k2k audio This is the first “wow” moment. You’ll load two different sounds, blend them spectrally, and hear something that didn’t exist before — a hybrid that carries qualities of both sources.
What you’ll need
- Two audio files that sound different from each other. The bigger the contrast, the more interesting the result. Ideas:
- A vocal phrase + a synth pad
- A drum loop + a violin
- A field recording + a bass guitar
- A piano chord + white noise
Setup — two sources
- Add two Load Audio nodes and load one file into each.
- Select each node in turn — listen and look at the scopes. Get to know both sounds before blending them. Notice what makes them different: frequency content, rhythm, texture.
Visual Blend — layering spectra
Visual Blend combines two spectral buffers the way image software blends two photographs. It’s the simplest way to fuse two sounds.
- Add a Visual Blend node.
- Connect Source A’s output to Input A, and Source B’s output to Input B.
- Select the Visual Blend node — you hear both sounds mixed together.
Explore the blend modes
- Additive — straightforward layering. Both sounds stack. Good for enriching thin sources.
- Multiply — only frequencies that are loud in both sources survive. Everything else fades. This finds the overlap between two sounds.
- Maximum — at every frequency, the louder of the two sources wins. No cancellation, just the strongest parts of each.
- Difference — what’s unique to each sound. Shared frequencies cancel out, leaving only what doesn’t overlap.
Try this: Switch between modes while listening. Additive sounds full. Multiply sounds focused. Difference sounds hollow and strange. Each mode reveals a different relationship between your two sources.
The Mix knob
Dial Mix from 0 (pure A) to 1 (full blend). At 0.5, both sources contribute equally. Automate this later with the modulation system for evolving textures.
Spectral Morph — blending by layer
Spectral Morph goes deeper than Visual Blend. It separates each source into harmonic, percussive, and residual layers (using HPSS analysis), then lets you blend each layer independently.
- Add a Spectral Morph node.
- Connect both sources.
- Select it and listen.
The three sliders
- Harmonic Morph — blends the pitched, sustained content. At 0: harmonics come from A. At 1: harmonics come from B. At 0.5: a hybrid timbre.
- Percussive Morph — blends the attacks and transients. Swap the punch of one sound onto the body of another.
- Residual Morph — blends the noise floor, breath, room tone. The texture underneath.
Try this: Set Harmonic Morph to 1.0 (harmonics from B) but keep Percussive at 0.0 (attacks from A). You get the pitch and timbre of one sound with the rhythm and transients of another. This is where k2k does things no other tool can do easily.
Timbre Morph — perceptual blending
Timbre Morph works at a higher level: it matches perceptual qualities — brightness, noisiness, harmonic balance, decay character — and morphs between them.
- Add a Timbre Morph node.
- Connect both sources.
- Dial the Morph slider from 0 to 1 and listen to the sound transform.
This is the smoothest morph — it sounds like one sound gradually becoming the other.
Seeing the morph
Switch to the 2D Spectrogram and select your morph node. You’ll see the spectral content visually shift as you change morph positions.
For an even more revealing view, switch the color mode to Harmonics. Now pitched content glows and noise stays dark — you can see exactly which harmonics belong to which source and how the morph blends them.
Sending the result
When you find a blend you like:
- Add a Memory Slot node.
- Connect the morph output to it.
- Assign a slot number.
Your hybrid sound is now in the Player, ready to be triggered, sequenced, and layered with other results.
What you’ve learned
- Visual Blend combines two sources using image-style blend modes
- Spectral Morph separates and independently blends harmonic, percussive, and residual layers
- Timbre Morph creates smooth perceptual transitions between sounds
- Color modes like Harmonics help you see what the morph is doing
- The most interesting results come from contrasting source materials
Next: P1 — Your First Player Session — take your sounds to the stage.