Gravity Pack by LDM Design

Overview & Inspiration

Gravity Pack simulates the physics of bouncing balls through three polyphonic MIDI delay devices that create accelerating or decelerating note patterns. Gravity Delay mimics a ball falling and bouncing with decreasing intervals. Rippler reverses this, creating expanding delays like a ball bouncing progressively higher. Ripplecoil combines both for delays that expand then contract in a single cycle.

Traditional MIDI delays create evenly spaced repetitions, producing mechanical rhythmic patterns. Gravity Pack devices use physics-based timing where each successive repeat comes quicker or slower based on simulated gravity, creating organic acceleration and deceleration curves that add natural movement to sequences. The result sounds less like a digital effect and more like physical objects interacting with space and time.

The classic bouncing ball delay effect has defined IDM, glitch, and experimental electronic music for decades. These devices bring that iconic sound into native MaxforLive with probability control for generative variation, polyphonic operation for complex chords and melodies, and flexible timing in milliseconds or sync’d divisions for tempo-locked or free-form applications.

The Three Devices

Gravity Delay: The classic bouncing ball effect. Set an initial delay time in milliseconds or sync divisions. The first repeat occurs at that interval. Each successive repeat comes progressively quicker as simulated gravity accelerates the pattern, like a ball bouncing faster as it settles. The gravity rate slider controls how quickly the acceleration occurs. Fast gravity creates rapid acceleration into tight bounces. Slow gravity produces gradual acceleration over more repeats. The velocity feedback slider determines how much velocity drops with each repeat, creating natural dynamic decay. A randomization knob adds subtle timing variations to the initial delay, preventing the pattern from sounding too mechanical.

Rippler: Gravity in reverse. Delays start from nothing and expand progressively until reaching the set time value, like a ball beginning on the floor and bouncing progressively higher. The anti-gravity rate controls how quickly delays expand. Fast anti-gravity creates rapid expansion. Slow anti-gravity produces gradual lengthening. This creates the opposite rhythmic feel from Gravity Delay – instead of settling into stillness, the pattern expands into space. Perfect for builds, transitions, or creating the sensation of events moving away from you. The same velocity feedback and probability controls provide dynamic shaping and generative variation.

Ripplecoil: Combines Rippler and Gravity Delay in sequence. Delays start from nothing and expand progressively until reaching the set time, then immediately switch to gravitational acceleration, contracting back down. Like a ball bouncing higher then falling with gravity in one continuous motion. This creates complex rhythmic curves that expand and contract within a single pattern cycle, useful for dramatic builds followed by immediate resolution, or for creating wave-like rhythmic motion that breathes in and out. The coil motion adds sophisticated movement to static sequences without requiring automation.

Shared Controls

Time Setting: Set delay time in milliseconds for precise control independent of tempo, or in sync divisions for tempo-locked patterns that adapt to project BPM. In Gravity Delay, this sets the initial delay interval before acceleration begins. In Rippler, this sets the maximum delay interval where expansion stops. In Ripplecoil, this sets the turnaround point where expansion switches to contraction. Millisecond mode allows for experimental, non-musical timing. Sync mode keeps delays rhythmically coherent within your track’s tempo.

Velocity Feedback (Left Slider): Controls how much velocity decreases with each successive repeat, functioning like feedback in traditional delays but operating on MIDI velocity rather than audio level. High values maintain velocity across many repeats, creating loud, persistent bounces. Low values create rapid velocity decay, producing ghost notes that fade quickly into silence. This dynamic shaping is crucial for keeping bouncing patterns musical rather than overwhelming, allowing repeats to sit behind the original notes naturally.

Probability (Center Knob): Sets the likelihood of the device acting on incoming MIDI notes, identical to the probability system in Chance TEN. At 100%, every note triggers the bouncing effect. At 50%, only half the notes trigger bounces, creating generative variation where patterns evolve differently on each pass. Low probability creates occasional bounces that surprise, while high probability creates consistent patterns with subtle variation. This transforms static MIDI into evolving, non-repetitive sequences without programming multiple clips.

Gravity Rate (Right Slider): Controls how quickly gravity affects delay timing. In Gravity Delay, high gravity creates rapid acceleration into tight bounces. Low gravity produces gradual, gentle settling. In Rippler, this becomes anti-gravity rate, controlling expansion speed. In Ripplecoil, it affects both the expansion and contraction phases. This single parameter dramatically changes the rhythmic character of the effect, from slow, expansive movements to rapid, stuttering bursts.

