Here’s a nice little performed drone using the Make Noise 0-Coast and Strega, using an idea generated by this patch from Pete, normally Make Noise’s “Instagram guy”, on Make Noise’s YouTube channel.
It’s not a terribly complicated patch. 0-Coast > Strega with some cross modulation between them, and out through the Stratosphere Cloud Reverb by Blue Mangoo, but it is satisfying and dramatic. A choice distortion pedal would have been perfect after the Strega. Next Time.
I always seem to find myself both perplexed and captivated by my Make Noise case. Because it’s a relatively small system that’s also a walled garden, modules are limited. I’ve always scoffed a bit at the idea that a small case can spurn on creativity in a way a big case can’t. That it forces you to make deliberate choices and patch in new ways to get the most of what you do have. But with my Make Noise case that’s at least partially true. I’m not sure whether it’s the Make Noise ethos or the small case, but I find myself having to really think through patches. Even normally basic tasks, like mixing, can be a logistics challenge while patching. There are a finite number of jacks to plug, and a static few modules to work with.
After a short hiatus, the Make Noise case is back in order and with a couple of new additions. I needed the case for a travel synth, and I’ve been crazy busy since my return. I made a trip to Asheville and had a really great day at the QMMG in-store event, and I recorded a couple of tracks on the main synth and another on my new Make Noise 0-Series setup since, but I’ve straight procrastinated wrestling with the shitty M2.5 screws and sliding nuts Make Noise uses with their cases.1 Post-trip I also decided, after seeing rack rash on a couple of the travel synth modules from being screwed in without washers exactly once, that I was going to wait until I received longer screws and nylon washers to mitigate any further scratching issues. Rack rash isn’t the end of the world, but being that I move modules in and out quickly, I like for them to retain resale value, especially when it comes to factors I can control.
Once I got the case assembled I went to work. Not on creating a beautiful patch to share with the world (even if I do think the results are beautiful), but on seeing just exactly why QMMG generates the hype it does. How does it ring? Beautifully. How does it squelch? Loudly. How does it sweep? Lovely. How does it bleed? Perfectly.
I set out to re-create one of my favorite patches that encourages vactrol bleed, allowing subsequent pitches of a sequence to be heard after a step has been passed, and before the vactrol has had the time to close the gate of the LPG. These notes aren’t being gated, but sneak through at an audible level anyways as a byproduct of the slow vactrol response. Walker describes these bled notes as “[N]ot ghosts, exactly, because they have yet to exist. They’re more like premonitions or ideas; bulbs casting light on possible futures inscribed in the sequence.” Although I’ve written about this technique before, and use it often, I couldn’t resist using it with the new QMMG. I wanted to hear the vactrols for everything they are, not try and cover them up or hide their true nature. After all, Tony Rolando allegedly has said that the vactrols are the heart of QMMG, and it bleeds. It’s the module’s logo. Vactrol bleed is at the center of QMMG’s identity, and I wanted to hear it.
There are also 3 other voices in the patch. The first is a moderately modulated QPAS, pinging quietly in the background, sounding beautiful as ever. The second is the sine wave of the first DPO oscillator ring modulating the second sine oscillator of DPO in the modDemix. It only hits very infrequently, and is NOT passed through a LPG, but a VCA so that it does not ring past the current step. The third is a ripping bass part that absolutely does not fit with the rest of the patch in any way. What I was attempting did not work. Instead, I got a killer bass sequence that is contemporaneously always staying the same, yet always changing at the same time. This bass line is created with the STO’s Variable Shape output into QPAS in LP mode, with a completely ungated sequence on the X channel, which is clocked by alternating outputs on Tempi. Both of the clocks used were run at different rates, as well as having stops in Rene at different rates.
This patch is not perfect. It’s not even very good. But it’s a peek into the process understanding of how QMMG works, while trying to have a little fun at the same time. I also inadvertently learned a new bass technique for my patching library. If I were to expand on this patch, I’d certainly unmarry the bass part from the rest for its own track, but other problems exist too.
The delay is too forward in the mix. With the initial sequence and its premonitions, QPAS’ pinging, and ring modulated sine waves all going through the delay, it got very busy in the mix, sometimes obscuring the bleeding vactrols of QMMG, which was the entire point of the patch in the first place. I also ran into an inherent problem with using DXG, even as just a mixer. I’ve had my fair share of complaints about the DXG’s inability to not mix. I feel like it’s an extremely important piece of gear in the history of modern Eurorack, but with some serious flaws. It’s the first stereo LPG in existence (as far as I can tell), and made by the LPG legends at Make Noise who made Optomix (two versions), QMMG (two versions), LxD, MMG, RxMx, Dynamix, and the brilliant transistor-based LPG in the Strega, yet despite its importance and lineage DXG is a tragically imperfect piece of kit. As a LPG mixer, it raises and lowers both the volume and the harmonic content of the input simultaneously, more closely mimicking how sounds work in nature. As a sound gets louder, there is more higher harmonic content. As that sound gets softer, it loses harmonic content. And that’s great when you want to create sounds, but when you mix already created sounds together you generally want to control the volume, while leaving the harmonic content intact at every level. The DXG doesn’t allow you to do that. I noticed this phenomena most directly when trying to mix a full wet Mimeophon return signal on Ch 1 from with the dry signal on Ch 2 using its send outputs. Because I didn’t want what amounts to a 50/50 dry/wet mix, I wanted my repeats much softer than the dry signal, the repeats from Mimeophon were not only quieter (good) when patched through the DXG, but also near bereft of its upper harmonic content (very bad). All that pretty Color and Halo being added in Mimeophon, shat upon by the DXG. Although I was able to mitigate this problem by patching the output of the full mixer, rather than only the Ch 2 send output, to Mimeophon, and patching it as an insert using Mimeophon’s mix control rather than as an AUX send with a full wet return as originally intended, this necessary workaround seems to greatly minimize the utility of the Ch 2 send outputs. Traditionally, one would patch the dry signal to Ch 2, the Ch 2 send outputs to Mimeophon with its outputs patched back to Ch 1, and mixed with the original dry signal at the mixer’s sum output. However, losing valuable harmonic content from Mimeophon’s output when I only want to lose volume makes that a far less than ideal use case scenario for me. They work great as mixers, but only if you want to mix inputs at relatively even, loud levels.
Overall I’m pleased with the patch. Not the outcome, per se, but that the process of patching taught a couple of valuable lessons about the gear I’m using so that I might better use it in the future. The QMMG sounds fantastic, both as a LPG and a filter, and I’m slowly learning how to control the Final output of the DPO. Not every patch will turn out well, and that’s okay.
I’m clearly a Make Noise enthusiast, but that by no means makes their products perfect. There is no good excuse for sliding nuts and un-washered M2.5 screws in an otherwise premium case. ↩︎
One thing you hear a lot in modular synth circles is you should take things slowly when you get a new module. Tease it, tickle it, and abuse it until you can find out what makes it unique, and how you might reasonably use it in your work. It’s good advice. Even simple modules can be incredibly complex, or have particular idiosyncrasies that keep you from the results you were expecting despite being fully within the module’s capabilities. It’s good practice to take the time to learn a module.
Except I’m terrible at that. I almost immediately look to try some difficult to make patch that’s hard to set up. Something well above my technical skill level or that I have no experience with. The sort of thing that can make you sell a module quick. Last night was one of those nights. Sort of. Rather than the teasing or tickling I might have been better advised to do, I decided to try an advanced patch straight out of the box, and it taught me a lesson on ingenuity in the face of scarcity.
Having been fully immersed in Make Noise land for the last several months, including a trip to Asheville where I was able to get the lauded QMMG, I got curious about their line of standalone synths, lovingly known as the Make Noise Easel, a trio of two monosynths and a touch controller/sequencer.1 I hadn’t paid much attention to these instruments until recently. In fact, I pretty much immediately dismissed them as something I’d never really want. I have over 2000hp of modular synth, including ~300hp of Make Noise modules. Why would I want a basic monosynth, or a single oscillator synth with a noisy delay? What can those things do that the main modular can’t? What can they do that my Make Noise system can’t?
