Doepfer A-199 Spring Reverb

With so many cool new modules being released, it's easy to overlook some of the classics. Similar to my A-156 quantizer epiphany, I've only just discovered the Doepfer A-199 Spring Reverb. Primitive though the effect may be, it's breathed new life into my system.



Here's a demo of how it sounds and some ideas for patching the feedback path:

Doepfer A-199 Spring Reverb Demo by navs

I'd tried the A-199 before, but wasn't taken by it: I guess I was looking for reverb, when I should have been listening to the effect for what it was. While on a recent hiking holiday, I came across an old, rusted gate. Because of its age and construction, opening and closing it generated wonderful, resonant/ reverberated sounds. I 'played' this gate for a full five minutes and spent the rest of the walk thinking about how one might recreate its sound. The A-199's time had come.

Today's Patch of the Day features a Cwejman RES-4, the A-199 and Metasonix R54 in the feedback path:



The one criticism that's leveled at the A-199 is its tendency to hum, but, keeping the module far enough away from the PSU and the springs outside the case, I haven't noticed this to be too bad. I'm also happy with the sound of the stock Belton tank, but if you want to change it, consult this spring reverb wiki compiled by Tim Stinchcombe for a suitable replacement.

The A-199 is a lot of fun. It can add simple ambience to sounds or be patched as a special effect. This module was the missing element in my system, adding space, colour and character - spring reverbs and modular synths seem to be made for each other.

4ms Shuffling Clock Multiplier & Expander

Some patch ideas featuring the 4ms Shuffling Clock Multiplier and Breakout box.

For an overview of the concept and functions of the SCM, see this post.

This first example makes use of the SCM's tap function. Given two gates, it will 'remember' the tempo until it receives new marching orders. The most obvious clock source is an LFO, but this feature means you could also feed it with a gate signal from your keyboard:


fingered

2 VCOs, left gated by keyboard, right by manually-clocked SCM. The shorter the intervals between played notes, the faster the trills.

Here's a variation on the above using a tail-chasing Wogglebug to generate gate and pitch information. I used the x1 output of the SCM to trigger Maths and fed its envelope to the level VC of a Cwejman CTG-VC to fade out the echos. This works better in the slower sections i.e. the beginning of the clip. An option would have been to VC Maths' fall time with the pitch CV e.g. higher notes = faster echos = faster fade. If you don't have a Cwejman envelope, you could use a second VCA to add similar dynamic control of your your envelope.


echo

Because the SCM 'reads' the interval between two pulses, large timing changes from fast to slow will display an amount of lag as the SCM catches up with the new tempo. This is possibly the only failing of the module but, given the difficulties in implementing clock multiplication (the SCM can't 'predict' the new tempo before it has happened!), two taps are more than acceptable and this lag can also have its musical uses as a 'ghost' beat.


lag
LFO as clock, speed manually changed.

The most obvious use for the SCM is as a drum trigger/ sequencer driver, but this last recording is an example of the SCM in an auxiliary role, helping to time the changes of a quantizer to generate sync'd glissando.


gliss
Main VCO left, clock reference right. At six seconds a slewed sequence is patched to the VCO. At about 18 seconds the sequence is re-patched to an A-156 quantizer. The quantizer responds to changes in voltage, so the steps are not in sync with the main clock. Patching an output from the SCM to the A-156's trigger input (27 seconds) resolves this and, with some rotation and slip, allows for swung or odd time glissando.

The SCM and breakout box have undergone some changes since I tested the prototype. The main differences are the addition of a x1 output, or mult of the clock source, and the loss of some of the 'straight' gate streams. I found the former to be useful on the RCD and, because the SCM generates pulses even without an input, it can function as a main clock source in a patch. The lack of some of the 'un-swung' outputs means you'll have to rotate the SCM if you want to make use of the phasing effects I demonstrated in my original post. The Breakout box has also undergone some changes, now offering a global x4 multiplier and mute function. As I previously noted, if you have an SCM, you really need the expander. Not only does it offer access to the swing & skip parameters, but it brings the SCM to life as a playable instrument. The breakout box should be available soon, so plan for one in your rack!

Patch Tip #7 - Synced Transposition

Today's tip is adapted from Rob Hordijk's excellent Nord Modular tutorials.

Here's the situation: you have a clocked sequence that you want to manually transpose with Pressure Points. Try as you might, your timing isn't precise enough to avoid pitch glitches:



In the above, PP's row 1 CV was patched directly to the transpose input of an A-156 QNT. Taking the CV and first patching it to a sample & hold, which is triggered by a clock division, synchronizes the manual changes:



Hordijk's patch is a little more involved, but in the second example I simply used an inverted output of the A-160 to trigger the S&H. Another option would be to use the 'step1' output of an Analogue Solutions SQ8.

PotD - The Organ Grinder

Featuring the Plan B Model 23 Analog Shift Register.



The Organ Grinder plays his merry tune. All is well until monkey and Schnapps get the better of him:

PotD - The Organ Grinder  by  navs

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.

--

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!

Patch of the Day - Long Way Down

Something gentle for a Sunday afternoon:

PotD_longwaydown  by  navs

Live, four-voice patch with manual tweaks.

Self-oscillating Cwejman MMF-1 dual-peak sine modulated by WB smooth out. A-Sol SH-NZ noise to Plan B Model 12 HPF, VCA VC'd by Doepfer A-147 VCLFO sine, itself VC'd by the output of a A-156 Quantizer. Ring Mod output of a VCO-2RM filtered by a Malekko/ Wiard Borg, envelope from Bananalogue/ Serge VCS VC'd by Woggle out. M15 VCO (linFM) gets WB stepped, gated by M10 envelope which is triggered by WB burst and VC'd by stepped out. M10 EOC to A-142 envelope which provides the voltage which is then quantized by the A-156.

Patches. They always start out simple, don't they ...

Doepfer A-156 Dual Quantizer Demo

It's one of Doepfer's oldest modules and not something I really thought I needed. But, having spent a weekend playing with the A-156, I've got to ask myself 'Why the hell didn't I get one of these years ago?'.

Doepfer A-156 Quantizer Demo by navs

Patch Notes:

1) SEQUENCE FROM ENVELOPE. Plan B Model 10 loops, envelope to A-156, End Out to Wogglebug clock. A-156 Trigger to VCS. Wogglebug stepped output to A-156 transpose, M10 VC-Timebase and VCS VC Fall.

2) GLISSANDO 1. Pitch CV slewed by VCS, then to A-156. Trigger out to A-143-1.

3) GLISSANDO 2. Kenton Pro 2000 II provides auto-portamento. CV to A-156.

4) RANDOM. Wogglebug woggle out to A-156, trigger to Borg filter in LPG mode.

5) KINETIC GATES. Pitch bend via MIDI joystick to A-156 (chromatic mode) and VCO. Trigger to Borg (LPG).

6) SEQUENCE. LFO to A-152 Voltage Addressed T&H/ Switch. Digital outs to mixer, four stage sequence to A-156. Trigger out multed to main envelope and A-160/ 1clock divider/ sequencer to fire kick, high hat & bass.

7) DUAL Q. LFO clock to Q1 & Q2 trigger inputs and A-160/ 1 CLK DIV/ SEQ. /2 > EG1, /16 > EG2.

All patches feature manual toggling of the A-156's mode switches and, maybe a bit too much, EHX SMMH delay.

While not as stable or versatile as my Kenton Pro 2000 II/ Sequentix P3 combo, the A-156's ability to generate sequences from LFOs, envelopes, joystick sweeps and random sources, coupled with the fact that it outputs a trigger on each quantization, makes this a very useful and musically inspiring module.