Welcome to MISTRUS
MISTRUS is a browser-based synthesizer for designing sounds, shaping modulation, building patterns, and saving your own patches. Start with a preset, change a few controls, and listen to how each change affects the sound.
Quick start: choose a preset at the top, tap a key on the on-screen keyboard (or use a connected MIDI keyboard if your browser supports it), then adjust one control at a time.
How the screen is laid out
This guide follows the screen from top to bottom. At the very top is the preset bar and the toolbar. Below that are seven sections, each with a header you can tap to open or close it: Engine, MSEG, Macros, Effects, Seq, Tone, and Keyboard. Only the Keyboard section starts open, so tap a header to reveal its controls. Opening only the sections you need keeps the screen easy to scroll.
Colors help you find your way around. Orange marks the sound-making controls, green marks modulation (the MSEG section and anything it controls), and yellow marks macros.
The top bar: presets and toolbar
- Preset bar: the left and right arrows step through presets. Tap the preset name, or the Library button, to open the library, where you can search, filter by category, and pick a sound.
- Undo and Redo: the two arrow buttons step backward and forward through your recent edits.
- Init: resets to a basic starting patch so you can build a sound from scratch.
- Rand: creates a random variation. Sane keeps changes usable, Wild goes further, and Surprise me is a mix.
- Save: opens the save panel (see Saving and sharing below).
- File: opens a menu to export the current patch, duplicate it, export all your patches as a backup, import a patch file, or use Panic to silence everything at once. This menu also contains the Getting Started button that opens this guide.
1. Engine
The Engine is where the sound is made. It has two tabs, Operator and Matrix. The synth uses six operators, which are individual sound sources that can be heard directly or used to shape each other.
Operator tab
- Operator selector: the numbered buttons 1 to 6 choose which operator you are editing.
- Copy, Paste, Solo, Mute: Copy and Paste duplicate one operator's settings onto another. Solo lets you hear only the selected operator, and Mute silences it.
- Waveform: six buttons choose the basic character of the operator: sine, triangle, sawtooth, square, wavetable, or user wave. Sine is smooth and pure, while saw and square are brighter and richer.
- Wavetable: choose from a list of built-in tables, such as Analog Saw, PWM, Formant, FM Bell, Organ, and Wavefold. The Morph slider moves through the table to change the tone smoothly.
- User wave: import your own single-cycle or multi-frame WAV file with the Import button. It is saved inside the patch.
- Ratio and Fine: Ratio sets the operator's pitch relative to the note you play, and Fine nudges it by small amounts (in cents). Simple ratios sound tonal, and unusual ratios sound metallic or bell-like.
- Level: how strongly this operator contributes. Keep levels balanced so the patch stays clear.
- Envelope (A, D, S, R): Attack is how quickly the sound starts, Decay is how it falls after the peak, Sustain is the level it holds while the key is down, and Release is how long it fades after you let go.
Matrix tab
The Matrix shows how the operators connect. Each row is an operator. The columns 1 to 6 show which operator modulates that row, meaning it changes the tone of that operator. A dashed connection is feedback, where an operator modulates itself. The last column sends the operator to the output so you can hear it. A small diagram above the grid shows the same routing: filled shapes are carriers (heard directly) and outlined shapes are modulators (they shape other operators). Tap a node to select it, or tap a line to cycle its strength. Small amounts add shimmer or bite, and large amounts get dramatic, complex, or noisy. If a patch becomes harsh, lower an amount or switch a connection off.
2. MSEG
MSEG stands for multi-segment envelope generator. It is a shape you draw that moves other controls over time, like a hand turning a knob for you. There are six MSEG slots, selected with the numbered buttons. A small dot on a slot's button means it is controlling something.
- The graph: shows the shape. Touch and drag on it to add and move points and reshape the curve.
- Shape menu: starts you from a ready-made shape: sine, triangle, saw, ramp, square, steps, random, or decay.
- Sync: when off, the Rate slider sets the speed freely in Hz. When on, the speed follows the tempo, and the slider chooses a note length from 1/32 up to 8 bars.
- Loop: when on, the shape repeats. When off, it plays once.
- Retrig: when on, the shape restarts from the beginning each time you play a note.
- Bipolar: lets the shape swing both above and below its center instead of only upward.
- Grid: cycles the snap grid for point editing through Off, 4, 8, 16, and 32.
- Map: tap Map, then touch any slider you want this MSEG to control. The new assignment appears in a list below, each with its own amount slider. Use small amounts first.
3. Macros
Macros are six performance knobs. Each one can control several parameters at once, so one gesture changes the sound in a big way without hunting through other sections.
- Select a macro: tap a numbered button, 1 to 6.
- Assign controls: tap Map, then touch any slider or parameter. Each assignment gets its own amount slider so you decide how far the macro moves it.
- Perform: move the macro's main slider while playing. A good macro might open the filter, add reverb, and raise an operator level together.
- Macros can also steer MSEG: while mapping, tapping an MSEG slot assigns the macro to that slot's rate.
