atomosynth – peaks and nulls

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.

Modules Used:
Addac Systems Addac508 Swell Physics
RYK Modular Algo
Intellijel Quad VCA
Bizarre Jezabel Pkhia
Joranalogue Orbit 3
Joranalogue Filter 8
Joranalogue Compare 2
Frap Tools Sapel
CuteLab Missed Opportunities
Auza Wave Packets
AI Synthesis 018 Stereo Matrix Mixer
Mutable Instruments Beads
Mutable Instruments Veils
Atomosynth Transmon
Knob Farm Ferry
Olivia Artz Modular Time Machine
Walrus Audio Slöer

Performed and recorded in 1 take in AUM on iPad via the Expert Sleepers ES-9.

I’m not going to go in depth on this patch as there’s a lot of modulation happening and I can’t possibly document it without rambling in circles. I’m also using several techniques I’ve already written about, like using chaos at a clock, running a delay into the Panharmonium, using tape delays, and panning using VCAs.

A couple things of note:

The Echofix EF-X2 tape delays have incredibly good overdrive. The clipping is all analog and is both warm and musical. I would absolutely use the preamp alone to add anything from subtle saturation to thick overdrive. All of the distortion in this track is from the pair of EF-X2 tape echoes.

The Pianist by NOH-Modular is a highly capable chord sequencer. Building progressions is easy and the interface is intuitive. It certainly has faults (that I’ll discuss later in a more comprehensive review), but overall it does an absolutely fantastic job.

Odessa is Odessa and I will make no apologies for it.

This is the first patch during which I’ve used both the go-to AI Synthesis 018 Stereo Matrix Mixer alongside my new mono (voltage controlled) matrix mixer, the Transmon by Atomosynth. I used the latter to mix the Sofia Mix output with the Odessa partials outputs, while panning the Odessa fundamental slowly from left to right (although I can’t really hear the panning in the mix if I’m honest). Having a voltage controlled matrix mixer with individual outs for 12 of the 16 channels, along with 8 channels that can attenuvert makes for a compelling piece of kit. The possibilities are endless.

Modules Used:
NOH-Modular Pianist
Xaoc Devices Odessa (+ Hel)
Xaoc Devices Zadar
Xaoc Devices Lipsk
Xaoc Devices Erfurt
Xaoc Devices Samara II
Xaoc Devices Batumi II (+ Poti II)
Rossum Electro-Music Panharmonium
Holocene Electronics Non-Linear Memory Machine
Atomosynth Transmon
AI Synthesis 018 Stereo Matrix Mixer
Nonlinearcircuits The Hypster
Nonlinearcircuits Divide & Conquer
Nonlinearcircuits Triple Sloth
Auza Wave Packets

Improvised and recorded in 1 take on iPad in AUM via the Expert Sleepers ES-9.

Tag: atomosynth

Swell Physics – A Fourth Revision

A Chordal Soundscape With The Pianist, Odessa, Panharmonium, And A Couple Of Tape Delays