It turns out the Make Noise 0-Series can do a lot. Certainly a lot more than I initially imagined, including being a paraphonic subharmonic chord machine.2 It’s not that the Make Noise 0-Series is any more capable than a full modular synth. They’re definitely not. But they are designed as self-contained instruments to be played together as a unit, and are all capable of beautiful results individually, and mindblowingly awesome results when played together.
My curiosity piqued, I began to put the pieces together. A Strega and 0-CTRL arrived the same day, though to my dismay, the 0-CTRL arrived with a malfunction pot.3 That first night I explored the Strega, but regretfully didn’t record it. The following day I received the 0-Coast and immediately plugged them in. After initially probing the 0-Coast a bit to get a sense of how it works, I dove in. Not with some simple drone or quickly sequenced up jam, but with turning my new single oscillator semi-modular synth into a three oscillator subharmonic chord machine, while sending it into Strega to get a full four note chord.
Because both of 0-Coast’s function generators, Slope and Contour, can run at audio rates, they can function as oscillators. They can even both have their pitch modulated via their Time and Decay CV inputs respectfully. But this patch uses both function generators as subharmonic oscillators, using the main oscillator’s square wave out put as a trigger, while lengthening the attack of each function generator until its output is a subharmonic tone of the main oscillator’s pitch. Set the Rise and Fall of Slope, and the Onset, Sustain, and Decay parameters at full CCW, and patch the square wave output of the main oscillator to the Trigger and Gate inputs of Slope and Contour, and monitor from the Slope and Contour outputs. Slowly turn the Rise and Onset knobs clockwise until your hear the tone drop an octave. If you turn more it will drop another 5th. Experiment with these tones until you’re happy with the result. Because these oscillators are being triggered by the main oscillator they should (almost) always be in tune.
The trick to patching your newly made subharmonic tones to the output is via mixing. Patch the Slope output to an input of the Voltage Math, and the Contour output to the other channel. Then patch your output from the Voltage Math to the Balance input, and mix to taste. Because you’ve broken the normalization from the main oscillator’s triangle wave to the output mixer, you only have your Overtones to mix with the subharmonic oscillators. Be careful to minimize harmonics in your main oscillator to keep a clean mix. If you use too many upper harmonics in the main oscillator, they will drown out your subharmonic oscillators in the mix pretty quickly.
There are downsides, however. Mixing these three oscillators is not particularly simple, and there is no mechanism for altering the timbre of the tones generated by the function generators. Fortunately Strega transforms everything that goes through its input such that it might not matter. Another downside is that you lose every source of modulation you have, except the underwhelming Strega agitator, when you make the choice to use your only two function generators as oscillators, leaving me only with the choice to use 0-Coast’s clock output to strike the Dynamic input. I could have used amplitude modulation via any of the oscillator outputs, but since this was more a technical patching exercise than a musical venture, I chose to allow the alarm-sounding tones to wail away.4
I didn’t document most of this patch in writing, although the overhead pic should reveal other parts not discussed here. For the most part the rest of the patch is window dressing for the main technical exercise of getting my new monosynth to be a parasynth, so its not all that interesting.
You can also make any 3 note paraphonic chords you want if you have a non-quantized sequencer with at least three voltage outputs per step, like the 0-CTRL. I’ll document that patch in a later post. ↩︎
The pitch pot on the 6th step would only send out voltage if I was physically pressing down on the pot. I suspect there’s a missed or cold solder connection. ↩︎
If I were just a little smarter I might have used the 0-Coast’s Midi B output as a LFO, but I didn’t know it was possible or how to do it until afterwards. ↩︎
Most of the time in modular synthesis drift is bad. Musicians all over will do whatever is necessary to mitigate drifting clocks or rhythms. Module makers of all sorts include resets specifically for the purpose of realigning the outputs to an incoming clock with the explicit goal of avoiding drift. Maintaining time is crucial in any beat driven track. Except when it’s not. And it’s this rhythmic drift that I wanted to explore in this otherwise beat driven patch.
It’s no secret that I like chaos. I use it for modulation or as a clock in most patches. I generally don’t expect or even desire steady clocks when I use chaos, but I also don’t generally produce beat driven compositions, and when I have I’ve tended towards uniform clocks and on-beat rhythms like most people. But today I wanted to explore a beat driven patch that uses chaos as its driving force. Rather than fear the drift, I endeavored to lean into the inherent wandering of chaotic signals while using them as lead in creating the rhythms. What I got is a wonderful dance of rhythms that want to be in line, but just can’t quite maintain their focus to make it last the whole way through. A set of rhythms that are mostly on the grid, but that occasionally drift before finally meandering their way back to the beat, like an ADHD dad in a grocery store. What we hear is the beauty of chaos in real time.
A few months ago I emailed Andrew at Nonlinearcircuits to ask for a module recommendation. I had lots of CV producers, but outside of sequencers, a clock divider, and EOR/EOC gates on function generators, I didn’t have many modules that can produce a plethora of gates. Although he had a couple of module recommendations, none came more highly suggested than Numberwang. “It’s like Let’s Splosh, but for gates” were his exact words, and I was sold. Whether using regularly timed signals like LFOs or cycling envelopes, or irregular signals like chaos or random, I’d have a gate creation machine that would be directly related to the signals feeding it.
Although I wasn’t sure how this experiment in chaos-driven rhythms would turn out, I knew I could get at least one of the waves to be in time. NLC’s The Hypster has 3 controls (frequency, gain, and damping). As explained in the Build Guide, “Damping keeps the circuits in the range of useful, somewhat regular modulation signals. As we’ll see later, more damping leads to more regular sine-like oscillations.” The guide goes on to show that although the signals are not exactly what we’d call uniform, if we use a good mixture of both both gain and damping, at least one of them will be regular(ish). Regular enough to drive a beat from. What I heard while using Natural Gate to tune the regularity of the incoming gate, saw via Numberwang’s copious blinkenlights, and with my metronome confirmed it.
With Natural Gate pinging away on my down beat, it was time to find those drifting rhythms I was after, hoping that the chaos feeding Numberwang wasn’t too far dampened and too regular. But things proverbially fell in line all too quickly. After trying several outputs on Numberwang in order to get the perfect four beat sequence, I found it. Beat one of the gate sequence is always on time, at the blazing tempo of 53bpm. This is also the beat that controls the kick and hats (using Pam’s as a 2x clock multiplier). Gates two, three, and four drift slightly. And not in that weird, timely way that slightly out of sync clocks drift and realign,1 but in a more organic way that both speeds up and slows down around that base tempo while being on grid most of the time. It’s a playful game between the clock and its trailing rhythms, not unlike three dogs drifting around its steadily paced owner on a nice walk in the afternoon.
Now that I had a good gate sequence, I needed some pitch to go with it. This patch uses four outputs from the Joranalogue Generate 3 as the main sound source. All four of the outputs (odd, even, full, and core) have very different sounds and timbres, and are up to two and a half octaves apart,2 each patched to a Natural Gate input. But even though I was only using a single pitch sequence for four separate parts, I knew I wanted that pitch to be derived from the same source as my rhythms. I wanted as much of the patch as possible to be driven by those four original chaos outputs. Using a mult, I ran the same four The Hypster outputs used to create my gate sequence in Numberwang to Let’s Splosh, and randomly chose four outputs that were then mixed in the Atomosynth Transmon before making its way to Quantermain for quantization (E Japanese), and finally to Generate 3’s v/oct input. These four Let’s Splosh outputs were modulated in this very excellent voltage controlled matrix mixer via four outputs from the Nonlinearcircuits Frisson. Using four mixed sources for pitch allows for some easy flexibility when trying to add variety. A twist of any of the knobs on the mixer will give a different result in the final pitch sequence. The pitch change was being clocked in Quantermain by one of the unused Numberwang outputs, along with all four notes in the sequence at the Natural Gates’ “Hit” inputs. Once the “Open” parameter on Natural Gate was closed to give the notes definition outside of pitch and timbre changes at about 1:30 in, those same gates also triggered four envelopes on a pair of Frap Tools Falistris to modulate the “Open” parameter and give each note just a little more punch and space.
