Splitter
A Splitter routes one signal across several outgoing wires. Four modes—`all`, `roundRobin`, `weighted`, and `probability`—cover deterministic branching, alternation, proportional choice, and independent chance.
Splitters are how one Source becomes an arrangement. A Splitter has one input and any number of outgoing wires. The mode decides whether every branch receives the signal, one branch takes a turn, one branch wins a weighted choice, or each branch rolls its own dice.
all: deterministic branching
Every outgoing wire receives a copy of each arriving signal. Use all when the branch is orchestration rather than selection: one pulse should drive a bass note, a chord, and a sample together.
roundRobin: deterministic alternation
Each arriving signal goes to the next outgoing wire in sequence. Wire A receives signal 1, wire B signal 2, wire C signal 3, then wire A again on signal 4. The cycle is fixed by the order of connection and never deviates.
Use roundRobin when you want predictable alternation: call-and-response between two voices, a four-bar rotation through different drum textures, a strict melodic cycle.
weighted: proportional choice
Each outgoing wire has a weight: a positive number you set per wire. Weights are normalized internally; the splitter picks one outgoing wire for each arriving signal, with probability proportional to that wire's weight. Exactly one wire fires every time.
| Parameter | Type | Range | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A=3, B=1 | weights | Wire A fires 75% of the time, wire B 25%. A primary voice with an occasional alternate. | ||
| A=7, B=2, C=1 | weights | 70% / 20% / 10%. Strong primary, secondary fill, rare ornament. | ||
| A=1, B=1, C=1, D=1 | weights | Equal 25% each: equivalent to roundRobin in expectation, but the order is randomized rather than cyclic. | ||
| A=10, B=1 | weights | ~91% / ~9%. The B branch becomes a rare event: every 11 signals on average. |
Use weighted mode when one branch should dominate but the alternates should still appear: a primary drum hit that occasionally morphs to an alternate, a melodic voice that mostly stays in one register but sometimes jumps an octave, a chord progression that mostly resolves to the tonic but sometimes feints to the relative minor.
probability: independent chance per wire
Each outgoing wire fires (or does not fire) independently based on its own probability value, rolled at the moment a signal arrives. Wire A at 100% always fires; wire B at 50% fires half the time; wire C at 20% fires occasionally. The dice rolls are independent: multiple wires can fire from one input signal, or none.
A signal arriving at a probability splitter can therefore branch zero, one, two, or all wires forward. This is fundamentally different from weighted, where exactly one wire fires every time.
| Parameter | Type | Range | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A=100%, B=80%, C=30% | probabilities | A is steady, B drops out occasionally, C ornaments unpredictably. Classic kick / snare / hi-hat thinning. | ||
| A=100%, B=10%, C=10% | probabilities | A is the main voice; B and C add rare flourishes. Mostly minimal, occasionally surprising. | ||
| A=50%, B=50%, C=50% | probabilities | On any given signal, an average 1.5 wires will fire. Density that breathes from sparse to thick. | ||
| A=70%, B=30% | probabilities | Most signals hit A, some hit both, some skip A and only hit B, some skip everything. Texture that varies on every pulse. |
Worked examples
Drum pattern with thinning hi-hat. Connect a percussion Source to a probability Splitter with three wires: kick at 100%, snare at 80%, hi-hat at 30%. The kick stays steady, the snare drops out occasionally, and the hi-hat ornaments unpredictably.
Two-bar call-and-response. A roundRobin Splitter alternates exactly between two wires. Route them to different pitches or Harmony transforms and the phrase stays in lockstep with the Source.
Probabilistic harmony. A weighted splitter with three outgoing wires going through three different harmony transforms (third up, fifth up, octave down) produces a single voice that occasionally lands in different registers and intervals. Set weights to 5:2:1 to keep the unison voice dominant with occasional thirds and rare octave drops.
Splitter into splitter. Splitters can chain. A roundRobin splitter feeding two probability splitters produces a deterministic top-level alternation between two probabilistic sub-arrangements, useful for a verse / chorus contrast where each half has its own random variation.
The technique article on splitter-driven arrangement that breathes. Continue learning