O-Bells Quick Reference
Parameters, presets, and tunings at a glance
Parameters
Synthesis
- Damping: 0–100% — decay length (hand-damped to free-ring)
- Overtone Brightness: 0–100% — upper partial amplitude
- Acoustic Brightness: 0–100% — HF decay rate
- Material: Bronze/Brass/Steel/Aluminum/Cast Iron
- Inharmonicity: 0–100% — partial spacing
- Air Absorption: 0–100% — progressive HF rolloff
- Air Time: 0.1–10 s — filter sweep duration
Bloom & Shimmer
- Bloom Speed: 25–400 ms — swell time
- Bloom Amount: 0–100% — swell intensity
- Shimmer: 0–100% — FM during decay
- Fine Controls: per-band Low/Mid/High override
- Speed Low: 15–250 ms
- Speed Mid: 25–400 ms
- Speed High: 50–800 ms
Ensemble
- Unison: 1–4 — detuned voice copies
- Detune: 0–50 cents — pitch spread
- Sub: 0–100% — sub-octave layer
Strike & Mallet
- Strike Position: 0–100% — center to edge
- Mallet Hardness: 0–100% — soft to hard
- Noise Character: Click/Thud/Ping
- Attack Amount: 0–100% — transient volume
Decay Envelope
- Strike Time: 5–100 ms — transient duration
- Brilliance: 0–100% — HF sustain
- Body Time: 100–5000 ms — main decay
- Hum Sustain: 0–100% — low partial extension
Character & Output
- Humanize: 0–100% — per-note variation
- Nonlinear: 0–100% — bell warping
- Velocity Curve: Linear/Exp/Log
- Reverb: 0–100% — built-in spaciousness
- LP Cutoff: 200–20k Hz — output filter
- Gain: −24 to +12 dB — master output
Tuning
- A4 Reference: 400–480 Hz
- Octave Stretch: 0.95–1.25
- Pitch Bend Range: 1–48 semitones
- Temperament: 10 built-in + Custom
- Tuning Library: 24 embedded tunings
- SCL/KBM: import & export
Performance
- Polyphony: 16 voices
- High Fidelity: disables voice culling
- Pitch Envelope: 0–100% initial drop
- P.Env Time: 5–200 ms return time
- Keyboard: Z-M (low), Q-P (high)
Common Settings
| Sound | Material | Key Settings |
|---|---|---|
| Church Bell | Bronze | High Damping, moderate Inharmonicity, long Body Time, Hum Sustain 70%+ |
| Tubular Bells | Brass | Medium Damping, low Inharmonicity, medium Body Time |
| Glockenspiel | Steel | High Overtone Brightness, low Inharmonicity, short Body Time |
| Gamelan | Bronze | High Inharmonicity, moderate Damping, Bloom enabled |
| Singing Bowl | Brass | High Damping, low Mallet Hardness, high Shimmer, long decay |
| Wind Chimes | Aluminum | Low Damping, high Overtone Brightness, Humanize 60%+ |
| Gong | Cast Iron | High Inharmonicity, high Shimmer, long Body Time, Bloom enabled |
| Ambient Pad | Any | Unison 3–4, high Detune, Bloom Fine Controls, Sub layer, Reverb 50%+ |
Factory Presets
| Category | Presets |
|---|---|
| Large Bells | Deep Bronze Tower, Massive Iron Bell, Cavernous Brass, Grand Cathedral Bell, Slow Tolling Bell |
| Bright Bells | Bright Clear Crotale, Crystalline Steel Chime, Sparkling Aluminum, Brilliant Bronze Plate, Crisp Steel Bar |
| Warm Bells | Soft Mallet Bronze, Mellow Brass Bowl, Warm Aluminum Bars, Gentle Hand Bell, Velvet Bronze Tone |
| Metallic | Dense Bronze Gamelan, Clanging Steel Plate, Beating Bronze Gong, Shimmering Bell Tree, Dark Iron Resonance |
| Ambient | Distant Cathedral, Underwater Bell, Evolving Bronze Wash, Frozen Steel Shimmer, Ethereal Chime Pad |
Tuning Library
| Category | Tunings |
|---|---|
| Historical | Young 1799, Neidhardt III, Kellner Bach, Bach/Lehman, Valotti |
| Just Intonation | Ptolemy Intense Diatonic, 5-Limit JI, 7-Limit JI, Partch 43-Tone |
| EDO | 17-EDO, 19-EDO, 22-EDO, 31-EDO, 41-EDO, 53-EDO |
| Non-Octave | Bohlen-Pierce (Equal), Carlos Alpha, Carlos Beta, Carlos Gamma |
| World | Arabic 24-TET, Turkish Makam, Indian 22-Shruti, Gamelan Slendro, Gamelan Pelog |
System Requirements
| Platform | Details |
|---|---|
| macOS | macOS 10.13+ (Intel & Apple Silicon) |
| Windows | Windows 10+ (64-bit) |
| RAM | 4 GB min / 8 GB recommended |
| Formats | VST3, AU, Standalone |
Troubleshooting
No sound?
→ Ensure plugin is on a MIDI track. Check Gain is above −24 dB. Try clicking the built-in keyboard or pressing Z–M keys.
High CPU usage?
→ Reduce Unison count. Disable High Fidelity. Shorten Body Time or increase Damping. Watch the decay warning.
Tuning file won't load?
→ Verify .scl uses standard Scala format. Check .kbm references correct number of scale degrees. Try a built-in tuning first.
Plugin not appearing in DAW?
→ Rescan plugins. Check installation paths. On macOS, check Gatekeeper (System Settings → Security).
Decay warning showing?
→ Reduce Damping, Body Time, or Hum Sustain. Play fewer simultaneous notes.