I took my SunSyn to Jomox in Kreuzberg today for the 2.0 update. Like many users, I'm looking forward to the improvements but also concerned that some of the SunSyn's 'characteristic' (or should that be 'idiosyncratic'?) sound might be lost.
Jürgen reassured me that the sound will remain the same and was kind enough to show me some of the new features. Besides improvements to the arpeggiator and portamento functions, the RCOs have been completely overhauled and even allow FM. This sounded fantastic and greatly enhances the SunSyn's sonic palette.
This is the sound of my pre-update SunSyn, recorded for posterity:
In this patch the M23 was used to shift a quantized sequence to a pair of detuned VCOs, the 'both' input of a Bananalogue/ Serge VCS and the CV input of a VC-LFO. The sequence was transposed by the stepped output of a Wogglebug. A sequential switch was used to alternate between a 'regular' and voltage controlled clock. The switch was triggered by a comparator reading the output of a second random source.
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UPDATE: Patch details
I tried to keep the patch description as simple as possible, but for those of you who want to try this here is a patch chart.
The A-147 VC-LFO acts as the master clock and feeds the SQ8, which sends a gate to the VCS (or Maths).
The envelope generated by the VCS is patched to the output VCA. In my patch I fed the two VCOs to a separate mixer (VCA-4MX) before the final VCA (VCA-2P), but for simplicity I've shown an A-131 in this chart.
The sequence generated by the SQ8 goes to an A-156 quantizer, the CV goes to the ASR and the trigger output of the A-156 clocks the ASR. From there, output one goes to VCO1, output 2 to VCO2, output 3 to the second input of an A-151 switch and the last output feeds the 'both' input of the VCS.
The random elements:
the 'step1' output of the SQ8 clocks the Wogglebug. In turn, its clock output steps the S&H/ noise.
The Wogglebug's stepped out feeds the transpose input of the quantizer. At the beginning of the patch I kept the randomness to about 9 o'clock, towards the end I swept it up manually and then back to zero.
The SH-NZ output feeds an A-119, which I've used as a comparator. Depending on the gain & threshold settings you can generate an amplitude-dependent gate. As the A-151 feeds the CV-in of the VC-LFO, the gate toggles the switch between 'regular' and VC-clock. As an alternative, you could use a VCA to alter the amount of VC-clock or, indeed, alter the CV amount manually. If you don't have a comparator or A-119, you could use the burst output of the Wogglebug. I sometimes find this too frenetic, so I send the burst gate to a clock divider to calm it down a bit!
Breaking with tradition, there's no new gear in this first anniversary post. Instead of modules, I've got some literary inspiration for you and the environmental sounds that most of us try to eliminate or ignore.
Pictured above are some of the books I got for my birthday recently (life begins now, apparently) - interestingly, these gifts were all from women, bless 'em!
Allen Strange's 'Electronic Music' needs no introduction and Horowitz/ Hill's 'Art of Electronics' is considered by many to be a standard. Showing my ignorance, I hadn't heard of Daniel Levitin's 'This Is Your Brain On Music', but it has been a real eye and ear opener. All three are highly recommended.
In homage to B(if)tek's "sound of the b(if)tek studios" from their '2020' album, I've also recorded the sound of my own studio:
OK, so my studio isn't that loud. I cranked levels on the desk, turned the monitors up and limited the recording. The loudest pieces of equipment are the Space Echo (unsurprisingly) and the Sunsyn's cooling fan, which you can hear panting away at the end of the take. Time for that 2.0 update.
It's been a great year for modular synthesis with loads of exciting new kit and technology. I've tried to get my hands on as much gear as I could (thanks!) and feature it on the blog. I hope you've enjoyed the posts so far and that you'll continue to visit the site and leave your comments in the coming year.
This patch started out as a bog-standard linear FM bell-sound patch. It was pretty but boring until I set up some cross modulation between the carrier and modulator.
The total module-count was six (2 VCOs, Maths, clock, sequencer and multiple), but what you're hearing is the the output of a single oscillator. As you can tell, minute changes can lead to unpredictable results!
