Beetlecrab Tempera: New Firmware 2.0 adds many new Features
4,9 / 5,0 | 
Tempera · Source: Red Means Recording
Tempera · Source: Red Means Recording
Tempera · Source: Red Means Recording
Tempera · Source: Red Means Recording
Beetlecrab Tempera gets a big firmware update! The granular touch matrix instrument receives many new features for even more creative possibilities and a more intuitive workflow.
Beetlecrab Tempera 2.0
Beetlecrab Tempera is getting even better! The new firmware, which Beetlecrab says was three months in the making, brings many new features and workflow improvements to the granular instrument.
Each emitter – the eight “tracks” represented by the columns of the matrix – now offers an independent FX send level. Beetlecrab says that this allows for better separation of percussive and tonal elements. Furthermore, each voice now offers ten modulators as opposed to five in previous versions.
Relative X/Y scrubbing allows you to scrub grains in two dimensions on the touch pad. Moreover, you can now quantize the grain random detune feature to fifths or octaves.
In addition to this, the update includes several workflow improvements for a better overview. According to the manufacturer, the virtual keyboard has been improved to provide better visual feedback. The modulators are also more visible now. And you can now customize the LED and emitter colors. Beetlecrab says that this also makes Tempera easier to use for people with limited color vision.
Furthermore, the Tempera update adds a new reverb algorithm with dense and smooth reflections. MIDI clock sync has also been improved for better reliability.
The Beetlecrab Tempera update 2.0 is available now from the manufacturer’s website, where you’ll also find a comprehensive list of all the new features.
Beetlecrab Tempera is available exclusively from the manufacturer for €670 plus tax; the final price depends on your location and the applicable VAT rate.
Tempera
[Original post by Robin Vincent, 9 May 2023] We don’t have the full details yet as, at the time of writing, the Tempera website says it’s 13 days away from revealing everything. Considering it’s being shown at Superbooth, I’m not sure everything is going to plan and now Jeremy of Red Means Recording has dropped a video on it.
So, taking the video as our guide, let’s dig into this preview to see if it whets our appetite.
The main interface is a grid of 8 x 8 touch plates. Each column represents a sample and as you drag your finger down you scrub through the sample. You can load 8 samples in stereo or varying lengths and go to town playing and scrubbing them. To one side is an onboard keyboard to set various notes to hold and play polyphonically. You can also swap that out for a MIDI keyboard and do it that way. I like the self-contained nature of it though.
4 granular emitters can be applied via the front panel working on grain size, grain density, grain spraying and other granular effects. There are a bunch of modulators with lots of shapes to modulate whatever you want. You can set stuff going, dancing with the grains, running around the interface, pumping through effects and played polyphonically from a keyboard.
The soundscapes coming out of the video are amazing.
Tempra looks very strokable, very interactive, and more like an instrument than a sample player. The interactive visuals are really fascinating.
Jeremy’s video goes into a lot of examples without digging too deep into the functionality. It looks like a beautiful thing.
- Tempera website.
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One response to “Beetlecrab Tempera: New Firmware 2.0 adds many new Features”
that’s the sampler bit of Plinky!