Unisons
A unison is a setting available on certain instruments that makes the instrument play at 2 different frequencies simultaneously. This setting was previously known as "chorus", and then as "interval".
Unisons are only supported on Chip Wave, Harmonics, Picked String, and Custom Chip, with Pulse Width, Spectrum, and Basic Noise being supported only in Ultrabox and its forks (Abyssbox, Unbox, BariBox, and Slarmoo's Box).
Unison List
Unison | Details | Code Details | Applicable Beepmods |
---|---|---|---|
Union (None) | No unison effects. | Voices: 1, Spread: 0.0, Offset: 0.0, Expression: 1.4, Sign: 1.0 | All Beepmods |
Shimmer | A unison that utilizes a technique where if two frequencies are very close together in pitch, it causes a shimmering sound, hence the name. | Voices: 2, Spread: 0.018, Offset: 0.0, Expression: 0.8, Sign: 1.0 | All Beepmods |
Hum | This unison sounds like a bolder Shimmer. | Voices: 2, Spread: 0.045, Offset: 0.0, Expression: 1.0, Sign: 1.0 | All Beepmods |
Honky Tonk | This unison spreads the voices enough to where they don't shift but don't sound dissonant. | Voices: 2, Spread: 0.09, Offset: 0.0, Expression: 1.0, Sign: 1.0 | All Beepmods |
Dissonant | As the name suggests, Dissonant spreads the voices a bit too far and they clash in pitch. | Voices: 2, Spread: 0.25, Offset: 0.0, Expression: 0.9, Sign: 1.0 | All Beepmods |
Fifth | This unison uses the offset and spread to place a voice seven semitones above the primary voice which remains on the base note. | Voices: 2, Spread: 3.5, Offset: 3.5, Expression: 0.9, Sign: 1.0 | All Beepmods |
Octave | Akin to Fifth, Octave uses the same technique to place a voice an octave (12 semitones) above the other. | Voices: 2, Spread: 6.0, Offset: 6.0, Expression: 0.8, Sign: 1.0 | All Beepmods |
Bowed | Very similar to Shimmer with the one main difference being that the "Sign" is negative, which causes the voices to make an "arch-like" sound since the other voice's wave is flipped. | Voices: 2, Spread: 0.02, Offset: 0.0, Expression: 1.0, Sign: -1.0 | All Beepmods |
Piano | This unison puts the voices very close together. The smaller difference in pitch means it'll take longer for a full "shift" to finish. | Voices: 2, Spread: 0.01, Offset: 0.00, Expression: 1.0, Sign: 0.7 | BeepBox, JummBox, CardboardBox, Dogebox, BluBox, SynthBox, Wackybox, TodBox, WeebBox, NintariBox, GoldBox, MicroBox, PaandorasBox, Thurmbox, Blockbox, FamiliarBox, FoxBox, BluBox Desktop, MultiplayerBox, MarioPaintBox, UltraBox, Midbox, Dogebox2, AbyssBox, Unbox, BariBox, Slarmoo's Box |
Warbled | It's very similar to Dissonant. | Voices: 2, Spread: 0.25, Offset: 0.05, Expression: 0.9, Sign: -0.8 | JummBox, WeebBox, SynthBox, CardboardBox, PaandorasBox, GoldBox, MarioPaintBox, NintariBox, UltraBox, Midbox, Dogebox2, AbyssBox, Unbox, BariBox, Slarmoo's Box |
Hecking Gosh | It sounds like a combination of Octave, Fifth, and Dissonant. | Voices: 2, Spread: 6.25, Offset: -6.0, Expression: 0.8, Sign: -0.7 | GoldBox, UltraBox, AbyssBox, Unbox, BariBox, Slarmoo's Box |
this sounds so bad | A stranger offset unison with a silent secondary voice. | Voices: 2, Spread: -5.0, Offset: -0.5, Expression: 1.0, Sign: -5.0 | Wackybox |
Error | A unison with an odd spread which still manages to deliver a harmonized sound. | Voices: 2, Spread: 9.5, Offset: 0.0, Expression: 1.0, Sign: 1.3 | TodBox |
Spinner | A unison similar to Shimmer. | Voices: 2, Spread: 0.02, Offset: 0.0, Expression: 1.0, Sign: 1.0 | Unknown, UltraBox, AbyssBox, Unbox, BariBox, Slarmoo's Box |