But Let’s Splosh wasn’t finished doing its part at deriving the pitch sequence, as 10 other outputs were used to modulate various parts of the patch. From subtle changes in the hi hat’s envelope decay, to modulating the “Even”, “Odd”, and “Fundamental” CV inputs on Generate 3 that are constantly changing the timbre of each note produced, and both P1 and P2 CV inputs on both Pladask Elektrisk Dradds used in the patch, Let’s Splosh, and the four signals that feed it, are all over this patch. In total 14 of the 16 Let’s Splosh outputs were used, spreading out remnants and recombinations of those four original chaos signals throughout the entire patch. The only independent module in play that isn’t being driven by those four original chaos signals is the NLC Frisson, which plays a somewhat minor role in modulating direct descendants of those four original chaos signals in getting a pitch CV.
From here the patch is relatively simple, mostly with the sequence running through various effects. The most obvious effect is the ever-wonderful Olivia Artz Modular Time Machine. The taps on the delay combined with feedback can take a very simple four note sequence and turn it into any rhythm I can imagine, and plenty others I can’t, even if the one in this patch is rather unimaginative with all of the taps active, though at different levels. But it’s not just some ornamental delay that I was after either. It’s the Time Machine, when juxtaposed against the steady kick drum, that fully reveals the chaotically drifting rhythm. It’s the key to the entire endeavor. The sequence is only four notes long, and all four notes are quick plucks in Natural Gate. There isn’t much musical information to go on, despite the pains taken to create the patch, and it’s the Time Machine that helps bring that very simple sequence to life. With Time Machine, the slightly out of place notes in the sequence are given a chance to wander. It exposes the frolicsome ebb and flow of chaos for all to see.
Another accompanying effect used in the patch is the always beautiful Rossum Electro-Music Panharmonium. I’ve found Panharmonium to be indispensable in my patches, and have written about it before, as it allows me to fill sonic holes in a very organic way, using the main driver of the composition as its muse. Pitching the Panharmonium up or down to suit my needs, I can fill gaps in the frequency spectrum, or avoid the clashing of instruments in a particular spectrum. I also frequently use it for its excellent ability to fill space, especially in patches that are otherwise sparse, and since it follows its input directly, it’s always harmonically related. In this patch I pitched Panharmonium down an octave using cross faded sines, and ran it through the Bizarre Jezabel Mimosa as an insert, adding progressively more and more distortion as the piece progressed, with it running full wet, though not full distortion, by the end. This creates a bed of pads for these meandering rhythms to float through, while filling space in the frequency spectrum. It helps create texture, and gives the composition some weight.
A pair of Pladask Elektrisk Dradds also made an appearance, even if it didn’t really work out. Using the dry sequence and its many repeats from the Time Machine, my first thought was to fade the granular outputs of the Dradds in and out. Something to add some ornamentation to the patch, but without being prominent. It sounded great when I was setting it up, but is barely audible for most of the patch. Which brings me to the new SetonixSynth Shaka modular voltage controlled stereo matrix mixer.
It’s also no secret that I really like the AI Synthesis 018 Stereo Matrix Mixer. It fundamentally changed the way that I patch and how I go about composing pieces from the moment it was first installed. It opened up a lot of opportunities for how I enjoy patching in modular. I’ve used it in literally every patch since it went in the case. It prompted me to buy the also excellent Atomosynth Transmon voltage controlled matrix mixer. When SetonixSynth announced earlier this summer that they would be releasing a voltage controlled stereo matrix mixer, I knew I was going to get it. I quickly joined the pre-sale mailing list which would give a goodly discount on the first units sold. As soon as I got the email with a link a couple of months later, I went ahead and purchased a Shaka 8 and two Shaka 4 expanders for a four input, four output voltage controlled stereo matrix mixer. There’s the very real possibility that I purchased the first one sold once that link went live. As soon as I got it, it went in the case. I used it in my first patch after putting it in, though I didn’t use any voltage control, opting to see just how close it is to the AI Synthesis on an even playing field. It sounded great. Like the AI Synthesis, the Shaka system is made foremost with high quality sound in mind. But I did notice that the exponential nature of the volume control was unlike anything I’d used before. There’s no sound output until you get to about noon on the dial, and it moves up rather quickly from there. According to the developer, at full attenuation, the output is at -100dB, while it’s still a remarkable -50dB with the dial at noon, maxing out at unity gain (8v) at full clockwise. Adding CV up to 10v can output your signal at +20dB. But that leaves just half a knob twist to dial in the level of each node, making fiddling with knobs a must, and the need for precision is paramount, especially if you’re to perform with it. I won’t say I had trouble dialing in good levels with the knobs. It was easy enough, even if that meant paying much closer attention to a simple process than I normally might.
But once I decided to try and use CV control with this patch, I was stymied by the exponential nature of the level control. I’ve never used an exponential VCA before. All of mine are either linear, or somehow switchable between linear and logarithmic. I was trying to do relatively simple things that I’ve done since my very first patch, like using a cycling envelope to open and close a VCA, and I simply couldn’t figure it out. My first thought was that since the VCA is fully open at 8v, I’d send an 8v envelope in the CV input for a channel and everything would be right with the world. Only it wasn’t. With an 8v envelope from Zadar and the knob at full CCW, I got virtually nothing from the output. I would hear the two Dradds granular-ing away for perhaps two seconds of a 20 second envelope. I couldn’t get any sound at all until the envelope was higher than 6v. I was stumped, with no idea what the problem was, much less a solution. I tried adding some offset with the knob, but that only led to blowing the signal out quickly. I never did find a good solution, hence the sparse appearance of the Dradds.
But hope isn’t lost. In the Shaka thread at Modwiggler, I noted my frustration and was given a couple of tips by the developer. He admits that using CV will take some adjustments to how one might normally patch a VCA. In his last response to me he noted, “With such a slow moving LFO, your best bet is probably to attenuate it more into the range you want. The full attenuation of this module is -100dB, the maximum allowed by the VCA it’s using, so at 10 o’clock it attenuates by -65dB and at noon it attenuates by -50dB. Depending on the input signal that is still a lot of attenuation, so is probably where you want to start for many applications.” He further goes on to say that having silence was his goal at full attenuation, noting that it was the largest concern from testers during development. Having had mixers and other gear that bleeds audio where it doesn’t belong, whether in an output or via crosstalk between separate channels, I can’t say that I blame him. If it’s not a vactrol based device, it shouldn’t ever bleed.
That said, this needed conditioning of CV before going to a VC mixer seems to be trading one hurdle for another. A voltage controlled mixer is desired so that you don’t need separate VCAs to manage signal levels. They’re built right in. That’s a highly desirable feature, especially with stereo signals. But if I need a VCA, or an attenuator, to condition my CV for use in the mixer CV inputs, I’ve simply traded out the reason why I need a VCA pre-mixer. It’s a side step, when the point is an improvement. An external VCA is an external VCA whether it’s used for note shaping before a mixer or envelope attenuation in order to shape the note in the mixer. Add in the relative complexity of having to carefully attenuate and shape the CV alongside meticulous knob placement on the mixer itself so that the CV functions in the way you think it should, and I’m not yet convinced that this particular implementation a real step forward. I’m not yet ready to give up on the Shaka system. It’s a very powerful idea that could bring yet another boon to my patching in the same way the AI Synthesis 018 did over a year ago. But if these VCAs don’t function like virtually every other VCA I regularly use, and CV preparation is more of a chore than simply using a VCA for note shaping before the mixer, I’ll have to re-evaluate its place in my rack.
Unfortunately I was unable to get good CV control over the Dradds’ level, and it only peeks through seldomly, and for only a short time. Fortunately my inability to get good CV control over the Dradds wasn’t a crucial part of the composition, and despite its absence, the patch sounds great.
The last part of the patch couldn’t be simpler. The kick drum is a simple filter ring with the Frap Tools Cunsa. The same envelope used to hit the filter input is also used as FM to give the drum a bit more punch. The hats are just as simple, using white noise from Sapel that is patched through Cunsa using a HP output. The VCA in Cunsa is hit by an envelope with a very lightly modulated decay to introduce some difference. Something between a fully closed “tic”, and a very slightly opened “pshh.” Both envelopes are clocked originally from that same regular downbeat of the four step sequence, but it’s patched through Pamela’s Pro Workout. Both outputs are at a 2x multiplier, with the hi hat output being shifted 50% to be on the offbeat.
