A sister instrument to Ephemera

EXCITON

A Network You Can Play.

antenna → κ → ⋯ → sink

Strike one node and the energy migrates across a chain of coupled resonators — and the timbre travels with it, from a bright ring to a settled, breathing shimmer.

Open Exciton →

Free in browser · no account needed

A coupled-resonator network.

Hψ = Σ εₙ|n⟩ + κ|n±1⟩

Exciton is a polyphonic synth built from a chain of seven resonators. Every note injects a packet of energy at one end — the antenna — and that energy hops from node to node along the coupling links until it pools at the other end, the sink.

Each node is one partial of the note, so as the excitation migrates, the timbre changes shape in real time: bright and ringing as it leaves the antenna, settling and warming as it drains into the sink.

That migration isn't an effect painted over a sound. It is the sound — physics-inspired, honest, and yours to steer.

How it works

Three moves. One network.

Press a key

energy → antenna

Every note injects a packet of energy at the antenna node — the bright end of the network. Play it with the on-screen keys, your computer keyboard, or a MIDI controller.

Watch it migrate

κ: n → n±1

Coupling carries the excitation node to node down the chain toward the sink. Tighten the coupling and it spreads further; open the sink and it drains faster. The timbre travels with it.

Shape the breath

coherent ⇌ decohered

The Coherence macro breathes every voice between a pure, in-phase ring and a diffuse, dephased shimmer. Add phonon FM and inharmonic spread to push from clean bell toward clouded clang.

What you can do

Six ways to steer the energy.

Every feature is a behaviour of the same network. Inject, migrate, and trap — the physics stays visible the whole way.

A coupled network

κ binds the nodes

Seven resonators wired antenna to sink. Energy hops node to node along the coupling links; tighten the coupling and it spreads further down the chain.

Coherence breathing

coherent ⇌ decohered

The signature macro. Breathe every voice between a pure, in-phase ring and a diffuse, dephased shimmer — and set how fast and how far it dithers between the two.

Antenna & sink

inject → migrate → trap

Energy enters at the antenna and is trapped at the sink. Open the sink trapping to drain a note fast for a tight pluck, or close it to let the network ring on.

Exciter & voice

noise ⇸ tonal

Choose what strikes the network — fade the exciter from breathy noise to a pitched source, pick struck or bowed, and sculpt the amp envelope and velocity per note.

Phonon FM & spread

vibronic · inharmonic

Fold a vibration into the pitch for a reedy shimmer, and detune the partials from harmonic toward bell-like clang. The two together take you from glassy to metallic.

Mod, arp & share

LFO · arp · ?exciton=

An LFO mod matrix rides any macro, a clock-driven arpeggiator sequences the held notes, and every patch is a shareable URL with an A/B hold to compare before you commit.

Presets

Pick a starting point.

Each is a real configuration of the network. Open one in the instrument to play it and reshape it.

Struck bell

inharmonic · short sink

A cluster of inharmonic partials that bloom bright and fade together — the network rung like a tuned bar.

Open →

Bowed glass

high coherence · sustained

Voices held coherent and bowed — a pure, breathing shimmer that never quite stops ringing.

Open →

Coupled drone

κ high · sink closed

Crank the coupling and close the sink — energy circulates the whole chain and the note rings on as a living drone.

Open →

Phonon reed

vibronic FM · spread

Phonon FM folded into a spread network — a reedy, slightly metallic voice with a vibration buried in the pitch.

Open →

Decohered cloud

low coherence · diffuse

Push coherence down and let the voices dephase — a clouded, diffuse pad that smears the partials into a soft wash.

Open →

Every preset is just a network and an envelope. Open one and move it.

“A note isn’t one sound — it’s energy, looking for somewhere to settle.”

The Exciton idea

Try it first, own it later

One instrument, three doors.

Free Web

The full network in your browser. Play, design, and share by link. No install, no account.

Launch in browser →

Desktop

$19.99

Native app. Offline. Save and load patches, audio + MIDI export, VST3 hosting, lifetime updates.

Get the desktop app →

Ephemera Bundle

Included

Exciton ships free with Ephemera Premium, alongside the rest of the instrument family.

See Ephemera →

One-time purchase · no subscriptions, ever · free forever in the browser

FAQ

Questions, answered.

No. Press a key and listen. That's the whole loop. The antenna, the sink, and the coupling network are the honest picture of what's happening, but you never have to read them to make a sound — you just play it like any synth.

Play the network.

press · migrate · reshape

Free in your browser, no account. Press a key, watch the energy travel the chain, and shape where it settles. Then share the patch you made.

Open Exciton →