Cwejman DMF-2 Dual Filter Demo

A demo of Cwejman's DMF-2 dual filter.

Drones created with the DMF-2, a VCO-2RM, Wogglebug and Bananalogue VCS.

Cwejman DMF-2 Demo by navs

This was the first time I had the opportunity to process an audio source with two, matched filters. With the cutoff frequencies offset and, fed with different CVs, this module is capable of some great sounds.

Patch of the Day - The Wogglebug

Well, I didn't have to wait much longer - the Wogglebugs have landed in Berlin!



I'll spare you the details but, suffice to say, it's well built, a pleasure to look at and bucketloads of fun. There's plenty of information and demos on the web. If you're curious, check out the Make Noise site and Grant Richter's synth DIY pages.

In today's patch I've used the Wogglebug as a VC bit crusher. The left-hand channel is the source material (various VCOs being FM'd). I nudged the right-hand channel back by two divisions in Logic, so the bit crushed recording is heard as a delayed response.

Fish For Breakfast - Wogglebug Demo by navs

The Wogglebug is being clocked by a Plan B Model 10, which itself is having it's time-base modulated by the WB's smooth out. The random FM sequences were generated by a Sequentix P3. Looks like I might need a second bug ...

Patch of the Day - Waiting for Woggle

Waiting for the Makenoise Wogglebugs to land, I patched up a little alien welcoming committee using a Frostwave Resonator Korg MS-20 filter clone, a random source and two VCLFOs (Doepfer A-147 & Plan B Model 10).

Waiting4woggle by navs

Schneiders Buero - New Location First Impressions

Paid my first visit to Schneidersbuero at it's new Kreuzberg address today and was given a guided tour by Andreas. Here are a few impressions. As you can see, they are still in the process of moving in, but the new office has a great vibe and the 'sonic cellar' is a place I can see myself spending hours in!

Random Roundup or 'The Art of Surprise'

A test of random event generators featuring Doepfer's A-149-1 Source of Uncertainty, Analogue Solutions' SH-NZ and Colin Fraser's Sequentix P3 sequencer.

The S&H/ Noise variant is the classic random generator and I've had much mileage out of my SH-NZ. However, sometimes I need something more controlled, for example when randomising the decay of an envelope or addressing one of the A-152 Multiplexer's eight outputs. Another situation might be when I want positive-only or scaled voltages.

Enter the Buchla-inspired A-149-1 Source of Uncertainty. It offers attenuatable, quantised random values and is a great alternative when you need more control over your 'un-control', so to speak. The additional digital random outs further enhance its flexibility. However, being based on a digital algorithm, it's not quite as random as you might think.

The P3 is the deluxe option in this test. It offers a wealth of aleatoric possibilities or, if needed, precise control. Of course, it's no longer in production and will set you back considerably more than the A-Sol & Doepfer modules and some modular purists might call it cheating.

You can download the test (10.5MB) here.

And here's a quick demo of the P3 doing it's thing:

randomblues_sequentix_p3 by navs

Synth DIY - Trigger Twin Dual Comparator

First public outing for my second DIY module: the Trigger Twin dual comparator.



Inspired by Peter Grenader's Triple Event Timer, I gave up on my original LM339 design and settled on a simple Op-Amp circuit. A timing CV is fed into the lower middle jack, pots one and two are used to adjust the delay time, triggers are output from the left and right jacks, orange LEDs indicate the on and off time.

I designed this module as a companion to Doepfer's A-147 VCLFO, using the pulse output as the initial trigger and the triangle output as the timing CV. In order to fine-tune the device, I added an offset voltage which, using the Plan B vernacular, serves as a Time Base control. Counterclockwise is 'tight', clockwise is 'sloppy'.

For those of you wanting to try this at home, just consult the TL072 etc datasheet for example comparator circuits. The timing CV and offset are mixed via resistors and fed to both comparators in series (no fancy limiting or switching involved!). I brought the outputs down from 12V to ca. 3.5V with a couple of resistors and followed this with a diode to block any negative voltage. I opted to make my reference voltage zero to +12V but, of course, you might want to make it bipolar.

The parts and components were bought from Rapid in the UK, Banzai and Schneidersbuero, both here in Berlin.

Background to this project including audio is here, here, here and here.

Patch of the Day - Arrhythmia

Take a generous handful of comparators, a pair of voltage controllable LFOs, a random source, a wave-folder and an equal measure of VCOs, EGs & VCAs. Toss them into a marinade of tape delay and poly chorus and this is what you might get.



All elements were triggered from a single clock source with subsequent rhythms derived from a home-brew dual comparator, Doepfer A-143-1 and Plan B Model 10. A sequential switch was used to inject random timing and pitch modulation.