A generative patch run by Wogglebug with various modulations of Optomix, QPAS, Panharmonium, Clouds, and Mimeophon. Our two oscillators are Rossum-Electro Music Trident and Make Noise DPO.
Hope you enjoy it!
Well, a week of vacation is coming up, so my problem may be a bit of poking around for some good deals. Soon, the rains will come and I want to be set up befor winter.
Hey, thanks! I really appreciate it. I'm learning a lot from this new build. It's really just awesome to sit in front of this thing and explore. Next week, I am on vacation and looking forward to some evening sessions.
Just a +1 for Veils. It was my first VCA and, despite owning several others, I still reach for it first. It just drives really well. Nice VCA.
A four oscillator drone with: Rossum-Electro Trident, XAOC Odessa, Make Noise DPO, and a Moog Mother 32 through QPAS, Panharmonium, Clouds, and Mimeophon. Just a relaxed evening session, letting this patch unfold and evolve slowly.
Yeah, I agree with you on that. It's good advice. I started my search yesterday with a bit of help from a friend in the mixing/mastering business. The real challenge will be keeping him from buying everything before I get to it. :-)
One reason I moved to larger, complex oscillators is due to their incredible depth and flexibility. I started out with STO, Dixie, and Plaits. I love each of these little oscillators but wouldn't trade all three for any one of my complex oscillators (Trident, DPO, Odessa, and Telharmonic). Sure, in a smaller case they are sometimes hard to justify, but stick Odessa in this one and it could easily create a powerful generative ambient landscape.
Just my 2 cents.
I think my poor little mixer is giving up the ghost. 10 years of service for a cheap, consumer grade slab isn't too bad, I suppose. :-)
Apparently still trying to debug this mixer right/left balance issue. Thought I had it pegged but in reality I think this poor little mixer is finally giving up the ghost after ten years. Anyhow...
Wrapped up the final touches on the EP-420 case migration early this morning, moving a few modules and cleaning up the internal wiring. Later this afternoon, I had a 30 minute window between meetings and managed to jam out this fun little patch that brings in one of my Moog Mother 32's. Hope you enjoy it.
In agreement with what has been said so far and just wanted to drop in a note about the Joranalogue Filter 8: It's complicated.
I know this filter has been getting a lot of praise and has been placed on several "Top 10 modules" lists. I have owned one for about six months. It's a very powerful filter that craves lots of modulation to get the most out of it. If you're just starting out, I'd suggest a filter or two of simpler design. With that 12hp of space, you could have something like the new Mutable Instruments Ripples v2 or a Doepfer A-124 Wasp (classic AND cheap) plus a Steady State Fate MMF pingable VCF or even a Make Noise LxD (low pass gate). This would open the door to lots of creative sound plus a friendly learning curve.
Joranalogue Filter 8, terrific module but big for this case and complicated for someone just getting into modular/eurorack.
Just my 2 cents. :-)
Given your wants, Mimetic Digitalis might be one to consider.
Thanks for the kind words, as always. I checked things over and found that I had nudged a setting on my Zoom recorder. That would explain the left channel bias. I wouldn't have noticed on the monitors since they happen earlier in the chain. Gotta fix that design flaw. :-)
I'm just going to sit here for a while and chill to the sounds of Marbles playing Odessa through Panharmonium, Clouds, and Mimeophon...
Ready?
Deep breath in. Deep breath out.
The Lifeforms SV-1b is a powerful and wonderful machine. Two oscillators, a juicy filter, envelope generator, VCA and mixer, basic utilities, midi/cv, and more. Personally, I really dig what I'm hearing from this update to the SV-1.
Here's my advice: Go slowly.
10 Learn and master this powerful landscape
20 Push it until you have a moment where you reach for something that is not there
30 Take note of what that something is
40 Add that something to your landscape
50 GOTO 10
Share some of your experiments and results. We'd love to hear what you're making with the SV-1b!
Ok. This thing was worth the price tag. It can stay. I won't even charge it rent.
