Shrapnel has detailed tooltips on virtually every control, button, slider, and interactive element in the app. Hover over anything for about half a second and a tooltip will appear describing what it does and how to interact with it.

The tooltips toggle button is on the top strip of the metal casing (next to the settings button). When the button is pressed, tooltips are on; click again to turn them off. The setting persists across sessions.

Each side of the plugin has its own panel that switches between Basic and Advanced mode. The toggle lives along the bottom of each side panel and the state persists per side independently.

Left Panel

• Basic — three Basic Mode knobs (Volume, Pitch, Variation) and the CRT-style GRANULAR / SAMPLE GROUP display. Samples loaded in basic mode will be triggered when particles hit the sandbox boundary (default collider).
• Advanced — full Collider Properties panel: slot tabs, per-collider color/friction/restitution, voice management, and full editing for every sound slot in the selected collider.

Right Panel

• Basic — three Basic Mode knobs (Gravity, Amount, Spread). Edits the most-used spawner and physics parameters.
• Advanced — full Settings Panel: global physics, particle properties, spawner range sliders, and MIDI spawn trigger.

Basic mode is for quickly getting a sound in and hearing it in the sandbox without much hassle. The knobs allow for broad-stroke adjustments which for many users may be enough. For multiple sounds and full control over all aspects of the audio and physics engines, Advanced mode has you covered.

Tip: Basic knobs modify your Advanced settings rather than replace them. The advanced slider handles stay where you set them, but each slider’s readout reflects both the handles and any basic knob acting on it, so the numbers in advanced mode always show the true output. PITCH offsets every slot’s pitch in semitones; VARIATION adds random pitch and lowers the volume floor; AMOUNT scales spawn rate and per-spawn count; SPREAD scales damping and velocity spread. GRAVITY is the exception: it and the Advanced Gravity slider are the same control and always move together.

If a range’s readout won’t reach the min or max you’d expect from the handles, a basic knob is likely modifying it. Double-click that knob to reset it and remove the effect.

The sandbox is a 2D physics world rendered in the center of the plugin. Particles spawn, fall, collide, and expire here. The four edges act as a default boundary collider. When no other colliders are selected, the default boundary collider’s properties will be displayed and editable in the left panel.

Spawner Interaction

The arrow attached to the spawner shows fire direction and power. Spawner position and aim persist across editor close/reopen and DAW save/load.

A collider is a static shape in the sandbox that particles bounce off (or pass through, if set as a trigger zone). Colliders carry sound — one or more sound slots each — and have their own physical material properties.

The Default Boundary Collider

The four edges of the sandbox are always a single, always-present boundary collider. It can’t be deleted, and its color frames the sandbox so you can see it at a glance. It’s the collider you’re editing when no collider is selected.

Shapes

Four user-placeable shapes are available: Circle, Rectangle, Triangle, Right Triangle. Circles have a single radius; rectangles, triangles, and right triangles have width and height handles.

Per-Collider Properties

These live above the sound-slot tabs in the Collider Properties panel:

Trigger Zones

Each collider has a Trigger toggle that converts it into a zone where particles pass through and fire its sound slots on entry. The Trigger Damping slider applies linear damping while particles are inside the zone (0 = pass straight through, higher = slow them down). The trigger zone option is not available on the default boundary collider.

Header Actions

The collider header (above the per-collider properties) hosts these buttons:

Duplicate, Clone, Link, and Unlink are only available on user-placed shape colliders, not on the default boundary collider. Mute, Solo, and Lock Panel work everywhere.

Deleting

With a collider selected, press Delete or Backspace to remove it. The default boundary collider can’t be deleted.

Adding a Collider

In the top-left of the sandbox, an overlay button reads + Collider. Click it for a dropdown of shapes: Circle, Rectangle, Triangle, Right Triangle. Pick a shape, then click anywhere in the sandbox to place it. Press Escape to cancel placement.

Selecting

Shift while resizing a corner scales uniformly from center. Multi-selected colliders move and resize as a rigid group.

Every collider carries up to eight independent sound slots. All slots that pass their filters fire on the same collision, so a single collider can layer multiple outputs simultaneously, or play different sounds based on color and size of the particles.

Slot Tabs

A row of tabs appears between the per-collider properties and the per-slot controls. Each tab summarizes its slot’s output (e.g. “MIDI 3”, “Rock Impacts”, “Granular”, “Audio In”). The + button adds a new slot (max 8); the − button removes the active one (hidden when only one slot remains).

Copy & Paste Slots

Right-click a slot tab for a Copy / Paste menu. Copy captures that slot’s entire configuration — output mode, all controls, filters, and mute/solo state. Paste (right-click the destination tab) replaces it wholesale with the copied slot.

