Gradient (unstable=7)

Introduction

The Gradient effect (unstable=7) creates a static blend pattern along the blade. Unlike the earlier unstable effects, it does not animate. There is no scrolling, no heat simulation, and no frame-to-frame movement. The pattern simply sits in place on the blade.

Think of Gradient as a painter’s tool. You choose a waveform shape, set how many repetitions stretch across the blade, dial in the amplitude and offset, and the result is a fixed pattern of color blending between your blade color and ecolor.

Because it is static, Gradient works especially well as a layering base underneath other animated blade behaviors such as flicker, movie flicker, or swing bright.

Chainsaw vs. Gradient

Enabling Gradient

In your blade profile section, set:

unstable=7

How Gradient Works

Each frame, Gradient calculates a spatial pattern across the blade. In normal use the result stays identical from frame to frame, unless audio overlay or the random waveform mode is active.

1. Position mapping — each pixel is mapped across one full pattern period from base to tip.
2. Offset and multiply — the pattern is shifted by sparkd and repeated according to sparkf.
3. Waveform shaping — the selected shape from lcool is applied.
4. Pattern inversion — if drift=1, the waveform is flipped.
5. Amplitude and offset — the waveform is scaled by mapb and shifted upward by mapc.
6. Color blending — the result blends between blade color and ecolor.
7. Audio overlay — if enabled, volume can shift the pattern and add an extra color overlay.

Parameter Mapping

lcool — Waveform Shape

Default: 20

This selects the static pattern shape.

Tip: Sine is especially good for Gradient because it gives the smoothest transitions between colors.

hcool — Not Used

hcool has no visible role in Gradient.

sparkd — Position Offset

Default: 10

This shifts the starting point of the pattern along the blade. It does not change the speed, because Gradient does not scroll.

sparkf — Pattern Frequency

Default: 120

This controls how many pattern repetitions fit across the blade. Gradient supports a much denser pattern range than Chainsaw.

Tip: Keep sparkf below about 80 if you want clearly visible large-scale spatial patterns. Very high values become texture-like.

drift — Pattern Inversion

Default: 0

In Gradient, drift flips the pattern instead of reversing motion.

drift=0    Normal waveform
drift=1    Inverted waveform

For example, a single sawtooth cycle becomes either a base-to-tip ramp or a tip-to-base ramp depending on this setting.

Color & Modulation Controls

Gradient uses direct color blending between the blade base color and the effect color, but its amplitude and offset controls behave like percentages rather than byte-scaled values.

ecolor — Effect Color

This is the target color at the peak of the pattern.

ecolor=1023,1023,1023,0   # white
ecolor=1023,0,0,0         # red
ecolor=0,800,1023,0       # cyan

On CFX, color channel values can go up to 1023.

mapb — Amplitude / Modulation Depth

Default: 50

This scales the waveform like a percentage. At 100, the wave passes through at full natural amplitude. Values above 100 overdrive the peaks and can clip them.

mapc — Offset / Baseline Blend

Default: 50

This adds a constant offset as a percentage of the full blend range, lifting the entire pattern upward toward ecolor.

Important: At the defaults, the troughs are already significantly blended toward ecolor. Set mapc=0 if you want the pattern to drop fully back to the blade base color.

How mapb and mapc Work Together

mapb controls how big the pattern swing is. mapc controls where that swing sits. A high mapb with low mapc gives a full-range pattern from blade color to effect color. A lower mapb with higher mapc gives a softer pattern on top of a more effect-colored base.

Audio Reactivity

mapping_unstable — Reactivity Source

Default: 1

mapping_unstable=0 — None

The pattern stays completely fixed. No changes at all.

mapping_unstable=1 — Audio

Audio adds two subtle behaviors:

1. Offset and frequency shift — both sparkd and sparkf are boosted slightly during louder audio, so the pattern can shift and tighten
2. Per-pixel audio overlay — volume adds more blend toward ecolor

This gives a living quality to an otherwise static pattern.

Note: Gradient uses your mapping_audio settings to decide how sensitive that response is.

Refresh Rate

refreshfx — Effect Refresh Interval

Default: 12 ms

For most Gradient setups, refresh rate has almost no visible effect because the pattern is static. It only really matters for audio overlay response and the random Drunk waveform mode, which can change over time.

Putting It All Together: Recipes

Recipe 1: Smooth Dual-Color Blend

One full sine cycle across the blade for a smooth elegant gradient.

unstable=7
lcool=90
sparkf=0
sparkd=0
drift=0
mapb=100
mapc=0
mapping_unstable=0
ecolor=1023,1023,1023,0

Recipe 2: Bicolor Stripes

Square waveform for bold alternating color bands.

unstable=7
lcool=140
sparkf=30
sparkd=0
drift=0
mapb=255
mapc=0
mapping_unstable=0
ecolor=1023,0,0,0

Recipe 3: Multi-Period Sine with Audio

A denser sine structure that breathes more with sound.

unstable=7
lcool=86
sparkf=7
sparkd=21
drift=0
mapb=52
mapc=20
mapping_unstable=1
ecolor=1023,800,400,0

Recipe 4: Sawtooth Tip Fade

A single sawtooth cycle that brightens toward the tip.

unstable=7
lcool=10
sparkf=0
sparkd=0
drift=0
mapb=100
mapc=0
mapping_unstable=0
ecolor=1023,1023,1023,0

Recipe 5: Inverted Tip Fade

The same as above, but bright at the base and fading toward the tip.

unstable=7
lcool=10
sparkf=0
sparkd=0
drift=1
mapb=100
mapc=0
mapping_unstable=0
ecolor=1023,1023,1023,0

Recipe 6: Noisy Texture

Random mode for a shifting noise texture.

unstable=7
lcool=180
sparkf=50
sparkd=0
drift=0
mapb=200
mapc=30
mapping_unstable=1
ecolor=800,800,1023,0
refreshfx=10

Recipe 7: Dense Triangle Ripple

Many triangle cycles for a fine ripple structure.

unstable=7
lcool=60
sparkf=80
sparkd=0
drift=0
mapb=60
mapc=40
mapping_unstable=1
ecolor=400,600,1023,0

Quick Reference Card

Tuning Tips

1. Gradient is static by design. Treat it as a color structure layer, not as the animation itself.
2. Start with sparkf=0. One full cycle across the blade helps you understand the selected waveform before adding more repetitions.
3. Watch the default mapc=50. It already pushes the whole blade quite far toward ecolor.
4. mapb above 100 is an overdrive. It can flatten peaks and make the shape feel harder or blockier.
5. Very high sparkf creates texture more than visible waves.
6. drift=1 is the quick way to flip a tip fade.
7. Random mode is special. It is the one Gradient waveform that actually changes over time.

Crystal Focus X firmware guide · Unstable Effects Collection · Part 7 — Gradient (unstable=7)