I think it could work very nicely and I think also that there will be found several other ways to do it. That will be the fun part, experimenting with the concept in multiple ways. The weekend is coming and there will be time to exploire.
Am also moving in this direction. Recently added Planar 2 and Batumi while also close to swapping out Nebulae for WORNG Vector Space. I am working towards deep, wide, evolving sessions. I like to patch up something that is organic, textured, interesting and explorable while also playing over it with tactile modules like Planar 2. I'm not even close yet, but I know where I want to be.
https://cdn.modulargrid.net/img/racks/modulargrid_1259259.jpg
Let's keep this thread going and see where it leads us. Record some patches. Let the gear lust be fed by what we learn and figure out.
After migrating to the new EP-420 case, I had a bunch of modules that didn't make the cut for the new layout. So, I moved most of them into a 104hp skiff and dropped Batumi alongside them.
This is "Leftover Lasagna." It stows in a travel bag and can be powered via Polyend Anywhere. It sets hard limits and pushes me to hunt for solutions, but for a small surface it is super fun to tweak and explore.
Let me explain why I sacrificed DivKid's S&H for this build... I'm buying another one for the EP-420.
Love/hate relationship with Milky Way for many reasons, but past noise issues and I can 'feel' the firmware. I don't know...
I find XAOC Odessa to be a very interactive complex oscillator that craves a lot modulation, much like Basimilus Iteritas Alter.
If your style is to supply that modulation from VCV Rack via the ES-9 and to supplement with Pamela's New Workout then that will certainly do the job. My approach is to feed Odessa with the many knobs and sliders of modules like Maths, Marbles, Stages, Quadrax, and Planar so that I can interact with it in a very tactile way. Pamela's New Workout provides a lot of modulation sources but doesn't lend well to knob turning and sometimes leads to menu diving. If you want to play Odessa by hand then you might lean on the Microbrute knobs for that. I guess this boils down to style and approach.
One last thing: maybe consider swapping Quant for a Make Noise LxD (dual low pass gate) to open up more possibilities for Odessa (bonus: cleaning up that leftover 1hp slot). I'm assuming that Wogglebug -> Quant -> Rings was a thing in the rack's prior life, but now you've got a complex oscillator stealing the show, so priorities might change.
Anyhow, just my $.02. Looking forward to hearing noises from your new build.
Thank you for the kinds words. I do appreciate it. Anytime I have considered publishing something or making an album, I think maybe I can improve a bit more in some way. Maybe soon I'll feel ready to give it a shot. Thanks again!
Just a nice evening wander with Xaoc Odessa run through Clouds, Panharmonium, and Mimeophon.
It seems as though several of us recently found the Rossum Electro-Music Panharmonium. Others are creating some really great stuff with it. Here's my first attempt to patch it in my new Structure EP-420 case build.
For this patch, I pushed Trident and DPO through QPAS. For an additional voice component, I brought in a Zoom H2n mic while my kids were talking nearby. All three voices are run through Clouds, Panharmonium, and Mimeophon for reverb and delay. The kids' voices add a semi-random texture to the other two oscillators. A simple two-step sequence from Rene plays Trident and DPO while all other pitched notes and modulation are created using DivKid øchd and Pamela's New Workout. I add additional texture and modulations by playing Intellijel Planar over the patch.
The @Pittsburgh Modular Structure EP-420 is a beautiful case. I cannot overstate the presence it has in my studio. It's a -big- case that you can really wander and swim around in when "fully stocked." I raised mine with 2 inches of foam and parked two Moog Mother 32's in front of it. They fit like a glove.
Panharmonium is deep and I have a lot to learn. It can be a massively complex drone engine, so I had to snag it. We'll see how it goes!
Hope you enjoy the track.
Thanks! It's a total trip to play. So much landscape to explore. I love having the two M32's in front.
Awesome! I, too, picked one up last week. It's going to be amazing from ambient drones. I'll drop my first try with it tonight.
This is great stuff. Really love how it evolves. I've got to try a variation of your patch using Nebulae v2, Mimeophon, and Eventide Space.