Overall, this was a really fun patch to make. I had an idea that I was able to bring to fruition, despite some difficulties with a new piece of gear. I’ll keep working with the Shaka system until I either conclude that it’s better than the AI Synthesis 018, or I’ll sell it and wait for the next alternative.
Or how how the turn signal in your car will drift in and out of time with music or another car’s turn signal. ↩︎
As explained in the Generate 3 manual, “[The Core output] is the 10 Vpp triangle wave output straight from Generate 3’s VCO core. Also note that it is at half the frequency of, so one octave below, the fundamental output, and thus can be used as a sub-octave signal” The manual continues on to note that the “Even” output is a saw wave at twice the frequency of the fundamental, the odd is an octave and a half higher (beginning on the 3rd harmonic), and the “Full” wave being all harmonics, including the fundamental. ↩︎
Eurorack can be a funny space. We have thousands of modules available to us to do any number of amazing things with sound. Sometimes these modules are bullshit copies of a worthy predecessor, while others are completely unique and have a cult-like following that stands the test of time and the ever-increasing number of new modules released almost daily.
And then there’s a very small handful of modules that attain legendary status in the community for being something much greater than the sum of its transistors, capacitors, and resistors. Those modules that transcend its intended purpose and becomes an instrument unto itself. The Make Noise Maths is a meme at this point, being the solution for so many Eurorack conundrums. If you need to perform some difficult (or easy) control scheme, chances are “Maths does that.” The Modcan Quad LFO and Rabid Elephant Natural Gate are other examples. But arguably no other module in all of Eurorack approaches the iconic status of the Make Noise QMMG.
Originally billed as a spin on the Buchla 292c, the QMMG (Quad Multi Mode Gate) is a quad set of VCAs, low pass gates, resonant low pass filters, and resonant high pass filters, with clever normalizations and mixing schemes that make it ideal for controlling and mixing both audio and CV. On the surface QMMG isn’t anything special. It looks simple enough, like most quad filters out there. But under the hood is some circuitry magic that does “something” to the sound that elevates QMMG to its current pedestal atop almost everyone’s Eurorack wishlist. A quick peek at Reverb will show a seldomly sold module that goes for several times more than its original retail cost, with buyers eager to plunk down thousands, and happy to have the chance to own one of these fabled modules, even if only for a short time.
Although this story is largely accurate, I’d be remiss to omit one simple fact: although the QMMG has been around in one form or another since 2008, so few of them have been made that scarcity plays a large role in its status, as well as almost all of these modules. It’s no coincidence that so many legendary-status modules fetch obscene prices on the secondary market. There just aren’t very many of them. They’re unicorns. Unicorns to the point that their scarcity adds to the legend. Some of these shortages are the result of these modules being made by hand in small workshops by as few as one person. Costs in a small operation are already very high. Scaling production simply isn’t an option for many.1 Some are the result of a company having stopped making them long ago. Others, like QMMG, are the result of the parts being both difficult to source, as well as being expensive when you can find them. Add in a serious variability differential between nominally the same exact parts, and it’s just plain hard to build them in any sort of real quantity. So far as anyone can tell, far fewer than 1000 QMMGs have been made since its original release in 2008. Originals are scarce and fetch very high prices. There was a 10th anniversary run in 2018 which resulted in perhaps 100 units, but nothing since. The only place to get one is on the secondary market at collectors prices.
Until now.
In mid-August Make Noise announced that although QMMG is a difficult module to build on any sort of scale, they had spent the better part of the last several years sourcing and testing as many parts as they could find in order to try and fill the gap. That QMMG would make a return, even if only in another limited release. It would go on sale in stores worldwide on September 9, 2024, with a popup sale event on September 7, 2024 at the Make Noise headquarters in Asheville, NC.
Make Noise is a staple in the Eurorack community, and has been for a very long time. They helped usher in the modern era of Eurorack with modules like Maths, QMMG, and Rene, and have been stewards of modular music, making hundreds of demonstration and tutorial videos. Walker Farrell, Make Noise’s YouTube video host, is known throughout the modular world as an ambassador of not only Make Noise as a company, but the entire genre of modular music. Very few Eurorack synths don’t have at least one Make Noise module. Without Make Noise, Eurorack would not be what it is today. Yet despite their enormous success, Make Noise understands that this community is small, and still seeks to interact directly with their customers. Not only do they occasionally open up their HQ in Asheville for special releases like QMMG, but they often use that opportunity to help proselytize Eurorack and modular synthesis as a whole in a way that is more than than just promoting their brand and bottom line. Today that sense of community building came in the form of a free modular performance at a local brewery and beer garden, Cellarest, where about 100 Eurorack geeks got to hang out with people we’ve never met, and never would have met without the QMMG event, to enjoy something special outside of being one of the few who were fortunate enough to purchase one of the most revered modules of all time at retail pricing, straight from Tony Rolando himself.
Being that this was the first time I’ve been to a modular performance, it wasn’t at all what I expected. When I sat down with my first Crescent 9 seltzer, I was expecting boots and pants, or some approximation, but instead got three freeform modular improvisations by three experienced modular performers, which was a rare treat. I hadn’t anticipated that, like me, their creative interests would lie in something far less structured and free flowing. The patches were clearly premade, but the performances spontaneous and raw. Although I’m not sure I’d play their performed pieces on repeat, it was an eye opening peek into a live creative process, and I’m glad I was able to share that space and enjoy that process with them.
I feel very fortunate that I was able to attend the pop-up sale event and snag a revered and highly sought after module that’s been high on my want list since I first got into modular synths. When I first looked into getting a QMMG, I was resigned to never having one. I knew that no matter how good, I was never going to buy one on the secondary market at collectors prices, and with Make Noise, along with much of the rest of the modular universe, beginning to move away from vactrols because of asinine EU regulations, I didn’t anticipate they’d make another run. Yet here we are, and with ideal circumstances to finally have a good chance to snag from straight from the source. I’m very privileged to be in the position I am. And, perhaps even better, I was able to meet new people, including a couple of very cool guys who were in line behind me, and experience my first modular performance. It was a very good day, and I hope Make Noise has many more release events like this in the future.
Even though both Mannequins and Rabid Elephant have found new ways of scaling production beyond a few dozen per cycle, it hasn’t been until this year, almost a decade after they were originally released. ↩︎
Modulation is what makes modular synthesis a compelling medium. Without control voltage, boredom ensues. But sometimes finding just the right amount of modulation is often tedious, if not difficult. Too much and chaos ensues. Too little and you might as well not use any at all. To help find that sweet spot, try fine tuning your modulation.
It’s simple: Use two VCAs in series. When you route a control signal to a VCA, you can attenuate it to help find the course range. But if you route the output of an attenuated VCA into a second VCA, you will now have a full knob’s worth of control on a smaller portion of the original signal, maximizing your resolution and more easily allowing you to find the perfect amount of modulation.
This technique works especially well when mixing with an offset voltage with the fine tuned CV because you can narrow your CV to a very specific range.
After a fantastic morning of sailing through Glacier Bay, I decided to spend the afternoon and evening patching while I watched the beautiful southeast Alaskan coast float by outside my cabin window, door ajar for the the sound and smell of the sea as inspiration. The first patch started simply enough, the Swell Physics four wave outputs into Quad Operator’s four gain inputs, through some delay and reverb, and out for your pleasure. But this time I decided to add a bit of variation via Batumi’s various wave shapes to modulate the wave shape of each of the operators. This modulation had the unanticipated effect of also modulating the apparent volume of the output as well, which created a very cool phasing effect of the individual waves as both their levels and wave shapes were being modulated at separate rates.
The four Quad Operator outputs are mixed down to stereo, then sent through QPAS which had moderately heavy modulation to the cutoff, both Radiance CV inputs, and with gates to both !!¡¡ inputs. I mixed both the LowPass and Smile Pass outputs at about a 75/25 ratio for some very cool stereo imaging, and sent the signal to Nautilus.
