A hundred starting sounds, many ways into a track
Psytrance Fusion Vol.2 is a bank of 100 Pigments presets spanning arps, basses, FM leads, FX, grids, leads, pads and zaps. Its range reaches from faster psytrance into deeper progressive material. In this production stream, Black Marvin auditions those sounds, changes direction and builds a demo arrangement around the combinations that work together.
The interesting part is how a preset becomes a part in the track. A rhythmic patch can be played differently, a grid can become an editable audio phrase, and a wet sound can be opened up for another effects chain. The session makes those decisions visible without presenting the arrangement as a finished template to copy.
Keep the patch, explore its source material
The bank draws on Quantum Fold, Acid Splash, Prophecy and Mycological material. Around 14:05, Black Marvin explains the role of Mycological granular sources; at 18:02, he changes a source while retaining the patch's existing processing and modulation. A noisier source and a more tonal one can give the same surrounding design a different personality.
This is a useful distinction when choosing what to buy. Psytrance Fusion Vol.2 supplies finished Pigments patches. The separate source libraries offer raw material for further sound design. Their use in the bank does not mean all four complete libraries are bundled with it, and those extra purchases are not required to play the supplied presets.
Turn an arp into the part you actually need
At 42:20, Black Marvin explores the internal sequencer and arpeggiator behaviour. Switching modes changes how the patch responds to the notes he holds. He then explains that the internal sequencer can be disabled when he wants to write his own MIDI phrase and keep the sound itself.
Try the preset's original movement first. If its tone fits but its pattern competes with the groove, separate those decisions: keep the timbre and change the note behaviour. Other modulation can remain active, so disabling the sequencer does not necessarily turn an evolving patch into a static one.
The same context applies to the frequency balance. Soon after this example, Black Marvin discusses leaving low-frequency content available for the producer to shape. Listen at the octave you intend to use, alongside the kick and bass, before deciding which frequencies to remove.
Capture a grid, then arrange its individual events
Around 57:40, the stream turns to capturing a favourite variation from a moving sound. Recording a longer passage gives you several moments to choose from when interacting modulations make successive passes different. Save the original MIDI and preset, then commit the phrase you want to develop as audio.
At 1:00:42, Black Marvin works with a rendered grid to gain more precise control over its timing. At 1:02:37, he rearranges its events to fit the track. Instead of asking the original internal pattern to solve every arrangement problem, he uses the audio as material for a new rhythm.
By 1:05:20, those pieces can receive different EQ treatments. Later he explores individual panning and effects, and uses short fades where edits need them. This matters when a grid contains several contrasting textures: one processing curve may improve one event while weakening another. Start with a short section, get its groove right, then develop variations from it.
Choose how much of the preset's space to keep
At 54:36, Black Marvin discusses internal delay and reverb versus external effects. Some demonstrated patches provide a Wet macro; others need a more direct adjustment in the effects section. The bank does not assign every control identically, so check the selected patch rather than assuming one knob always performs the same job.
Before rendering, decide whether the existing tail and delay pattern belong in the recorded phrase. Keep them when they are part of the movement you want. Reduce them when you need a drier edit or a different sense of space later. Additional processing is a creative choice, not a requirement to make the presets usable.
Try the workflow in your own Pigments setup
Psytrance Fusion Vol.2 requires Pigments 4 or higher, sold separately. Its 15-preset demo lets you test the playing response and controls in your own session. The full bank contains 20 arps, 6 basses, 9 FM leads, 7 FX, 9 grids, 19 leads, 12 pads and 18 zaps.
The stream also uses separately selected drums and production tools. Those extras and the complete DAW project are not included. Use the recording to learn the decisions between sound selection and arrangement, then choose the sounds and processing that serve your own track.
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