BeatWarp User Guide

Overview

BeatWarp processes incoming stereo audio through a step sequencer that can change playback behavior on each step. Depending on the selected mode, a step can pass audio unchanged, mute it, reverse it, retrigger it, slow it down, speed it up, or send it into the built-in delay or reverb engines.

The plugin is designed for loops, drums, stems, vocals, synths, and transitions. It can be used subtly for movement and groove, or pushed into heavy glitch, pitch-motion, and repeat-based processing.

Main Use Cases

Turn static loops into animated rhythmic patterns.
Create glitch fills, stutters, and transitions.
Add delay and reverb that interact with the step engine.
Build moving filter sequences on top of the main pattern.

Core Strengths

Step-based playback manipulation.
Dedicated delay and convolution reverb sections.
Dual filters with series or parallel routing.
Factory and user presets with external library support.

Content Library

Factory presets are stored outside the plugin binary.
Impulse responses are also stored in the external BeatWarp library.
User presets and user IR content live alongside the factory folders.

Signal Flow

Input audio → Step sequencer playback logic → Optional delay/reverb sends → Wet playback mix → Optional filters → Output

BeatWarp is not just a standard insert chain. The sequencer sits at the center of the plugin and determines how audio is read back over time. Delay and reverb can either remain outside of that step manipulation or be pulled into it, depending on the tail-processing toggles in their respective sections.

Dry and Wet

The main Mix control in Global Controls blends the original input with BeatWarp’s sequenced playback result. This is the top-level dry/wet blend for the plugin.

Delay and Reverb Tails

Each effect section includes a tail-processing switch. When enabled, the delay or reverb return is written back into the step-processing path. When disabled, the effect return is added after the step engine.

Important: Delay and reverb step modes do not behave like global send effects. They are triggered by the currently active step and are part of the programmed pattern.

Interface Layout

The interface is organized from top to bottom in the following order:

Preset Bar for bank, category, preset selection, plus load and save
Global Controls for grid, pattern length, overall mix, smoothing, and reset utilities
Delay Settings for the built-in delay engine
Reverb Settings for the convolution reverb engine and IR handling
Filter Controls for the dual filter section and filter sequencers
Randomizer for selective controlled randomization
Sequencer Grid with 32 programmable steps
Footer with the Blind Producers website link

Preset System

BeatWarp uses an external preset library rather than storing all content inside the plugin bundle. The preset bar works with two banks:

Factory – the bundled preset collection
User – presets you create and save yourself

Preset Bar Controls

Control	What It Does
Bank	Switches between the Factory and User preset banks
Category	Shows folders inside the selected bank
Preset	Loads the selected preset immediately
Load…	Loads a preset file directly from disk
Save…	Saves the current state into the User bank

Saving Presets

When you save a preset, BeatWarp asks for:

a preset name
a User category
whether the current impulse response should also be copied into the User IR library

This makes it easier to keep presets portable, especially when they depend on a custom IR file.

Missing Preset Folder

If the preset root folder is missing, BeatWarp disables the preset selectors and shows Create Preset Folder. Clicking that button creates the expected preset structure.

Global Controls

The Global Controls section defines the timing grid, the overall plugin mix, and how strongly the step engine transitions between different playback states.

Control	Purpose	User Notes
Grid Size	Sets the sequencer subdivision	Includes straight, triplet, and dotted values from whole-note scale down to 1/32 divisions
Length	Sets the number of active steps in the pattern	Range is 1 to 32 steps
Mix	Blends dry input with BeatWarp’s processed output	At 100%, you hear the full processed path
De-Click	Applies smoothing around step boundaries	Useful when abrupt mode changes or reverse playback cause clicks
Stut DC	Applies extra smoothing for Stutter steps	Helps tame clicks inside very fast retrigger loops
Backspin	Sets the intensity of the Backspin step mode	Higher values produce a more dramatic spin-back feel
Glide	Smooths transitions between speed-based steps	Useful for fluid movement between Normal, Half Time and Double Speed
Tape Crv	Shapes the playback curve for Tape Stop and Tape Start	50% is roughly neutral
Ramp Crv	Shapes the gain curve for Ramp Up and Ramp Down	Adjust fade behavior

Utility Buttons

Undo – reverses the last change
Redo – reapplies the last undone change
Reset – restores the default preset or fallback state
Settings – opens the full settings page

Sequencer

The Sequencer Grid contains 32 steps arranged in four rows of eight. Each step stores three main pieces of information:

the step mode
the step length multiplier
the stutter subdivision (used only when the step is set to Stutter)

Step Lengths

Each step can run at one of the following duration multipliers:

0.5x – the step occupies half of its grid slot
1x – normal step length
2x, 4x, 8x – the step extends across multiple grid positions

Step Modes

Mode	Description
Normal	Plays the sequenced audio path without special processing
Tape Stop	Slows playback over the step
Tape Start	Accelerates playback over the step
Mute	Silences the step
Ramp Down	Fades the step out
Ramp Up	Fades the step in
Reverse	Reads audio backwards over the step
Stutter	Retriggers a smaller slice repeatedly
Backspin	Applies a spin-back playback effect
Double Speed	Speeds playback up inside the step
Half Time	Slows playback down inside the step
Delay	Sends the step into the delay engine
Reverb	Sends the step into the reverb engine

Stutter Divisions

Stutter steps support a range of straight, dotted, and triplet retrigger speeds, from large divisions such as 1/2D and 1/2 down to very fast repeats such as 1/32 and 1/32T.

