Circle Jerk

Quad JerkOff Chaos

This module consists of four Jerkoff Chaos circuits. The four circuits are all interconnected so that changes to the settings of any one module will force changes to the other three modules. The concept for the Circle Jerk and the connections between the four circuits are based on studies of coupled oscillators which are well-known for being excellent sources of complexity and unpredictable behaviour.

As this module is based on the Jerkoff chaos module, much of the descriptions and controls are the same, just 4X more of everything and much greater complexity can be obtained from the outputs.

A Jerkoff Chaos is a true chaos module based on the chaotic jerk equation. The pots really do control the amount of jerk and wiggle in the output waveforms. The input signal can be anything you like although audio rates will have little effect (try tho, it won’t hurt). Feeding it gates or triggers will get the output signals to sync with other modules. The tightness of the syncing is controlled by the input pot. The modules self-oscillate at most pot settings, so can be used without applying any input signals at all.

It is very easy to use the Circle Jerk, try it as an interesting and complex CV source. Good for controlling cut-off on VCFs, VCOs and mixing with envelopes to liven up a patch.

Real chaos is much more interesting than random or pseudo-random signals as it is unpredictable but operates within a bounded region. It can be compared to a keyboard player. If playing at random, the player just hits any key at any time, maybe interesting for a short while but it gets boring quickly. With chaos, the player may (for example) play an 8 note melody over and over, but each re-iteration is slightly and unpredictably different, perhaps one note is changed, or left out, or the order of two notes is swapped.

Controls

Jerk – controls the size of the jerk or kick at the start of each cycle

Wiggle – controls the number of wiggles or ‘bounces’ (think of a bouncing ball) that come after the jerk

In - determines the influence of the input signal over the behaviour of the module

These three controls are repeated four times in the Circle Jerk, adjusting the pot settings in one section will cause subtle (sometimes not so subtle!) changes to the signals from all of the outputs.

Sockets

In – Does not have to be used, but will allow the module to be controlled in different ways. You can input any signal; CV, gate, trigger or audio. A gate signal will get the Circle Jerk to sync with the rest of your patch, although how well it syncs can be set with the pots; from nice and tight to something like a drunken guy in the band not keeping up.

Very unusual signals can be obtained by inputting different gates to two (or more) of the inputs.

X, Y & Z – these are the three outputs for each circuit. The signals from these can be very different but are related in frequency at least. Generally X will have sharper edges and Z the smoothest, but this is not always the case. The output signals are bipolar and generally range between +/-5V.

Again, these are repeated four times so there are 4 inputs and 12 outputs in total.