Although I’ve used the Chroma feature of the Qu-Bit Nautilus a lot, I’d never used the wavefolder in the feedback path. I’d never used it because I never said to myself, “Man, what this feedback path needs is wavefolding!” Overdrive, distortion, and bitcrushing sure, but unfortunately wavefolding was ignored. A pretty aqua color in the kelp light show on the panel between the orange overdrive and red distortion. This oversight was a dumb and tragic mistake, alleviated by the conscious choice to use wavefolding in this patch. Wavefolding in the feedback path sounds fantastic! Controlling feedback and the Depth of the Chroma is crucial because wavefolding, like distortion and bitcrushing, can create runaway feedback quickly if the balance between feedback and wavefolder isn’t closely watched. The effect, as modulated by a highly attenuated triangle wave from Batumi, created a mix between a nasally and almost fuzz-like tone where there are some edges of the sound starting to leak and sputter, particularly on lower tones.
As accompaniment I went with the LABS Choir samples in the Disting Ex SD Multisample algorithm, using three of the Swell Physics wave outputs for pitch, and the 1 < 2 and 3 > 4 gate outputs through the CuteLab Missed Opportunities as triggers. What I was watching go by as our ship rolled along the grand Alaskan coastline called for drama. Something that could create tension and with some occasional resolution. Although I might better tune the gates to get just the right amount of action if I were to record this patch again, it’s often too sparse, and with not enough harmonization, I feel like the Choir more or less created the effect I imagined, even if it sometimes veered from dramatic to an uneasy suspense. It’s a feel as much as anything else.
Both the Quad Operator > QPAS > Nautilus and the Disting Ex voices went to the mixer, and on to the Stratosphere Cloud Reverb.
Overall I like the direction of this patch, but it needs work. The waves from Swell Physics are often way too slow (a common occurrence once the simulation has been running for a while), and although the modulation from Batumi created some very cool phasing effects, it all combined into a slow moving soup. A soup with promise, but a soup nonetheless. There’s just no pace. Perhaps that’s a reflection of the glaciers I’d been watching all morning, but by the time I’d hit the Stop Recording button in AUM the patch seemed to have come to a crawl, begging for an ending. With time, this patch can be exquisite, but I need to put in the work to get it there.
The Night Time Patch
Once I’d hit stop recording on the daytime patch, I’d become slightly frustrated that I couldn’t get it where I wanted to take it. Either through lack of food, time, patience, feel, or some combination thereof, the patch ended with a whimper. I wasn’t satisfied. Having done several slow, ambient patches for the last several weeks, I knew I needed a change. I needed something to shake that ass to. Something to temper my disappointment in the daytime patch, and something to quell my desire to create something. But only after a visit to the buffet to both feed my body and cleanse my musical palette.
When I started patching again that evening I wasn’t exactly sure what I was going for. I knew I wanted something rhythmic and fun, but started in a way similar to how I’ve started lots of patches recently: four Batumi outputs going to the four gain inputs on the Quad Operator. But this time was different. Rather than using slow, randomly paced waves, as I would do in an ambient patch, I used clock divided LFOs to create a rhythm. Not only did each individual LFO create individual notes directly by lowering and raising the gain on each operator, but also created a rhythm via FM modulation.
With the Quad Operator, when you’re using the Gain CV inputs, each operator is available at its output when the gain input has positive voltage, just like with any VCA. Likewise, each operator is also only able to act as a modulating oscillator for Frequency Modulation to the other operators via the Quad Operator’s FM Matrix when its gain is positive (or the Gain CV input is not patched), making each Gain CV input have an effect on more than just that operator’s output. Each Gain CV input also controls timbre in other operators’ outputs as well, drastically changing the complexion of the overall sound as these various LFOs fade in and out at different, but related speeds, and with differently shaped waves. Sometimes an operator is being FM’d. Sometimes not. It’s a nice way of being able to use all four of the Quad Operator’s outputs, even if tuning can get complex, rather than sacrificing operators to modulation duties only. It doesn’t make sense to use a FM synth like the Quad Operator in this fashion very often, but it works well in some styles of patching. The four operator outputs are routed to the Mutable Instruments Veils for a stereo mix down before going to the final mixer. From there it’s sent to the Blue Mangoo Stratosphere Cloud Reverb.
If I were to do a patch like this again, I would probably process one or more the Quad Operator outputs individually to add some spice, rather than immediately mixing them to stereo. To treat each of those outputs as individual entities unto themselves, rather than assimilating them into a larger body immediately after their creation, never allowing each to have their own existence. Sending one output or another through a separate effect or process than the others might help create something special that is lost once an individual signal is married to another in a mixer.
The kick drum is about as simple as it gets. A /2 square wave output from Batumi to Plaits, twist the knobs a bit until you find the timbre, decay, and pitch you want, and turn the FM trimmer to taste. One of the wonders of Plaits, and Braids before it, is its versatility. It can be almost anything you want it to be. From a FM oscillator to speech synthesis to kick drums and plucked strings, Plaits can make a whole lot of sounds and be the main voice in any patch. If you have something like the Jasmine And Olive Trees Traffic, or if you’re savvy with CV processing, Plaits can be many things at once. Today, however, Plaits was just a humble kick drum.
I had hoped to use QPAS in a more exciting manner. One of my favorite ways to use QPAS is by pinging it. But because QPAS normally lives isolated in a Make Noise only case, I haven’t really experimented much with pinging it without the using the nice, wide gates of both Tempi and René v2. But my clock in this case, the Sitka Gravity, doesn’t have any of those, and my sequencer, the T12, was already being used. Gravity outputs short triggers, about 15ms, which are great for telling something else it’s time to do its thing, but virtually useless as direct modulation, and the ability to use the gate’s length to help control modulation, such as with an ADSR envelope, is lost. I could ping the input with a trigger easily enough, but instead decided to use a probability gated square wave from Batumi via the CuteLab Missed Opportunities, which wasn’t quite the same as using the 50% duty cycle gates Tempi spits out. Although the developer of the Gravity has said that a gate mode, wherein the duty cycle of the gate will be adjustable, for now it’s all triggers. I could (should) have just used the triggers from Gravity to sync to Batumi and trigger envelopes from that unused Changes sitting there wondering why he was left out of the party, but it just didn’t occur to me until I was too deep in the patch to bother with changing it. With the Batumi square wave, the pronouncement of the modulation and ease of switching up the gate patterns just wasn’t there. You can hear the modulation well enough in isolation, but it’s almost nonexistent in the mix.
Despite my lack of imagination in modulating QPAS with unfamiliar tools, its role in the patch, however, is crucial. Its LP outputs add a marimba-like percussive element (thanks to feedback patching the left HP output to the highly attenuated Freq 1 input) to accompany the kick drum, and contribute a party-like atmosphere in the patch.
There are also two new-to-me elements to this patch that I hadn’t yet tried. The first is to use the Doboz T12 as an arpeggiator. Since the T12 is brand new, there are a lot of new things to try. It’s a deep, highly versatile module. I’ve used it as a sequencer, and as a touch controller (my over-70 mom also had a great time using it as a touch controller). In this patch I’d use it as an arpeggiator with the second new-to-me element: using the Poly Wavetable algorithm on the Disting Ex.
The T12 is turning out to be something akin to the greatest in-case touch controller in Eurorack. Of course I haven’t used many others, and those that I have used never tried to be quite as much as the T12 strives after, but the T12 seems to have some serious chops in terms of immediately challenging Eurorack mainstays like the Make Noise Pressure Points or Doboz’s own TSNM MKII. The T12’s main limitations are its inputs and outputs, and that it requires some level of menu diving . It only has three inputs and outputs. A pitch CV, an AUX CV, and a gate output, with clock and reset inputs, along with one solitary CV input. Something like Pressure Points can put out several voltages from several “channels” simultaneously, which is not something the T12 can do, but the T12 more than makes up for these shortcomings with flexibility, the customizability of each mode, and the ultra-intuitive user interface. The T12 is, by far, the easiest module I’ve used that has a screen based UI. Virtually all of the options for each mode are changed on the surface menu level, without any real diving at all. Doboz did a knockout job with designing the interface to be powerful, expansive, and super easy to navigate.
