User Posts

audio : https://mengqi.bandcamp.com/track/lights-are-from-a-window

EDITED Feb 13th 2018, 01:38

Emotionally, "what for dinner" is my most important decision in a day. As good choices bring essential daily happiness.

Technically, Just Type is the main sound source, a Mangrove to beef up low end. Two Sisters, one in crossover mode for tone shaping, another in format mode for intense effects, sometimes percussive.

I think the charm lies in the method of polyphony stacking to distortion (a thing to avoid in "normal" sense) for timber morphing. And occasionally jumping modulations to provide a feel of paragraphs.

mq computer 2

updated - touch replaced by more "patch compose", as my virtuosoship is dedicated to a future instrument.
升级了——触摸替代为更多 “连线作曲”，因为我的演奏会专注于未来的一个乐器。

I escape from "endless possibilities", aiming for complexity I can handle, to avoid machines taking over expressions.
我逃离 “无穷的可能性”，力求自己能掌控的复杂程度，防止机器统治表达。

essentially, building a custom system is to set up workflow by reducing complexity.
组装客制化系统的核心目的，是通过降低复杂性而建立流程。

balance : don't want more, yet won't settle for less.
平衡 ：不需要更多，也不能更少。

too many wires so the faceplate won't close.
when I powered this unit up, I found complex noise at TR inputs of teletype coming from floating opamp inputs.
they travel through TR threshold so scripts may trigger randomly, even touching faceplate affects it.
a bit daunting at first, soon replaced by curiosity of exploring unusual expresssions.
里面线太多，合不上面板了。
接电之后我发现在 teletype 的 TR 输入端有复杂的噪音信号，它们来自浮空的运放输入。
这些信号在输入的阈值上下浮动，所以不同的脚本被随机地触发。触摸模块面板竟然会影响这些动作。
一开始感觉有些可怕，不过很快被其中可挖掘的不寻常表现力吸引了。

btw, it's ceremonious to have designs of peter, gil, brian, oliver in a small box.
在同一个小盒中放入这四个人的作品有种仪式感。

EDITED Jan 21st 2017, 07:41

piezos on the back of touch modules,
cuts on rail that allow fr4 bends.
touch - squish
titanium is cold and walnut is warm.

触摸板背后安了压电片，
盒子上面挖槽所以电路板有空间弯曲。
触摸——挤压
钛很凉，胡桃木有体温。

http://mengqimusic.com

a minimalist music computer, where digital polysyntheticism meets touch sensitive relabi.
rolz + eurorack + cherry mx blue + black walnut

i think perfection is balance in dynamics. for electronic musical instruments, it's of digital & analogue, generative & control, deterministic & improvisational, scarcity & redundancy... and freedom to travel between them by preference and coincidence.

我认为完美是动态中的平衡。对于电子乐器来说，是数字与模拟、生成与控制、确定与即兴、缺乏与冗余…和在其中有意与无意的行走。

http://mengqimusic.com/

EDITED Dec 4th 2016, 03:16

You are welcome!
1 pad recalls 1 page, and per page there are 6 voltage values, each for 1 output.
so you can play pitches on 6 oscillators at the same time.

Hello there, I can't understand some functionalities. For instance, why 6 outputs instead of 1 only ? Probably all outs are normalled to the 1st one, letting the user to can use each individual output in order to tune pads individually and/or to drive 6 different sound generators? Moreover, how many pages the 12 pads fill? 2 pages, right?
freemod

there are 6 tracks so 6 outputs,
each combination of bank button would recall a "bank" of 12 "pages",
each pad would call a "page" which contains 6 voltage values, one for each output.
so there are 84 pages in total.

a self-contained eurorack system
instant and tactile like an acoustic instrument

1. hardwired connections between Folktek Matter and Meng Qi Seashore;

2. tonal / atonal audio from Skot Wiedmann HYVE / IFM Mr.Grassi, travels thru body into various points within Matter;

3. left/rightmost inputs on Seashores are equipped with jacks, thus touch-controlled external signal injection / feedback are convenient;

4. Meng Qi DPLPG provides smooth vactrol based voltage control of volume and tone;

5. Recovery Effect Cutting Room Floor offers pitch shifting looping / delay / faux reverb, and is sensitive to incoming volume;

6. bottom jacks on ADDAC Size Matter is connected to a D-Class amplifier, a hefty built-in surface transducer provides strong sound and vibrations to feel with body.

it went through a few revisions.
I hope it stays in the fine line between redundancy and scarcity, like a well designed standalone instrument.

video : vimeo.com/184161013
sc :
buy file : https://mengqi.bandcamp.com/track/duet-with-myself

mengqimusic.com

EDITED Sep 26th 2016, 13:02

It is back to the old smaller pic now?

