I made an addendum to the video Emily Hopkins and I last worked on, where we ran her harp into our modular synths. This video looks step by step and how to achieve similar results using a guitar. It would mean a lot if you give it a look sometime and tell me what you think.
Impermanent Station [Instrument Envelope Followers]
*module used in alternative patch
*Guitar ► Any Stereo Pedal
L ► Mixer
R ► Maths Ch.1 [in]
Clouds
Out L ► Quad VCA Ch. 2 [in]
Wogglebug
Sample & Hold [out] ► Maths Ch.2
*Maths
Ch.1 [Unity Out] ► AI Synthesis Quad VCA Ch.1 [cv in]
Ch.1 [ EOR Out] ► Mult ►
a) Clouds Freeze [cv in]
b) Intellijel Scales Trigger [in]
Ch.2 [out] ►Scales Pitch [in]
Rings Green/Green
Out L ► Clouds L [in]
Plaits Green Preset 2
Plaits [out] ► Endorphin.es Milky Way [in]
Synthesis Technology Quad VCA
Mix Out ► Zedi10 Pan C
Intellijel Scales
Pitch [out] ► Mult ►
a) Plaits v/oct [in]
b) Rings v/oct [in]
Instruō øchd LFO 5 self-patched
LFO 3 ► Rings Brightness [cv in]
LFO 4 ► Plaits Timber [cv in]
LFO 5 ► self-patched
Endorpin.es Milky Way
Ch.1 [out] ► Quad VCA Ch.1
*Alternative Interfaces & Amplitude
1) Guitar ► Any Stereo Pedal
L ► Mixer
R ► A Pedal Boost ► Maths Ch.1 [in]
2) Guitar ► Any Stereo Pedal
L ► Pedal Board ► Mixer
R ► Boost Module [Phonogene] ► Maths Ch.1 [in]
3) Maths
Ch.1 [Unity Out] ► AI Synthesis Quad VCA Ch.1 [cv in]
Ch.1 [ EOR Out] ► Mult ► a) Clouds Freeze [cv in]
b) Intellijel Scales Trigger [in]
c) Doepfer Dual Mini ADSR Ch.1 [in]
Ch.2 [out] ►Scales Pitch [in]
Doepfer A-140-2 Dual Mini ADSR
Ch.1 [out 1] ► Quad VCA Ch.1 [cv in]
I am not a guitarist and this description is therefore not of direct concern to me, BUT: your research and this video with the details of the patches really deserve congratulations! The modular synthesizer is exactly this alchemical practice, a search for the transmutation of sounds: from the common to the rare (lead/gold).
The modularist's setup is an achimist's laboratory.
Very nice work!
PS: the result (at 9:08) reminded me of the opening scene of Return of the Jedi where C-3PO and R2-D2 enter Jabba the Hutt's Palace :)) The participation of Wogglebug and Afterneath (a great pedal) is of course not unrelated.
'On ne devrait jamais quitter Montauban' (Fernand Naudin).
Thank you for the kind words, and I totally agree Sweelinck, the modular system is an alchemist's laboratory.
And I totally went and watched the scene for reference, and I certain see what you mean, lol. I often wonder what context this kind of patch could be used for. A slower guitar track, or a special section of a song. I think it would be great for cinema :)
Thanks for sharing, some great info to dig into! :)
“You must have chaos within you to give birth to a dancing star.”
― Friedrich Nietzsche
This is a very cool patch, even if i dont understand how the result is coming from the setup.
There seems to be a distinct delay between your input and 1. the quantization, and 2. hearing plaits. I see the Freeze light from clouds light up directly on your attack of the guitar. That makes sense to me because the Rise on Maths is set full CCW, meaning the gate should be instaneous upon receiving input. But I dont understand how 1. you're getting continuous quantization from a single gate as quantizers normally only send out a new pitch on each rising edge, and 2. how there is a delay between your input and actually hearing Plaits when the envelope controlling Plaits should also be near instantaneous, and starting at its highest level.