Trigger Button (Bottom): Forces 100% probability while held down, returning to the set probability when released. Perfect for live performance where you want to ensure specific moments trigger bounces regardless of probability settings. Press and hold during key phrases or drops to guarantee the effect occurs, then release to return to generative probability mode. This manual override adds performance control to the otherwise algorithmic probability system.

Randomization Knob (Gravity Delay Only): Introduces subtle timing variations to the initial delay, preventing mechanical regularity. Small amounts add humanization. Larger amounts create deliberate timing instability, useful for experimental or glitchy applications. This randomization applies only to the first delay interval, with subsequent bounces still following gravity’s acceleration curve.

Features & Highlights

Physics-Based Timing: Delays accelerate or decelerate following simulated gravity curves rather than maintaining even spacing, creating organic, natural-sounding rhythmic patterns.

Three Complementary Behaviors: Gravity Delay contracts, Rippler expands, Ripplecoil does both. Cover every bouncing ball scenario from a single pack.

Polyphonic Operation: All three devices handle chords and multiple simultaneous notes, with each note getting its own independent bounce pattern.

Probability Control: Generative variation via the same probability system used in Chance TEN, making patterns evolve naturally without manual editing.

Flexible Timing Modes: Milliseconds for free-form, experimental timing, or sync divisions for tempo-locked, musical patterns.

Dynamic Velocity Shaping: Velocity feedback creates natural dynamic decay, keeping bounces from overwhelming original notes.

Live Performance Trigger: Manual override button guarantees 100% probability when needed, perfect for ensuring key moments trigger effects.

Adjustable Gravity Rate: Control how quickly acceleration or deceleration occurs, from gentle gradual changes to rapid bursts.

Timing Randomization: Subtle variations prevent mechanical regularity (Gravity Delay only).

How to Use

Drop Gravity Delay on a MIDI track before your instrument. Play a single note and hear it bounce, repeating with progressively shorter intervals until settling into rapid trills. Adjust the gravity rate to control how quickly the acceleration occurs. Increase velocity feedback to maintain louder bounces, or decrease it for ghost notes that fade into silence. Set probability below 100% to create variation where only some notes bounce.

Use Gravity Delay on drums for fills that accelerate into snare rolls. Apply it to melodic content for IDM-style bouncing patterns. Set timing to sync divisions for tempo-locked musical bounces, or use milliseconds for experimental, non-musical timing. The randomization knob adds subtle timing imperfections that keep the pattern from sounding too digital.

Try Rippler on builds where you want expanding delays that create the sensation of moving away or opening up. Start with low anti-gravity for gradual expansion, creating suspense. Increase anti-gravity rate for rapid expansion that feels explosive. The expanding pattern creates anticipation, perfect for lead-ins to drops or section transitions.

Use Ripplecoil for complete rhythmic arcs that expand then contract in one motion. Apply it to melodic sequences for wave-like rhythmic breathing. The coil motion adds sophisticated movement without requiring automation, creating patterns that feel composed rather than processed. Adjust gravity rate to control the speed of the entire expand-contract cycle.

Ideal For

• IDM and glitch producers who need iconic bouncing ball delays
• Electronic musicians adding rhythmic complexity without programming fills
• Sound designers creating physics-based, organic-sounding delay patterns
• Experimental producers exploring non-linear, accelerating/decelerating rhythms
• Live performers who want probability-based generative variation
• Ambient and atmospheric musicians creating expanding spatial effects
• Anyone frustrated with mechanical, evenly-spaced MIDI delays

What’s Included

• Gravity Delay: Bouncing ball delay with contraction (.amxd)
• Rippler: Reverse gravity delay with expansion (.amxd)
• Ripplecoil: Combined expansion and contraction (.amxd)
• PDF user guide with detailed control explanations
• Mac and Windows compatible
• Requires Ableton Live 10/11/12 Standard (with MaxforLive) or Suite

Technical Notes

All three devices are polyphonic MaxforLive MIDI effects that generate delayed MIDI notes based on physics simulation. The devices add minimal latency and use low CPU resources. Each device can handle complex chords with independent bounce patterns for each note. Timing calculations adapt in real-time to tempo changes when using sync mode. The devices work with any MIDI instrument in Live including native devices, third-party plugins, and external hardware via MIDI routing.

Explore More from LDM Design

Chance Pack FOUR | LP Pack | FRAKTOR | ADD | View All LDM Design Products