Yes, very nice track. I love it when you spend all this time patching something fast and complex and busy, but then you cut some parts, drop the tempo, open the envelopes and reduce it down and you get something related, but totally different and often better than what was originally patched. At least it happens to me on occasion. :-)
I've been trying to go through all the recent posts in this forum and I'm sorry I didn't get to this one sooner. There are so many things I love about this video. I had to go watch a whole bunch more on YouTube. Love the music, love the commentary, love the scenery, and I really miss going fishing. Thanks for posting.
The goal with this recording was to start dabbling in and begin to understand how I might use samples. I see a ton of videos using the Morphagene and you can definitely get some cool sounds out of that thing. A shout-out to aphew_goodman and his "meint ihr nicht / wir könnten / aber" track - that was also an inspiration here.
A few days ago I made a simple patch with the Piston Honda and Bionic Lester that quickly went to a dark ambient sounding thing. Loved it. Then I happened across a great bit of dialog in a Star Trek Voyager episode, "The Thaw", and I thought it might be perfect to try as an experiment.
I don't have a Morphagene, but I do have Pigments, and since the new v3 just dropped I had it running and gave it a go. I immediately loved what you can do in Pigments with samples. Spent a few hours tweaking, then I set up an arpeggio and let it run the samples. I dialed up the modular for the low end and some weirdness (thanks to the Bionic Lester's comb filter), added a self generating patch from the Hydrasynth for low-mids, a simple arp on the Pro3 for some hi-mids, and finally a snappy little wood-blocky kinda arpeggio thing on the Sub37.
This is essentially a live, mostly-improvised performance recording. It took about a two hours to get all the synths making acceptable noises, then I turned down all the volumes, hit record and brought in different bits in stages. There was some tweaking knobs on the synths and a lot of manipulating settings in Pigments as it played out. I did add a handful of additional sample triggers to fill in what I thought were gaps with the dialog parts.
The dialog is:
"Fear is the most primitive, the most primordial of biological responses"
"All we have to do now is decide how to negotiate with... an emotion... with a manifestation"
"When fear holds you hostage... how do you make it let go?"
Modules used:
Piston Honda, Bionic Lester, Mimeophon, Ochd, Pamela's NW, Quadrax, Quad VCA
Cheers!
Wow! That's hardcore. The first thing I had to listen to after this was Zappa's The Yellow Shark - particularly The Girl In The Magnesium Dress. Now I'm listening to some John Zorn. You are keeping good company. :-) I have a huge appreciation for the effort involved in realizing this kind of composition. You all did a super amazing job capturing this piece live. Can't be easy.
Edit: Double wow! I was just checking out some of your other pieces on YouTube and I see my instincts were right on with The Yellow Shark. Very cool Ensemble Modern connection. And while I was there I had to watch Plétora again. That performance is epic!
Great patch! Lot's of things going on, but it is not too busy or too long.
Nice! That thing is huge. I was thinking to get a large cabinet like that, but I am still wanting to keep some level of portability. I know eventually I will get something like that, but will also rethink my studio space to accommodate it.
That is a great patch and performance! Love it. The slow degradation of the repeats on the El Capistan is such a great subtle morphing effect. So many great disparate sounds brought together in a very cohesive way.
And I totally understand the ModularGrid addiction. You're not alone. I've fully embraced it and it's been a remarkably fulfilling journey so far. Modular tickles me in so many ways - the scientist part of my brain is more stimulated now than it has been in decades, the musician part of my brain has been seriously broadened, the hobbyist/collector side of me is getting satiated. I'm thrilled to have discovered this experience.
I always enjoy your videos. Please keep them coming.
Cheers
@sacguy71 - Yes, the case size comment does hit home. I now have two 7Ux104HP cases full. I spent way more than I thought I would when I started at the beginning for the year, but modular is way more fun that I thought it would be. ;-) I'm going try to cool down my spending a bit and settle into going deeper with what I have instead of looking into a giant rack like the Doepfer 12U Monster case.
That said, in the last couple of weeks some of the SQ-64s have been delivered to users in Europe and some of the issues look to be pretty significant. Not unexpected for a new product, but knowing Korg, it might be a good long while before they iron out their issues.
So I am back to my research. Stillson Hammer and Erica Black sequencers looks interesting, but I'm still thinking I want one not in the rack.
@AudioResearch - Your grounding issue with BSP, were you using a power adapter or USB power? The KSP has come back into my sights, even though I am reticent to buy another keyboard.
