Dub Stab Plaits
Mutable Instruments Plaits · Narti Live firmware v1.5

Dub Stab Plaits Visual manual

Plaits becomes a dub techno chord sequencer. Send it a clock and it plays generative minor-key stabs, always in key. One knob shapes the envelope, three knobs shape the sound, three small knobs shape the groove.

TRIG = clock C minor · never out of key 8 chord models 16-step sequencer AUX = root CV 1 V/oct

▶ Watch the video on YouTube

01

Quick start

Sound in two minutes.

  1. Flash it

    Install the firmware from the website flasher or play the .wav into Plaits. See Flash.

  2. Patch OUT

    OUT to your mixer, ideally through a delay and a reverb. The module itself is dry.

  3. Clock TRIG

    Patch a 16th-note clock into TRIG. Nothing patched? It runs at 120 BPM by itself.

  4. Set the stab

    FREQUENCY at noon is a classic dub stab. Turn the small TIMBRE knob (DENSITY) to choose how many steps play.

  5. Play

    Tap LEFT / RIGHT to change model. Hold LEFT for a new pattern. Twist HARMONICS, TIMBRE and MORPH.

Start and stop with your clock. When the clock starts, the pattern starts from step 1. When it stops for 4 clock periods (0.5–4.5 s), the sequencer goes back to step 1 and waits.

02

Every control

Hover or tap a number on the panel and its explanation lights up in the list.

The Plaits panel with every DUB STAB PLAITS function labelled, and what HARMONICS, TIMBRE and MORPH do on each chord model
The cheat sheet · tap to open full size · download. Below: the same controls, explained one by one.
The panel as drawn by the Dub Stab Plaits app, which runs the same code.

Button and knob combos

Hold LEFT + turn FREQUENCY

Octave 1–5 (noon = 3).

Hold RIGHT + turn FREQUENCY

Filter resonance. Limited, so it never screams.

Hold LEFT 1 s

NEW pattern: new chords, ranks and accents.

Hold RIGHT 1 s

Chords ↔ single notes for this model. Each model remembers it.

Hold both 2 s

CV TUNE for the AUX output (see CV). Keep holding 2 s more for the original Plaits calibration.

RIGHT at power-on

Colour-blind LED mode, as on stock Plaits.

A slow random LFO is always on: it gently drifts HARMONICS, TIMBRE, MORPH and the filter, so held patterns keep breathing.

03

The 8 chord models

Tap LEFT / RIGHT to step through them. FREQUENCY is always the envelope; HARMONICS, TIMBRE and MORPH change with the model.

1Dub Sawthe classic

Two detuned saws per note. The sound of a dub techno stab.

Harmonics
detune
Timbre
saw → pulse
Morph
noise “chuff” on each stab
2VA

A two-oscillator analogue-style voice.

Harmonics
2nd oscillator interval
Timbre
pulse width
Morph
pulse ↔ saw
3Waveshape

Folded triangles: from soft to buzzy and glassy.

Harmonics
asymmetry
Timbre
fold
Morph
triangle → saw
4FM

Two-operator FM: electric pianos, bells, metallic chords.

Harmonics
ratio
Timbre
index
Morph
feedback
5Phase Dist

Phase distortion with a resonant mode, CZ style.

Harmonics
resonance
Timbre
distortion
Morph
PD ↔ resonant
6VHIKKnew in v1.3

A carrier / modulator pair per note with its own tuned space, inspired by the Vhikk X.

Harmonics
WARP: left phase modulation (keys, bells), noon clean, right ring modulation (hollow, metallic)
Timbre
carrier feedback: sine → warm saw-like
Morph
SPACE: a dark echo tuned to the chord; past noon a frequency shifter makes the repeats spiral
7Strings

The Plaits string machine playing the sequencer’s chords: lush pads.

Harmonics
brightness (opens the filter)
Timbre
filter / ensemble
Morph
registration
8Acidmono bass

A mono acid bass line from the pattern: roots, octaves, fifths, slides and accents. Hold RIGHT for acid chords. On ACID, FREQUENCY sets the filter envelope amount.

