Tag: distingNT

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Jamuary 2530

I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do today. I initially settled on a simple piano into an occasionally reversed delay patch, but wanted more than this very Rings-into-Clouds-like aesthetic. If I wanted that today, I’d just use Rings-into-Beads. But there’s a new module I recently got, and it was kinda staring at me wide-eyed, asking “Can you play with me now?”, akin to a small boy begging his busy father for just a few minutes of time. Or something like that. Whatever.

I was set on buying the new Cutlasses Gloop the very first time I saw it. Gloop is a four head tape looper. Each head can be played simultaneously, in either direction at various speeds. Each head can play the entire loop or any snippet down to small grains. It’s a fantastic looper on paper. I received it a couple of weeks ago, but just hadn’t gotten around to playing it yet. Once I realized that I wanted to use Gloop today, the patch pivoted and started to take on a life of its own. But I made the unfortunate decision to still incorporate the whole reverse delay and Beads thing. It’s not that it sounds bad. It doesn’t. It sounds really nice, actually. But it doesn’t fit with the looper direction very well, and I didn’t have the courage to dump the work I’d already done. It added several unnecessary minutes to the recording, and because of a now fixed peculiarity in how the module operates,1 I flubbed the performance, and had to add more unnecessary time to the recording in order to get the settings right and get to looping. That doesn’t happen until over nine minutes into the recording. Such is Jamuary.

The patch isn’t terribly difficult, even if there’s a lot of patch cables. I patched four cycling functions from the Addac506 to Numberwang, adjusted the rise and fall range to something that produced a nice cadence of gates in the Disting NT. The same four functions went to the Vostok Instruments Asset where I attenuated and offset all four channels into specific ranges of notes so as not to overcrowd the sonic range by using attenuation only. These four signals were patched to the Disting NT CV inputs for the quantizer to voice everything in D minor.

The piano went to the stereo matrix mixer where it was sent to the Veno-Echo, Beads, and Gloop.

Veno-Echo provided the sumptuous delayed sounds, randomly triggered into reverse by End of Rise gate outs on the Addac506, via the CuteLab Missed Opportunities, with a low probability of allowing the gate through.

Beads was set to have medium length grains with a sharper envelope, the buffer being slowly scanned at one octave up. The Beads output was sent directly to the mixer for multitracking.

One unfortunate fact of looping more or less randomly generated parts is that you get what you get. Sometimes, like during my first run-through, you’re able to capture a really good loop. Something you can work with. But other times, you’re not left with much, and you kind of need to eat your own dog food and pretend it tastes great. Such is this recording, I think. It’s not offensive. Not by a long shot. But had this been a take for anything other than Jamuary, I would have re-done it (as well as jettisoned other parts). Looping can be inspiring when you have a good loop. But it can feel like work when you have to search around for good looping points.

I completely neglected to snap any pics of this patch, which is a shame. Next time. And I’ll definitely be revisiting Gloop very soon.

Modules Used:
Addac Systems Addac506 Stochastic Function Generator
Nonlinearcircuits Numberwang
Expert Sleepers Disting NT
Vostok Instruments Asset
AI Synthesis 018 Stereo Matrix Mixer
CuteLab Missed Opportunities
Venus Instruments Veno-Echo
Mutable Instruments Beads
Cutlasses Gloop
Knob Farm Ferry
ST Modular SVCA
Intellijel Quad VCA

Outboard Gear Used:
Walrus Audio Slöer

  1. This behavior has been fixed in the newest firmware, but I haven’t installed it yet. When you cleared a loop, all tape head settings would revert to the default. I didn’t realize it until I was in the midst of performing the patch. ↩︎
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Jamuary 2527

When I set out to do today’s Jamuary patch I had initially planned on recreating, at least in spirit, a patch I did as a test for a travel synth during the summer. After setting up the piano portion of the patch, I changed my mind and decided against creating a sub bass sequence, or indeed using any distortion as I did in that patch. In part was because I was highly taken aback when, instead of plugging the piano output into the Qu-Bit Nautilus, as I did in that patch, I reached for the extremely lo-fi Bizarre Jezabel Quarté Mk2. The natural decay of the delay was plenty dirty in all the best of ways, and decided to go with it instead of introducing some other form of distortion. From there the patch went a very different direction. Rather than a sad yet hopeful tenor, this one is just sad.

