I set out today to experiment with exactly two things: a dynamic trigger patch technique suggested by none other than DivKid, and a new stereo wavefolder that I haven’t used nearly enough. It started off as a simple patch, that turned into a beast.
Dynamic triggers are interesting. Normally a trigger’s amplitude doesn’t matter. Most triggers simply cue other modules to do whatever it is they do. But some drum modules, filters, and LPGs thrive when fed with dynamic triggers because it allows individual hits to be different volumes, which brings an interesting dimension to LPG pings. There’s variety; a variance that adds character and drama.
The patch itself isn’t that difficult. The key is to both attenuate and offset noise, and use that in a VCA CV input. In a thread about Dynamic Triggers on Modwiggler, DivKid writes,
It’s also good to remember (for all of us, I know I need a reminder sometimes) that CV utilities are our friends. Offset and attenuation would get you a long way. So rather than fully random. Take a CV utility and use an offset of say 3V (roughly) and then mix in the noise but attenuated and you’ll have a series of values that are hovering and dancing around the offset. Musically and sort of “humanised” around that offset.
Although it sounded easy enough, I asked, on his Discord server, to elaborate, and he confirmed that the patch is as easy as I imagined it would be:
Trigger > VCA input
Offset/attenuated noise > VCA CV input
If you have a VCA with both level bias/offset and CV attenuators (like the Intellijel Amps, Quad VCA, or many others), simply patch the trigger to the input, set the offset to taste (3V, for example), and set the CV attenuator to taste. If you set it at around 1V, you’ll have triggers between 2-4V. The more attenuated the noise, the closer the triggers will be to the offset level. However you do it, it’s a dynamic treat.
I did this patch times four, using four copies of a Frap Tools Sapel trigger, each patched to the CuteLab Missed Opportunities for probability processing before going to the Intellijel Amps in order to be dynamically controlled by the offset and attenuated noise. Amps made this patch much easier because it has CV inputs that normalize, which means I only needed to use a single patch cable to feed all four channels doing trigger processing.1
These now dynamic triggers pinged four Rabid Elephant Natural Gates, which does register dynamic triggers, where I used four Frap Tools Falistri generators as oscillators before being mixed and sent to the Venus Instruments Veno-Echo.2 There are a lot of patch cables, with plenty of mults and Stackcables throughout. Triggers were flying everywhere in the patch. From Sapel to Missed Opportunities, Amps to Stochastic Function Generator, and Ornament & Crime’s legendary Quantermain quad quantizer algorithm. And that’s just to create notes. Other triggers went to the Nonlinearcircuits Divide & Conquer and Stochaos (to trigger its rather excellent stepped CV outputs), Veno-Echo, and Calsynth Changes, which modulated a lackluster kick and the very very cool Optotronics Stereo Lockhart Wavefolder.
The wavefolder was surely the high point in this patch for me. I really only understand how half of it works, but it’s ultra-fun. It adds harmonics in really interesting ways, fed by sharp envelopes to each side from a Calsynth Changes, triggered by a Calsynth Twiigs quad Bernoulli gate based on the Mutable Instruments Branches. This creates some exceptionally cool stereo movement that I’ll have to explore more of.
I also used the Industrial Music Electronics Malgorithm Mk2 for part, which was cool, but was overshadowed by the wavefolder once it was added.
I actually used all eight VCAs in my Amps chain to dynamically control four triggers and four snappy, stochastic envelopes from the Addac506 Stochastic Function Generator which were patched to the Natural Gates’ Control CV inputs. ↩︎
I meant to mix these down in a slightly stereo orientation, but I simply forgot to turn the pan knobs. 😕 ↩︎
Today I decided to go back to a technique I’ve rarely used, and on a much grander scale. I don’t use noise very often, and when I do it tends to be for the obvious use cases. Hit hats, wind and ocean sounds, sprays, etc. I seldomly use it for modulation, and only once have I used noise of any flavor to amplitude modulate an oscillators wave. Today I would do it again, times eight.
I conceived of using noise to modulate all eight harmonics of the Verbos Harmonic Oscillator this morning as my wife was talking to me. I even popped up a bit at the idea, and she took notice.
Wife: “What?”
Me: “Nothing. Just had a thought occur to me. Not even sure if it’s worth a shit.”