The T12 in use as an arpeggiator is smooth and ultra-fun. It will arpeggiate as many notes as you can get your fingers on, and the touch plates are very responsive when making changes. There’s generally enough space to maneuver use three or four fingers of one hand to make your note changes, but there are some button combos that require some serious hand dexterity, or the use of two hands. But once you get a feel for how to move your hand in the space, muscle memory starts to take over, and it’s nothing but pure fun. As with most arpeggiators there are several directions or patterns you can choose. This patch started with a forward pattern, and a 20% probability that a gate will be skipped, then, at some point, switched to a random direction, with a 20% probability that a gate will be skipped. There are many options I could have investigated, like the probability and range of pitch variability (by step or overall), or transposition, or using the AUX CV output, but I chose to keep it simple, and, quite frankly, I was having a really good time spending my night doing something simple and performative.
If I’m being honest, this patch was the first time I’ve used the Disting Ex in any algorithm other than the SD Multisample. The Disting Ex too is a deep, highly versatile module, to put it lightly, but I traded away a 1010 Music Bitbox Micro for a Disting Ex because of its capability as a multisample player, specifically that it can play eight simultaneous voices of polyphonic multisamples via pitch CV and gate inputs. No other module can do that in quite the same way. But I’d already used SD Multisample in my first patch on the trip, the Daytime Patch before this one, as well as my test patch before leaving. Every patch I’d made with this case included SD Multisample, and I wanted to try something new with this synth.
Because the patch was lively, I wanted to use a lively sound source for my arpeggios. Quad Operator was already in full use, and Plaits was thumping along as a kick drum, so I knew I needed to find another algorithm in the Disting Ex. If QPAS could self oscillate (without help), and if it could follow v/oct pitch CV, I probably would have used it as the arpeggiator voice either by pinging it (which QPAS does fantastically, as this patch shows), or as a sine wave oscillator through a VCA using the envelopes created by the T12. But QPAS doesn’t self oscillate or follow v/oct pitch CV, so the Disting Ex was the way. I could have chosen a completely unpatched CalSynth Changes, a very excellent MI Stages 1:1 clone, loaded with the latest quimem firmware in Ouroboros (Harmonic Oscillator) mode, but by the time I decided I wasn’t going to use Changes as a modulation source I was already set on using the Poly Wavetable algorithm in the Disting Ex.
Fortunately, Poly Wavetable is very similar to SD Multisample in how it functions. Poly Wavetable can take 3 CV sources and 3 gates and play up to 8 simultaneous voices polyphonically. That said, the weakness of the Disting UI and very small display becomes glaringly magnified when you need to make parameter changes, especially with nearly-50 eyes. You get a slew of options, several dozen, and a very tiny screen with which to navigate and make changes. I would have greatly preferred to control envelopes and such with a dedicated envelope generator outside of the Disting in a VCA or LPG, but I elected to use the internal envelope because I didn’t have any more VCAs to use, much less two of them. The 8 VCA channels (plus VCAs within modules like QPAS and Quad Operator) I brought with me were already in use doing other things, so fumbling through the menu system was the only way. Don’t get me wrong: the Disting Ex is incredibly powerful, and each algorithm is highly customizable. It sounds fantastic, and it can do dozens of operations from polyphonic multisample player to a pitch to CV generator, matrix mixer, or lots of other tasks. The Disting line, but particularly the Ex, is truly is the ultimate Swiss Army knife of Eurorack. Such a broad tool, that is also quite deep, is bound to be awkward sometimes. Since they’re built to do everything, it’s impossible to also have a UI that will match a good workflow for all of the algorithm functionality (perhaps, some might argue, for any of them). That said, the UI manages to be fairly simple to navigate. If you can see it. Most of the options are controlled on the surface level of the menu. You turn one encoder to change options, a second to change a parameter within that option, and click a third to save it.
Having listened back to the recording several times, I definitely wish that I had a pair of LPGs available to me in the case. That attack and intoxicating decay from a LPG would have been just the thing. The arpeggios in the Night Time patch are enunciated, but only just adequately. I never really got to shaping the internal ADSR envelope beyond shortening the release a bit, and the UI is actively hostile to changing while trying to perform. The UI really hindered me there, (I was trying to booty shake, not squint my eyes at a tiny screen trying to optimize my envelope), and that unused Changes was still staring at me with that sad face one gets when everyone except you were invited to the party. I know there are 3rd party screens for the Disting that alleviate the problem, this one came with one when I traded for it, but of the ~2200hp in my synth, my only 1u row is in the Make Noise 4 Zone Bus Case, which is occupied by a CV Bus Mk2, so it’s out of the question unless I decide to get two Distings.
This patch was a lot of fun to build and perform. I hope to patch in this same vein on my full synth soon enough.
One last tool that I used on this trip that I hadn’t really written much about, and that I bought specifically for this trip, is the Bolanle PH400 4-Channel Headphone Amp. Since the plan was to use this synth with my brother, I wanted a means to have independent volume control. I loathe having to share volume control of headphones, and so decided on a small headphone amplifier. Although the PH400 is certainly not something I’d call studio worthy, I can say that it’s a good piece of kit, and it met all of my requirements. It had to be powered by USB C, small and portable, and it had to have individual control, and it had to sound good or better. I wanted something with both sized headphone outputs for each channel to avoid adapters, and the PH400 has that. Each channel also has its own mute button. As an added bonus, the LED light show is cool. This thing works great.
The first night at sea was as eery as I can remember seeing on the water. Like a scene from a dreamworld that was real, but didn’t always seem like it. Like we were traveling between realms. I won’t claim to be some long travelled seafarer, but, having grown up by the ocean, I’ve spent a good amount of time on the water in my life. I’ve been in ocean faring boats on three continents and three oceans from the tropics to the arctic. But one thing I’ve never experienced while on the water is The Marine Layer. I’ve seen fog, even bad fog, but nothing could really prepare me for the enveloping marine layer clouds. It was the kind of dense cloud soup that, in another age, might have been the demise of a ship unable to see any navigation markers whether on the land, sea, or in the sky. The only thing visible in the gloom was the sparkling refraction of the ship’s fog lamps, and the sea rolling off the hull as we slowly made our way through Puget Sound and out to sea. The ship’s fog horns blasting every few minutes, and gentle splashing against the hull 80 or so feet below us, the only things to be heard. The entire experience left a lasting impression.
I spent much of that night and parts of day two scouting the ship for someplace that would be a good spot to whip open a modular synth case later at night. I wanted to be as out of the way as I could, but still in a spot that has adequate electricity to power the synth and a small USB hub connected to my iPad, the Michigan Synth Works XVI, and a small 4-channel headphone amp I bought in a lieu of a passive TRS splitter for using with more than 1 person (I loathe not having individual volume control).. Although I ultimately found a couple of good candidate spots, but this first recording I made during some morning downtime in my cabin before arrival at our first port of call. I wanted to give a full test run of the equipment in my room before lugging it down nine decks, the full width of the ship, and nearly its entire length. The setup is not terribly complicated, but it can be fussy, and I didn’t want to waste time futzing with gear in a communal space.
For this first run of the full use of this synth with all of its accompanying support gear, I wanted to use a familiar patch so as not to become overstimulated if I were to encounter problems with my other gear. I spent the better part of two weeks pouring over a patch with the Addac Systems Addac508 Swell Physics and RYK Algo that I quite enjoyed making, and so decided to go with that same approach using the Humble Audio Quad Operator. The four Swell Physics wave outputs to the four operator VCAs (Gain 1-4) to slowly bring their individual voices in and out with the flow of the ocean. This goes straight to the mixer, operators one and three panned left, with operators two and four panned right, where it’s then sent to a reverb bus using the beautiful Blue Mangoo Stratosphere Cloud Reverb.
