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JonDent - Explorations in Electronics, Electronic Music, Coffee, Sci Fi, Art & Travel (but mostly electronic music)
Friday, 28 January 2022
Friday, 21 January 2022
Wednesday, 19 January 2022
Dan Simmons - Hyperion - introduction
Hyperion by Dan Simmons was published in 1989.
Rumors are that it will soon be a movie.
Maybe this will give it the attention it deserves.
There are 4 books in the series:
Hyperion, Fall of Hyperion, Endymion, Rise of Endymion.
The structure of the novel and it's influences are interesting.
It's composed of a series of tales told by a group of 7 travelers .. kind of like Chaucer's "Cantebury Tales" and Boccaccio's "Decameron".
The title, Hyperion is taken from one of John Keat's (unfinished) poems "Hyperion" which used as a source, the Titan wars of Greek Mythology.
The poet Keat's is really important. It's the name of one of the cities of the planet Hyperion and the second book "Fall of H" is a series of dreams of the poet.
There are 6 tales in the novel.
1. The Priest's tale
2. The Solder's tale
3. The Poet's tale.
4. The Scholar's tale
5. The Detective's tale.
6. The Consul's tale.
These travelers relate their interlocking tales while on a pilgrimage organized by the "Church of the final atonement" to the Time Tombs of Hyperion.
Each story relates to the the planet Hyperion and gives the opportunity to tell who they are and build
the Simmon's universe.
Their journey takes them to the evil creature known as the "Shrike".... The Lord of Pain.
Each pilgrim has their own unique reason for the journey and they all suspect they will probably never return.
The pilgrims are:
1. Father Lenar Hoyt - a Catholic Priest.
2. The Martian soldier Colonel Fedmahn Kassad (of Palestinian descent).
3. The poet Martin Silenus who was born on Earth (and wrote a book about Earth before it was destroyed).
4. Sol Weintraub, a Jewish professor, with his infant daughter Rachel.
5. The detective Brawne Lamia.
6. The Consul, Merin Aspic.
The story is set in the 29th century.
Old Earth has been destroyed, and humanity has colonized the stars forming the "Hegemony of Man".
Mankind is allied with the Technocore AIs. This alliance is not all that it seems and I suspect The Technocore doesn't have Mankind's best interests at heart.
The Technocore manages the "All Thing" ...the connection between all humans. Through this connection, humans can vote on legislation, communicate with each other, and access information instantaneously......reminds me of the internet. Remember, this book was published in 1989.
On the extremity of "Colonized Space" live the "Ousters". These are modified humans (who are at war with the Hegemony of Man).
+ Sci Fi links
Sunday, 16 January 2022
Clocking the Buchla 252e (with a 225e)
The Buchla 252e has no midi or analog clock input as it was designed to be THE master clock.
The 252e manual says it supports MIDI clock, sync receive and sync transmit.
Transmit is straightforward, but syncing and receiving MIDI from something like a DAW,
needs a module like a 225e.
There may be other modules which could do the same job but I think the 225e module is a great pairing for the 252e. They communicate with each other using i2c.
The 225e has 16 busses, but the last 6are impt in syncing things. These are busses J to P.
These handle controller and clock messages. They are translated into 0-10V CVs
Each controller Bus is divided into 2 groups: (a) or (b).....(two controllers for each of six busses).
Controller output bus P(b) is actually not a controller, but is a dedicated MIDI Clock output.
If Channel is set to “Clock” (after 16 and before 0) a different interface is displayed:
The Div fields allow the 225e to generate 10 volt pulses based on rhythmic divisions of an incoming MIDI clock. The numerator represents a count; valid values are 1-8. The denominator represents a note length.
1: Whole note 8: Eighth note
2: Half note 12: Eighth note triplet
3: Half note triplet 16: Sixteenth note
4: Quarter note 24: Sixteenth note triplet
6: Quarter note triplet 32: Thirty-second note
Src = Sync Receive
So if you wish the 252e to receive and be controlled by external midi clock follow these steps:
1. On the 252e, press and hold the Master BPM knob until the display reads Off.
2. Turn the Master BPM knob on the 252e until it reads Src (Sync receive).
1. On the 252e, press and hold the Master BPM knob until the display reads Off.
2. Turn the Master BPM knob on the 252e until it reads Src (Sync receive).
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If you are trying to clock a larger modular system from the 252e (without a 225e) use Cell1 output.
This will supply a pulse every time the cells return to step 1.
Use a clock multiplier like the Northern Light Modular 2TT.
Set
an output to be a multiple of 2, 4, 8, 16 etc and you have a master
clock while retaining the pulse outs.
You can also use the 256e as a clock multiplier
Buchla Quad voltage processor
You can of course use any of the pulse outputs on the 252e as a clock.