4. Effects
The Effects section adds space, movement, and character after the sound is made. Tap an effect's button to open its controls. The available effects are Drive, Phaser, Chorus, Flanger, Tremolo, Bitcrush, Delay, Reverb, Granulator, Freq Shift, Formant, and a Parametric EQ.
- Mix and amount: each effect has a main amount control. Start low and raise it slowly, because too much processing can blur the sound.
- Movement effects (Phaser, Chorus, Flanger, Tremolo): have a Rate control, and each can lock to the tempo with a Sync option.
- Drive and Bitcrush: Drive adds warmth and grit, with a Tone control. Bitcrush reduces resolution and sample rate for a lo-fi sound.
- Delay and Reverb: Delay has time and feedback controls for echoes. Reverb has size and damping controls: bigger rooms last longer, and more damping softens the highs.
- Param EQ: seven faders shape the tone: a low shelf (Freq, Gain), a sweepable mid bell (Freq, Gain, Q), and a high shelf (Freq, Gain). Every fader rests at its centre detent (flat gain, default frequency, Q 1). Drag a fader to adjust it, or double-tap to snap it back to centre. Moving any fader switches the EQ on, and the effect amount blends the EQ with the dry sound. The curve above the faders shows the resulting response.
- Bypass: the Bypass button turns every effect off at once, which is handy for hearing the raw sound.
5. Seq
The sequencer plays repeating note patterns using the current sound.
- Play and Stop: start and stop the pattern.
- Length: choose 8, 16, or 32 steps.
- Setting notes: tap a step to turn it on or off. To change a step's note, select the step and play a key. The note readout shows the selected note, and the minus and plus buttons move it down and up.
- Rand: creates a random pattern. Musical sounds melodic, Sparse leaves lots of space, Dense fills most steps, and Chaos is unpredictable.
- Vel, Gate, Swing: Velocity sets how hard notes hit, Gate sets how long each note lasts within its step, and Swing delays every other step for a looser, shuffled feel.
- Piano Roll: opens a larger editor where you can add and remove notes and drag note ends to resize them. The Snap control chooses the resize increment, and Record captures the sequence's output to a WAV audio file.
6. Tone
Tone has two tabs, Master and Filter, and it shapes the overall sound after the Engine.
Master tab
- Volume: the overall output level.
- BPM: the tempo used by the sequencer, synced MSEGs, and synced effects.
- Unison, Detune, Spread: Unison stacks up to six copies of each note. Detune spreads their pitch for a thicker sound, and Spread places them across the stereo field.
- Glide: slides smoothly from one note to the next. At zero, glide is off.
Filter tab
- Two filters: choose Filter 1 or Filter 2 with the buttons at the top, and decide whether they run in Series (one after the other) or Parallel (side by side).
- Type: Lowpass removes highs, Highpass removes lows, Bandpass keeps a middle band, Notch removes a middle band, and Off bypasses that filter.
- Cutoff: lower it for a darker sound and raise it to reveal more high detail.
- Reso: resonance emphasizes the area around the cutoff. High values give a sharp, whistling character.
- Track: makes the cutoff follow the note you play, so high notes stay as bright as low notes.
- Env: turns on a filter envelope with its own amount and timing controls, so the filter opens or closes over the length of each note.
7. Keyboard
The Keyboard section is where you play and listen.
- On-screen keys: tap to play the current patch. On a computer, the letter keys from A across the home row play notes, and Z and X move the octave down and up.
- Octave buttons: the minus and plus buttons shift the keyboard down or up.
- BPM: the minus and plus buttons next to the tempo number change the tempo.
- Level meter: shows the output level. Lower Volume if it stays pinned at the top.
- Rec: records what you play to an audio file. Tap it again to stop.
- Panic: if a note ever gets stuck, open the File menu and choose Panic to silence everything.
Saving and sharing
Tap Save to open the save panel. Give the patch a name, then optionally choose a category, add tags (such as warm or soft), and add your name as author. From the same panel you can mark a patch as a favorite, rename it, or delete it.
Use the File menu to export the current patch as a patch file, duplicate a patch, export all saved patches as a backup, or import a patch file someone sends you. If an imported patch has the same name as one you already have, it may be renamed so your saved sound is not overwritten.
Saved patches are stored in this browser's local storage. They do not sync to another device or browser, so export a backup of any patch that matters to you.
Tips for better patches
- Begin with one operator, then add more only when they improve the sound.
- Change one control at a time and listen after each change.
- Keep operator levels balanced before adding effects.
- Use small modulation and mapping amounts first, then increase them.
- Use clear names and tags so your library stays easy to search.
- Export important patches regularly.
Developer information
MISTRUS Beta is a browser-based synthesizer focused on sound design, sequencing, and creating shareable patches.
- Developer: SINEGLACIER
- Build: MISTRUS 1.6.11 TEST BUILD
- Test build: Experimental timing, stereo recording, storage backup, and voice-limit changes are included; verify behavior before using this build for production patches.
\n - Beta status: Features and behavior may change as the app is tested and refined. You may encounter bugs, so export backups of patches you want to keep.
- Feedback: When reporting a bug, include the steps to reproduce it, what you expected to happen, and what happened instead.
Thank you for testing MISTRUS and helping make it better.