---
title: Wave Shaper
description: "A wave shaper synth as a device you can plug in: a waveform, drive, tone, detune, mix and volume as a state, a panel with a pad that plays it, a Web Audio engine and the tools an agent plays it with."
component: true
base: base
---

<ComponentPreview styleName="base-nova" name="block-wave-shaper" />

Two detuned oscillators, a distortion mixed in with the clean sound and a low-pass filter. Press the pad: pitch goes across, the resonance up. It is a device like the [compressor](/docs/components/compressor): a state, a panel that draws it, an engine that plays it and tools an agent calls, each its own file.

## Installation

<CodeTabs>

<TabsList>
  <TabsTrigger value="cli">CLI</TabsTrigger>
  <TabsTrigger value="manual">Manual</TabsTrigger>
</TabsList>

<TabsContent value="cli">

```bash component
npx shadcn@latest add @audio-ui/block-wave-shaper
```

</TabsContent>

<TabsContent value="manual">

<Steps>

<Step>Install the packages:</Step>

```bash
npm install @audio-ui/react @audio-ui/core
```

<Step>Add the pieces you want. All of them, or only the state and the panel if your engine is elsewhere:</Step>

```bash
npx shadcn@latest add @audio-ui/wave-shaper-device @audio-ui/wave-shaper-panel @audio-ui/wave-shaper-engine
```

<Step>Copy and paste the demo that wires them, if you want it.</Step>

<ComponentSource
  styleName="base-nova"
  name="block-wave-shaper"
  title="components/examples/block-wave-shaper.tsx"
/>

</Steps>

</TabsContent>

</CodeTabs>

## Usage

```tsx
import { WaveShaperPanel } from "@/components/audio-ui/devices/wave-shaper/panel";
import { waveShaperDevice } from "@/components/audio-ui/devices/wave-shaper/device";

const [state, setState] = useState(() => waveShaperDevice.defaults());

<WaveShaperPanel onValueChange={setState} value={state} />;
```

The state is a plain object keyed by parameter id, so a host stores it, saves it with its project and sends it where it likes. `waveShaperPitch(position)` and `waveShaperResonance(position)` turn a pad position from 0 to 1 into a note.

## The engine

```ts
import { createWaveShaperEngine } from "@/components/audio-ui/devices/wave-shaper/engine";

const engine = createWaveShaperEngine(ctx, state);
engine.output.connect(ctx.destination);
engine.noteOn(note);  // starts a note, or glides the one being held
engine.noteOff();     // lets it go
engine.update(nextState);
engine.dispose();
```

One voice at a time, as the Pocket Synth. The distortion curve is a table of 44,100 points, rebuilt only when the drive changes.

## Latency

The shaper oversamples 4x, which delays its path by 4 ms in Chrome (192 samples); the clean path waits as long, so the mix does not comb.

## The tools

```ts
import { deviceTools } from "@audio-ui/core/device";
import { waveShaperDevice } from "@/components/audio-ui/devices/wave-shaper/device";

const [set, reset, play] = deviceTools(waveShaperDevice);
```

`set` and `reset` change the state, with the ranges the device enforces: a value out of range is brought in and reported, a wrong one is refused by name, and a call never throws.

`play` plays a note: its call gives the parts of the note (a pitch, and a resonance) and how long it lasts, and returns the note and the duration for the host to give to the engine.

```ts
import { playNote } from "@audio-ui/core/device";

const result = play.run(state, input);
if (result.note) playNote(engine, result.note, result.duration ?? 0.5);
```

## Accessibility

Every control is a native input: the knobs are sliders named after their parameter, with the value and unit as the text value, the switch is a toggle button, and everything takes the keyboard.