Module Reference · Glitch & Destruction

Stutter / Gate

Stutter / Gate is two rhythm machines. The Classic Gate chops the live signal against tempo-synced patterns - and its gate lane is drawn as per-step velocity, bar heights instead of on/off switches, so grooves breathe instead of chatter. Swing, shapes, duty cycle, random skip and envelope following humanize the chop.

The Stutter engine captures slices from a buffer and re-fires them with note-value divisions (triplets and dotted included), pitch shift, progressive pitch drop, reverse, filter sweeps, drive and per-event probability. A manual trigger with momentary, latch and free modes makes it performable, and phase reset locks patterns to playback for perfect repeatability.

Stutter / Gate module editor in GhostInTheMachine
STUTTER / GATE MODULE SCREENSHOT INCOMING
ACTUAL UI · STUTTER / GATE MODULE CLICK TO ENLARGE

Why it hits different

The GhostWare take.

  • Velocity lanes - draw the groove's dynamics, not just its holes.
  • Pitch-drop stutters for the dying-machine roll.
  • Probability and a performable trigger keep it alive, not looped.

In the shot

Reading the panel.

  • 1
    PATTERN TOOLS

    Clear, fill, random, undo - pattern authoring in one bar.

  • 2
    STEP LANE

    Per-step velocity bars: drag heights to write grooves.

  • 3
    GATE DECK

    Rate, swing, shape, engine and trigger modes.

Control Showcase

Every control, explained.

30 controls, named exactly as they appear in the plugin.

Rate 0.1 to 20 Hz (default 8 Hz)

Gate speed when not synced to tempo.

Sync

Locks the timing to your session tempo at the chosen note value instead of free-running.

Off1/11/21/41/81/161/32
Pattern

The rhythmic pattern the gate follows - Straight, Eighths, Offbeat, Bar Halves, Gallop, Quarters, Broken or Roll.

StraightEighthsOffbeatBar HalvesGallopQuartersBrokenRoll
Depth 0 to 100 % (default 0 %)

How deep the gate cuts. This scales the per-step velocity lane you draw in the editor.

Smoothing 0 to 100 ms (default 10 ms)

Softens the gate edges to remove clicks.

Swing 0 to 100 % (default 0 %)

Pushes every other step late for groove.

Shape

Gate edge shape: Square, Soft, Ramp Up or Ramp Down.

SquareSoftRamp UpRamp Down
Engine

Classic Gate chops the live signal; Stutter re-plays slices from a buffer with pitch and reverse tricks.

Classic GateStutter
Division

Slice length for the stutter engine, in note values including triplets and dotted.

1/11/21/41/81/161/321/8T1/16T1/8D1/16D
Repeats 0 to 32 (default 0)

How many times each captured slice repeats. 0 repeats freely.

Buffer Pos 0 to 100 % (default 0 %)

Where in the recent audio the stutter slice is captured from.

Reverse

Plays the stuttered slices backwards.

OffOn
Pitch -24 to 24 st (default 0 st)

Pitch shift applied to the stuttered slices.

Pitch Drop -24 to 0 st (default 0 st)

Pitches each repeat progressively down for the classic dying-machine roll.

Jitter 0 to 100 % (default 0 %)

Randomizes stutter timing.

Probability 0 to 100 % (default 100 %)

Chance each stutter actually fires - lower it for occasional glitches.

Filter 0 to 100 % (default 0 %)

Sweeps a filter across the repeats.

Drive 0 to 100 % (default 0 %)

Adds drive to the stuttered signal.

Pan -100 to 100 % (default 0 %)

Pans the stuttered slices.

Width 0 to 200 % (default 100 %)

Stereo width of the stutter output.

Crossfade 0.5 to 50 ms (default 4 ms)

Crossfade at slice edges to keep repeats click-free.

Mix 0 to 100 % (default 100 %)

Blend of stuttered signal against the input.

Trigger

Manual trigger for the stutter - fire it exactly when you want.

OffOn
Trigger Mode

How the trigger behaves: Momentary (while held), Latch (toggles) or Free (runs continuously).

MomentaryLatchFree
Gate Floor -60 to 0 dB (default -60 dB)

How far down the closed gate goes - raise it for partial ducking instead of silence.

Duty Cycle 1 to 100 % (default 100 %)

How much of each step stays open.

Random Skip 0 to 100 % (default 0 %)

Chance that a step is skipped for broken, humanized patterns.

Output Limiter

A safety limiter on the output for hot stutter stacks.

OffOn
Env Follow 0 to 100 % (default 0 %)

Lets the input's own loudness modulate the gate depth.

Phase Reset

Restarts the pattern from step one whenever playback starts, for locked repeatability.

OffOn