A vocal-processing tool often used by professional record producers has been turned into a public display at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles.
The Polyverse Manipulator plugin is a key part of Sonic Playground, an interactive exhibit on the museum’s second floor. Spanning 3,000 sq ft, the exhibit features 17 installations designed to clarify music production, enabling visitors to try beat-making, loop mixing, and stage performance.
The Manipulator is located inside the Vocal Booth, an installation where visitors can instantly change the pitch, texture, and character of their voices. The booth, along with an adjacent experience called Beat Nexus, was created by artist, instrument maker, and longtime Polyverse user Moldover. He customised the studio software to be accessible for both children and adults without prior musical experience.
The broader exhibition aims to make the often-closed world of music production highly accessible. Its centrepiece, the Electric Forest, features 16 columns of light and sound that respond to movement, allowing visitors to modify the gallery’s sonic environment in real time.
By moving beyond the complex digital audio workstations of professional studios into a tactile, playful environment, Manipulator introduces high-end creative audio processing to a completely new audience.
