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Barber faceplate in Studies
Free in Studies

The Barber

Harmonic Animation Slicer

Part of Studies

One of the ten free devices in Studies. Download Studies and it works right away, no account needed.

Free in Studies

Or own the plugin

Price: $20

The original plugin with its own interface, as a one-time purchase.

 See the standalone interface

Description

Not your typical sound stylist, Barber is good at slicing, distorting, chopping and forming new harmonic structures. Use it as an octaver, a distortion, a tremolo or an arpeggiator, then combine them. Every rate follows your host tempo.

The pitch shifter can transpose in semitones or scale the frequency freely. A waveshaper adds rich harmonics and distortion, but only below a frequency you set, so the top stays clean while the bottom breaks up. The fun part begins when you choose a minor or major voicing and animate through it in tempo-synced steps: a single held note turns into a melody.

Barber in the Handbook

Signal path

The audio runs along the bottom row of the faceplate: pitch shift, fuzz, the slicer, a fixed 40 Hz high-pass filter, then the master section. The three cards on the top row modulate it.

  1. Pitch shift

    SEMI
    Shifts the pitch in fixed steps, from two octaves down to two octaves up: −24, −12, −10, −9, −8, −7, −5, 0, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 12 and 24 semitones. Works in SEMI mode when SEQ MODE is off.
    PITCH
    Shifts the pitch freely, from two octaves down (0.25) to one octave up (2). Works in HZ mode.
    PITCH MODE
    Switches between SEMI (lower half) and HZ (upper half).

  2. Scale sequencer

    RANGE
    Sets how far the sequence can jump from your note: the 3rd, 5th, octave and 7th above, then the 5th, 7th and octave below. Low settings keep it close to the original pitch.
    RATE
    Sets how fast the sequence steps, as a division or multiple of the host tempo. At zero it stops.
    SEQ MODE
    Choose OFF, MAJOR or MINOR. In MAJOR or MINOR the sequencer takes over from SEMI and steps at random through that scale. Works in SEMI mode only.

  3. Chebyshev fuzz

    BUZZ
    Sets the amount of fuzz on the pitch-shifted signal. A little adds harmonics; a lot distorts heavily.
    FILTER
    Sets the frequency below which the fuzz applies, from 80 to 700 Hz. Everything above it stays clean.

  4. Fuzz LFO

    SHARPEN
    Sets how far the LFO pulls the fuzz down. Use it with SPEED for rhythmic swells.
    SPEED
    Sets the LFO speed in tempo-synced steps. At zero the LFO stops.

  5. Slice LFO

    SLICE
    Chops the effect in and out in time with your track, for tremolo and slicing. This knob sets the speed; at zero there's no slicing.

  6. Master

    BLEND
    Sets the mix between your dry sound and the effect. SLICE chops within this amount.
    GAIN
    Sets the output level, from silent up to double. The middle is unity.

Try thisSet PITCH MODE to SEMI, SEQ MODE to MAJOR and RANGE a few steps up. Then set RATE and SLICE to the same speed and hold one note: you get a chopped arpeggio.

Demo
This video shows the standalone plugin, The Barber.
Good to know

In Studies

Barber is in Studies Effects, under Modifier and Pitch & Time.

The name

The standalone plugin is called The Barber. We dropped the "The" when it joined Studies, and the Studies version adds an OFF setting to SEQ MODE.

Bundle

The standalone plugin is also part of the Decimation Tools Vol. 1 bundle.

Formats
Studies: Audio Units, VST2 and VST3 on Mac, VST3 on Windows · Apple silicon native
Systems
Current macOS and Windows 10/11 x64
The Barber | Harmonic Animation Slicer

Standalone version

The original plugin with its own interface, as a one-time purchase.

AU · VST2 · VST3 · macOS · Windows