Active Development

OTTO

Organic Tempo and Time Orchestrator. A four-player drum-arrangement instrument that breathes like a real drummer — played, not programmed.

The Problem

Drum machines sound robotic because every hit lands on a perfect grid at one fixed intensity. Real rhythm sections breathe — they shift energy, push and pull feel, and arrange parts that answer one another. OTTO brings that to electronic drums: four independent players, each with its own kit and part, performed through an energy system that changes how a pattern feels without changing the notes.

Key Features

  • Four independent players - Each with its own role (Drums, Percs, Shakers, Hands), kit, part, and mixer channel, sharing a single transport
  • Energy-driven feel - Seven energy levels, from Asleep to Energetic, reshape velocity, timing, and articulation in real time without altering the underlying pattern
  • Role-based arrangement - Patterns carry a section role and energy and are placed on each player's lane to build a living performance
  • Hybrid sound generation - Every kit blends sampled and procedurally-synthesized voices, decided per articulation
  • Built for the stage - Strict real-time discipline keeps timing rock-solid; OTTO is played live, not programmed
  • One engine, two lives - The same code runs as a standalone instrument or an embeddable engine
  • Flexible output routing - A stereo sum, a per-player split, or a per-element split, all from one shared mixer

Screenshots

OTTO Players view — four independent players (Drums, Percs, Shakers, Hands), each with its own kit and energy level OTTO Songs view — arrangement timeline with per-player pattern columns and section roles OTTO Energy Level editor — velocity, timing, swing, and per-element pattern controls OTTO Sounds editor — drum kit pad grid with per-element articulations OTTO Mixer — channel faders with pan and width controls OTTO Mixer — per-channel compressor with threshold, ratio, attack, and release OTTO Mixer — vector reverb morphing between rooms, plates, chambers, and halls OTTO Mixer — delay in free mode with feedback, mix, and high/low cut OTTO master output spectrum analyzer with metering OTTO splash screen — Organic Tempo and Time Orchestrator

White Paper

OTTO is documented in depth — its first principles, the four independent players, role-bearing pattern playback, energy-driven feel, and the real-time discipline that keeps timing rock-solid on stage.

Read the OTTO White Paper

FX Modules

OTTO's signal path is shaped by a family of in-house effects modules, shared with IDA — including genuinely new approaches to both compression and reverb:

TapeColor Vector Compressor Vector Reverb

Licensing

OTTO's software is open source (AGPLv3). The included drum samples are free to use in your music productions, but the samples themselves cannot be redistributed.

View on GitHub