Parrot

Name: Parrot
Price: 29.99 USD
Author: Klevgrand

by Klevgrand · Multi-FX · Live-sampling step repeater

Not rated yet

Parrot is an "audio repeater" from Klevgrand that samples incoming audio live and plays it back through a step sequencer of up to 16 steps.

Each step can change pitch and accent, with evolving filter and volume curves, for $29.99 (normally $49.99).

Best for: Vocals, Drums, Keys & Synths, Sound Design. Genres: Electronic & EDM, Hip-Hop & Trap, Pop.

Keywords: rhythmic, samples & loops, evolving, vocals, creative, steep learning curve, drums, extreme, mixing, pitch-shifting, sound design, static, synths, tempo-synced.

What it does

Parrot is Klevgrand's "Audio repeater". It samples small slices of the incoming audio and repeats them in a sequenced loop, moving from tidy repeats to "wild and unpredictable" while staying tied to the source.

Live sampling: a master loop section that captures the input in real time, with mute or solo while sampling.
16-step sequencer: up to 16 steps, each with pitch (up to one octave either way, stepped or bent) and accent.
Rhythm variation: variable note values, a variation control for random notes and offsets, and a humanizer for timing.
Shaping: fade-in and fade-out times and a crop switch for staccato repeats.
Filters and movement: a multi-mode resonant filter and an evolving volume curve that follow the sequence, alternating pan, and a separate static filter for the dry signal.
Timing and presets: DAW sync or free-running, parameter locks when switching presets, and a preset collection.

The current version is 1.0.1. The free demo is the full version with occasional audio dropouts.

Source: Klevgrand product page

When to use it

Parrot is the better pick when you want to turn a vocal, chord or synth line into a new pitched rhythmic part, rather than slice a beat into stutters. Compared with Effectrix2 and Stutter Edit 2, it has far fewer effect types but more musical control over each repeat, with per-step pitch, accents and evolving filters. It is more rhythmic and pattern-based than Graindad, which works at the grain level. Sound On Sound noted that step switching cannot be automated from the DAW, which limits arranging changes over a song.

Best for: rhythmic vocal chops, pitched repeats, transitions and breaks, and evolving loops from any source.
Genres: electronic, hip-hop and pop.
Look elsewhere if: you want many sequenced effects such as gates, tape stops and filters (Effectrix2), or a vintage tape echo.
Tip: start in the master loop section, then program the sequencer, and switch to free-running mode when you want less predictable results.

What producers say

Reviewers see it as a creative, instrument-like effect, with a learning curve as the main catch.

Sound On Sound (Paul White) called it a "novel approach to creating rhythmic delays" that can turn any sound into a rhythm, and found the presets helpful; he noted a steeper learning curve than normal delays and that grid steps can't be automated.
Production Expert said it "feels less like a sampling utility and more like an instrument", praising how it is both useful and playful and gets results quickly.

Where to buy

Klevgrand: $29.99 (regular $49.99)
Plugin Boutique: $49.99
PluginFox: $49.99
AudioDeluxe: $49.99

Tutorials and reviews

Similar plugins

Rerun by Sinevibes · Self-randomizing repeater · $29
Cache by Sinevibes · MIDI-triggered buffer effects · $49
Effectrix2 by Sugar Bytes · Multi-effect sequencer · $129
Glitch 2 by Illformed · Sequenced glitch effect · Free
Looperator by Sugar Bytes · Loop mangling effect · $129
THE_STUTTER by Phil Speiser · Stutter, loop and gate · $69.99
MRhythmizer by MeldaProduction · Sequenced time, volume and filter effect · $49
Time by Lunacy Audio · Time warp and buffer shuffler · $29
Cataract 2 by Glitchmachines · Segment multiplexer glitch · $39
R.A.M.S.E.S. by XILS-lab · Rhythmic filter and effects processor · $29

All multi-FX & creative