Output Mode

A dropdown menu at the top of the slot’s section selects where the slot routes hits:

• MIDI — send MIDI notes to the host
• Sample Group — pick a random sample from a named group
• Granular — play grains sliced from a loaded audio file
• Audio Input — play back the live audio coming into the plugin

Each output mode unlocks a different set of controls below it.

Per-Slot Actions

Each slot also has its own mute/solo (separate from the per-collider mute/solo above the tabs), so you can audition a single slot without changing the collider’s overall mute state. Ctrl-click either button clears all mutes/solos project-wide.

Particles are what drive everything in Shrapnel. Every sound emitted is triggered by a particle hitting something. They can fire one at a time or in dense streams, and each one can carry its own size and color. Once in the air they obey the full physics engine: gravity, velocity, damping, friction, and restitution all shape how they behave. After their lifetime they expire and clear out of the world.

Spawn Trigger

By default, the spawn key is Ctrl. Tap = single burst; hold = continuous stream at the spawn rate. The spawn key is rebindable in Preferences.

Global Particle Settings

In the Global section (right panel):

Auto-Spawn

A toggle near the top of the Particles section makes the spawner fire continuously without needing the spawn key held. Useful for performance and texture beds; turn it off for tighter control.

Spawn Parameters (right panel → Advanced → Particles)

All particle and spawn parameters use range sliders: drag the min/max handles to set a random range. Each particle picks a random value within the range.

Particle-to-Particle Collisions

A toggle in the Particles section. When on, particles collide with each other and can trigger sounds on contact. Off lets them pass through each other freely. The Edit button next to the toggle brings up the P2P collider properties in the left panel so you can assign and configure its sounds like any other collider (up to eight slots, same output modes and filters). The default Hit Threshold on the P2P collider is 5.0 m/s. Lower it to let more inter-particle contacts trigger.

MIDI Spawn

A separate section at the bottom of the right panel lets a MIDI note from your DAW trigger a single spawn event. Click Learn, play a note, and that note becomes the spawn trigger.

Every sound slot can ignore collisions that don’t match its filters. Filters narrow which particles trigger which sounds and live just below the output dropdown.

Color Filter

Particles spawn with one of the colors from the Particle Colors palette (see Particle Colors). The color filter button opens a popup showing every color currently in the palette; toggle which colors are allowed to trigger this slot. All enables every color; None allows none.

Color filters give you precise control over the probability distribution across sounds. For example, in the Particle Colors window weight the palette 70% blue and 30% yellow, then use color filters to set one slot to accept only yellow and another only blue — your two sounds will fire in a 70/30 ratio over time.

Size Filter

A range slider defining the particle size range that can trigger this slot. Particles outside the range are ignored. Combine with the Size range slider in the Particles section to set up size-selective triggering (small particles play one slot, large particles play another).

Hit Threshold

Minimum collision speed (in m/s) needed to fire the slot. Quiet brushes against the collider get filtered out. Useful for keeping high-velocity hits but skipping low-energy bounces.

Each sound slot on a collider routes through one of four output modes, selected from the dropdown at the top of the slot. Each mode unlocks its own set of controls.

Sample Group

When a slot routes to a Sample Group, each collision picks a random sample from the group and triggers a voice. Sample groups are managed in the Sample Groups window (see Sample Groups).

Controls

In Basic mode, the PITCH knob offsets playback in semitones and VARIATION adds extra random pitch plus a lower volume floor, applied on top of these per-slot settings at trigger time. The slider handles stay exactly where you set them, but the Pitch / Volume readouts reflect the combined result of the handles and the knob, so they always show the true output. Double-click a basic knob to reset it to default if you want to remove its effect.

Sample Group slots also expose LP / HP / BP filters — see Per-Slot Audio Filters.

Granular

When a slot routes to the granular engine, each collision triggers a grain from a single source audio file.

Loading a Source

A waveform area at the top of the slot shows the loaded source. Drop a .wav file onto it or press the Browse… button to load. Multiple granular slots load independent sources.

Modes

Two modes via the toggle below the waveform:

• Selection — each grain starts randomly within an adjustable highlighted Position range on the waveform.
• Transient — Shrapnel detects transients in the source (peaks crossing a configurable threshold); each grain starts on one of the detected transients. The yellow dotted line on the waveform is the trigger threshold; the green dotted line is the reset level (the waveform must fall below it before another transient is registered). Drag the lines to tune detection. Red vertical lines show where the currently detected transients are.

Controls

Granular slots also expose LP / HP / BP filters — see Per-Slot Audio Filters.

MIDI

When a slot’s output is set to MIDI, collisions are sent as MIDI note-on / note-off events to the host (or a connected MIDI device in standalone) on the channel chosen in the slot’s MIDI controls.