Let's all share what we're getting out of Panharmonium! That's a pain to type...
Update - Fixed a major source of noise when migrating from 3x140HP skiffs powered by uZeus power supplies and flying bus cables to an EP-420 with a very clean power supply. I will be replacing those monitors, but the case migration alone helped quite a bit.
Just finished the new studio desk, modular case, and wiring. Such a change from the haphazard stack of 104HP skiffs and uZeus flying bus cables. Everything is now right where I want it to be.
"And my tears in league
With the wires and energy
And my machine
This is my beautiful dream"
http://www.climbhigher.net/images/EP-420-Build.jpg
Thank you, for the kind words. I really appreciate it.
I've just finished the new studio setup. The Pittsburgh Modular Structure EP-420 is larger than life and beautifully made. Fire away at the sliding nuts, but I don't mind. It's simply gorgeous.
Looking forward to getting right to work on some new tracks.
Been really busy this past week and also preparing to move "all the things" into a Structure EP-420 and onto a new studio desk. Managed to sneak in a quick little jam last night. Started with Marbles and Rene into DPO and Trident and let things evolve. Should be settled in by the weekend for some sit down time with the new setup.
Thanks for listening!
Opening patch from yesterday's two-hour live session. DivKid øchd is the pilot.
Nice transition and progression at about 3:45. 7:45 really got my attention. Same with 11:20. My kind of ambient jam.
I really enjoyed listening to this a few times. Nicely done!
Sat down this evening for a little jam on my Mother 32's. No agenda. Just started poking and patching. Found myself here. I'm thinking that a DFAM would be a nice way to tie off this little Moog rack that lives next to the modular system.
A little kick from BIA and light reverb from Clouds.
Using Mutable Instruments Marbles as a sample source, playing Plaits and DPO with DivKid's awesome RND STEP S&H. After a several seconds of listening to what Marbles decided to make, I play over the two VCO's with Rossum Electro-Music Trident. Make Noise QPAS, Clouds and Eventide Space for lush, modulated reverb.
A little more noise than desired from M.I. Clouds. Texture modulation too wide. Sorry about that.
Anyhow, enjoy this nice, evolving ambient track and some footage of yesterday's evening paragliding session.
Thanks for the kind words. Got something brewing with the new RND S&H.
Really enjoying øchd for ambient, droning work. The slow ebb and flow of 8 independent LFO's is where it's at for me.
Received DivKid's øchd earlier this week. Spent the evening patching, learning and wandering into this little drone with a simple sequence dropped in. Trident, Telharmonic, DPO, tiny bit of reverb by Clouds, additional space created with Mimeophon. All modulation performed by øchd.
After diving in for several weeks of tweaking knobs, I surfaced to make changes that yield big returns.
First, I swapped STO for DPO and migrated Plaits to the "travel skiff" top row. I'm now very psyched about my bottom row VCO layout with this beautiful landscape of deep, complex oscillation. One potato... two potato... 17 outputs across four complex VCO's? I think I counted that right.
Second, I decided to not purchase Make Noise X-Pan. Instead, I went with Intellijel Planar2 because it's just SO interactive and fun to play. I love the flavor of Make Noise, so it was a harder decision than most. So far, I feel like it was a good one.
Third, I bought a second Maths. It lives in a 60hp skiff, called The Modulation Harness, geared towards modulation of my semi-modular gear. If HP isn't an issue then one probably can't go wrong with a second Maths.
Fourth, Rene v2 is now my primary sequencer. Rene feels good to play. Mimetic Digitalis is tons of fun, but I sometimes I feel like it lacks a certain intimacy. It cranks out fast variations and 'shreds' but can feel a bit one-knob centric and "searchy" when I want to slow down and be purposeful about what I'm doing. I moved it into The Modulation Harness.
So, what I've achieved is simplification of my overall landscape that came with big improvements to what I like to do and how I do it. Sitting down at this instrument is now such a mesmerizing and enjoyable experience.
