Arpeggiator
The Spirit’s arpeggiator isn’t just a polite little note repeater. It turns chords into motion, motion into patterns, and patterns into music. It may look simple at first glance, but don’t be fooled. It can latch, leap, and ripple its way into complex sequencer-like territory.
The Arpeggiator Mode switch gives you four settings:
Off
As you'd expect, arpeggiation is disabled.
Ripple
In Ripple mode, the Spirit simply plays any keys you hold, one after another, from the lowest to the highest. This repeats continuously and seamlessly. There's no delay or pause after each full pass. Notes are scanned chromatically in order of pitch (not in order of playing). This is perfect for simple melodic figures and gentle loops.
Arp
This is Spirit’s full arpeggiator mode. It behaves similarly to Ripple, but with a twist: it adds octave-spanning variation. The Arp mode plays all held notes in order (low to high), then immediately repeats that same sequence again an octave higher, and again an octave lower. This pattern continues in a loop, creating a much wider and more dynamic arpeggio sequence, which can be especially expressive with complex chords.
It’s a great tool for building evolving sequences with just a few keys. Think Berlin School modular vibes with zero patch cords.
Leap
Leap is where things start to get weird, in the best possible way. Unique to Spirit, this mode takes the notes you’re holding and launches them across a three-step octave pattern. Play a simple triad like C3–E3–G3, and instead of arpeggiating them in order or up/down a scale, Leap catapults each note to a different octave: C plays at the original pitch, E jumps up an octave, and G drops down. That gives you a repeating sequence like C3, E4, G2. And that’s just the beginning.
Add a fourth note—say, B3—and the whole thing starts to tumble forward in a beautifully tangled cascade. The pattern shifts out of sync, cycling through the octave steps in unexpected ways: C3, E4, G2, B3, C4, E2, G3, B4, C2, and so on. The results are often hypnotic, sometimes chaotic, and always inspiring. Leap is perfect for generating evolving, harmonically rich patterns that feel more composed than mechanical. Try it when you want your arpeggios to surprise you—and your music to move in directions you didn’t plan.
Arpeggiator controls:
Speed- Sets the pattern speed playback speed from 0.25 to 30 Hz. The LED in the top corner of the Arpeggiator panel flashes to indicate the current speed (and stops flashing when the Arpeggiator is turned off).
Sync- Engaging the Sync control locks arpeggio timing to master Tempo. When engaged, the Speed slider changes from a rate in Hz to note values ranging from 1/64th note triplet to 8 beats. When using Sync switch in the Spirit standalone version, the Arpeggiator uses the Tempo in the top toolbar. When it's used as a plug-in inside a DAW, it syncs to the DAW tempo.
Swing- Puts a swinging groove into your arpeggiations. When it's set to 0.0%, then the arpeggio plays back in a straight timing. As you turn up the Swing, every other note is delayed by a small amount, creating the swing effect. Try it at 67% for a triplet feel.
Chance- Sets the probability of a note sounding on a given step. The default is 100%, i.e. every note is always played. The Chance slider can be turned down to 30%, meaning that each note in the arpeggio only has a 30% chance of playing. This lets you create random rests, blank sections, and syncopations, depending on the Chance setting.
Feel- This slider adds randomness to the timing of the arpeggio. You can choose to push notes slightly ahead of the beat, or pull notes slightly behind the beat. It defaults to 0, but can be moved to ±100% push or pull. If you're recording the arpeggios into a DAW, you can automate the Feel parameter to gently alter the push/pull character of the arpeggio, "humanizing" it a bit.
Hold- Press this button to keep the arpeggio going even when all keys are released. You can clear the current arpeggiation and replace it with a new one simply by releasing all keys, then playing a new chord. The arpeggiation will continue until Hold is turned off. This function, often called Latch, is a useful one to assign to a pedal or button for live use.
4 Oct- At first glance, the 4 Oct switch might seem like a simple range extender, but it’s actually much more playful. What it really does is reshape how the arpeggiator travels through octaves, depending on which mode you’re in. It’s not just a range expansion. It’s a musical rollercoaster. Use it to add drama, motion, and wide harmonic spread to even the simplest chords.
In Arp mode, engaging the 4 Oct switch stretches the pattern across four octaves in a clever sequence: it plays your notes at the original octave, then one octave up, two octaves up, and finally one octave down. So a C3–E3–G3 pattern becomes: C3, E4, G5, C2, then repeats.
In Leap mode, that same zigzag applies—but now each note in your held chord leaps independently through the 0 / +1 / +2 / -1 octave cycle. So holding C3–E3–G3–B3 results in this delightful bit of octave gymnastics: C3, E4, G5, B2, then the pattern rolls on.
Down- Press this button to change the direction of arpeggiator playback from upward to downward.
Real-World Uses
Basic Arp Loops
Use Ripple mode with a slow rate and two or three notes. It’s simple, hypnotic, and perfect for pads or sequences that breathe.Octave Spread Leads
Flip into Arp mode and crank the SPEED. Combine it with some oscillator detuning and Multi Voice stereo pan spread for punchy vintage-style melodic riffs.Evolving Basslines or Ambient Patterns
Try Leap mode with a complex chord, then layer slow LFOs on the filter and pulse width. The octave shifts will create motion that feels generative even if it's just a held chord.