I spent the better part of the morning and early afternoon thinking about how I wanted to do this patch. I knew that just noise into each harmonic’s VCA wasn’t it. Then it occurred to me: Chaos! As soon as this though hit my brain I knew what to do, and immediately went to the synth to start patching.
I ran blue noise from Sapel to input 1 of the Intellijel Amps. Amps is a special sort of VCA. Everything cascades. All inputs cascade, as do CV inputs, and there are mixing outputs as well. It’s incredibly flexible. I have four of them chained together to be an eight channel “super VCA/submixer” and it’s been a great choice. Since each input cascades, I only needed one noise input to run this entire section of the patch. Every other channel received that same blue noise input as well. Into each channel’s CV input I patched one of the eight outputs from Nonlinearcircuits The Hypster to chaotically modulate the noise levels of all eight channels independently. Once that was patched, I ran each Amps output to its own Harmonic Oscillator VCA input at random. The only part of this patch that was planned were the first and fifth harmonics, which received their noise modulation from the U and -U outputs on The Hypster as they’re the outputs with the highest amplitude. Each harmonic was slowly brought in by slowly adjusting each CV attenuator individually at random until they were all playing. The nature of chaos means that cycles, even if semi-regular at times, don’t repeat exactly the same, and the harmonics never played the same twice, which kept movement interesting. There were often pauses or redirections in motion for each harmonic. Wonderful.
The mixed HO output was patched to the Multi-Delay Processor. I’ve been taken in by the earthy sound of the Harmonic Oscillator. Each harmonic sine wave has a little hair on it once you give them a little push. The drive in the MultixDelay Processor, both on the input and on each tap output, accentuates that hair in all the right ways. This Verbos ecosystem is warm and inviting, but it can also roar. Taps four and eight were patched to the Verbos Scan & Pan, hard panned left and right, and the output of the MDP, which only had the dry signal, was patched to be in the middle of the mix. This mix created a strong signal with some subtle stereo movement which ended up being fantastic. This stereo signal was then patched to the stereo matrix mixer to be spread around to different effects.
The Rossum Panharmonium fed the Holocene Electronics Non-Linear Memory Machine, which was set with a fairly slow delay and full clockwise smearing, which really smoothed out the Panharmonium’s output for an accompanying drone that floats along beside the ever moving Harmonic Oscillator. This output then fed the Dradd(s), which did its thing in Grain Mode (although I think I forgot to turn on the modulation to both P1 and P2 on both Dradds 😬 – I’m also not convinced it isn’t lost in the mix).
I’m very pleased with how this patch turned out and was a great success at using this technique which I’ll be sure to use more often.
I like wavetables and I like drones. Jamuary 6 saw both. A modulated quad wavetable LFO modulating the levels of a quad wavetable oscillator. It’s a patch I’ve been wanting to try for a while, and Jamuary is the perfect time to experiment with new techniques.
There are a lot of moving parts in this patch. The base creating the ever-changing drone is four unsynced LFOs from Kermit Mk3 controlling the levels of the four outputs from the E370 in the Intellijel Amps. These four outputs were patched to the ST Modular Sum Mix & Pan and then to the mixer. The pan CV inputs of the latter three channels were modulated by the Addac506 Stochastic Function Generator. The stereo signal from Sum Mix & Pan went to both the output as well as to a second mixer for summing to mono before being routed to the Verbos Multi-Delay Processor. The mono output of the MDP, which only has the dry signal,1 went to the output mixer, while two of the taps were routed to the Verbos Scan & Pan for hard panning left and right. All three of these signals were mixed and sent to the output.
Although I like the drive the MDP created, it largely defeated the panning of the three E370 outputs. I’d have been better served to run the stereo signal from the Sum Mix & Pan to a stereo distortion for some added drive so as not to throw a cover over subtle movement in the stereo space, but I do like the overall result. The MDP is a fantastic source for overdrive, and is a different sort than a full blown distortion like Mimosa. It’s deep and warm, like a fuzzy blanket on a cold winter day.
There’s lots of modulation too, with the bulk of it being supplied by the Nonlinearcircuits The Hypster fed a Let’s Splosh, with its outputs modulating the waves in both the E370, and three of the four channels of Kermit. Let’s Splosh self-modulated both Gain and Damping to keep its outputs in constant flux.