This module needs little by way of introduction - shortly after it was announced, it sold out in the US and Europe. So what makes Make Noise's Maths so special that it prompted the largest used-envelope sell-off in Euro format history?
Maths packs a pair of voltage controllable slope generators, much like the Bananalogue/ Serge VCS or Plan B Model 10, plus two channels of 'attenu-version'. It's this 'package' that is probably the key to its success. It's a compact, complete system. Most patch 'problems' can be solved without resorting to other modules and, like the Wogglebug, it's fun and inspiring.
In use, I found the envelopes clean and spike-free. Setting rise and fall times was far easier than on my VCS or Model 10. As the manual states, the contours have a dramatic effect on timing. Like the VCS, filtering audio is not one of its strengths but when used to slew CVs it is precise.
The only two things I missed were a single-shot trigger button and, more importantly, voltage control over the polarizers. The latter would, for example, allow VC contours and greatly enhance the mathematical possibilities!
Ok, so you've managed to recover CVs from you modular. Now what?
Rather than just process and/ or replay those recorded CVs, how about using Logic's Transformer to convert and redirect the MIDI CCs generated by the pairing of SW's CV to OSC component and Osculator?
In today's patch I've siphoned Osculator's output and used a handful of Transformers to generate pitch & pan information for an electric piano virtual instrument and bypass & downsample parameter data for Logic's Bit Crusher plug-in.
In the first section you can hear me manually adjusting a positive offset voltage from a Doepfer A-138 mixer, followed by a sequence from an A-Sol. SQ-8 plus manual offset and, finally, the stepped output of a Make Noise/ Wiard Wogglebug. In the latter example, I used automation to gradually increase in the bitcrusher's mix level to about 50%.
This is a lot of fun and yields unusual and sometimes unpredictable results. For example in the sequence excerpt, the CC to note conversion isn't always 'clean'. However, I'm sure it's nothing a little additional MIDI processing couldn't solve.
The biggest problem I encountered was the lack of 'note off' data and hanging notes when converting CCs to pitch. There are other ways of generating clean note information, for example using a Novation Bassstation Rack's built-in CV-MIDI converter or the Moon Modular 552, but If anyone has a Logic-based solution, I'd love to hear it!
Here are some screen-grabs of the Environment I used.
For those of you daunted by Logic's Environment, and in particular its Transformer modules, check out this great tutorial by Toby Pitman at audiotuts+.
Thanks to Scaff for providing the inspiration for this patch with his Moon Modular 552 demos!
Ever wanted to record CVs to your DAW? Expert Sleeper's latest 'Silent Way' plug-in makes this possible.
'CV Input' brings Buchla and Subotnick's Ghost Tracks method into the digital age. The plug-in can handle bipolar CVs (LFOs etc.) and the 'recovered' CV can be output live or recorded for rearrangement or further processing.
To get the most out of 'CV Input' you'll need a DC-coupled Ring Modulator although for unipolar CVs (envelopes etc.) a standard linear VCA will do.
In beta testing, I tried a Doepfer A-133 VC Polarizer, Cwejman VCA-2P and the DC-coupled ring modulator in my VCO-2RM. The latter gave me the best, most accurate results. The A-133 is a good, cheap option but the lack of centre-indent on the manual offset pot made it tricky to zero the output precisely and meant the returned CV was asymmetrical. The VCA-2P was not as accurate because its 'linear' mode is in fact semi-logarithmic. Os at Expert Sleepers suggested that a calibration function to address these issues might be a possible future update.
So, does it work? The short answer is a resounding yes!
The caveat is that you might need to spend a few minutes setting up the plug-in for your system, but this is swift and painless. For example, you want to find the 'hottest' carrier level your audio interface can handle and balance that against the strength of the modulating CV to avoid clipping your VCA or RM. Then you will need to use the 'scale' knob to get a 1:1 match between 'original' and 'recovered' CV. Bear in mind that you might need a negative scale to counteract any anomalies in your system.
Here's a short clip featuring three tracks of one VCO following the same bipolar random CV. For each successive 'harmony' track I adjusted the decoder's scale.
Nice one Os - now all we need is a pitch to CV converter!
For more Silent Way tips and tricks read this post.