I have all of these modules, except Scales (I use Quantermain), so maybe ill get a better idea once i patch it up.
can you shed some light on this?
Hi, thank you, yes, I think it is quite cool too. I'll do my best to answer your questions.
"There seems to be a distinct delay between your input and 1. the quantization, and 2. hearing plaits."
The delay is a function of the 'End of Rise' gate out (EOR) produced by the guitar audio through channel 1 of Maths. The unity out is used as the envelope for the Plaits VCO that changes pitch in-key with every strum. The quantizer, Scales, does not simply continuously output pitch values. You'll note that there is a 'Trigger' cv in, which is where the 'End of Rise' gate is patched. So only after the peak of the guitar audio does the gate allow new pitches to be drawn from Scales. So, it will hold the pitch until the audio begins to close on the envelope and then it toggles the new pitch for the next strum and toggles the voice coming out of Rings.
"You're getting continuous quantization from a single gate as quantizers normally only send out a new pitch on each rising edge."
I'm not sure I understand, but hopefully this adds clearity. The Wogglebug goes into Scales and continuously toggles the pitch quantized to the key of G. When you put a cable into the 'Toggle' cv in, it overrides the continuous toggling of the good old sample and hold blasting out of the Wogglebug. Now, you can input a gate that determines the duration in which the Wogglebug, still continuously toggling the pitch, is allowed to modulate. Maths channel 1's side function is 'End of Rise,' which is the gate used to trigger Scales. This also accounts for the delay effect discussed above.
"How there is a delay between your input and actually hearing Plaits when the envelope controlling Plaits should also be near instantaneous, and starting at its highest level."
Plaits actually is sounding instantaneously, it is just a single droning pitch that accompanies the guitar strum. Listen again, you'll hear it. When I strum a chord, let's say C, Plaits will play a G or D, or whatever in-key pitch was toggled by the last strum, remembering from above that the sample and hold from the Wogglebug continuously toggles the pitch in the short duration between the peak of the guitar audio (fairly instantaneous), and the closing of the envelope. This interaction between the envelope and gate on different VCOs, Rings and Plaits, give this patch its awesome quality.
One truly feels like they are playing with their modular not mearly processing audio.
Hope this helps.
Also, I use principals from this patch in a lot of patches. Here is a short I made of a bouncing ball patch:
Thanks for the explanation. Most of what's happening is pretty clear to me.
I think my hangup is still in how the gate functions with Scales. Probably because I dont have Scales, lol.
To my knowledge, I've never used a Quantizer that will allow whatever is input to be quantized and output with a high gate. The quantizers I've used require a rising edge to trigger quantization, as far as I know, so I dont think a wide open gate will do it with Quantermain (although I may be wrong). I'll definitely be trying it soon.
That said, if Quantermain cannot quantize continuously with a high gate , I'd imagine that sending the spewing output of Wogglebug to a VCA would work, if I used the EOR gate to open the VCA which would output it forwards to the V/oct input on my VCO. The VCA would also act as an attenuator for the S&H.
I think my hangup is still in how the gate functions with Scales. Probably because I dont have Scales, lol.
I think you have it mostly right, except maybe something about the relationship between the quantizer input and the trigger. The wide-open gate (EOR) is not the signal being quantized by Scales, the S&H of the Wogglebug is. Here is a visual:
[Wogglebug S&H]---[Maths ch.2]--->[Scales Pitch Input]----- [quantizes S&H]--->[Pitch Out to v/oct of Rings & Plaits]
[Maths EOR gate]-------->[Scales Trigger Input]---[selects duration of S&H]-------- ^
The Wogglebug S&H is the signal being quantized to the key of G. The trigger input slects the moments that Scales will draw from the now quantized S&H. This is helpful if you want to control the pitch quantization with an LFO or any non-clocked source and then ensure that the pitch changes are in sync with the beat of the track. For our purposes, it also allows us to take something like a gate to determine the timing and duration of the rapid S&H changes modulated by the Wogglebug. If you put any S&H into your quantizer it should quantize the signal at the speed of the input, be it an LFO or a S&H, or whatever. But the tempo of the pitch input is over-ridden by the trigger input, allowing you to be more selective of what pitches are selected and when they are output.