To accompany the drone proper, I sent the panning wavetables from the Sum Mix & Pan and stereo delay taps from the MDP to a pair of unmodulated Dradds. Both are in Grain Mode, and both are time stretching, with the left channel in reverse at about 20% speed and the and the right channel in forward at a slow crawl. It’s a bit difficult to pick out in the mix, but the overall sound is very different without it, and the final result benefits greatly with it.
The final touch to the patch are the drips and crickets. This oscillator and envelope are both from Falistri, sent through the Holocene Non-Linear Memory Machine. Pitch and random triggering was provided by Sapel. The last free channel of the Addac506 controlled both the Freeze and Scanning of the buffer. Its EOF trigger turned Freeze on and off, with the EOR gate output gating the function output in a VCA, which was scanning the buffer. This little sub-patch took a little while to figure out, but the results are rewarding. I’d been wanting to mess with scanning the buffer of the NLMM ever since I heard this patch by Ras Thavas, and today seemed like the day. It was a fun patch that I’ll be sure to explore further in the future.
As a result of acquiring both the Synthesis Technology E370 and the Flame Instruments 4VOX, after also getting the Humble Audio Quad Operator and RYK Modular Algo earlier in the year, I’ve been stringing together a series of chord-based polyphonic patches using various forms of slow modulation to control the volume of each chord tone. From standard LFOs to chaos, and stochastic functions to ocean wave simulations, I’ve tried at least a dozen of this style of patching over the last several months. Some of these have used static chords that don’t really move anywhere. Different notes of a chord come in and out chaotically (in most cases), but the chord itself doesn’t change. Others are based on the harmonic series, where only one pitch change of the master oscillator affects all of the individual harmonics resulting in chord changes. All of those were composed using chaos or random as a pitch source. But, with one exception, it wasn’t until this patch that I used the NOH-Modular Pianist with real intent and composed a chord progression to move the piece along. To set a mood and provide some tension and relief with harmonic motion in addition to volume and timbre changes. And this time I went big with using all eight CV outputs, rather than just four.
The NOH-Modular Pianist is an interesting module. It promises a world of harmonic movement in an environment where using chords isn’t a simple proposition. Polyphony in Eurorack is equipment and labor intensive. Each separate note of a chord requires its own separate oscillator, function generator, and VCA, at minimum. and requires its own discrete signal path. That’s a lot of patching for what is an easy task in a DAW or by using keyboard-based synths. It’s a lot of tuning (and re-tuning); lots of signals to tweak, and lots of modulation to account for. Before the Pianist, ways to get this sort of advanced polyphony was hard to come by. You could use a MIDI > CV converter, which has its own challenges, or else by painstakingly programming a pitch sequencer note by note, which requires a level of music theory knowledge that most don’t possess.1 MIDI > CV converters require careful calibration, and there are few sequencers with more than just four channels. But the Pianist is different.
Rather than programming chords note by note, Pianist uses standard western music shorthand for identifying chords, and the module does the rest. When you program it to play a CM7 chord, for instance, it knows to send out pitch data for C E G and Bb. It’ll even repeat chord notes in a different octave if no color tones are used. You can add two chord extensions beyond the 7th, called Colours in the Pianist, or use chord inversions to designate the third or fifth as the bass note in the chord. If a up to six note chord can be played on a piano, it can be played by the Pianist.
Users can freely enter chords from scratch in Free mode, or, to make the job even easier, set it to Scale mode and choose only from chords within your chosen key. The scale can be set to Major, Minor, or any of the modes2 and Pianist does the rest. So, for example, if a user in Scale mode were choose A Major as the scale, Pianist would present you with only AMaj, Bmin, C#min, DMaj, EMaj, F#min, G#dim, the diatonic chords in A Major, in order to facilitate easier chord progressions for theory novices. As long as your oscillators are tuned, your chords will be in key. Nifty. For those who want to use chords outside of a key, or if your composition isn’t really in a specific key, Free mode allows for creating chords from scratch. Virtually any chord is possible (up to six notes). In both modes, harmonic complexity is simple, with up to two color tones available, and made even simpler in Random Gate mode where each gate received will add random colors automatically, and choose colors that make harmonic sense within that chord. The workflow in creating chord progressions is intuitive. I was quickly making fairly complex progressions with repeats and skipped chords with ease.
