LEARN LATTICE

A traditional delay has one path: signal goes in, gets delayed, comes out. Feedback sends some output back to the input, but it's still one loop.

A feedback network has multiple points (nodes) that all feed into each other. Sound doesn't travel in a circle. It travels everywhere simultaneously.

    Traditional delay:          Feedback network:

    ┌─────────┐                 ┌─────────┐
    │  INPUT  │                 │ Node 1  │◄───────┐
    └────┬────┘                 └────┬────┘        │
         │                           │             │
         ▼                      ┌────┴────┐        │
    ┌─────────┐                 ▼         ▼        │
    │  DELAY  │◄──┐        ┌─────────┐ ┌─────────┐ │
    └────┬────┘   │        │ Node 2  │ │ Node 3  │ │
         │        │        └────┬────┘ └────┬────┘ │
         ▼        │             │           │      │
    ┌─────────┐   │             └─────┬─────┘      │
    │ OUTPUT  │───┘                   │            │
    └─────────┘                       └────────────┘
              

When sound enters a network, it takes every possible path. Different paths have different delay times, filters, and drive settings. The outputs interfere with each other, sometimes reinforcing, sometimes canceling. This interference creates timbres that no single delay can produce.

Each node is a small signal processor: delay, then filter, then drive. The delay sets the node's contribution to the network's timing and pitch. The filter shapes which frequencies pass through. The drive adds harmonics and saturation.

Because every node feeds every other node, these small differences compound. One node with a bandpass filter emphasizes a frequency range. Two nodes with different bandpass settings create complex resonances. The interactions scale with the number of nodes.

Below ~70% feedback, energy dissipates faster than it accumulates. The sound decays.

Above ~70%, the network reaches equilibrium. Energy circulates indefinitely. High-feedback networks are selective: frequencies that align with the delay times get reinforced, others get canceled.

The network decides which harmonics survive based on its topology, not your input.

Muting a node removes it from the network. But because every node feeds every other node, removing one changes all the paths that passed through it.

    Before muting Node 2:       After muting Node 2:

    ┌─────────┐                 ┌─────────┐
    │ Node 1  │◄───────┐        │ Node 1  │◄───────┐
    └────┬────┘        │        └────┬────┘        │
         │             │             │             │
    ┌────┴────┐        │             │             │
    ▼         ▼        │             │             │
┌─────────┐ ┌─────────┐│        ┌ ─ ─ ─ ─ ┐ ┌─────────┐
│ Node 2  │ │ Node 3  ││          Node 2    │ Node 3  ││
└────┬────┘ └────┬────┘│        └ ─ ─ ─ ─ ┘ └────┬────┘│
     │           │     │             ╳           │     │
     └─────┬─────┘     │             ╳           │     │
           │           │             ╳───────────┘     │
           └───────────┘                               │
                                     └─────────────────┘
              

Some frequencies lose their reinforcement path and fade. Others find new paths and become more prominent. Muting is not subtraction — it's restructuring.

In a traditional delay, freeze captures a buffer: a recording of what just happened.

In a network, freeze captures state: the current energy distribution across all nodes. The sound continues to circulate and interfere with its input disconnected.

"With Input" mode keeps the input connected, so new sounds blend into the frozen network. "Partial" mode bleeds energy slowly, letting the frozen state evolve.

A feedback network is passive. It shapes and sustains sound, but it needs energy from somewhere. That's the Exciter.

You can feed it external audio, or use the built-in sources: a short impulse, a burst of noise, or a simple oscillator tone. The choice affects the initial character, but the network transforms it.

Lattice has a single LFO, but it can modulate different things: delay times, filter cutoffs, feedback amount, or node gains.

This keeps the interface simple while still allowing movement. Modulating delay times creates pitch drift and chorus effects. Modulating filters creates timbral sweeps. Modulating feedback creates swells and pulses.

One source of motion, applied where you need it.

With up to 8 nodes, adjusting each one individually can be tedious. Node linking lets you group nodes so they move together.

Common uses: keeping stereo pairs matched, adjusting multiple delay times proportionally, or creating macro controls that affect several nodes at once.

For detailed parameter ranges, filter techniques, and drive strategies, see the Sound Design guide. It covers the technical details that turn understanding into craft.