Quick start
- Put Ingot on a MIDI track and play a key.
- Step through the presets with < and > or the up and down arrow keys. The label above the preset name shows whether you're in Factory, Packs or User.
- Turn on ARP in the header to arpeggiate whatever you hold. The arrow beside it opens the arp settings.
- To make a knob move, drag a source chip (an LFO, an envelope, a macro, velocity) onto it.
The window
- Header: the logo, the three pages (SYNTH, MOD and FX), the preset box with <, > and SAVE, the ARP switch and its settings arrow, HQ, the look menu, and the master volume with the voice count.
- SYNTH page: the four operators across the top; the FM matrix, filter, amp and voice settings in the middle; Env 2, Env 3, the LFOs and the macros along the bottom.
- MOD page: all 16 modulation slots in a list.
- FX page: the effects rack.
- Keyboard: along the bottom. Click it to play.
Operators
Ingot has four operators, A to D. Each one is an oscillator that you can hear, use to modulate the others, or both.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Table | Sine, Classic, Pulse, Harmonic, Vowel, FM Sweep, Organ, Metal, Grit, Digital, Chip or Noise. |
| LOAD | Load your own WAV, AIFF or FLAC as a wavetable. It's saved inside your project and in presets. |
| POS | Position in the wavetable. Modulate it to sweep through the frames. |
| Warp type, WARP | Sync, Bend, PWM, Mirror, Fold or Crush, and how much. |
| RATIO, FINE, DETUNE | Pitch as a multiple of the note (x1, x2, x0.5 and so on), plus fine tuning and detune in cents. |
| LEVEL, VEL | Output level and how much velocity affects it. |
| ATT, DEC, SUS, REL | The operator's own envelope. |
The light beside each operator's name switches it on and off.
The FM matrix
The grid says how much each operator modulates each other one. Rows are FROM, columns are TO. A knob where a row meets its own column is feedback, which turns a sine into something closer to a saw and then into noise. The OUT row sets how loud each operator is in the final sound.
The ALGORITHM menu sets the grid to one of nine starting points:
| Algorithm | Routing |
|---|---|
| 1 Stack | D modulates C, C modulates B, B modulates A |
| 2 Two pairs | B into A, D into C |
| 3 Three into one | B, C and D all into A |
| 4 Y | D into C, C into A and B |
| 5 One into three | D into A, B and C |
| 6 Pair + two | B into A, with C and D heard on their own |
| 7 Additive | All four heard, no modulation |
| 8 Feedback stack | A stack with feedback |
| 9 Ring | A into B into C into D into A |
Bells and electric pianos usually come from ratios like 1:1 and 14:1 on a modulator with a fast decay. Basses come from a modulator at 1:1 or 2:1 with its own decay shaping the pluck.
Filter, amp and voice
- FILTER: LP 12, LP 24, HP 12, HP 24, band, notch, comb+ and comb-, with Cutoff, Res, Drive, Key (how much the cutoff follows the note) and Mix. NOISE adds a noise generator with Level and Color.
- AMP: the main envelope (ATT, DEC, SUS, REL), VEL and LEVEL (up to +6 dB).
- VOICE: Voices (1 is mono; 2 to 16 is polyphonic), LEGATO, Glide, Bend range, Oct/Semi, Unison (up to 8), Detune, Width and Drift, which adds the slow wander of an old analog synth.
- HQ in the header runs the voices at twice the sample rate. It sounds cleaner in the highs and costs more CPU.
Modulation
Sources: LFO 1 to 4, Env 2, Env 3, Velocity, Amp Env, Note, Wheel, Aftertouch, Random and Macro 1 to 4.
- Assign: drag a source chip (the tabs with dotted handles) onto any knob. Hold Alt and drag on the knob to set the amount. Right-click a knob for its modulation menu.
- See it: a coloured ring around the knob shows the range, and a dot shows where it is right now.
- MOD page: lists all 16 slots so you can change or remove them in one place.
- LFOs: shapes include sine, S&H, drift and a drawable 32-step custom shape (draw on the display). Modes are retrigger, free and one-shot. Each has Rate or SYNC, Phase, Smooth and Delay.
- Macros: four knobs that can each move several things. Hover over a macro to light up the knobs it controls. Right-click its chip to rename it; names are saved in presets.
Arpeggiator
Turn on ARP in the header; the arrow beside it opens its settings. Click away or press Esc to close them.
| Setting | Options |
|---|---|
| Mode | Up, Down, Up-Down, Random, As Played, Chord |
| Rate | 1/4, 1/8 D, 1/8, 1/8 T, 1/16, 1/16 T, 1/32 |
| Octaves | 1 to 4 |
| Gate, Swing, Latch | Note length, groove, and whether notes keep playing after you let go |
| Step lane | 16 steps of note, accent or rest. Click to cycle, drag to paint, right-click for a rest. STEPS sets the length; Reset and Random are beside it. |
While your DAW is playing, the arp locks to its beat grid. When it's stopped, the arp starts the moment you press a key.
Effects
The FX page runs in this order, each with its own switch: Drive (Tube, Hard, Fold, Rectify) → Crush (bits and rate) → Phaser → Chorus (Chorus I, Chorus II, Wide or Flanger) → Delay (sync, ping-pong, tone) → Reverb → Tape (wow, flutter, age and hiss) → Comp.
Presets and packs
- Factory: 59 presets in seven categories: 80s FM, Synthwave, Lofi, Faded, Arp, Dance and Avant.
- User: click SAVE to save your own. They're stored in Documents\Ingot\Presets.
- Packs: extra preset collections in
.ingotpackfiles. To add one, open the preset menu, go to Packs and choose Install pack.... Installing a newer version of a pack replaces the old one. - Make a pack of your own presets from the User menu, to share or back up.
- Loading a preset resets everything first, so nothing from the last sound carries over.
Looks
The menu in the header switches between Neon, Studio, Paper and Mono. Every Ingot on the computer opens in the look you chose last. Looks aren't part of presets.
If something's wrong
- No sound: check the track is a MIDI track with Ingot on it and that the operators' lights are on.
- The arp doesn't play: press a key; with Latch off, it only plays while you hold notes.
- High CPU: turn off HQ, lower Unison, or reduce Voices.