Though Pianist is a boon to those of us seeking access to polyphonic 12TET harmonic movement in our Eurorack patches, it does have its weaknesses. Though you can move notes up and down in octaves to create chord depth, it’s done in a haphazard way. Rather than setting each note for the exact voicing you’re looking for, you have to rely on functions Pianist calls Shift and Spread in order to get full, rich chords that don’t clutter a particular part of the audio spectrum, but it’s not exactly clear how that affects the chord as a whole. I can hear changes, but can’t always identify them. Easy variety, however, can be achieved when the Gate mode is set to Spread. No chord will be voiced exactly the same which creates intrigue.
The calibration for the module, at least in Version 1.0, is straight funky. This patch uses eight discrete oscillators. While tuning I sent a C from Pianist to set a baseline. But in order for the oscillators to play the C being sent, they each had to be tuned to G, which I found odd. The newest firmware, 1.2, addresses tuning and scales in a way that version 1.0 does not, which is a great improvement by all accounts, even if I haven’t used it yet to note any changes. Since I’m using Pianist in Free mode in this patch, however, there wasn’t a compelling reason for me to upgrade, though I certainly will now that I’ve finished recording it, even if I have an aversion to the upgrade processes of most digital modules.
The screen has a lot of information, and not a lot of room. However, navigation is still reasonably simple and the information on the screen laid out such that it’s not hard to read. It’s easier to read and use than many far more established modules like the Disting Ex, Kermit Mk3, or uO_C, even if there isn’t a lot of screen real estate. The interface is super easy to navigate using the mini joystick/push button. Version 1.2 is reported to have an even more streamlined navigation and menu system. Though altering global settings like the Scale, Gate or Spread behavior requires some menu diving which is never fun, programming chords decidedly does not. It’s a point and click operation made easy with the joystick, all done on one level. Move the cursor to what you want to change, click, move the joystick to the desired value, and click. Done.
A major issue with version 1.0, which may have been changed, is that it always boots up with the first saved sequence. Unless you save your progression to one of the user slots, you will lose your work if the module power cycles. If you don’t have much in your progression, or it’s a super simple that’s no problem. But if it’s long or has a lot of direction you might be losing a lot. Ask me how I know. 😕
Pianist has its own clock that will change on each beat, along with a clock output to trigger envelopes or some other event as chords change. But it also has a clock input, which will move along the chord sequence with every rising edge like any standard step sequencer. Being that I rarely use a steady clock, I haven’t tried the internal clock, and have instead used clocks created by chaos or some other irregular source. This patch used a fairly complicated sub-patch in order to derive the chord changes. I didn’t want haphazard pitch changes in the midst of notes actively being played, but only when nothing was being heard. Finding an approach for this was time consuming, and although there are probably (certainly?) other methods that would work as well, I settled upon an approach using two comparators, one analog and one digital.
The four waves from Swell Physics first went to the Xaoc Devices Samara II. Samara compares all four inputs, and outputs the Maximum signal (AKA Analog OR). Being that these four waves were controlling the volume of the individual chord tones, it occurred to me that once the Maximum signal went below 0v meant that all four parent signals were below 0v, which meant no volume at all from the chord voice. This is exactly when I want to trigger the next chord in the sequence. I then sent that Maximum signal from Samara II to a digital comparator, the Joranalogue Compare 2, with its compare window set to anything below 0v. So once that Maximum signal went below 0v, it would spit out a gate that would trigger a chord change in Pianist.
The eight chord tones created by the Pianist went to eight different oscillators. The root, third, fifth, and seventh (or fifth if there is no seventh) form the base of the chord and all go to one of the four Flame Instruments 4VOX oscillators, while the color notes and two additional root notes, one that follows chord inversions and one that does not, all go to a self-frequency modulated Frap Tools CUNSA, where each filter is set to self oscillate, and pinged in a Natural Gate.
The Flame 4VOX has been around a long time. My brother, a house sound engineer, producer, and DJ who’s been into Eurorack a long time, lusted for one long before I even knew what Eurorack was. It’s a fully polyphonic, wavetable oscillator beast, split into four sections of up to four oscillators each. Each oscillator can create detuned swarms, chords, or be unison. Each oscillator can be controlled by v/oct CV or midi, and is fully polyphonic with its own output. It really was a very advanced piece of gear for its time. It still is, even if it hasn’t been updated in several years and is showing its age. There are two pots and two CV inputs per oscillator that can control several parameters including scanning the wavetable, detuning, amplification, and more. It has internal VCAs to control volume, but I did not like how they functioned at all, and opted to use external VCAs, which worked to my benefit allowing me to modulate two wavetable parameters rather than the volume and only one parameter. There are also separate FM and reset/sync inputs per oscillator, along with its individual output. Even if CV-able options seem to be limited, virtually every facet of the 4VOX can be addressed via midi, although I haven’t used it with midi at all. It’s a very powerful oscillator bank that can cover lots of ground.
