How Does It Work?#

Envelope Follower converts incoming audio level into control voltage, an inverted control voltage, a threshold gate, and a clean audio thru.

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Quick Overview#

• Feed audio into In and the module tracks its amplitude over time.
• Mode switches the detector between Peak and RMS.
• Env and Inv provide complementary CV outputs.
• Gate goes high when the raw envelope crosses the threshold.
• Thru passes the input signal onward unchanged.

Inputs And Outputs#

Port	Type	What It Does
In	Audio input	Signal to analyze.
Env	CV output	Envelope CV. Default behavior is 0V..+5V before scale and offset.
Inv	CV output	Inverted envelope CV. Default behavior is +5V..0V before scale and offset.
Gate	Gate output	Goes high when the raw envelope exceeds the threshold, with hysteresis applied.
Thru	Audio output	Clean passthrough of the input signal.

Controls Reference#

Control	Range	Default	Behavior
Mode	Peak, RMS	Peak	Chooses the detector style. Peak tracks transients faster; RMS is smoother and more level-oriented.
Atk	0.0005..2 s	0.005 s	Attack time for the follower.
Rel	0.005..5 s	0.15 s	Release time for the follower.
Sensitivity	0..4	1	Input gain applied before level detection.
Scale	0..2	1	Scales the Env and Inv outputs.
Offset	-5..+5 V	0 V	Offsets the Env and Inv outputs after scaling.
Threshold	0..5 V	1 V	Gate threshold measured against the raw envelope.
Hysteresis	0..1 V	0.1 V	Keeps the gate from chattering around the threshold.

Behavior Notes#

• Peak mode follows absolute amplitude directly.
• RMS mode averages energy over a short window, so it behaves more smoothly on complex material.
• Threshold and Hysteresis are evaluated on the raw 0V..+5V envelope before Scale and Offset are applied.
• Env and Inv are clamped after shaping, so extreme scale and offset settings cannot exceed the module's output limits.
• The panel display shows live ENV, INV, and GATE activity for monitoring.