Three of the Swell Physics outputs also provided the source for pitch CV used in the second voice. In another bid to patch something familiar, I once again used chaotically generated gates with the NLC Stochaos, alongside Disting Ex’s SD Multisample algorithm, this time using LABS Music Box samples. As in my test patch at home, I again used a tempo modulated Sitka Gravity to have the clock float above and below the base tempo of 72bpm. If I were just a bit smarter, I would have thought to use one of the four wave outputs from Swell Physics rather than a random LFO from Batumi II.
The Toy Piano samples output to the Qu-Bit Electronix Nautilus for some delay and with gradually introduced bit crushing in the feedback path. The delay is set fairly slow, with light modulation to Reversal, Feedback, and Dispersal. In a roughly 50/50 dry/wet mix, the Nautilus outputs go straight to the mixer, and are sent to the reverb bus.
The last portion of the modular is an approximation of the ship’s blaring foghorn. I’m using Plaits in (I think) FM Synthesis mode, using the Doboz T12 touch controller to manually play the note. It’s only used three or four times through the ~7 minute recording.
This patch is the first I can recall making where I’ve used post-production processing rather than playing everything live. This synth is limited, and so is time to create patches. Before I left on the trip I knew that my synth was without one of my staples: a granular processor. Earlier revisions of the case had a Mutable Instruments Beads, but it was eventually lost in favor of something else I can’t remember. I do know that I while I was building the synth I was insistent on several modules having a spot. The Addac Swell Physics, Qu-Bit Nautilus,1 Doboz T12 + 3hp module of choice (I chose the Klavis Tweakers), Expert Sleepers Disting Ex, uO_C, CalSynth Changes (MI Stages), Sitka Gravity, and the Humble Audio Quad Operator were non-negotiable for me, despite a couple of them being large for a case this size. But Beads didn’t make the cut because I found an excellent granular processing plugin for iPad, Fluss, by Hainbach and Bram Bos. It can function as a granular instrument, granular sampler to record and process longer samples, or a live granular processor with a 6 second buffer. Because it’s the behavior that most closely resembles Beads, I’ve only used it in live mode, and I can say that I really like it. Because it’s a live processor Fluss is a good substitute for Beads, and despite being a plugin, it leverages the iPad touch environment well, being a very hands-on, playful interface. Sliders and discs can be flicked around, the effect frozen, manipulation of the three voices, and more are all easily accomplished with touch gestures. Fluss also speaks fluent midi, and can be used with hardware controllers should you want even more manual control.
After recording the modular, I played the recorded file in AUM through an effect bus with Fluss as the plugin, with yet another send from the Fluss output to the Blue Mangoo Stratosphere Cloud Reverb. I mixed the original recording with the granular processing and reverb, and recorded that mix, which is what we have here.
I’ve been using AUM as a final mixer for quite a while with my modular. The way my main synth is set up now, I can’t even listen to it without plugging it into my iPad with AUM. An Expert Sleepers ES-9 is my only output module in that synth. Until recently I’d basically been using it as a very basic mixer. Most of the time it would be a simple stereo input mixed in the synth, primarily via the AI Synthesis 018 Stereo Matrix Mixer, while using one send/return bus to go out to a reverb pedal before final mixing. But as I prepared for this trip, knowing I’d need to use plugins in ways I generally don’t, I started making more intricate mixes, utilizing various sends from several input channels to effects plugins and the output bus. Although I haven’t (yet) recorded multitracks on this trip, AUM is certainly set up to easily to do so. Since I haven’t done much post-processing, I haven’t felt the need to, though that may change as I learn to better leverage a mixed hardware-software environment. I’m not terribly interested in moving in the box, but if a plugin has a touch driven interface that’s playable, like Fluss, there’s no good reason to avoid it since I’m already using AUM as my mixer.
Modular synth performed and recorded in 1 take in AUM on iPad via the Expert Sleepers ES-9. Granular effects added during post processing in AUM on iPad.
*****
Yes, both the Swell Physics and Nautilus were chosen specifically for their oceanic themes. An early revision of the case also had the Qu-Bit Aurora, which would fit the destination too, but it was substituted out early on during the revision process for something more practical like VCAs or modulation.
While I was testing a synth I built for my brother and me to play while on a family vacation, I wanted to see if I could get something more ambient from what I perceived as a more rhythmic-oriented case. I have a master clock, a sequencer, a chaotic/random gate producer that likes the time grid, all dedicated to staying in time. My brother is more of a shake your booty type of guy and I wanted to bring something he would enjoy too, so rather than chaos and random ahoy, I put in several modules that he could feel comfortable with too. But rather than resign myself to grid based tempos and rhythms from this synth, I ventured to see how I might go about creating something more freeform. Instruments tends to direct their players towards certain ways of doing things. Modules do the same via their UI cues. All modules demand some particular workflow which lends towards different styles as a result of their design. But this subtle push by module makers doesn’t preclude using their designs in ways that maybe they weren’t designed to be used, or in ways they hadn’t considered. Individual case builds likewise push musicians to patch in certain ways.
Since this was a test, I started with a familiar idea and tried to see how I might create an irregular clock in order to use Stochaos to hit the Disting Ex in the SD Multisample mode using the LABS Soft Piano samples. It’s one of my favorite voice patches, and generally it sounds beautiful. Enter the Sitka Instruments Gravity.
The Gravity is a 6hp, 6 output master clock. It doesn’t have the sorts of clocked modulation options that something like the ALM Busy Circuits Pamela’s Pro Workout has, nor does it have the quick, hands on manipulation of the Make Noise Tempi. But it does have a fair few things going for it. It’s a rock solid clock, and easy to manipulate, even at first glance. The UI is intuitive, and its distractions few. Each output has three modes: Clock, Probability Clock, and Sequencer. The clock and probability clock does what it says. The outputs put out short triggers according to a clocked division or multiplication of the master tempo.1 Timekeeping is not exciting, however it is crucial. But the killer app in the Gravity is that its tempo can be modulated by control voltage, a feature not found in every master clock. At this realization I knew just exactly how I was going to get my wonky clock.
After plugging in a smooth random LFO from Batumi II + Poti II and tuning its frequency and amplitude to taste, we had a modulating clock that randomly floats above and below the master tempo. The Gravity gives a numerical option when the master tempo is being modulated, called Range. It’s simply a number that goes up by tens. Although initially I wasn’t sure just exactly what that number represents, the developer noted that it’s a fixed maximum BPM deviation above and below the set master tempo. So if your tempo is set to 80bpm, for example, with a Range of 10, it will swing as low as 70bpm with -5v of CV, and as high as 90bpm with +5v of CV. Clever. Subtle undulations is one thing. Wild tempo fluctuations is something else altogether, and having a defined maximum range built in to the modulation is a really good way of making it easier. This clock was fantastic, subtly shifting faster and slower. Being anticipated, while not being predictable, and never on a strict grid. Perfect.
Although I didn’t need more triggers than what Gravity can supply to ping the Disting Ex, I did want those triggers to extend laterally, never close to anything we could call a pattern. Stochaos once again provides a beautifully timed spread of triggers which form the basis of the piano voice in the patch. It always takes some clock adjustments to get the triggers just so. In this patch I ultimately used a x8 multiplication of that modulated clock with a 20% chance of skipping a beat to drive Stochaos. This kept triggers coming at a reasonable pace for Stochaos to spread the gates through its various outputs, helped by the retrigger setting in the SD Multisample algorithm to “Synth” to keep it from going too cluttered with notes.
For pitch, I used three of the four Swell Physics outputs into Quantermain (in C major). One of the quantizers was set to quantize to all 7 notes in the scale, with the other two set to quantize only to the root, third, and fifth. This turned out to be a wonderful method of getting pitch. The outputs on Swell Physics are all inter-related, and something akin to phased LFOs, only the phasing is more organic. Swell Physics is not a single speed with waves sliding back and forth, but the movement of the ocean, with ebbs and flows that can’t be strictly controlled, and where each wave affects the others. All of their speeds fluctuate, as do their amplitudes. This set of waves allowed for a good spread of notes, with minimal dissonance.