Although I wouldn’t say programming the 4VOX is difficult, it’s not as easy as most more modern interfaces. The screen is bare bones with low resolution and a slim viewing radius. The encoder is a little weird. You have to push it down and turn CCW to move downward in menus, while you simply turn it CW to change parameter values inside the menu. As a unit, it’s impressive. There are lots of options, plenty of stock wavetables to choose from, and it sounds good, but it shows its age. Upgrading firmware is a laborious process with modern computers. Although you can install your own wavetables, the processes to convert them to the right format and get them loaded can be a nightmare, particularly if you’re a Mac user. All of the computer-side software is a decade or more old, and workarounds are sometimes needed. I’m not a “I need to load my own wavetables” kind of guy, and my unit came to me with the latest update, but if I were that guy or my unit hadn’t already had the latest firmware, it would not be an easy task. I’ve had similar problems with older gear before3, and they’re no fun.
The 4VOX forms the base of the chords, brought in and out by the four waves from the Addac508 Swell Physics. The sound is both powerful and delicate, with each quadrant set to four slightly detuned, unison oscillators, each one being slightly modulated by the Nonlinearcircuits Frisson. Although I was pleased with the 4VOX’s performance, the Synthesis Technology E370 is a better overall option. Although the E370 is also based on nearly decade-old technology, it’s still a better user experience. The screen is in color, fully customizable, bigger, and gives more information. The stock wavetables are a gold standard. The software UI is easier to navigate using a more standard encoder. The physical UI is also far better arranged. With the 4VOX, the screen is in the middle of the module, knob locations are not symmetrical, and are more difficult to wiggle once everything is patched up. The E370 has everything laid out very neatly. The screen is on the far left, I/O on the far right, with knobs in the middle, leaving more than enough room to wiggle. It’s really a premium user experience. The only advantages the 4VOX has are its price, size, and complete polyphonic midi capabilities. The 4VOX has always been less expensive than the E370, and that remains true on the secondary market. However, the price differential on the used market is much closer than their respective MSRPs, as the E370 can be purchased for well under 50% of the original retail cost. The price difference on my units, both purchased used within a week of one another, was $100. The size, however, cannot change, and in that regard the 4VOX has the E370 soundly beat. At 29hp the 4VOX is still large (and odd hp 😕), but it’s dwarfed by the massive 54hp E370. It’s the massive size, however, that makes the E370 such a pleasure to wiggle.
Once mixed to mono in the Atomosynth Transmon, the 4VOX chords went through the venerable Industrial Music Electronics Malgorithm MkII, a powerhouse FSU-type module with bit crushing, sample reduction, and various types of waveshaping available to have anything from subtly crunchy through completely mangled audio at the output. Using Malgorithm was an absolute treat. Most of the lo-fi effects I tend towards are of the vintage variety, tape sounds, record pops, etc, vs just slightly old sounding digital artifacting, so it was a different sort of experience. On any other day I likely would have chosen distortion in this role, but the day I started this patch I precipitously chose to go with a different kind of dirt. And it was perfect. I was still able to get some nasty distortion via the “Axis” waveshaper (whatever that does), with the bit crushing and sample reduction playing a slowly increasing role. It’s starts clean, then moves to understated digital artifacting, and finally waves of full blown destruction, ending clean once again. One aspect of Malgorithm I enjoyed was the interaction between input level and the waveshaping. It responds similarly to tube distortion circuits, where the harder you drive the input, the more distortion there will be ranging from just barely there to outright obliteration. Each of these waveshaping circuits has three different levels, red, orange, and green, and all of them have their own character. These waveshapers can even interact with each other for nuking your audio from orbit if that’s what you want. I rode faders on the very awesome Michigan Synth Works XVI to control both the input level as well as the wet/dry mix in order to provide a performative aspect to this patch. Both the bit crushing and Nyquist parameters were modulated by the Addac506 Stochastic Function Generator, with a fairly wide range of both rise and fall times between medium and long. Each of the parameters were set to moderate crunchiness with the knobs, with their modulation moving towards a full-resolution signal. This created an absolutely amazing effect from the sound of dying batteries to the fabric of the universe being unzipped and sewn back together. I would highly recommend Malgorithm to anyone, but you’d have to find one first.