Oh, one last thing... ochd arrived in the mail. Totally worth the wait. Super sweet module. Thanks, DivKid!
Now I've got three weeks to dive back in to measure my decisions.
Worked out a noise floor issue and cleaned up my monitoring environment. Felt like having some fun with Rossum-Electro Trident.
Patch is just Trident -> QPAS -> Clouds with tons of modulation. Backed up by a kick from BIA.
I keep coming back to this concept to think on it. What I'm going to do right off is to be more intentional about how I manage and separate sound within my modular. Mixing and levels, but also use of filters to control range and separation more effectively. I feel like I'm a being lazy here, especially allowing bass and mid-range sounds to run over everything else.
When I listen to some of my favorite synth artists on my current monitoring setup, their presentation is cleaner, crisper, and more polished than my own. I don't think I'm making the most of what is it front of me. I'll start there.
-mowse
Ordered one from Control back in March. Fingers crossed that one will make it to my mailbox soon!
Stole a few minutes in the studio before dinner. Here's another example of STO and Dixie II+ playing well together.
This entire patch is driven by Rene and a clock shifter. There's a sprinkling of Trident and a Moog Mother 32 for accents, but STO and Dixie are the main voices. Both are run through QPAS for cutoff and resonance, then on to Mimeophon to add space and repeats. Really simple patch.
Just a simple patch today. Settling into Rene v2 as my main sequencer.
What's going on here?
Odessa as the main sequence, FM and Warp modulation from Marbles.
Marbles expands precisely the octave range of Odessa through frequency modulation.
Telharmonic as a drone, Centroid and Flux modulated with sine waves from PNW.
Plaits as a pulsing bass line, triggered by a square wave from PNW.
Simple bass kick provided by BIA.
Well, I chose Telharmonic over DPO. I saw Telharmonic as a challenging VCO that required focus and attention to control in a musical way. Honestly, I sometimes struggle with it. If I invest time and focus then I am rewarded. If I hurry to include it in a patch then I am likely punished. I wanted confrontation and frustration as drivers to improve.
I have not owned DPO, so I know only what I've gathered via demonstrations and videos. Since I own two other large, complex oscillators, I can't justify adding it to my current layout. It presents as a very capable and versatile tool clearly designed as a complex sound for the Make Noise system. Down the line, if DPO v2 is released then I'll likely give it a serious look. I'm a big fan of Make Noise and most everything they do, but HP is prime real estate.
-mowse
In this track, it's probably difficult to distinguish STO from Dixie since they are playing together, tuned about 1/5th apart, and run through Mimeophon for repeats and 'reverb.' The Dixie is sending out a saw wave and STO a variable wave shape (triangle/sin) with modulation to 'SHAPE' cv by way of a slow LFO. Dixie isn't showing off here. It's part of the weave.
These two VCO's run contrary to my main body of oscillators: Odessa (FPGA, additive, complex), Trident (3xVCO, complex timbral), and Telharmonic (additive harmonic, noise, phase modulation), and Plaits (4x(8x8) wavetable). They were my first two VCO's for good reason: They are simple but powerful oscillators. Small packages with gentle learning curves, capable of big things.
Since I'm currently doing deep, weaving ambient stuff, my 'complex' oscillators are useful in creating sounds with a lot of depth, width, fringe, and texture. When I want to back off of that and keep things simple or clean, I reach for STO and Dixie. Not to say that they can't do it all, but you get the idea. Oh, Dixie also goes into LFO range at the flick of a switch. Often super useful.
So, why does all of this matter? If you're going to purchase a Dixie II+, just know that you're getting into a very small, simple, capable VCO that can tie really nicely into a system with purpose. Personally, I wouldn't be without 2 VCO's like STO/Dixie/Plaits/etc, but: What basic waveforms does it generate? What CV does it eat? What can be modulated? What's the base character and personality of the VCO? How does it sound when filtered/fm'd? How does it track (lin/exp/thru-0)? How does it settle into my design plan?
Here's an example of someone scoping and test-driving Dixie II+ in their rack.
