Glossary

Throughline terms used in this guide. General synthesis terms, such as envelope or cutoff, are explained where they first matter.

• Adoption: Connecting an outside node into a node inside a Zone pulls it into the Zone. In a Polyphony Zone it then runs once per voice. See Polyphony.
• Cable: A connection from an output socket to an input socket. It carries one kind of signal.
• Checkpoint: A downloadable patch file that marks the start or end of a Build a synth lesson.
• Clock: A node that supplies musical time, from your DAW (Host) or its own tempo (Internal). Nodes follow tempo only when a Clock is wired to them. See Timing and sync.
• Command palette: The search box opened with Shift+A. It finds nodes and commands.
• Faulted: A node that produced invalid audio and was silenced. See Node shows Faulted.
• Frame: A labelled outline around nodes. It changes nothing about the sound. See Frames, Groups and Zones.
• Group: Nodes folded into one node with its own canvas, which you enter to edit. See Frames, Groups and Zones.
• Init patch: The patch each plugin variant opens with, and the patch New loads.
• Local Library: Your own saved Groups and nodes, available from the node browser in any patch. See Save, load and reuse.
• Macro: A dial in the Macros panel that drives a parameter. The eight Macro slots are the parameters your DAW can automate. See Macros and DAW automation.
• Node: A building block that does one job, such as making a tone or delaying audio.
• Node browser: The list opened with Add node, for finding and placing nodes.
• Parameter input: The socket at the left of a control row. A cable connected there sets the control. See Connections and sockets.
• Patch: A complete set of nodes and cables: everything one plugin instance plays.
• Patch Library: Named patches saved on this computer. See Save, load and reuse.
• Polyphony Input and Polyphony Output: The nodes on the left and right edges of a Polyphony Zone. The input assigns notes to voices; the output adds the voices together.
• Polyphony Zone: A Zone whose nodes run once per held note, so a voice can play chords. See Polyphony.
• Socket: A node's connection point. Inputs are on the left and outputs on the right. Its shape and colour show the signal kind. See Connections and sockets.
• Variant: One of the three plugins: Throughline Synth, Throughline FX or Throughline MIDI.
• Voice: One copy of the nodes inside a Polyphony Zone, playing one note.
• Zone: A region of the canvas whose nodes run with special behaviour. Cables, not position, decide what belongs to it. The Polyphony Zone is the only Zone type. See Frames, Groups and Zones.