Visual Feedback

Each step is color-coded by mode, and the drawn shape reflects the length setting. Half-length steps fill half a block, while longer steps show directional marks indicating extension.

Delay

BeatWarp’s delay section is a stereo delay with optional ping-pong behavior, tempo sync, and tone shaping.

Control	Purpose
Sync	Locks delay time to host tempo
Time (ms)	Manual delay time when Sync is off
Note	Synced note value when Sync is on
Fdbk	Controls delay regeneration
Lo Cut	Removes low frequencies
Hi Cut	Removes high frequencies
Slope	Filter steepness (6–48 dB/oct)
Filter Loc	Choose feedback-loop filtering or output-only
PP Mode	Stereo or ping-pong delay
Mix	Wet balance of delay return
Step FX on Tails	Sends delay tails back into the sequencer

Filter Location

Feedback Loop: repeats progressively change tone
Output Only: loop stays clean while output is filtered

Reverb

The reverb section is a convolution reverb based on an impulse response file.

IR Loading

Click Load IR to choose an audio file. If none is loaded the display reads No IR Loaded.

Control	Purpose
Load IR	Loads an impulse response file
Mix	Reverb return level
Len	Trims usable IR length
Decay	Controls fade speed
Stretch	Time-stretches the IR
Width	Stereo width
Lo Cut	Low frequency filter
Hi Cut	High frequency filter
Slope	Filter steepness
Reverse	Reverses the IR
Step FX on Tails	Sends reverb tails back into sequencer
IR Gain	Adjusts IR volume

Reverb Shape Controls

Length trims the IR
Decay increases tail fading
Stretch scales playback time
Reverse creates swell-like textures

Filters

BeatWarp includes two multimode filters that can act as static tone shapers or sequenced modulators.

Control	Purpose
Routing	Series or Parallel filter routing
Position	Input, Wet Path, or Output
Smooth	Parameter smoothing time

Per-Filter Controls

Control	Purpose
Enable	Turns filter on/off
Type	High Cut, Low Cut, or Bandpass
Cutoff	Filter frequency
Res	Resonance
Seq	Enables filter sequencer

Filter Sequencers

Each filter has a dedicated 32-step sequencer with:

Cutoff bar
Resonance bar

Tip: Use Position = Wet Path if you want the filter to affect only the processed signal.

Randomizer

The Randomizer lets you selectively randomize different parts of the plugin.

Randomizer Toggles

Steps – randomizes step modes and stutters
Lengths – includes step lengths
Global – randomizes global parameters
Delay – randomizes delay settings
Reverb – randomizes reverb settings
Filters – randomizes filter parameters
Grid – randomizes grid size and pattern length

Amount and Probability

Control	Purpose
Amount	How far parameters move
Prob	Chance that a parameter changes

Settings Page

The Settings page manages BeatWarp’s external content locations.

Setting	Purpose
Preset Folder	Root folder for presets
IR Folder	Root folder for impulse responses
Default Preset	Preset loaded at startup
Use Factory Default	Revert to factory default
Reset to Defaults	Reset paths and preset
Close	Return to main interface

Default Library Structure

Documents/BLIND PRODUCERS PLUGINS/BeatWarp/Presets/Factory
Documents/BLIND PRODUCERS PLUGINS/BeatWarp/Presets/User
Documents/BLIND PRODUCERS PLUGINS/BeatWarp/IRs/Factory
Documents/BLIND PRODUCERS PLUGINS/BeatWarp/IRs/User

Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
`,`	Previous main section
`.`	Next main section
Arrow Keys	Move between steps

Step Editing

Shortcut	Result
Enter	Cycle step modes
N	Normal
T	Tape Stop
Y	Tape Start
M	Mute
O	Ramp Down
U	Ramp Up
R	Reverse
S	Stutter
B	Backspin
D	Double Speed
H	Half Time
E	Delay
V	Reverb

Step Length

Shortcut	Length
`0`	0.5x
`1`	1x
`2`	2x
`4`	4x
`8`	8x

Stutter Division

Z – slower division
X – faster division

Slider Adjustment

Arrow keys adjust sliders
Shift + arrows for fine adjustment

Practical Workflows

Build a Basic Glitch Loop

Set the grid to 1/16 and pattern length to 16 or 32
Program Normal steps for readability
Add Stutter, Reverse, and Mute steps
Use De-Click controls to smooth artifacts

Make Delay Part of the Rhythm

Set steps to Delay
Choose a synced note value
Enable Step FX on Tails
Move filters into the feedback loop

Create Moving Filter Patterns

Enable Filter 1 or 2
Turn on its sequencer
Draw cutoff/resonance shapes
Increase smoothing if needed

Save a Preset with Its IR

Load or create a custom IR
Choose Save…
Enable Save IR to User Library
Save in a User category

Troubleshooting

No Presets or IRs

Check folder paths in Settings
Use Create Preset Folder if missing
Verify Factory/User folders exist

BeatWarp Library Not Found

Set correct paths in Settings

Pattern Clicks Too Much

Increase De-Click
Increase Stut DC
Reduce extreme step combinations

Delay or Reverb Too Chaotic

Disable Step FX on Tails
Reduce feedback or mix
Shorten reverb length/decay

Filter Sequence Too Abrupt

Raise Smooth
Lower resonance values