some modes are locked, with at least one open in every family, and presets built on a locked mode are locked with them. The audio plays clean for fifteen minutes of processed audio per day, counted across every open instance; after that a short burst of noise fades in and out every 55 seconds until the next day. Activating a license key opens the locked modes and stops the noise on the next buffer, with nothing lost. No account required. ## System Requirements - macOS: AU and VST3, Universal Binary (Intel + Apple Silicon), macOS 12 or later - Windows: VST3, 64-bit, Windows 10 or later