Wow that Ground Control looks pretty freakin amazing. It's not cheap though. You could get two SQ-64s for that price and still have $100 left over. After a week of getting familiar with the Rene, I am actually thinking to keep my pre-order for the SQ-64. I believe there is probably not a lot of overlap. The Rene is an amazing instrument, and I have had so much fun just messing with it's up front features, but it's definitely not a traditional sequencer and I have a need for one.
At first I was confused. Then I was intrigued. Then I was anxious. Now at 4:45 I'm terrified! Amazing!
As always with my recent recordings, I try to to make sure something is learned. This time was trying to drive five separate oscillators with three sequencers. This is 5 oscillators driven by three different 5 note sequences. The modular was recorded as a live performance by working the faders on the modular mixer.
Then it turned into another learning experiment with the drums. Drums were added afterwards to fit the performance. Drums sounds are from EZ Drummer. But instead of using midi patterns, the patterns here are custom and were build using Studio One 5's pattern maker tool.
Just a quick follow up note on this - I reserved one at Sweetwater and originally got a shipping estimate of "late March". I checked in with them yesterday and the new estimate is "early May". So it's quite delayed.
As noted in my original post I have been searching all over the globe for a Rene Mk2 and low-and-behold I found one on Reverb this morning and bought it, so I think I will be canceling my SQ-64 pre-order. Super excited for the Rene! Now if I can find a Bionic Lester Mk III...
Cheers.
Thanks Garfield. Check out the new updated version of the recording. I thought the first version was a bit too high pitched, so I did a few more performance recordings of the very same patch, but with a lot of subtle differences including dropping an octave on the Mother 32, reducing the resonance on the QPAS, reducing the Maths controlled warble on the Mother 32, reduction of the level and repeats on the Mimeophon. Then I layered the multiple takes and have them slowly fading in and out over one main take. So in this version we have one main modular take, and two additional takes layered on top, and of course the birds. I pushed the birds up in the mix so you can now hear more of what they were doing. There's a lot more audible in this version. BTW - you'll hear some random clicks - those are birds landing on my feeder. :-)
Sunday March 7 - OK OK I know this is a cliche, but I just wanted to do it... At about 8:15 this morning I dropped my Zoom H4N out in my backyard and recorded the many birds that hang out in my garden. I then sat at my modular rig, made this patch and hit record. I bring in voices and modulation progressively to the midway point then dial them back again. I probably heard about 15-20 different kinds of birds while it was recording, and had a few close fly-bys so you will hear wings flapping. This recording is about as raw as it gets - I didn't really edit anything - I just added some shimmer verb to the birds - that's it.
Updated with new version of the recording. It is exactly the same patch, but I made a lot of subtle changes.
Modular Ambient with Birds, March 7, 2021 Patch Notes
Master Clock from PNW
Voice 1 Routing
• Keystep Sequence Pitch Out into Erica Black VCO 2 1v/Oct
• Saw out into QPAS Left
• Pulse out into QPAS Right
• QPAS LPF Left and Right into Quad VCA
• Envelopes from Quadrax
• Envelope Trig from PNW Euclidean trig
• Quad VCA into Mixer
• Mixer channels panned hard left and right
• Mixer into Mimeophon
• Mimeophon to Main Outs
Voice 1 Modulation:
• VCO internal modulation LFO on both saw and pulse
• PNW LFO into QPAS Frequency
• PNW LFO into QPAS Radiate Left
• Maths Ch 1 Unity Out into QPAS Resonance
• Quadrax LFO into QPAS Radiate Right
Voice 2 Routing
• PNW Euclidean trig into M32 Tempo CV in
• Mother 32 Sequencer to internal saw wave
• M32 VCO Pulse out into External input
• Mix at 50% but modulated
• M32 VCA Out into Mixer
• Mixer to Mimeophon
• Mimeophon to Main Outs
Voice 2 Modulation:
• M32 Internal LFO triangle on PWM and Cutoff
• PNW LFO into M32 VCF Cutoff
• PNW LFO into M32 LFO Rate
• PNW LFO into M32 Mix CV
• Maths Ch 1 into VCF Resonance
• Maths Ch 4 Unity Out into Mixer Pan CV in
Voice 3 Routing
• Plaits Wavetable tuned up a 4th
• Plaits into Ripples
• Ripples Bandpass Out into Quad VCA 3
• Ripples Lowpass Out into Quad VCA 4
• Envelopes from Quadrax
• PNW Euclidean trig into Quadrax CV in
• Quad VCA into Mixer
• Mixer into Mimeophon
• Mimeophon to Main Outs
Voice 3 Modulation:
• PNW LFO into Plaits Timbre
• PNW LFO into Plaits Morph
• PNW LFO into Ripples Frequency
• PNW LFO into Mixer Pan CV in x2
Mimeophon Tempo sync from PNW
Thank you! I have always loved long-form music which started when I first heard Yes and Rush back in the 70s... I'm working on a long ambient piece at the moment. I'm hoping to wrap it up shortly. Cheers.
