BK Harmonic Synthesizer — Release Notes | Beat Kitchen

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Most synths start with a waveform and carve it down. This one starts with the secret chord that lives inside every note.

v0.1.5-beta (2026-03-29)

New

Mod matrix fully wired (6 sources × 26 destinations)
Scale search with ranked results
Scan step highlighting in sculpt bars

Improved

Level matching across all partials
Smoother mod matrix parameter updates

v0.1.4-beta (2026-03-29)

New

Keyboard scale clamping — notes snap to selected scale
Keyboard pitch glide — drag across keys for smooth pitch slides
Scale detection persists after notes release
Help text bar below the display panels
Paste button loads presets from clipboard (copy URL from web synth)
Share button exports current sound as web URL

Improved

Harmonic levels tuned to match the web synth
Smoother note release
Scanner wave order corrected (saw/tri/saw-/rnd)
Better visual contrast and brighter scope traces
FFT display uses line graph matching the web
Slider values always visible

Fixed

Fold crossfade sub-bass energy
Filter tracking follows scanner position
Effects bypass passthrough
Drive parameter controls saturation amount
Keyboard harmonics display on MIDI input

v0.1.3-beta (2026-03-28)

New

Mod matrix (6 sources × 26 destinations)
Chord detection in partials panel
Scale matching with ranked results
Settings section (transpose, pitch bend range, BPM, randomizer)
Info scope mode with help text
Harmonic gate capture/follow/split modes
LFO 2 delay, sync, shape controls
Envelope 2 one-shot and invert

Improved

Per-voice polyphonic filter with VCF envelope
Keyboard range extended to A0–C9
13 factory presets from web synth
Scan step highlighting in sculpt bars
Gin/Tonic buttons on matrix display

v0.1.0-beta (2026-03-28)

Initial beta release.

Additive synthesis with 24 partials, 8 octave layers
Fold crossfade, overtone scanner, harmonic gate
Sculpt morph (saw/square/triangle/pulse)
AU + VST3 for macOS

Related Videos

Read: Sound, Vibration, and the Harmonic Series →

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Recent Resident Gyms
- THEORY-GYM: We took Marvin Gaye's "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)" as a case study in how profound musical joy can emerge from radical simplicity — just three chords, the I, IV, and V in C major. The session dug into the harmonic texture underneath that simplicity: plagal cadences nested inside perfect ones, chord inversions described through figured-bass shorthand (6-4 and 6-3), and a piano technique called triad pairs where two chords alternate up and down the scale in shifting inversions. We also touched on how equal temperament creates a kind of constant low-level motion in tuning — and how that connects, philosophically, to the way harmony itself is never truly "still."
- OFFICE HOURS: Pro Tools import, Varun had questions about getting some files to line up in Pro Tools, we made a new session, got the correct files imported, and then began editing and talked about keyboard short cuts in Pro Tools.
- PRODUCTION-GYM: Lateralus by tool
- EAR-TRAINING-GYM: Bass - the importance of the right notes, different rhythms, and the different timbres that you can get from the instrument - and how they all can influence how it works with the song.
- OFFICE HOURS: Dewi had an issue with creating AI stems in Logic and we were able to troubleshoot the issue with the file format. Talked with Alee about video editing in DaVinci
- PRODUCTION-GYM: David Bowie - Space oddity: Production, songwriting, and recording. We compared three different versions. The original and Demo from the late 60's, and the remade version from 1979.
- OFFICE HOURS: Worked through a one-on-one FL Studio session focused on chord voicings, register, and arrangement fundamentals. We diagnosed why the student's chords were sitting too low and muddy in the mix, corrected it through manual note transposition and chord inversion principles, and then built out a basic bass layer to fill the harmonic space we opened up. Along the way we covered the four core arrangement zones — rhythm, harmony, bass, and lead — and talked through how they function together in a beat.
- OFFICE HOURS: Went through a mix of Alee's and talked about arrangement, distribution of frequencies and lumping in mixes
- THEORY-GYM: We dug into Al Jarreau's "We're in This Love Together" as a live analysis vehicle, unpacking its deceptively simple harmonic language — predominantly plagal motion, super sus chords, and bass-line-driven pseudo-chord changes. From there we traced a sophisticated turnaround section that flirts with a Giant Steps-style modulation before resolving differently, and closed with a brief but rich look at vocal formant production and how great singers physically shape tone without needing the engineer to fix it.
- PRODUCTION-GYM: Breakdown of "Time Moves Slow" by BADBADNOTGOOD, production style, tempo push/pull, song structure, drum texture and keyboard sound
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Upcoming Resident Events
- Weekly Beat Challenge: Nathan
  Mar. 30, 7am (PT) | 10am (ET) | 3pm (UK)
- Office Hours: Cinnamontal
  Mar. 30, 9am (PT) | 12pm (ET) | 5pm (UK)
- Instrument Gym: Cinnamontal
  Mar. 30, 9pm (PT) | 12am (ET) | 5am (UK)
- Production Gym: Scott Hampton
  Mar. 31, 7am (PT) | 10am (ET) | 3pm (UK)
- Office Hours: Jam Phelps
  Mar. 31, 10am (PT) | 1pm (ET) | 6pm (UK)
- Theory Gym: Nathan
  Mar. 31, 5pm (PT) | 8pm (ET) | 1am (UK)
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Upcoming Courses
- Apr 18, 2026 Harmony 1-Day Intensive
- Apr 19, 2026 Theory: Musician Basics
- Apr 22, 2026 Mixing: Effects, Synths & Tools
- Apr 27, 2026 DAW Core Skills
- May 23, 2026 Logic Pro 1-Day Intensive
- Jun 10, 2026 Hardware & Recording Primer
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