Patch Tips #13 - Binary Zone Clone

Imitating John Blacet's complex staircase generator with Eurorack modules.



My first modular sequencer consisted of an A-160/ 1 clocking combo and a mixer. Patching four outputs of the A-161 to an A-138 and then on to a VCO was simple but fun. I don't know why it's taken me so long to realize that I should have tried the clock divider's outputs too!

Here's a short recording to demonstrate the difference between mixing the clock sequencer's outputs and those of the clock divider:

binaryzoneclone1

The principal difference is that, while the A-161 will yield single steps, the A-160's gates will push and pull the sequence higher or lower depending on the mix levels. This results in a variety of the number of steps and the overall sequence length.

binaryzoneclone2

The Binary Zone offers six clock divisions. Using a polarizing mixer like the fonitronik mh-01 will limit you to four, but if you substitute the A-160 with a 4MS Rotating Clock Divider, you can generate some very interesting shifting patterns.

Patch of the Day - Lagtyme

Featuring the Toppobrillo Sport Modulator as VC divider and Triple Wave Folder as VC Multiplier.



Today's PotD is based on the 'VC divider' patch with the added twist of a multiplied pulse train courtesy of the TWF. Mult your clock source to four destinations: the TWF, Env1, SM1 S/H and SM2 S/H. Set both sections of the SM to cycle in 'hold' mode, send the output to two VCOs (in this case for pitch and PWM) and the End Out to envelopes 2 & 3. Take the TWF's pulse output to trigger a fourth envelope. In the recording, the first sound you hear is paced by the source clock, the two VCOs by the divisions generated by the SM and the hi-hat by the TWF stream.

You might not want the pitch changes generated by patching the SM's outs to the VCOs, but in this case it allowed me to generate some noise bursts by flicking each section's mode button from S&H to lag and hold. I also added some variation to the patch by sending three CV variables from Pressure Points to the two Toppobrillo modules.

For more patch ideas, see the Sport Modulator page and manual here.