Thanks Garfield, Farkas. I think I'm starting to wrap my head around this thing. I can't wait to get more comfortable with what modular can do and expand. I was lamenting the lack of availability of many modules that look amazing, but it's probably good to stagger new pieces to have a chance to learn what I have, and go easier on the wallet.
Garfield - after spending so much time in the past meticulously programming drums, I started using the EZDrummer VST. It has so many great complex patterns to work with and customize and it sounds great IMO. Since this track was more of a process experiment I didn't spent a lot of time on the drums, just something to add a solid beat.
The Evolvers track on my SoundCloud has many more fills and other drum bits - especially in the Subsequent 37 solo section starting at around the 5 minute mark.
Cheers
I haven't used Beads or Desmodus, but I do have the Mimeophon, and I totally love it. As a noob I had no problem coming to terms with how it works. It can do straight delay effects or go totally off the wall. I originally bought the Erica Black DSP multi effects but sent it back to get the Mimeophon.
I've been building this rack for a couple of months now and I finally got the Midi 1U on Friday, so I could sync it directly with the DAW and do some recording. I threw together this patch and hit the record button. I did a lot of manual modulating while it was running. I added a drum track in the DAW, a Taurus Pedal bass line, and because it wasn't busy enough already I layered in a short sequence from my Rev 2 as well in the middle.
The goal was more about process, technicals and logistics than it was about musicality, but I hope there some of that to be found here.
Here's the tune, the rack and the patch notes. Feedback welcome. Cheers.
https://www.modulargrid.net/e/patches/view/75225
Modular Jam Feb 27, 2021 Patch Notes
Master Clock from DAW (Studio One 5)
Voice 1 Routing
• Tempo from PNW into Arturia Keystep
• Keystep Sequence Pitch Out into Erica Black VCO 2 1v/Oct
• Saw out into QPAS Left
• Pulse out into QPAS Right
• QPAS LPF Left and Right into Quad VCA
• Envelopes from Quadrax
• Quad VCA into Mixer
• Mixer channels panned hard left and right
• Mixer into Mimeophon
• Mimeophon to Main Outs
Voice 1 Modulation:
• PNW LFO into QPAS Frequency
• Quadrax LFO into QPAS Radiate Left
• Quadrax LFO into QPAS Radiate Right
Voice 2 Routing
• Tempo from PNW
• Mother 32 Sequencer to internal saw wave
• M32 VCO Pulse out into External input
• Mix at 50%
• M32 VCA out into Quad VCA
• Quad VCA to Mixer
• Mixer to Mimeophon
• Mimeophon to Main Outs
Voice 2 Modulation:
• M32 Internal LFO triangle on PWM and Cutoff
• PNW LFO into M32 VCO Mod Amount
• Maths into M32 LFO Rate
Voice 3 Routing
• Mother 32 Sequencer KB out to Plaits
• Plaits into Ripples
• Ripples into Quad VCA
• Envelope from Maths Ch 1
• Quad VCA into Mixer
• Mixer into Mimeophon
• Mimeophon to Main Outs
Voice 3 Modulation:
• PNW LFO into Plaits Timbre
• PNW LFO into Ripples Frequency
• Maths Ch 4 into Rise of Ch 1
• PNW tempo into Maths Ch 1 trig
Mimeophon Tempo sync from PNW
Mimeophon in Ping Pong mode
I'm a newb as well, and I'm sure other more experienced folks will have good advice, but I'll chime in. I have similar tone goals and I bought the Erica Black VCO 2 and the Make Noise QPAS to go with it (and I also have a Mimeophon which is super fun!). I've been really happy with that VCO/filter combo to get dirty, heavily modulated arps and sequences going. OK it's more traditional analog, but you might like Erica's Black Wavetable VCO. To me Erica's stuff really get's to that gritty place I love.