Controls

Note Selection

Each collision picks a random note inside the Note Range. If a Scale is selected, only notes belonging to that scale are eligible.

Velocity

Collision speed maps to MIDI velocity via the Vel Scale and Vel Curve combination:

• Vel Scale sets the dynamic range — low values flatten everything to a similar velocity, high values widen the response between soft and hard hits.
• Vel Curve shapes the response: Linear is direct; Square Root lifts soft hits upward so dynamics feel even; Squared pushes soft hits downward for more dramatic dynamics.

Audio Input

Audio Input mode plays back the live audio coming into the plugin. Each collision starts a voice that begins reading the input stream a moment in the past — up to ~2 s of pre-buffered audio — and follows it forward as new audio arrives.

Controls

Audio Input slots also expose LP / HP / BP filters (see Per-Slot Audio Filters).

Sampler, Granular, and Audio Input slots each carry three independent filter stages:

• LP — low-pass
• HP — high-pass
• BP — band-pass

Each filter has an enable toggle, a Mode pill, and Frequency and Q range sliders.

Filter Modes

• Rand mode (default) — each trigger picks a random cutoff frequency within the Freq range.
• Map mode — collision velocity maps to a point within the Freq range, with optional random jitter on top. The Map knob controls direction and depth (-100% inverts the mapping; +100% maps high velocity to the high end). The Rand knob adds random jitter on top of the mapped frequency.

The Q range slider behaves the same way as Freq — random per trigger in Rand mode, with velocity mapping in Map mode.

The Sample Groups window (opened via the Create/Edit Sample Group… button when Sample Group is the selected output) manages named pools of audio files. Each group can be assigned to one or more sampler slots; Sample Group output on a collider uses the selected sample group to randomly select a file to play on collisions.

Window Layout

• Left list — every sample group. Double-click to rename, click to select. Each group’s row has a delete (×) button on the right.
• Right list — the samples in the selected group.

Actions

Tip: A sample group’s samples are referenced by file path in regular saves. Pack the preset (see Presets) to bundle the audio inside the preset file.

The Particle Colors window (opened via the Colors… button in the Particles section) manages the particle color palette. Every particle that spawns picks a color from this palette according to per-color weights.

Per-Color Controls

Click + Add Color at the bottom of the window to add a new color to the palette.

Routing Particles by Color

Particle colors aren’t just cosmetic. Combined with the Color Filter on each sound slot (see Collision Filters), they let you route different colors to different sounds. A common pattern: Add multiple sound slots to a collider that allow only a single color each — then weight the palette so the colors mix in the proportions you want.

Each collider has its own voice management section (above the slot tabs). These settings control how the collider behaves when many simultaneous voices are in flight.

One Voice Per Particle (OVPP)

When checked, each particle plays only one voice on this collider at a time (or one stack of voices if the collider has multiple sound slots). A repeat hit from the same particle replaces the previous voice(s) instead of stacking. Tracked per collider — other colliders aren’t affected.

Fade Time controls how a voice fades out when its particle expires (avoids clicks).

Voice Limit

Cap on simultaneous voices this collider may produce across its sound slots. When the cap is hit, the Steal mode chooses which voice to release:

• Oldest — release the voice that has been playing longest.
• Newest — release the most recently started voice.
• Slowest — release the voice whose collision speed was lowest.

Global voice cap is also configurable in Preferences (see Stats & Preferences).

The MSEG editor (below the sandbox) draws breakpoint curves that you can route to sound parameters or output as MIDI CCs.

How MSEG Curves Work

The curve’s X axis is the horizontal position of the collision in the sandbox (0 = left wall, 1 = right wall). Whenever a collision happens, the curve is sampled at the collision’s X position and the resulting Y value is sent to the envelope’s target. The MSEG parameters work globally on all colliders, they are not collider specific. By default there is a Pan MSEG that pans all sounds based on where they occur in the sandbox.

Editing the Curve

Envelopes List

Underneath the curve area on the left, the Envelopes List holds named envelopes. Click + Add MSEG to pick a destination — either a plugin parameter or a MIDI CC. CC envelopes expose CC Number and Channel fields (Channel = All broadcasts on every channel).

The Spawner Motion panel (below the MSEG editor on the right) lets you attach LFOs to the spawner. Each motion drives one of three spawner targets — Translation (position), Rotation (aim), or Strength (fire power) — with a chosen shape, frequency, and depth.

Creating a Motion

Click the + Add Spawner Motion button in the panel header and pick a target (Translation / Rotation / Strength) from the menu. A new motion row appears, with the target shown as a label at the start of the row. The target is locked once chosen — to change a motion’s target, delete it and add a new one.