For this patch I decided to use Stochaos as my gate producer for triggering the piano sounds, being fed by a chaotically controlled clock. I’m a fan of using chaos as a clock source. I’ve used multiple methods of using chaos to create off beat rhythms, from using Numberwang to running a chaos signal through Divide & Conquer, a clock divider than can use any signal as a clock input. Today I used, for the first time, the Nonlinearcircuits Let’s Get Fenestrated, a comparator NLC-style, fed by a heavily modulated The Hypster. This process created a perfectly ultra-wonky clock, which then fed Stochaos. Stochaos spat out four gates at the Disting NT inputs which triggered both the quantizer and the Poly Multisample player.

The audio was sent to the AI Synthesis 018 Stereo Matrix Mixer, and on to the Bizarre Jezabel Quarté Mk2 for some soul-crushingly beautiful repeats that seem to disintegrate as they decay away. I seriously contemplated just leaving the patch at that, adding in some reverb, and calling it a day, but I knew that I could add to it subtly and give it some more life. To give it some other textures to contemplate and heighten the overall mood of the piece without distracting too much from the piano and those beautiful repeats.

I started with the Qu-Bit Electronix Data Bender, but I knew I only wanted to use that sparingly and didn’t think it would add enough by itself, so opted also to send the piano notes to the Dradd(s) for some good old fashioned time stretching. This was perfect and even allowed me to use the Data Bender even more sparingly so as not to overwhelm the Piano with failure. I slowly controlled the Data Bender output in the ST Modular SVCA with a modulated LFO from the Frap Tools Falistri. To modulate the length of the LFO I used an attenuated and slightly offset Smooth Random output from Sapel into the Both CV input. An inverted copy of the LFO was sent to a second SVCA which very slightly lowered the volume of the Piano and its repeats while the Data Bender did the thing.

The Dradd(s) add tons of texture with their medium-to-short grains, re-creating the piano at a slow crawl, filling in space and adding a layer of intrigue. Like a splash in water, the Dradd(s) created a distorted view of what’s underneath: slivers of sound overlapping and rippling off each other in a beautiful chorus. I’m still infatuated with the dual Dradd(s). I’ve used lots of granular processors in Eurorack. Of the continuous processing type, those that don’t rely on pre-recording to a buffer, but instead have a continuous buffer and don’t require recording a certain bit of material to process, I have a very difficult time choosing between the Dradd(s) and the Mutable Instruments Beads. It seems like I can always find something fascinating. That I can always use it to find something beautiful inside of the audio itself.

Modules Used:
Nonlinearcircuits The Hypster
Nonlinearcircuits Let’s Get Fenestrated
Nonlinearcircuits Stochaos
Nonlinearcircuits De-Escalate
Expert Sleepers Disting NT
Bizarre Jezabel Quarté Mk2
Qu-Bit Electronix Data Bender
Pladask Elektrisk Dradd(s)
Frap Tools Falistri
Frap Tools Sapél
Vostok Instruments Asset
AI Synthesis 018 Stereo Matrix Mixer
ST Modular SVCA
Intellijel Quad VCA
Knob Farm Ferry

Outboard Gear Used:
Walrus Audio Slöer

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


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Jamuary 2523

I haven’t felt as bad as I did today for a long while. I even called in sick to work, which is something I don’t generally do. It was hard to get motivated for Jamuary today, but, as usual, once I finally mustered the energy to turn the synth on, the rest of the world kind of melted away for a short time, even if today wasn’t destined to be a fully from-scratch patch.

Today’s Jamuary patch is a re-work of yesterday’s patch. My first inclination was to simply swap the effects on the piano and Panharmonium and call it a day, but the result wasn’t at all what I had in mind, so decided on using different effects entirely.

The base of today’s patch was exactly the same as yesterday. The four outputs from the Addac506 were split to Numberwang and Let’s Splosh, which sent gates and CV respectively to the Disting NT, which quantized the CV and passed it to the Poly Multisample algorithm that spat out audio.

The audio, via the AI Synthesis 018 Stereo Matrix Mixer, was sent to the Venus Instruments Veno-Echo for some slow repeats that were occasionally triggered into reverse using spare gate outputs from Numberwang. Both the dry and repeated audio were sent to Panharmonium, set to an octave down. Panharmonium is a magical module. It can sometimes be hard to tame, but when you finally find that sweet spot in a given patch, it has the capacity like few other things to gracefully fill up space and create a floating bed of awesomeness. Panharmonium was sent to the Dradd(s) in Tape Mode, each side played 2x speed, one forward, the other in reverse, with just enough feedback to occasionally shimmer upwards another octave. I’ve been absolutely amazed with the sounds I’ve gotten with dual Dradd(s). Of the many GAS-induced purchases I’ve made in modular, a second Dradd is amongst the best of those decisions.