I combined it with Plaits - it's super versatile and really shines when you modulate the Timbre and Morph.
I'll also add that I have Ripples, and compared to QPAS it is really tame sounding (ymmv). It's a great filter, but it is exactly what they say it is - "a no-fuss, elegant choice". To me it's kinda like a vanilla utility filter and doesn't add a ton of character to the sound. I'm glad Plaits has more than enough character to compensate.
Interesting perspectives. Thanks. That it'll run three note lanes and a drum track, and at a $299 price point, I might give it a shot. I think it'll do what I want in my home studio. I won't be doing gigs with it.
Xodes you wrote "interesting to see new hardware sequencers with generous amounts of I/Os, yet it would have been great that unlike the BSP they put output jacks for all of the drum triggers..." It sure looks like it has 8 drum track gate outs like the BSP. Did I miss something?
I'd still love to have a Rene Mk2, but Make Noise isn't Korg, and the cottage-industry nature of Eurorack makes it a bit frustrating that sometimes you can't get the stuff you want. And in the case of Intellijel and 1U modules, need. Lugia, you ding Korg pretty hard for snafus and special editions and availability, and that's fair - they should have their act together given who they are and how long they've been at it. I sold my Prologue for a DSI Rev 2 - it's much more fun and feature rich. And I dumped the SQ-1 because I did not get along with its UI. Still love my Kronos 88 though.
Since my last post here I have added Plaits, Ripples and Pamela's New Workout. I am still waiting for the Midi 1U, Quadratt, and I have the Disting EX on order too.
NOTE: This rack still shows the Mother 32 installed, but it will go eventually. I left it in because that's what I am looking at right now (except for the back-ordered items).
PNW is so deserving of all the hype. Amazing module, and between the Euclidean Stepping, Step Skipping and S&H, it gives me some of the randomization that was suggested above.
Any suggestions on a better arrangement of the modules here?
There's no mention of MPE in the manual. Try their support folks. They're usually pretty responsive. support@intellijel.com
Anyone else think the newly announced SQ-64 looks interesting? I looks pretty comprehensive to me. I have lusting after the Rene Mk2 but good luck finding one. It looks like they are targeting the modular crowd with their intro demo video using a small rack. With four lanes, stochastic and probability options, and lots of CV connectivity, I'm thinking it might be a good outboard sequencer and save rack space for other stuff.
Nice idea! Thank you. Also I just realized I had the Roland 530 in the rack, but I actually have the 531 which has panning CV so I was taking the QPAS stereo outs from LP and HP, and adding some more stereo craziness at the mixer. Adding the Mimeophon's stereo delay to this is going to be very cool.
Many thanks for the suggestions. Lugia - I pulled the M32 out of the rack (as I mentioned I would do) and that obviously leaves a lot more room. I added Kinks, Wogglebug (which shows very well in the Make Noise demos of QPAS and Mimeophon). Plaits, Polaris, another Quad VCA, ES Disting Mk4, Pamela's New Workout and a Dixie II+.
There's still 32HP. Am I getting closer to ambient, self-generative bliss?
I just received the QPAS and Maths yesterday and holy crap that QPAS sounds incredible - and then when you modulate it - just wow! I do love the sound of the Erica Black VCO 2 and the QPAS makes it even better.
(the forum doesn't seem to update the rack here)
Noting a module change - I decided to return the Black Hole DSP 2 - Replacing it with a Mimeophon. I think the BHDSP does a lot of stuff, but I didn't think it did any of them that well. The max delay is too short for me (but it is great for phasing/flanging though) and the reverb didn't wow me either. And you can't sync it. I think I'll get along with Mimeophon better.
In addition to S&H, what else can I add for randomness/probability?
Cheers
Ohhh a S&H is a good idea. I haven't had the results I was expecting for the Pro3's S&H LFO, but that could be user error. I'm also interested in the Disting since it seems to pack a lot of punch into 4HP. And I can't argue with more mults and the Links looks like a good option.
For another sound source I've been thinking about Plaits given its huge variety of sound options, and adding the Polaris filter to go with it.
I'm also thinking that eventually the Mother 32 will exit this rack to make room for other stuff. :-)
Cheers
I like self-generating-ambient as well as fast complex arps and sequences. I will be feeding in some sequences from my DAW and using my Pro3 for keys/arp/sequences and for its Gate and CV outs. More VCAs? ;-) What else?
Any useful recommendations are appreciated.
