O R B I T E R

Modal synthesis instruments

Gong, handpan, and singing bowl — physically modelled in Rust. Available as VST3 and CLAP.

View on GitHub Documentation

Instruments

Gong

Nonlinear modal vibration model with energy transfer between modes, producing the characteristic shimmering wash of a real gong. Three size variants (small, mid, large) with 15 factory presets. Continuous excitation mode for bowed sustain.

Handpan

Modal synthesis with 6 vibrational modes per tone field, beating mode pairs, and Helmholtz cavity resonance. Three octave variants (low, mid, high) with 8 factory scales and 7 presets.

Singing Bowl

Friction-driven bowing model with strike and rub excitation. 12-voice polyphony with sympathetic resonance, 8 factory scales, and 20 presets from ethereal drones to bright mallets.

Synthesis & Audio

Modal Synthesis

Physically modelled resonators with beating mode pairs for authentic acoustic timbre. Each instrument is simulated in real time, not sample-based.

Modal Resonator Effects

Each instrument is also available as an audio effect plugin. Route any audio through the gong, handpan, or bowl resonator to excite it with external sound — drums, voice, or anything else.

Mic Excitation

Use your microphone as an excitation source directly in the browser or standalone app. Speak, clap, or play another instrument to drive the resonators live.

16-Voice Polyphony

Play full chords with voice-stealing crossfade for smooth transitions. Sustain pedal support via MIDI CC64.

Sound Shaping

Per-instrument reverb, brightness, decay, volume, and master tuning. Parameter randomisation with per-parameter locking.

42 Factory Presets

7 handpan presets, 15 gong presets, and 20 singing bowl presets covering a wide range of timbres from bright mallets to deep meditative drones.

Performance & Interaction

MIDI & MPE

Connect a MIDI controller and play — even in the browser via Web MIDI. Full MPE support for per-note pitch bend, pressure, and slide.

Generative Sequencer

Built-in probabilistic sequencer with per-instrument probability, burst mode, and deterministic seeding for reproducible sequences.

Real-Time Collaboration

Share a link and create music together. All parameters, sequences, and live performance events sync in real time with presence indicators.

URL Sharing

Share your exact setup — scale, presets, BPM, and seed — as a URL. Recipients hear exactly what you hear.

Plugin Formats

All instruments available as VST3 and CLAP plugins — both as synthesisers and as audio effects. 6 plugins total, fully automatable.

Cross-Platform

Web (WASM), macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, and Android. Same synthesis engine everywhere.

Research

The synthesis engines implement techniques from peer-reviewed acoustics and signal processing research:

Gong

  • Ducceschi, M. & Touzé, C. (2015). Modal approach for nonlinear vibrations of damped impacted plates. Journal of Sound and Vibration, 344, 313–331.
  • Bilbao, S., Webb, C., Wang, D. & Ducceschi, M. (2023). Real-Time Gong Synthesis. Proceedings of DAFx-23.

Handpan

  • Alon, D. (2015). Analysis and Synthesis of the Handpan Sound. MSc thesis, University of York.
  • Rossing, T. D. et al. (2007). Modes of vibration and sound radiation from the HANG. Archives of Acoustics, 32(3).

Singing Bowl

  • Dupont, P. et al. (2002). Single state elasto-plastic friction models. IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control, 47(5).
  • Serafin, S. (2004). The Sound of Friction: real-time models, playability and musical applications. PhD thesis, Stanford University.
  • Matusiak, E., Chatziioannou, V. & Van Walstijn, M. (2025). Passivity-guaranteed friction bowing model. Frontiers in Signal Processing.