Harmonics
cutoff
Timbre
accent
Morph
resonance

Chords or single notes: hold RIGHT 1 s on any model. Single notes play a melody in the scale that follows the chords. The model LED is yellow for chords and red for single notes.

04

How a pattern works

Hold LEFT for a NEW pattern. The three small knobs then shape it live without changing it.

What NEW writes

  1. Chords: 1, 2 or 4 per pattern. The first is usually the tonic; then mostly iv, v, VI and III.
  2. Ranks: every step gets a rank. Off-beats rank first, so few steps = classic off-beat stabs.
  3. Accents: some steps are accented and open the filter further.

What the small knobs do

  • DENSITY plays the steps ranked below it: the groove grows, it never reshuffles.
  • LENGTH loops the first 1–16 steps.
  • SPEED sets steps per clock pulse: 1/2 … 1/16 (centre) … 1/32T.

Recipes

  • Classic dub stab: DUB SAW, FREQUENCY noon, DENSITY low, a long feedback delay after it.
  • Swell: FREQUENCY far right, STRINGS or VHIKK with SPACE up.
  • Bass + chords: AUX into a second synth’s V/OCT, same clock to its envelope.

The chord model, octave, resonance and the pattern are saved 2 s after a change and come back at power-on.

05

CV in, root CV out

The CV inputs are gentle on purpose, so modulation never pushes the sound off the cliff.

Inputs

  • HARMO · TIMBRE · MORPH: ±5 V moves each ±15 % around its knob (1 V = 3 %).
  • MODEL: selects the chord model.
  • V/OCT: transposes the progression by scale degrees (D = ii, E♭ = III …), snapped to the key.
  • LEVEL: VCA. FM: not used.

AUX: root CV out

AUX sends the root of every chord as 1 V/oct (C3 = 0 V, about −2 V to +3 V), held until the next chord. Patch it into a second synth and clock that synth’s envelope from the same clock.

CV TUNE (once)

  1. Patch AUX to your synth’s V/OCT. Hold both buttons 2 s.
  2. AUX now alternates every 2 s: C3 (LEDs 1–4 green) and C5 (LEDs 5–8 green). OUT plays the same notes.
  3. Tune your synth to C on the low note, then turn FREQUENCY until the high note is exactly two octaves up.
  4. Tap a button to save.

If a held note slowly sinks back to 0 V, that module’s AUX output is AC-coupled and the pitch CV cannot work on it.

06

What the LEDs say

You seeIt means
One yellow LEDThe playing model, in chord mode. It blinks off on every step that plays.
One red LEDThe playing model, in single-note mode.
Yellow barMoving FREQUENCY (envelope) or LENGTH.
Red barResonance (RIGHT + FREQUENCY).
Green barDENSITY.
One LEDOctave (yellow) or SPEED (green straight, red triplets).
Pulsing green, then a sweepA NEW pattern was written.
07

Flash and restore

Two versions: C minor (all seven chords, DUB voicing) and Cm DEEP (open dub techno shapes: m7, m9, stacked 4ths, sus, fifths, no major chords).

Install

  1. Unplug all cables. Patch your phone or computer’s audio out into MODEL. FREQUENCY at 12 o’clock.
  2. Power on with the LEFT button held.
  3. Play DubStab-Plaits-v1.5.wav (or …-Cm-DEEP.wav) to the end, 2 min 42 s, at about 80 % volume, with no other sounds.
  4. LEDs 1–4 are a level meter: both green on, yellow may flicker, red off.
  5. The module restarts by itself. Done.

If it goes wrong

  • All LEDs blink red: press LEFT, adjust the volume, play the file again from the start.
  • Go back to stock: flash the official Plaits .wav the same way. Your calibration is kept.
  • Try it first: the Dub Stab Plaits Android app runs the same code (plus an app-only echo and reverb).

All downloads →

08

Versions

v1.5

Lighter on the Plaits processor (8–17 % less CPU on the busiest models). Same sound.

v1.4

No soft clipping with long envelopes: the limiter catches every peak at once.

v1.3

Model 6 is VHIKK instead of CHIPTUNE.

v1.2

Starting the TRIG clock starts the pattern from step 1.

v1.1

Hold RIGHT for chords / single notes; acid chords; the Cm DEEP version.

v1.0

First release.