Once through Malgorithm and into the stereo matrix mixer, these now buzzy chords went to the Holocene Electronics Non-Linear Memory Machine, with a very light perfect fifth shimmer in the feedback loop. I initially went with a full octave shimmer, but decided against it as it was too prominent and spiraled too far out of control too quickly. This created a very subtle sheen on the chords that isn’t noticeable much of the time, but is a nice effect nonetheless. Feedback and Spread were both modulated by attenuated versions of the Average output from Swell Physics.4
The color tones of each chord were all sent to the mighty Frap Tools CUNSA, a quad filter extraordinaire, and pinged in a pair of Rabid Elephant Natural Gates. Though I was tempted to use the simple sine waves from each LPF output, I later decided to use the HPF output as a means of each oscillator frequency modulating itself in order to add some harmonics, which worked a treat. In retrospect, I could have simplified the patch significantly had I pinged CUNSA itself instead of running the output to Natural Gate, but I chose the Natural Gate route because Natural Gate.
Using a patch technique I’ve used often, the gates that pinged the Natural Gates were created by running the four waves from Swell Physics into the Nonlinearcircuits Numberwang. But rather than simply choosing four gate outputs, I ran several Stackcables so that each strike input on the Natural Gates were each derived from three Numberwang outputs. This filled in space much better. The notes are still sparse, but they’re triggered at a much better pace using three gates each rather than just one. These notes fill out chords in interesting ways. They’re very short, but combined with delay and reverb, those colors hang around long enough to create intrigue in the overall sound without being intrusive.
These notes were sent to what is becoming one of my favorite delays, the Chase Bliss Audio Reverse Mode C, a re-imagining of one of the modes on the legendary Empress Effects Superdelay. Although it certainly does standard stereo delay stuff, it excels at being a quirky sort of delay, able to output normal delays, reverse delays, and octave up reverse delays, by themselves, or in a mix. Mixing delays creates a beautiful sound space of echoes bouncing all around the stereo field, at different speeds and octaves, which is an incredible aural treat. I haven’t yet learned to properly modulate the Reverse Mode C, but that’s a function of not having a firm grasp on midi. As I figure that out, things ought to get very interesting, with different sorts of delays fading in and out in very creative ways.
The last synthesized voice in this patch is the Good and Evil Dradds as an effects send, sending both the chords and ornamental color notes for some granular action. The Dradd(s) outputs went to separate EF-X2 tape echoes with different settings. Ever since getting a second Dradd, I’ve been infatuated by what I can do with them, and this patch may be the best result yet. Both were set to Tape mode with similar P2, but different P1 knob positions, with the P1 parameter on both being modulated by an attenuated version of the Average output on Swell Physics. The Dradds, in some ways, steal the show. They create all sorts of movement in the stereo field and fill the space between chords and color notes in ways that keep the piece from becoming still. They’re the wake left after a large swell passes by. The bio-luminescence after a crashing wave.
The spoken voice is a set of three samples that were triggered in Koala on the iPad. Triggers emanated from the gate outputs on Swell Physics combined in the new Nonlinearcircuits Gator, sent to the Joranalogue Step 8 and then the Befaco CV Thing and converted to midi notes that were sent to trigger Koala samples on the iPad. It took me a while to figure this one out, though it worked exactly how I envisioned. Gates from Swell Physics were combined in Gator, which triggered Step 8. Each of the first three steps sent its individual gate output to a different CV Thing input. This ensured that the three samples were always triggered in the correct order. The samples themselves were then sent to a new collaborative delay plugin, Moon Echo, by AudioThing and Hainbach.. Moon Echo is a modeled simulation of bouncing sound off the moon, and has a very distinct character. The delay was set to fully wet, and has a delay of about 2.5sec, though that changes depending on the day. The moon is not at a fixed distance from the earth, and the plugin reflects that. By “pinging” the moon upon startup, you will get the current distance to the moon, and a new delay time down to five decimal points (1/100,000 of a second). Fucking cool.