Today I come here and found all the module images have become bigger and lovely.
I totally love this update.
Great work!!!!!

https://instagram.com/p/3IyowTrvDO/

EDITED May 26th 2015, 08:59

New features !!! Seq Reset & 6 Track Gate Sequencer

New Manual :
https://copy.com/NuhiBEawgnjfHxwX

Please send email to mengqimusic [at] gmail [dot] com
for firmware file!

Enjoy!

Today is Chinese New Year Eve, Happy Chinese New Year! 春节快乐！

It is very fast to write sequences in Voltage Memory.

Meng Qi 孟奇 - Sweet Morning Drone 甜美清晨的嗡嗡

Meng Qi - NONRANDOM BURSTS

Somehow you managed to combine Dark Knight cinematography with modular synths. Great!
-- solitud

Haha thank you! ;)

A new track with this system - a programmed expression

A new track with this system - Two Notes In Parallel

Video of me playing this patch :

Patch different pitches on ch1 of VM, playing 2 pitches in a series with finger holding on the 1st pad, then the 2nd note would play a 2nd pitch while the 1st hold the original pitch.

A video showing (a simpler version of) this patch : http://instagram.com/p/wn91e1LvL3/?modal=true

A Voltage Memory housed in a dedicated 30HP wooden box.
Can be built with 1/8 or banana jacks (with ground jack).
Powered by a 9-12v wallwart.

Voltage Memory is the perfect companion for Equation Composer - VM has all the cv/gate that EC needs, and the voltage ranges exactly match.

In this system, VM serves as the programmer / playing surface / patch storage & automatic recall device for EC.
And it is clocking Turing Machine, which is used as rhythm sequencer.
A Sinclastic Empulatrix shapes the amplitude contour for the output of EC.
BD808 and No Drum serve as drum sources in this paticular system.

You can choose whatever rhythm sequencer / drum sources to join the mightly VM+EC combo, which would always form an amazingly versatile little composing / live performance system.

On Voltage Memory :
1) choose a bank;
2) pitch storage on ch1 on top row of 6 pads, zero on ch2;
3) copy values from top 6 to bottom 6 pads;
4) on the bottom pads, adjust ch2 for pitch bend depth, and ch3 for pitch bend speed;
5) repeat steps 2-4 in other banks for more notes;
in manual mode, playing the top pads for different pitches, and lay your finger on the bottom pads for different pitch bends.

set ch4 for delay between 2 triggers.
use ch5 and ch6 to set any other parameters you like.

EDITED Dec 11th 2014, 06:39

Human is paradoxical in a lot of aspects. Altho I am that kind of guy who never leave my flat unless I have to. But I am very interested in portable and self-contained music systems. Maybe that's because I love to make music anywhere in my flat. And maybe also because I love limitations being a user of Propellerheads Rebirth and Nanoloop in my old days of music making.

This little system built in a 64x2 wooden box is capable of not only some sound design, but also dual voice tonal music. White Whale is providing main sequencing, triggering Barton Delaying ARs which can mimic delay effectors. WW is also triggering changes on MengQiMusic Voltage Memory. VM, with its 84 storable pages, 6 outputs and multiple recall modes, is taking care of automatic parameter changes everywhere in the whole system, which is also very playable live-wise. Sound is produced by Verbos Complex Oscillator, which is capable of dual voice, the left side goes to Verbos Dual Four Pole for timber shaping, and the timber of right side is shaped by its on-board waveshaper. The voices can also be modulating each other. Each voice will go to MengQiMusic DPLPG for amplitude control. Finally an AniModule TriAniModule takes care of mixing and amplification, I also got some mono to stereo adapters for using it with a headphone - this is just one of the many ways to use this system.

Now everyone is making music with laptops. So here is my version of a music laptop.

The design is being updated, please stay tuned!

Isomorphic

4 Octaves

12V DC Power (No -12v / +5v)

User programmable scale (microtonal capable)

EDITED Feb 8th 2014, 14:36

Thank you Nuuttipukki, that's my goal to design it to be a main controlling/sequencing module!

Here is a pic of the new prototype : http://instagram.com/p/mbuzLprvHS/

Test faceplates should be able to arrive today. The new prototype would be finished in 2-3 days.

This is in testing period now! More info in a couple of days. ;)