Autocatalysis plugin interface, showing the sixteen-band resonance spectrum with its Threshold and Capacity lines, and the Catalyst, Capacity, and Compete dials

Live · population x / K

0.12x / K · below threshold

Catalyst 0.20

Capacity K 0.30

This is the plugin's interface. The mechanism behind it: below threshold the resonators grow slowly, above it they ignite and self-limit on the S-curve, climbing toward capacity. For the science behind the catalog, read the Chiral research notes.

Autocatalysis runs the logistic-growth law dx/dt = r·x·(1 − x/K) across sixteen tuned resonators. Only frequencies already present in the signal climb the curve, so bloom, saturation, and decay are consequences of the math rather than a static boost. Push Compete and the bands take energy from each other, Lotka−Volterra style, until the spectrum breathes on its own.

From a quiet seed to a self-limiting bloom.

01 · seed

Track

Sixteen tuned bands listen to what is already in your signal. Silence stays silent.

02 · bloom

Grow

Below threshold, present frequencies bloom slowly along the logistic curve.

03 · saturate

Self-limit

Above threshold they ignite, then hit a ceiling derived from the math, not a clip.

04 · compete

Take turns

Compete lets bands steal energy from each other, oscillating across the spectrum.

What Autocatalysis does differently.

An S-curve, not a boost.

Bands start slow, surge, then self-limit, the same three-phase arc that describes bacterial populations, chemical autocatalysis, and viral spread. The ceiling comes from the capacity term, not a clip.

Threshold-gated growth.

Only frequencies already in the signal bloom. Silence stays silent. No hiss, no excitation from nothing, no phantom harmonics introduced where the source has none.

Inter-band competition.

Push Compete up and the strongest resonators suppress their neighbours, Lotka−Volterra style. The result is selective enhancement that tracks the material, not a fixed curve.

Belousov−Zhabotinsky oscillation.

At extreme Compete the spectrum pulses rhythmically from a static input. Bands take turns blooming and fading, and the ensemble breathes on its own.

Hear it bloom.

Each demo pairs the same source dry and processed. Toggle between takes to hear the resonator bands compete.

Saw-square bassline

Saw and square oscillators with velocity-modulated tone, filter, and shaper drive.