One thing I did differently with this patch paid off high dividends, and will absolutely become a staple in my recordings. I’ve been patching for a few years, but am still an absolute novice at standard studio stuff. Mixing, EQ, compression, and everything else in that sphere evades me. I’ve used some very basic EQ in the past, but really only on the final output, which, as I’ve discovered has several drawbacks. This patch was the first I’ve ever recorded using EQ, the highly regarded Toneboosters TB Equalizer 4, on individual channels as they were being recorded. The chords, ornamentals, and reverb send received EQ that greatly improved the sound quality, even if it could still be better. I did, however, neglect to put EQ on the Dradds, which proved to be a mistake, as there is a very occasional pitch that pierces through in what can’t be far from dog whistle frequencies. It’s not eardrum busting, but I can hear it, and it annoys me. I didn’t catch that behavior when recording, and never EQ’d it out. That said, it was also the first time I’ve recorded a modular patch in separate multi-tracks, including the chords, ornamentals, Dradds, spoken voice, reverb return, and the mixed stereo signal (presented here). I can go back and make changes or additions should that be something I want to do, or send the parts to someone else for mixing and mastering should I ever choose to release it.
Overall I’m very pleased with this patch. It was originally composed in a different key and completely different chord progression, and for a special group of online friends. The chord progression I used in this recording wasn’t composed, as such. At least not by me. I asked ChatGPT for a “sad progression, yet with a sense of hope.”5 I asked for it to be more sad, and it changed key from Amin to Dmin, and ended in a non-diatonic chord (DMaj), which I found a wonderful “choice.” Then, as a means to test the Pianist, I asked for several chord extensions and inversions, and ChatGPT complied, giving us what we have in the recording.
Improvised and recorded in 1 take on iPad in AUM via the Expert Sleepers ES-9.
I studied music performance in college, and have a decent grasp on music theory. The last 30 years, however, have pared that knowledge down to basics. I’m certainly no expert, but I can read chord charts and identify chord notes, even if I have to think for a second. ↩︎
The Humble Audio Quad Operator I purchased did not have the latest firmware update, and the internal VCAs all bled badly. I was unable to install the latest firmware with a modern Mac. I was fortunate to have an older one available to me that I was able to use. ↩︎
There are no fewer than seven modulation points in the patch that are all modulated by an attenuated version of the Average output from Swell Physics. ↩︎
This was literally the first time I’ve ever considered purposefully using AI for anything. ↩︎
It had been a while since I used my Xaoc Devices case for anything beyond reaching for a couple modulators like Zadar and Batumi II. I’ve always loved the Odessa, even with its faults, and I had an itch to use it.
I’m not going to detail this patch too much.
A square wave from Batumi II acts as a clock for Erfurt’s forward counting. A second square wave output hits Erfurt’s reverse counting input. Four gate outputs from Erfurt (Gates 1-4) are patched to Samara II, with each gate being attenuated to a particular note. As these gates go high, they sent pitch to the five v/oct inputs on Hel, Odessa’s expander, creating a mix of full and arpeggiated chords (no idea what Odessa is tuned to). The Fundamental, Even, and Odd outputs are mixed down to stereo, and sent to Zagzreb. Zagzreb’s Bandpass L/R outputs go to the mixer, while the L High Pass output is patched to Sarajewo for some analog delay, with Taps one and three output to the mixer.
In a mood to try something new, I ran the dry signal to the the Optotronics Stereo Lockhart Wavefolder. I wish I had sent that signal to the delay as well. It’s a pretty cool module, though I’m not really sure what everything but the fold knobs are doing. Looks like it’s time to dg into that one.
All three signals, Odessa/Zagzreb, Sarajewo, and the Wavefolder go to the Vongon Ultrasheer for some reverb.
Uncharacteristically, I also did a smidge of post processing, running the recording through some compression and EQ. I’m new to using both, but I am very happy with the sonic results.
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.
The moment the new Addac508 Swell Physics was announced, I instantly knew I’d get one as soon as it was released. Even after just having completed one of my several small modulation subsystems, I quickly moved things around on Modular Grid in order to accommodate for Swell Physics. There was no way I wasn’t going to fit in something as cool as this in my modulation.
In a long ago life in the ancient times of the late 90s and early aughts, I was an avid Scuba Diver. I met my wife in Scuba Diving class in college (it was South Florida; of course there is Scuba Diving for college credit). We ran a very active Scuba Club at our university that won several university community and environmental awards. We dove nearly every weekend for years up and down the Southeast Florida coast, the Keys, and in North Florida’s freshwater springs. I was fascinated by the ocean, and still am. An ocean simulator in my current hobby? Sign me up.