As to your final point, yes, I do attenuate the range of Wogglebug's S&H pitch by running it through channel 2 of Maths and then from the channel 2 out, into Scales' 'Pitch' in.
I have tried this with other basic quantizers that have independent quantization inputs and trigger inputs. In the case of Quantermain, I would say take a S&H, attenuate the range via Maths, input it into the Sample CV #1 input on the Quantermain. Then take the EOR gate from the Maths and run it into the Sample Clock #1 input. This should achieve the effect we are looking for.
Hope this helps!
I think my hangup is still in how the gate functions with Scales. Probably because I dont have Scales, lol.
I think you have it mostly right, except maybe something about the relationship between the quantizer input and the trigger. The wide-open gate (EOR) is not the signal being quantized by Scales, the S&H of the Wogglebug is. Here is a visual:
[Wogglebug S&H]---[Maths ch.2]--->[Scales Pitch Input]----- [quantizes S&H]--->[Pitch Out to v/oct of Rings & Plaits]
[Maths EOR gate]-------->[Scales Trigger Input]---[selects duration of S&H]-------- ^The Wogglebug S&H is the signal being quantized to the key of G. The trigger input slects the moments that Scales will draw from the now quantized S&H. This is helpful if you want to control the pitch quantization with an LFO or any non-clocked source and then ensure that the pitch changes are in sync with the beat of the track. For our purposes, it also allows us to take something like a gate to determine the timing and duration of the rapid S&H changes modulated by the Wogglebug. If you put any S&H into your quantizer it should quantize the signal at the speed of the input, be it an LFO or a S&H, or whatever. But the tempo of the pitch input is over-ridden by the trigger input, allowing you to be more selective of what pitches are selected and when they are output.
As to your final point, yes, I do attenuate the range of Wogglebug's S&H pitch by running it through channel 2 of Maths and then from the channel 2 out, into Scales' 'Pitch' in.
I have tried this with other basic quantizers that have independent quantization inputs and trigger inputs. In the case of Quantermain, I would say take a S&H, attenuate the range via Maths, input it into the Sample CV #1 input on the Quantermain. Then take the EOR gate from the Maths and run it into the Sample Clock #1 input. This should achieve the effect we are looking for.
Hope this helps!
-- FredFoxtrott
My confusion arises because there is definitely a difference in how Quantermain operates in comparison to Scales. After thoroughly RTFM to brush up, I tested it and verified (via Scope, not audio).
There are 2 modes in Quantermain, clocked and continuous.
In clocked mode it requires a rising edge to trigger each new note. Whether a gate, trigger, clock, square wave lfo, whatever, it only spits out a newly quantized pitch on the rising edge of an incoming signal. So even if I were to send it a gate that stays high a minute long, I'd get exactly 1 quantized pitch until the next rising edge, not a stream of quantized pitches for as long as the gate is high. This mode is clearly not what we're looking for (even if there are ways to do it still by using the EOR gate to gate the triggers from Wogglebug Burst output - EOR gate is high, the Burst triggers from Wogglebug go through to Quantermain).
In continuous mode, it will spit out newly quantized pitch values as new values are input without regard to trigger or gate. Some value comes in, and a quantized value goes out in real time. This gets us going in the right direction. If I were to put a gate into the trigger input in this mode, the output would be transposed up or down by 1 octave (depending on the particular setting chosen) for however long the gate is high, and not turn the output of the quantization on and off like it does in your patch.
So to work around this, I need to use an extra VCA. The first VCA is to tame the raw S&H voltage, as per your patch, and the second is to gate the quantized output using the Maths EOR gate.
As a note, these sorts of patching issues are why I love modular. I really dig the puzzle; having to find the right algorithm to get a job done. That there are generally multiple ways to do one thing makes it even more exciting.
Thanks for all your help.
You got it. For sure, the modules' difference is likely the issue, and it just goes to prove the rule....you can never have to many VCAs.