The Piano/Veno-Echo, Panharmonium, and Dradd(s) were all separately sent to the output mixer for some reverb in the always lovely Walrus Audio Slöer.

Modules Used:
Addac Systems Addac506 Stochastic Function Generator
Nonlinearcircuits Numberwang
Nonlinearcircuits Let’s Splosh
Nonlinearcircuits Divide & Conquer
Expert Sleepers Disting NT
Venus Instruments Veno-Echo
Rossum Electro-Music Panharmonium
Pladask Elektrisk Dradd(s)
Intellijel Amps
Frap Tools Falistri
Knob Farm Ferry
ST Modular SCVA

Outboard Gear Used:
Walrus Audio Slöer

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Jamuary 2522

Today was a much needed day off from work. After two long shifts in the cold, I was looking forward to taking my time while patching in my warm studio today. The last couple of days had been last minute jobs on the iPad, and I don’t like being rushed. The process was unsatisfying, and the outcome suffered. They’re not terrible sketches by any stretch, and absolutely gave me ideas for future use, but they just feel rickety and incomplete to me. Such is the nature of Jamuary.

As I was in the midst of discussion in a Discord earlier this afternoon, the conversation turned to the new 4ms MetaModule, a module capable of running VCV patches. A couple of others and I had chimed in voicing our preference for the also new Expert Sleepers Disting NT. I also mentioned that I needed to learn how to use the Disting NT, which set off a lightbulb moment. This is Jamuary, and I had planned to make a full modular patch today. I’d use this opportunity to learn better how to use the algorithm(s) which prompted the purchase in the first place, even if it can do so much more.

I have created a lot of patches over the last year that use the Disting Ex in Polyphonic Multisample mode. I love that mode, but the Disting Ex has a user interface only a mother could love. It has a lot of great features, but the screen is incredibly small which is tough on these almost-50 eyes, and the interface awkward. Each algorithm has a million options, and navigating to make changes is a hassle. So much so that I literally only ever used Disting Ex in Poly Multisample mode. The new NT promised a much bigger screen, a much friendlier interface, and that it could run several algorithms simultaneously. I wanted that superior interface, even if it couldn’t do anything more (which of course it can do a lot more). It’s totally possible to have a multi-voice patch complete with FX while only using output cables. It really is an incredible machine, but there is a learning curve. I wanted today to be about making my way up that curve, even if just a little bit.

I’ve only used the NT once. It was just before Christmas, and I had just received it. Between my brother and I, we were able to squeeze just a drop or two of juice from it (Day 2, Patch 2). I left frustrated, but not ready to give up on it, because that drop was sweet. But today was a bit different. Shortly before getting ready to patch, I watched an introductory video for the NT to see if I could find my bearings a bit, and learn better how to navigate it, and how to leverage using more than one algorithm at a time. After firing up the synth, I immediately starting digging through menus and setting up a simple patch, but with a twist. I would only run a quantizer into the Poly Multisample algorithm, but rather than a single gate and cv source, I would use four pairs of gates and CV, all to be quantized, and then sent via Aux busses inside the NT to the Poly Multisample which was set up to receive the quad set. Though programming wasn’t completely smooth, it went easy enough, and once I stumbled in the menus a couple of times, navigation eased, and programming came together exactly like I’d hoped without a hitch.

The patch started with four cycling functions from the Addac506 Stochastic Function Generator. The outputs were split and sent to both the Nonlinearcircuits Numberwang for gate generation, and Let’s Splosh for pitch CV. Four outputs from each went to Disting NT, with the CV being attenuated and offset with the Vostok Instruments Asset to varying degrees before going to the input pairs. Once the signals reached Disting, they were quantized into C minor, and passed on to the LABS Soft Piano sample library, before coming out of stereo outputs and directly into the AI 018 Stereo Matrix Mixer.

From the mixer, the Soft Piano audio was sent to the Holocene Electronics Non-Linear Memory Machine. Set at a medium slow delay time, the freeze section was gated and modulated by a cycling function from the Frap Tools Falistri. The End Of Cycle trigger turned the Freeze on and off, while a clock divided (/2) version of that trigger gated the function itself, which scanned the buffer for some granular-like sounds. The clock-divided trigger also gated an offset signal that switched the output to an octave up while the buffer was scanning. This part of the patch was tricky. I tried several different methods before I made a realization about the nature of the gate I was using to trigger freeze and scan the buffer. Because it was the End of Cycle output and the function had not yet started, it was already high, and on the first count in the clock divider. Once I started the cycle, the cycling function and resulting trigger, a simple /2 output of Divide & Conquer worked perfectly to keep the freeze function, scanning, and offset to the octave up in sync. The result is almost Data Bender-like in the best of ways.