In full admission, my first date with the Swell Physics was a disaster. No matter what I did, I could never quite get what I was looking for. Ranging from “absolutely horrid” to “okay but still not very good”, I became frustrated quickly. I’d so eagerly anticipated this module, and I couldn’t tame it. Not even a little. Either waves would last too long, or not long enough. I’d have awkwardly long stretches of nothingness, or seemingly never ending havoc. I soon decided to unpatch and try again another day.
Several weeks back I decided to watch the comprehensive Batumi/Poti II review by the ever-entertaining and informative Robin Vincent at Molten Music Technology. I’ve had the Batumi II for a short while and was checking if he had any tips that might help me utilize the new functionalities in creative ways. And although he did help me understand the new module better and encouraged me to implement its more advanced functionality in more patches, what I noticed most wasn’t the Batumi II or its capabilities, but in how he was demonstrating the module with the RYK Algo. The Algo was there simply as a vessel to demonstrate what the four signals of the Batumi II were doing in the most obvious way possible: straight to the four level inputs to bring the volume of each oscillator in and out as the LFO signals from Batumi ebb and flow in their range. It was beautiful, and I was inspired, especially as the modulation got more complex. It was while I watched this video that the proverbial light bulb moment happened. “Hey. Wait a minute. The Swell Physics has four interrelated outputs too. And I’ve been curious about the Algo. Hmmmmmm….” I already have a four operator FM module in the Quad Operator, but I also remembered that first frustrating patch was with the Quad Operator, and so decided to let out that fart and buy an Algo. It wasn’t an impulse buy, I’d been eyeing it since its release, and imagining one paired with Swell Physics was the final pang of GAS that implored me to finally hit “Add to Cart.”
Although I hadn’t yet used the Algo, and was only as familiar with it as having watched the few demo videos on YouTube, plus a cursory look at the manual. I knew it should be fairly intuitive, and I was right. Using its basic functionality out of the box as a four oscillator bank, complete with panning and level adjustments, as well as detuning, wavefolding, wave shaping, and chorusing was very intuitive. Although I didn’t experiment with the FM algorithms, I’m sure those are just as intuitive. Within a minute or two I already knew what I wanted to do and how to accomplish it. The only questions were a matter of how I wanted to facilitate the process.
Having recently received the Algo, and with Robin’s demo still fresh in my mind, I decided to give that patch a go. But rather than using Batumi, I decided that Swell Physics would be the main driver of this patch.
From the get-go I knew the concept behind this patch was simple. Run the four wave outputs from the Swell Physics to the four level inputs of the Algo, and see if I could get a pleasant succession of waves that flowed freely and delicately. To my surprise, it went much more amicably this second time around, and I was able to get a nice flow of waves. I tried also using pitch CV for some change, but it didn’t sound right, nor could I get the changes from one pitch to another smooth enough to not have blips or huge slurs. I mostly left it without pitch changes because it conveyed that “lost out in the ocean” feeling more clearly to my ear.
After getting to a wave pattern I liked, I decided it was time for some modulation. To get the wave machine changing. I knew I wanted the waves to serve as modulation in this patch, including a fair bit of patch programming with the Swell Physics. I sent the “Avg” output to an Intellijel Quad VCA, and used three of the attenuated outputs on the Spread, Agitation, and Swell Size CV inputs, using the much easier to access Quad VCA knobs to control the amount, and the fourth to the Wavefolder CV input on the Algo to occasionally reveal some higher harmonics from those 4 simple sine waves floating about. Not much. Just a shade.
From here, the patch was quite simple. The first several minutes of the recording are just the Swell Physics modulating the RYK Algo, which went out to the mixer and was sent through the Vongon Ultrasheer. Later I introduced Mutable Instruments Beads in parallel with Beads running through the Bizarre Jezabel Blossom. There is no external randomization on Beads; only the onboard random used by adjusting the attenuverters. Blossom, however, is heavily modulated by the Joranalogue Orbit 3. I had thought about using the Swell Physics to also modulate Blossom, but by the time I was creating this part of the patch I had already routed Swell Physics, and sharing modulation would have necessarily meant several bits of repatching I wasn’t prepared to do. I decided to use the Orbit 3, also engaged in patch programming, as my modulation source for Blossom. Chaos and the physics of waves are not dissimilar, and they paired quite naturally.
