Pixel Cascade
Bend solid tiles with music in Pixel Cascade. Six presets, four morphing formations, reflective finishes, and moving cameras.
Pixel Cascade carries musical peaks through a folding field of solid tiles. New events enter at the top of the waterfall and cascade down successive rows. Try Arcade Falls for a colorful waterfall, Chrome Rain for reflective waves, or Candy Circuit for a rising floor. Change formations to blend the tiles into a helix or tunnel.
Open Pixel Cascade
Launch the visualizer with its matching left-nav entry selected.
Quick start
- Start the demo track, choose a local audio file, or enable a live input.
- Try a preset or style first, then open the section for the part of the image you want to change.
- On a control with Assign modulation, open the source picker, choose a signal, and watch the slider's live fill.
- Use Reset to Defaults whenever you want to return to the original look.
Presets and styles
Arcade Falls · Chrome Rain · Candy Circuit · Pixel Dna · Midnight Arcade · Satellite Tiles
How do I share a factory look?
Open SHARE A LOOK, choose a preset from FACTORY LOOK, and select COPY LOOK LINK. The link opens that original preset with its audio reactions. Personal slider edits and music are not included. Use OPEN LOOK to preview what the recipient will see.
How do I share my edited look?
Open SHARE A LOOK, select PREPARE MY LOOK, then choose COPY MY LOOK LINK. The link includes your current visual settings, modulation routes, and generator settings. Music is not included. Use OPEN MY LOOK to preview the result. Prepare a new link after making more edits.
Audio modulation
On a control with Assign modulation, select the activity icon to open Modulate with. Choose a named source, or choose — None to leave the control unmodulated. After you assign one, its name appears below the slider; select that name to edit the route, or use Clear modulation to remove it. The slider track shows the live signal reaching the control.
| Modulated control | Section | What the route changes |
|---|---|---|
| Tile Size | Tiles | Widens individual tile faces within their spacing. Lower values leave wider gaps. |
| Tile Depth | Tiles | Sets how thick each solid tile appears. |
| Spectrum Lift | Tiles | Carries frequency peaks through successive rows. Helix and Tunnel move the affected tiles outward. |
| Fold | Tiles | Deepens the traveling folds and tilts the tile faces. |
| Twist | Tiles | Twists the formation and hinges the tiles in opposite directions on either side of zero. |
| Wave Bend | Tiles | Sets the sideways bend carried by each musical event through the tile field. |
| Flow Speed | Tiles | Changes the fold pattern entering the cascade. Existing musical shapes continue traveling when this is zero. |
| Surface Roughness | Surface | Softens sharp surface reflections. Compare Chrome with the camera held still. |
| Hue | Surface | Chooses the starting tile color. |
| Color Spread | Surface | Sets how far the tile colors sweep around the color wheel. |
| Depth Displacement | Camera | Carries musical bends toward and away from the camera through successive rows. Try ISO to see the depth clearly. |
| Camera Speed | Camera | Sets how quickly the camera travels along its path. |
| Camera Travel | Camera | Sets how far the camera wanders from its chosen view; 0 holds it still and higher values sweep it through wider arcs. |
Settings reference
Tiles
| Setting | Available values | What it changes |
|---|---|---|
| Tile Shape | CUBE, DIAMOND, PYRAMID, WEDGE | Changes each tile to a cube, diamond, pyramid, or wedge while preserving its cascade path. |
| Formation | WATERFALL, ARCADE, HELIX, TUNNEL | Arranges the tiles into a Waterfall, Arcade floor, Helix, or Tunnel. |
| Formation Transition | 0.2–4; default 1.5 | Sets how many seconds the tiles take to blend into a new formation or tile shape. |
| Columns | 12–48; default 32 | Sets the number of frequency columns. |
| Rows | 8–32; default 24 | Sets the number of tiles along each column. |