Detune | This unison only uses one voice. Instead, it detunes the pitch of the voice slightly higher so that when combined with surrounding instruments, it fakes the sound of a unison. | Voices: 1, Spread: 0.0, Offset: 0.25, Expression: 1.0, Sign: 1.0 | Unknown, UltraBox, AbyssBox, Unbox, BariBox, Slarmoo's Box |
Rising | A unison that is very dissonant. | Voices: 2, Spread: 1.0, Offset: 0.7, Expression: 0.95, Sign: 1.0 | Unknown, UltraBox, AbyssBox, Unbox, BariBox, Slarmoo's Box |
Vibrate | This unison is similar to Fifth but offset a bit higher. | Voices: 2, Spread: 3.5, Offset: 7.0, Expression: 0.975, Sign: 1.0 | Unknown, UltraBox, AbyssBox, Unbox, BariBox, Slarmoo's Box |
Fourths | A unison that is simultaneously harmonizing and dissonant. | Voices: 2, Spread: 4.0, Offset: 4.0, Expression: 0.95, Sign: 1.0 | Unknown, UltraBox, AbyssBox, Unbox, BariBox, Slarmoo's Box |
Bass | This unison only uses one voice, which is transposed seven semitones downwards. | Voices: 1, Spread: 0.0, Offset: -7.0, Expression: 1.0, Sign: 1.0 | Unknown, UltraBox, AbyssBox, Unbox, BariBox, Slarmoo's Box |
Dirty | This unison raises the volume of the instrument and slightly offsets its pitch higher. | Voices: 2, Spread: 0.0, Offset: 0.1, Expression: 0.975, Sign: 1.0 | Unknown, UltraBox, AbyssBox, Unbox, BariBox, Slarmoo's Box |
Stationary | Similar to Fifth, but with no offset. | Voices: 2, Spread: 3.5, Offset: 0.0, Expression: 0.9, Sign: 1.0 | Unknown, UltraBox, AbyssBox, Unbox, BariBox, Slarmoo's Box |
Recurve | This unison has an extremely miniscule amount of spread. | Voices: 2, Spread: 0.005, Offset: 0.0, Expression: 1.0, Sign: 1.0 | Unknown, UltraBox, AbyssBox, Unbox, BariBox, Slarmoo's Box |
Voiced | Same as Error with the only difference being the sign. | Voices: 2, Spread: 9.5, Offset: 0.0, Expression: 1.0, Sign: 1.0 | ModBox, BruceBox, UltraBox, AbyssBox, Unbox, BariBox, Slarmoo's Box |
Fluctuate | This unison splits the voices between two octaves. | Voices: 2, Spread: 12.0, Offset: 0.0, Expression: 1.0, Sign: 1.0 | Unknown, UltraBox, AbyssBox, Unbox, BariBox, Slarmoo's Box |
Thin | A unison that offsets the instrument's pitch more than four octaves higher. | Voices: 1, Spread: 0.0, Offset: 50.0, Expression: 1.0, Sign: 1.0 | Unknown, UltraBox, AbyssBox, Unbox, BariBox, Slarmoo's Box |
Inject | A combination of Octave, Stationary, and Detune. | Voices: 2, Spread: 6.0, Offset: 0.4, Expression: 1.0, Sign: 1.0 | Unknown, UltraBox, AbyssBox, Unbox, BariBox, Slarmoo's Box |
Askewed | Lowers the volume of the main voice and detunes it upwards half a semitone. | Voices: 1, Spread: 0.0, Offset: 0.42, Expression: 0.7, Sign: 1.0 | Unknown, UltraBox, AbyssBox, Unbox, BariBox, Slarmoo's Box |
Resonance | A combination of Bowed and Recurve. | Voices: 2, Spread: 0.0025, Offset: 0.1, Expression: 0.8, Sign: -1.5 | Unknown, UltraBox, AbyssBox, Unbox, BariBox, Slarmoo's Box |
FART | A bold unison with harmonization. | Voices: 2, Spread: 13, Offset: -5, Expression: 1.0, Sign: -3 | UltraBox, AbyssBox, Unbox, BariBox, Slarmoo's Box |
Hyper | A unison inspired by Shimmer. | Voices: 2, Spread: 0.03, Offset: -0.02, Expression: 0.85, Sign: 0.7 | Midbox |
Peak | Similar to Fluctuate except the voices are offset upwards an octave and have a slight shifting sound. | Voices: 2, Spread: 12.038, Offset: 12.01, Expression: 0.85, Sign: 0.9 | Midbox |
Deep Shift | The same as Peak but offset much lower. | Voices: 2, Spread: 12.03, Offset: -17.01, Expression: 0.85, Sign: 1.2 | Midbox |
Broke | Similar to Askewed and Detune, but the pitch is offset downwards instead and has a barely-noticable shifting sound. | Voices: 2, Spread: 0.000211, Offset: -0.3, Expression: 0.8, Sign: 1.0 | Midbox |