-mowse
@Lugia Thank you for this awesome input. Funny you mention DJ work. Most of my audio gear prior to modular was geared towards live shows, spinning records at clubs in Boston. That was back in 1998-2003. It's time for me to dive deep again and apply some fundamental concepts to modular vs dj booth gear. I'm going to chew on what you've shared, including recommendations for more appropriate monitors, and do some homework. Much appreciated.
Yesterday, I installed Make Noise René v2 into the top row of my 4x104hp tower. René has a quantizer function that I wanted to learn and so I threw together this quick patch. Two oscillators, STO and Dixie II+, are tuned about 1/5th apart. I'm playing Trident over the sequence using an Arturia Keystep while also playing René to affect changes to the sequence.
This video helped me to figure out a few things:
-mowse
@aarontw I think next up is just a long, deep dive into this thing I've built. As much as I'm looking to get certain things out of it, I'm also looking for it to lead me in interesting directions. Sometimes, I just stare at it and marvel at the sheer number of possibilities and permutations. It'll rain here over the weekend and all work and chores are done...
@Lugia I agree with your thoughts on monitoring and mastering. Right now, I'm working with a fairly limited setup and haven't invested the time to ramp up my skills and understanding in that area. Currently, I do mastering in Logic Pro X. That includes limiting, compression, EQ, stereo spread management, and normalization. For monitoring, I use Yamaha HS5's and Pioneer HDJ-X7's. The chain looks like: modular -> Scarlett audio device (input) -> laptop -> Logic Pro X. Output is through the Scarlett to monitors/headphones. I hear you about ear fatigue and also struggle with mastering for the typical case end listener. I've tried to master using 'neutral' monitors and headphones, but I'm lacking a good end result for the normal listener. It's an area where I'm looking to improve, for sure.
@GarfieldModular Thanks, glad you liked it. I hope to do more of these in hopes that others can get something out of them as I continue to learn.
Two more thoughts after several listens.
Hello,
Just sharing some things I learned this evening. Every week, I try to set aside an evening to experiment with a particular concept or to learn more about something that evades me. Today, it was pinging filters.
For this one, I'm creating rhythmic and musical textures and accents by pinging Make Noise QPAS and Mutable Instruments Ripples with Pamela's NW and Quadrax. I started with a lush ambient landscape and introduce twinkling arps supplied by STO and a Moog Mother 32. Rossum Electro-Music Trident and Plaits provide low and mid drones with a bit of 'zing' resonance from Trident Reverb is managed with Clouds and Mimeophon. To add/remove pings, I used mute switches from Muta Jovis. I have the option to play STO via Keystep keyboard and will do more of that as this track evolves. If I can do this right using resonance, some of the pings are arranged musically and sound like to-scale notes delivered by a sequencer. Clouds helps to round out sharp edges.
Lessons learned:
Lesson 1. Physical mute switches might send a "pop" downstream when toggled. Mimeophon will gobble them up and send a cascade of terrible repeats right to your face because, let's face it, you probably deserved it.
Lesson 2. Master resonance control between Trident and QPAS. Find balance between Trident 'zing' and QPAS 'Q' so that resonance doesn't overwhelm the high end.
Lesson 3. I'm reaching the limits of my mastering skills. Track where the high end is busy are difficult when it comes to removing ambient hiss or just-too-sharp elements. Low end needs more oomph and a cleaner drop off. I've just got to work towards mastering kung fu... mastering mastering kung fu.
Lesson 4. Rossum Electro-Music Trident is beautiful.That's the first word that comes to mind. I was afraid that it would be buzzy or metallic beyond my liking. It can be if told to be so. Otherwise, it's not. It's just so, so good. I'm only scratching the surface of this thing and will dedicate more time to finding out what it can do. I think that's precisely the feeling you want when you introduce any new module, but especially with an oscillator.
Anyhow, hope you enjoy the snippet of noise. I've decided to post each one of these evenings to YouTube so that maybe others can might glean useful bits from my experiments. Any feedback welcomed.
-mowse