In order to fill in some space between the sparse piano notes being played, I sent both the piano and NLMM to the Rossum Electro-Music Panharmonium, which went through the Venus Instruments Veno-Echo at about a 50/50 mix. I set unsync’d, medium-long delay times on each channel, and allowed it to bring some motion to Panharmonium before going to the output mixer.

Everything went through the always lovely Walrus Audio Slöer for some thickly modulated reverb.

Modules Used:
Addac Systems Addac506 Stochastic Function Generator
Nonlinearcircuits Numberwang
Nonlinearcircuits Let’s Splosh
Nonlinearcircuits Divide & Conquer
Vostok Instruments Asset
Expert Sleepers Disting NT
Holocene Electronics Non-Linear Memory Machine
Rossum Electro-Music Panharmonium
Venus Instruments Veno-Echo
Intellijel Amps
Frap Tools Falistri
Knob Farm Ferry
ST Modular SCVA

Outboard Gear Used:
Walrus Audio Slöer

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

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(SE Synth) Xmas 2024

I do most of my patching in exactly two locations. My primary synth is located in my home studio along with a host of other instruments from guitars to kalimbas, and tuning forks to computers. My secondary synth is primarily a Make Noise-only affair, though there is a small Pod48x that has other branded modules used for effects pedal routing, a noisy reverb, an output VCA to control input levels, and an Expert Sleepers ES-10 to go to my audio interface.

But every once in a while I have the occasion to get a case out of the house and play, which is always a nice treat. I don’t gig, although perhaps one day I will, but trips provide a nice change of scenery and a fresh perspective that can oftentimes lead to wonderful patches. While my primary synth has a huge array of modules and functionalities, a travel synth forces me to make hard choices. What to include? What can I leave behind? What modules can I omit and allow plugins to carry their water? These are always hard choices that require a lot of thought, and made even more difficult when you consider that many of these travel synths will be played by two people, and not just me. My brother has been playing Eurorack for several years longer than I have, and we have very different tastes and approaches to using the modular. In addition to bringing modules I know well, I also use travel cases as an opportunity to try gear that I haven’t really learned well, or that I’d like to further explore. There’s nothing quite like necessity to force you to learn a piece of gear you have, and all of your normal, go-to gear can’t be a crutch.

For travel synths I like to have at least four dedicated voices (with other modules like filters also capable of being a sound source), ample modulation, at least four VCAs, a sequencer, some form of touch control, some gate producers, a multifunction module, and at least a delay for effects (even if a plugin could handle that task). I use plugins for reverb, EQ, and granular synthesis. I don’t want the case to be too specific in its task because it’s a case about exploration, but it also has to make sense as an instrument.

For this year’s Xmas Synth, I chose to deploy the legendary Synthesis Technology E370 quad wavetable oscillator and Frap Tools CUNSA quad multimode filter extraordinaire as the core of the case around which the remainder was built. This takes care of the four voices, filtering, VCAs for those signals, as well as various levels of mixing those signals. CUNSA can also handle drum duty via pinging, or be fully fledged oscillators themselves. Both are incredibly advanced and bring a lot of functionality to the case.

I chose a clock, a quad function generator, a wave machine, and an all around powerhouse for modulation of various sorts, along with three channels of sequencing, a touch controller, one of my favorite delays, a switch, a couple of gate-makers, some VCAs, and two multifunction modules, one of which could likely perform several of the above functions on its own, as support.

It’s with this synth that my brother and I will be exploring over the next several days as we celebrate Christmas with our parents. Last year’s synth produced some interesting sounds. I’m sure this year will be even better.

Top Row (from left to right):
Calsynth uO_C (with Phazerville)
Synthesis Technology E370
Expert Sleepers Disting NT

Middle Row (from left to right):
Addac506 Stochastic Function Generator
Addac508 Swell Physics
Industrial Music Electronics Kermit Mk3
Frap Tools CUNSA

Bottom Row (from left to right):
Sitka Instruments Gravity
Doboz Prizma Mk2
Doboz T12
Xodes SS14
Nonlinearcircuits Stochaos
Jonah Senzel Pet Rock
Intellijel Amps (x2)
Venus Instruments Veno-Echo
Expert Sleepers ES-10

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