Create envelope follower
create_envelope_followerBuild an attack/release envelope follower with gate or ducking mode to create sidechain pumping effects from any CHOP channel.
Instructions
EXPERIMENTAL — Build a reactive signal-shaping chain (attack/release envelope + threshold gate or sidechain ducking) from a CHOP channel, for 'pump the whole layer on every kick' or similar sidechain effects. Creates a container with: a Select CHOP isolating the source channel by absolute path (no cross-container wire), a Lag CHOP shaping the attack/release envelope, a Logic+Math CHOP threshold gate (gate mode: silence the output below threshold) or an inverted Math CHOP (duck mode: output dips to 0 on a hit, rises on silence — classic sidechain pumping), and a Null CHOP as the stable output handle. Optionally binds the shaped output to target parameters by expression. The gate threshold uses a Logic CHOP whose par names (convert/boundmin/boundmax) match detect_onsets — but these are UNVERIFIED across TD builds; gate reads near 0 at the 0.2 default with most sources — tune threshold live. Use bind_to_channel with attack/release for a simpler Lag-only envelope without a gate.
Input Schema
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| parent_path | No | Where to build the follower chain (a COMP path, e.g. '/project1'). | /project1 |
| name | No | Base name for the container COMP that holds the chain. | envelope_follower |
| source_chop | Yes | Path of the CHOP carrying the trigger channel (e.g. '/project1/audio/features' or an onset Null). | |
| channel | Yes | Channel name to follow from source_chop (e.g. 'bass', 'kick', 'level'). The Select CHOP isolates it by name. | |
| attack | No | Envelope rise time in seconds — how quickly the output climbs after a hit (fast = punchy, e.g. 0.001–0.05). | |
| release | No | Envelope fall time in seconds — how slowly the output decays after the signal drops (slow = smooth tail, e.g. 0.1–0.8). | |
| threshold | No | Gate threshold [0–1]. Below this level the output is silenced (gate) or held at 1 (duck). Start low (0.05–0.2) and raise if false triggers occur. NOTE: gate thresholding uses a Logic CHOP whose par names may vary by TD build — EXPERIMENTAL. | |
| mode | No | gate: pass the shaped envelope only while it is above threshold — silences the output when the signal is quiet. duck: sidechain/ducking — the output dips toward 0 on every hit and returns to 1 on silence (inverted gate, classic pumping compressor feel). | gate |
| targets | No | Optional list of 'nodePath.parName' targets to bind to the shaped envelope output by expression. Omit to just build the chain (the Null CHOP output can be bound later with bind_to_channel). |