Vary | A unison similar to Piano. | Voices: 2, Spread: 0.0018, Offset: 0.0, Expression: 0.85, Sign: 1.6 | Midbox |
Energetic | This unison uses dissonance and tuning for harmonizing. | Voices: 2, Spread: 6.15, Offset: 6.435, Expression: 0.85, Sign: 0.9 | Midbox |
Lone Fifth | Transposes the main voice seven semitones upwards. | Voices: 1, Spread: 0.0, Offset: 7.0, Expression: 1.4, Sign: 0.9 | Midbox |
Alternate Fifth | The same as Fifth, but it's the fifth note below the placed note. | Voices: 2, Spread: 2.5, Offset: -2.5, Expression: 0.9, Sign: 0.9 | Midbox |
Offtune | As the name implies, this unison is dissonant. | Voices: 2, Spread: 0.40, Offset: 0.40, Expression: 0.9, Sign: 0.9 | Midbox |
Hold | This unison shifts heavily and slowly. | Voices: 2, Spread: 0.003, Offset: 0.0, Expression: 0.8, Sign: -2.5 | Midbox |
Buried | This unison places the voices three octaves lower and shifts slightly. | Voices: 2, Spread: 0.03575, Offset: -36.0, Expression: 1.4, Sign: 1.0 | Midbox |
Corrupt | This unison places and spreads the voices very high. | Voices: 2, Spread: 18.0, Offset: 48.0, Expression: 0.7, Sign: 0.7 | Midbox |
Weird Octave | Same as Octave but dissonance is utilized to add harmonizing. | Voices: 2, Spread: 5.85, Offset: 5.85, Expression: 0.75, Sign: 1.0 | Midbox |
Custom Unisons
UltraBox, Unbox, AbyssBox, BariBox, and Slarmoo's Box allow you to edit unisons to make your own. Next to the unison selection box, there will be an arrow. Clicking this will let you change the five unison properties.
Explanation
The unison itself can have 5 properties:
Voices: Unisons use "voices" as a way to say "How many duplicates of this instrument will be used in this unison?". Typically, this can only be 1 (Lone Fifth, Askewed) or 2 (most other unisons use this). These unisons are then offset and spread apart in pitch to create various sounds, such as shimmering (Hum, Hold), or harmonization (Fifth, Fourths, Weird Octave).
Spread: The distance between both voices to the placed note in semitones. A small amount of spread causes the voice's waves to shift in and out from each other, causing a shimmering effect (Shimmer, Piano, Recurve). More spread will cause the voices to sound dissonant (Dissonant, Rising, Offtune) up until the voices sound like separate notes (Fifth, Octave, Stationary, Alternate Fifth). This effect only works properly with two voices. However, in some BeepMods, using only one voice can have some unique sound artifacts, as the sound the unison makes when using this setting would sound like the pitch of the voice splitting in two.
Offset: The amount both voices are offset by in semitones (Bass, Thin, Buried). A more obscure but useful use case for this is to use it as an extended pitch shift slider, with the power to detune and set the instrument's pitch very high and low. When using the unison envelope target, this is the setting being affected, and it is changed similar to that of the detune/pitch shift envelope targets.
Expression: The volume of the unison. This setting is called "Volume" on custom unisons for understandability. Can be used to mix the unison in case it causes the instrument to be too loud. Can also be used as a second volume slider to the instrument.
Sign: A volume multiplier only applied to the second voice of the unison. Negative signs make the wave of the second voice invert, meaning both waves will shift through each other and also cause an arc-like shimmering effect (Bowed, Resonance).