Shared Controls

These appear on every motion row regardless of target:

The remaining controls depend on the target.

Translation (Trans)

LFO modulates the spawner’s position in the sandbox.

Rotation (Rot)

LFO modulates the spawner’s aim angle.

Strength (Str)

LFO modulates the spawner’s fire power.

Multiple motions stack — e.g. one LFO for X position, another for Y position, a third for rotation.

Stats Panel

Toggle the Stats Panel in Preferences to show a strip below the sandbox with:

Preferences Window

Open via the gear button on the top metal strip.

Window

• Window Size — sets the default editor size, chosen from a dropdown of presets: Compact (900 × 540), Small (1050 × 630), Medium (1200 × 720), and Default (1350 × 810). Save as Default to persist changes. On AU and AAX, a change takes effect the next time the window is reopened.

Visuals

• Stats Panel — show the panel described above.
• MSEG Collision Flash — animated dots on the MSEG curve when collisions evaluate it.
• Particle Glow — ambient glow, sparkle, and collision-flash effects on particles. Disable for lower GPU load.

Audio

• Max Voices — global cap on simultaneous sampler / granular / audio-input voices across all colliders.
• Voice Steal Fade — fade-out time when an older voice is stolen because the global cap was hit (0 = hard cut).
• Audio Input Pre-Buffer — milliseconds of past audio buffered ahead of every audio-input voice. Acts as runway for pitch-shifted-up playback (which reads faster than incoming audio arrives) so the voice doesn’t immediately run out of material. Default 500 ms; range 50–2000 ms.

Input

• Spawn Key — keyboard key that triggers particle spawning. Click Learn and press the key you want. Tap = burst; hold = continuous.

Save / Restore

• Save as Default — persist current preferences so new plugin instances start with these settings.
• Restore Factory Defaults — reset preferences (and the saved defaults file) to factory values.

License

• Shows whether this copy is activated, and a Manage License… button that opens the License window (see Activation) to enter a key and activate. There is no self-serve deactivation; to move a license to another machine, contact support@techaud.io.

The preset bar is located on the bottom of the center panel. Five buttons (Save / Pack / Load / ◀ Prev / Next ▶) and an LCD-style display.

Browse Dropdown

The carrot opens a menu of every preset in the presets folder. Subfolders appear as cascading submenus (Shrapnel reads two levels deep). Folders are listed first inside any folder, then files.

Default Preset Locations

Tip: Use Pack when sharing presets with others or to ensure audio files remain linked to the preset. A plain Save references audio by absolute path, which won’t resolve if files are missing.

Shrapnel can record its own output directly to disk as a WAV file. This is especially handy in the standalone application, where you can capture a performance without routing Shrapnel into a DAW — but it works in the plugin formats too.

The record controls sit in the bottom strip of the metal casing, just to the right of the preset bar: a REC button and a folder icon.

Recording a Take

1. Click REC to start. The LED lights red and the button shows the elapsed time while recording.
2. Play — spawn particles, trigger sounds, turn knobs.
3. Click REC again to stop. The file is finalized and written to the recordings folder.

Shrapnel records the master output — everything you hear, after the Volume knob — as a 24-bit stereo WAV at the current session sample rate (whatever your audio device or DAW project is running at). Each take is written to its own timestamped file named Shrapnel_<preset>_<date>_<time>.wav, so recordings never overwrite one another.

Choosing the Folder

Click the folder icon to choose where recordings are saved. Right-click it to open the current folder in your system file browser. The chosen folder is remembered globally — it is shared by every Shrapnel instance and standalone launch on the machine.

Default Recording Locations

Note: Recording is a licensed feature. In Demo Mode the REC and folder controls are shown but darkened and disabled — activate Shrapnel to enable recording.

If You’re Running Hot

• Lower Max Voices in Preferences if many slots are layering at once.
• Cap Max Particles in the Global section if you’re running thick spawn rates with long lifetimes.
• Disable Particle Glow in Preferences for lower GPU load.
• Disable Particle-to-Particle Collisions if you don’t need them — P2P contacts are far more frequent than collider hits.
• Tighten voice limits per collider — global cap can mask the fact that one collider is hogging all the voices. Use the per-collider Voice Limit to give each collider its share.
• Use OVPP on colliders where multiple bounces from the same particle don’t need to layer — replaces voices instead of stacking.
• Shorter sample / granular envelopes so voices finish before stealing kicks in.
• Avoid wide LP/HP/BP enable combinations if filter CPU adds up — disable filters on slots that don’t need them.

Diagnostics

The Stats Panel (enabled in Preferences) shows live counts for particles, voices, and MIDI activity. Watch the voice counter while playing to find your real ceiling.