| Tile Size | 0.1–1; default 0.8 | Widens individual tile faces within their spacing. Lower values leave wider gaps. Use Assign modulation to choose a source. |
| Tile Depth | 0.008–0.12; default 0.035 | Sets how thick each solid tile appears. Use Assign modulation to choose a source. |
| Spectrum Lift | 0–2; default 0.8 | Carries frequency peaks through successive rows. Helix and Tunnel move the affected tiles outward. Use Assign modulation to choose a source. |
| Fold | 0–1.5; default 0.6 | Deepens the traveling folds and tilts the tile faces. Use Assign modulation to choose a source. |
| Twist | -2–2; default 0.4 | Twists the formation and hinges the tiles in opposite directions on either side of zero. Use Assign modulation to choose a source. |
| Wave Bend | 0–1.5; default 0.3 | Sets the sideways bend carried by each musical event through the tile field. Use Assign modulation to choose a source. |
| Flow Speed | 0–1; default 0.25 | Changes the fold pattern entering the cascade. Existing musical shapes continue traveling when this is zero. Use Assign modulation to choose a source. |
Surface
| Setting | Available values | What it changes |
|---|---|---|
| Finish | NEON, CHROME, CERAMIC | Chooses Neon, Chrome, or Ceramic tiles. |
| Surface Roughness | 0.05–0.8; default 0.22 | Softens sharp surface reflections. Compare Chrome with the camera held still. Use Assign modulation to choose a source. |
| Hue | 0–360; default 185 | Chooses the starting tile color. Use Assign modulation to choose a source. |
| Color Spread | 0–180; default 155 | Sets how far the tile colors sweep around the color wheel. Use Assign modulation to choose a source. |
| Background Opacity | 0–1; default 1 | Fades the black background and optional stars while keeping the tiles visible. |
Audio
| Setting | Available values | What it changes |
|---|---|---|
| Sensitivity | 0–3; default 1 | Sets sensitivity for new musical peaks. At zero, earlier peaks continue through the cascade before fading out. |
| Response | 0–1; default 0.3 | Sets how gradually new audio responses change before they enter the cascade. |
Camera
| Setting | Available values | What it changes |
|---|---|---|
| Camera Mode | ORBIT, AUDIO, FLY | Chooses continuous camera motion, motion that follows audio level, or a close traveling view. |
| Camera View | INSIDE, CORE, WIDE, TOP, ISO, FLY-THROUGH | Chooses the starting view in Orbit or Audio mode. Fly mode uses its close traveling view. Drag the canvas to explore. |
| Camera Path | ORBIT, HELIX, DRIFT, SURGE | Chooses the camera movement: Orbit, Helix, Drift, or Surge. |
| Depth Displacement | 0–1.5; default 0.5 | Carries musical bends toward and away from the camera through successive rows. Try ISO to see the depth clearly. Use Assign modulation to choose a source. |
| Canvas Fill | 0.75–2; default 1.2 | Sets how much of the canvas the artwork fills; higher values zoom in so it fills more of the screen, and lower values pull back to show more of the surroundings. |
| Scene Depth | 0.2–4; default 2 | Sets the distance occupied by the scene from front to back. |
| Camera Speed | 0–1; default 0.16 | Sets how quickly the camera travels along its path. Use Assign modulation to choose a source. |
| Camera Travel | 0–1.5; default 0.2 | Sets how far the camera wanders from its chosen view; 0 holds it still and higher values sweep it through wider arcs. Use Assign modulation to choose a source. |
Stars
| Setting | Available values | What it changes |
|---|---|---|
| Show Starfield | On / Off | Adds a starfield that reveals camera movement through parallax. |
| Star Brightness | 0–1; default 0.6 | Sets the brightness of the optional stars. |
Some controls appear only after you enable a related mode or style. The settings panel always reflects the options available for the current selection.
Tips for a better audio visualization
- Play music and compare Spectrum Lift at zero and its maximum to see frequency columns move independently.
- Try Chrome Rain with the camera held still when comparing Surface Roughness.