The Soft Piano sample outputs from Disting go to the Qu-Bit Nautilus for some unclocked delay. Feedback and Depth are lightly modulated by the highly attenuated AVG output from Swell Physics, while a highly attenuated saw ramp LFO from Batumi II + Poti II modulates Reversal. The patch starts with no Chroma (Qu-Bit speak for an effect inserted into the delay feedback path), but heavy distortion is introduced later on as the patch heightens. Using the delay feedback line for distortion, as opposed to using distortion before the delay, still allows for the piano notes to sing through quite clear, before being clipped to hell over and again as the repeats fade away.
After going through Nautilus, the signal made its way to the Make Noise QPAS for some light HP filtering. In most situations I would run a hard clipped signal through a LP filter to shave off some of the most egregious harmonics, but for some reason I preferred the HP filtering in this patch (I tried all four stereo outputs before deciding on HP filter), and so I won’t be too harsh on myself for an intentional decision made in the moment. The only modulation is via the 1 < 2 and 3 > 4 gate outputs on the Swell Physics via the CuteLab Missed Opportunities to both !!¡¡ inputs for some occasional shooting stars.
But getting a pretty flow of random piano notes wasn’t the final goal. The final goal was to test the new elements of this case so I’d have a basic understanding of how to use the case in a style I enjoy, and hopefully avoid having to constantly dig through manuals during the little time I’d have to patch on the trip, which brings me to a real beast of a module: the new Doboz T12, a 17hp (😕) touch controller, arpeggiator, and sequencer. I had half-assedly tried to get it going a couple of times over the last couple of weeks, but came up empty both times, so it was time to sit down with the manual and dig in.
At first I was intimidated by the T12. There’s not much on the panel outside of 12 touch plates, a screen, a couple of buttons, and an encoder to give you cues, and the options in the screen are many. But once I got over the initial hurdle of Step 1, the intuitive nature of the screen UI took over, which makes it generally simple to navigate and use. The T12 has 4 modes: a touch controller, an arpeggiator, a very straightforward up-to-32 step sequencer, and a more complex extended functionality step sequencer. Although I certainly want to understand the Complex Sequencer, my aim was to tackle the touch controller (why I initially bought the T12 to begin with), the arpeggiator, and the simple step sequencer.
Despite being a bit overwhelming at first glance, having loads of options in the UI, the T12 workflow is both fast and intuitive. Not only are there the standard pitch CV and gate outputs, but also a secondary CV output for something other than pitch. You can set vibrato, including a delay, gate probability, random note probability, touch behaviors, and many other facets of your sequence quickly and easily. The AUX CV output can send envelopes, slewed gates, secondary raw CV, amongst other stuff. The T12 is a really powerful, highly flexible, and intuitive module that is fun to use. Just don’t forget to save your work in one of the many save slots, or else you’re gonna lose all your shit. Ask me how I know. Fortunately this particular patch is pretty easy to reproduce should I have the need.
For this initial patch I wanted to keep sequencing as simple as possible. A slowly plodding 10 note, repeating sub-bass line via the Humble Audio Quad Operator that would flood the audio and shake the room. I was loosely aiming for a post-rockish feel in the progression. It’s intentionally loud, though not so loud that the piano can’t still be clearly heard. With the wandering clock set to /8, and after a smidge of tuning the individual notes in the sequence to what I wanted, I pretty quickly got what I was after.
Which isn’t to say that the bass line is without issues.
Firstly, I’d like to note that both the high level and super-low frequencies were exactly what I was trying to accomplish. I was looking for film score kind of epic. The kind of bass that rattles walls and that you can feel in your stomach. That said, there’s far too much audio gear, including very high quality audio gear, that has a difficult time reproducing C1 (32.70Hz). My audio monitors, a set of Focus Alpha 80 studio monitors only reach down to 38Hz before the cutoff becomes pronounced. At 32Hz, the tone could still be heard, but not with near the authority it should have. D1 (36.71Hz) had similar issues, although not nearly as marked. By the time we get to E1 (41.2Hz) things are booming, but of the 10 notes in the bass sequence, only 5 can be heard with the vigor I intended, and that’s through a good pair of studio monitors. Fortunately the cans I used to record this patch, a set of GK Ultraphones, and the AirPods Max Bluetooth headphones I use for general listening, have no pronounced problems with reproducing the low C. But if I were to record this patch again, and I’m highly considering it, I’ll pitch the entire piece up 4 full semitones (E1) to avoid that conundrum. It’s one thing for a bass heavy piece to not play through phone, tablet, or laptop speakers. It’s a different sort of problem when high quality studio gear can’t do it. Any system with a subwoofer should really shake the foundation, but you shouldn’t need a subwoofer to properly hear music.
The last voice was a spur of the moment addition to the patch. I didn’t know exactly what, but I knew the patch was missing something. It needed one last final touch. It needed Plaits. Though it certainly has its limitations, Plaits is one of the most versatile and best sounding oscillator modelers available. Everything from kick drums, a scaled down Rings algorithm, and FM, plus more is possible with Plaits. At first I didn’t really know what I wanted, other than it be sparse. The Rings algorithm didn’t really fulfill the role. It took away from the patch as much as it added to it.
But as I made my way through the modes one by one, I landed on the final green algorithm: Vowel and speech synthesis. This would normally be unremarkable, but as it happened, I kept hearing the word “Red.” How the various knobs had been set while testing other algorithms landed me smack at the beginning of the colors of the rainbow. I slowly turned the Morph knob to see what else was hidden there, and found a slew of words. At first I set up modulation of the Morph to cycle through the words quickly. Think Robot Auctioneer. And although this addition certainly moved me in the right direction, it still wasn’t the destination. There were too many words being synthesized too quickly. It was slightly distracting, and not wholly complementary.
After a bit of envelope experimentation, I settled on 4 words: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, “said” at a slightly slower than “natural” pace, and with a fairly thin tone. This gives the voice an almost sad feel, which I think slightly tempers the optimism and hope found in C major piano alongside an epic bass line. It brings a bit of the non-perfection and often lonely feel of reality back into scope, and that even non-perfection and loneliness can be contained within beauty.
After repeated listens, I know that I wouldn’t send any pitch information to Plaits were I to record this again. I think having it repeat at the same pitch would have an even larger impact, and be more focused.
One last new module I used is the Intellijel Amps VCA. Two of them chained, actually. Although I initially planned and built this case with an Intellijel Quad VCA, I recently realized the power of fully cascading VCAs,2 and decided to replace one of my Quad VCAs with this pair of Amps. Even with the first use I could see the utility in cascading inputs. The ability to patch one input and get out several signals that are related, yet separately attenuated and/or modulated, for use throughout a patch is powerful. Of course multiple related outputs could also be accomplished by patching multiplied copies of the signal into all four VCA inputs, but with cascading inputs we can eliminate at least six patch points and three patch cables. Efficiency is key. Add in ring modulation and signal inversion, and Amps is a powerful tool indeed.
A fully cascading VCA is one in which all inputs, CV inputs, and outputs are normalized to the following channel until the normalization is broken by a plugged in jack. This configuration allows for a flexible array of both CV and audio patching, capable of complex mixes or routing.
Although I sometimes re-work a patch after recording it, I generally make a couple of obvious (to me) changes, re-record it, and move on to something new. But something about my Study of Addac’s new Swell Physics captivated me, and compelled me to go through several revisions and re-records to flesh out something interesting.
The base of the patch is the same: Swell Physics sends out modulation, which controls the level of the four voices of the RYK Modular Algo, and drives most of the modulation in the patch. The RYK Modular Algo output runs through a filter, and into Beads. All of these are mixed and sent to a reverb. But just about every aspect between those modules has changed. Modulation has been added, subtracted, and tweaked. I went through 4 filters before finally finding one with the right sound. I’ve experimented with different settings on all of the modules to find just the right sound. I added in delay to give some subtle length and a nice tail to the swells as well as the spray (which was also added). With dramatic results, I also changed reverb to the beautifully haunting Walrus Audio Slöer. All in all I spent upwards of 12 hours building and tweaking this patch, making no fewer than 13 different recordings, constantly evaluating the results and searching for way to improve it.
It’s hard to document all of the changes. There were so many. But suffice to say that nothing within the patch went without heavy scrutiny and experimentation. It’s the first thing that I’ve made which resembles something like a finished piece of music.
