The Beetlecrab Tempera keeps getting better! The latest firmware update for the granular sampler introduces a slew of new functions, including Grain Skip Probability and better visualization.
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Beetlecrab Tempera Firmware Update 2.3
Beetlecrab Audio has released a major firmware update for the Tempera granular sampler. Version 2.3 includes many new features that were high up on users’ wishlists, including new parameters for creative sound design and significant workflow improvements.
Thanks to a new Grain Skip Probability parameter, Tempera can now randomly omit grains for all sorts of unusual stutter textures. There’s also a new Grain Shape Tilt function that lets you bend the grain amplitude envelope, as well as Per-Emitter Grain Pitch for tuning grains on the emitter level.
Tempera already had very flexible modulation capabilities, but they’ve added even more. A new envelope follower lets you turn internal or external audio signals into modulation sources. Thanks to cross-modulation, modulators can now modulate each other. And new macros allow for controlling up to four parameters at once.
In addition, the 2.3 update includes a number of workflow improvements. You can now spread out waveforms across all four displays for easier editing. This makes it much easier to precisely hit transients in longer samples, for example. Cell Marker Nudging allows for the precise positioning of markers. And last, but not least, Tempera now visualizes the emission of grains with the new Grain Sparkles feature.
You can now download the Beetlecrab Tempera update from the manufacturer’s website.
The granular sampler is available directly from Beetlecrab Audio for €698 plus tax.
Beetlecrab Tempera Firmware Update 2.1
[28 January 2025] The Beetlecrab Tempera just got a major firmware update! The new version adds live grains for real-time granular processing. But that’s just the beginning.
The Beetlecrab Tempera (read our review here) just got even better. The latest firmware update includes loads of new features, many of which were high up on users’ wishlists.
Most importantly, the Tempera is now not just a granular sampler, but also a real-time effects processor! With new live grains, you can unleash Tempera’s granular powers onto a live input signal. Thanks to clock sync, Tempera can also chop and slice beats in real time. An awesome feature for live performances!
In addition, Tempera gets a new rake filter. According to Beetlecrab Audio, this is a custom-designed comb filter with a tuned amplitude-modulated feedback path that lends itself to both subtle and aggressive sound shaping.
The new firmware also adds a bunch of new modulation sources and destinations. If you combine Tempera with an external MIDI keyboard, you can now use velocity and key tracking for modulation. And it is now possible to modulate and automate Grain Pan for exciting stereo effects.
The filter routing is now more flexible and you can specify per emitter whether or not that emitter should pass through the per-voice filter. There’s also a new attack mode that ensures that the first emitted grain has a sharp and distinctive attack.
Other new features of the Beetlecrab Tempera firmware 2.1 include improved reverb and delay effects, tap tempo, new exotic and pentatonic scales, and more.
The new firmware for the Beetlecrab Tempera is now available for download from the manufacturer’s website.
Beetlecrab Tempera is available exclusively from the manufacturer for €670 plus tax; the final price depends on your location and the applicable VAT rate.
Beetlecrab Tempera: New Firmware 2.0 adds many new Features
[25 June 2024] Beetlecrab Tempera gets a big firmware update! The granular touch matrix instrument receives many new features for even more creative possibilities and a more intuitive workflow.
Beetlecrab Tempera is getting even better! The new firmware, which Beetlecrab says was three months in the making, brings many new features and workflow improvements to the granular instrument.
Each emitter – the eight “tracks” represented by the columns of the matrix – now offers an independent FX send level. Beetlecrab says that this allows for better separation of percussive and tonal elements. Furthermore, each voice now offers ten modulators as opposed to five in previous versions.
Relative X/Y scrubbing allows you to scrub grains in two dimensions on the touch pad. Moreover, you can now quantize the grain random detune feature to fifths or octaves.
In addition to this, the update includes several workflow improvements for a better overview. According to the manufacturer, the virtual keyboard has been improved to provide better visual feedback. The modulators are also more visible now. And you can now customize the LED and emitter colors. Beetlecrab says that this also makes Tempera easier to use for people with limited color vision.
Furthermore, the Tempera update adds a new reverb algorithm with dense and smooth reflections. MIDI clock sync has also been improved for better reliability.
The Beetlecrab Tempera update 2.0 is available now from the manufacturer’s website, where you’ll also find a comprehensive list of all the new features.
Beetlecrab Tempera is available exclusively from the manufacturer for €670 plus tax; the final price depends on your location and the applicable VAT rate.
Tempera
[Original post by Robin Vincent, 9 May 2023] We don’t have the full details yet as, at the time of writing, the Tempera website says it’s 13 days away from revealing everything. Considering it’s being shown at Superbooth, I’m not sure everything is going to plan and now Jeremy of Red Means Recording has dropped a video on it.
So, taking the video as our guide, let’s dig into this preview to see if it whets our appetite.
The main interface is a grid of 8 x 8 touch plates. Each column represents a sample and as you drag your finger down you scrub through the sample. You can load 8 samples in stereo or varying lengths and go to town playing and scrubbing them. To one side is an onboard keyboard to set various notes to hold and play polyphonically. You can also swap that out for a MIDI keyboard and do it that way. I like the self-contained nature of it though.
4 granular emitters can be applied via the front panel working on grain size, grain density, grain spraying and other granular effects. There are a bunch of modulators with lots of shapes to modulate whatever you want. You can set stuff going, dancing with the grains, running around the interface, pumping through effects and played polyphonically from a keyboard.
The soundscapes coming out of the video are amazing.
Tempra looks very strokable, very interactive, and more like an instrument than a sample player. The interactive visuals are really fascinating.
Jeremy’s video goes into a lot of examples without digging too deep into the functionality. It looks like a beautiful thing.
- Tempera website.
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