Personally, I just think the 225e is the easiest module to use. It allows you to add a midi clock input
to the 252e, is a perfect and flexible clock multiplier/divider and is a preset manager to boot.
Here, bus P is supplying the clock.
P(b) is your unmodified clock.
P(a) is the clock multiplied by 2.
I'm using abelton as the clock source.
Remember to set it up to transmit midi.
Options/ preferences/ midi
Thursday, 13 January 2022
Tycho's Nova - SubHar & DFAM 12
Some patch notes
This will be released on my 3rd album - Pursuit of Harmony.
Tycho's Nova
I clocked this from abelton using the touchprone MIDI to clock (settiing 8)
Album 3
Moog - Mother 32/ DFAM/ SubHarmonicon
+ Moog Mother 32 - sequencer - recording your first pattern (keyboard mode)
+ Moog Mother 32 - set up mode - assignable output, midi channel, tempo input settings
+ Moog Mother 32 - sequencer - Step Mode - slides, glides, ratchets, rolls
+ Moog sub harm & DFAM 10 ..... live jam with patch notes
+ Tycho's Nova - SubHar & DFAM 12 ... patch notes
Wednesday, 12 January 2022
Build Your First Synth - Complete Workshop For Musicians and Artists
....
A great tutorial on building a basic synth.
Good for the beginner who is interested in Arduinos, teensy's & microcontrollers in general.
Monday, 10 January 2022
ToneGym Chord Progression Generator
This looks like a useful site.
And it's free too.
Is learning music theory going you make you less creative as an artist?
I don't think so.
The more tools and knowledge you possess, the better I feel.
More links
- ToneGym Chord Generator
- Mutable Instruments - Clouds - drones - chords
- Braids Mutable Instruments - Chords
- The Best Music Theory Resources
- Tutorials sites and channels
- Favourite Scales
- Music Theory Basics
- Basic Chords for synths - C, F, G, A minor.
- Basic Chord theory - major chords
- Minor Chords & Their progressions
- Isomorphic Keyboards - Deluge etc
Moog sub harm & DFAM 10
...
Night Owl Patch
This will be released on my 3rd album - Pursuit of Harmony.
TRIGGER out of the DFAM ----> Clock in from the SUB H
This is the sync. The DFAM is master.
This is a interesting patch as adjusting the VCA envelopes on either synth will
have an effect on the other synth.
DFAM VCA EG Out to Subharmonicon Cutoff In
DFAM Pitch out to Sub VCA in
The Trigger from the DFAM effects the PWM of VCO1
Moog General
+ Clocking the Korg SQ 10 - S triggers
+ Moog CABLE -S-trig to V-trig
+ Modular Clocks - Analog, MIDI , PPQN
+ Moog CABLE -S-trig to V-trig
+ Modular Clocks - Analog, MIDI , PPQN
Moog - Mother 32/ DFAM/ SubHarmonicon
+ Moog Mother 32 - sequencer - recording your first pattern (keyboard mode)
+ Moog Mother 32 - set up mode - assignable output, midi channel, tempo input settings
+ Moog Mother 32 - sequencer - Step Mode - slides, glides, ratchets, rolls
+ Moog sub harm & DFAM 10 ..... live jam with patch notes
Moog Modular
+ 901 VCOSunday, 9 January 2022
Helvetica Scenario - NLC - Build notes - part 2
These are part 2 of my build of the Non Linear Circuits Helvetica Scenario module.
Part 1 is here:
Its a dual sample & hold module.
The module has a slew circuit added to each channel.
Andrew has I think used the Buchla SOU for some inspiration.
the Buchla 265 Source of Uncertainty uses as a source,
white noise and a 100Hz oscillator
This module instead contains a simple jerk chaos circuit running at approx.
300Hz to supply a signal for sampling.
It's all about the calcium molecule
"The calcium molecule contains a triple helix and is based on a semi-permanent structure of four electrons supporting three protons. The protons feed electrical information to the central queen atom,
which is vital to the structure of the molecule. Without the queen atom
at the centre, the entire structure would collapse causing the Helvetica Scenario." :-(
Oh my God. Sounds like we are all going to die.
Watch the video to learn more about this dangerous condition:
Hopefully, after watching this you will have realised its all a joke.
Your teeth aren't going to fall out , and your bones won't crumble to dust. :-)
-----------------------------------
Getting back to the build.
The module uses 3 LEDs
One LED (3mm or 5mm) is for the chaos circuit.
Andrew recommends blue.
The other two LEDs are bipolar indicators that you will see on the front panel
Ive been waiting for some bipolar LEDs to arrive.
Finally. they are here.
If using red/green
from Tayda, 1k is ok.
If using red/blue, probably 4k7 is best.
If using factory vactrols , maybe try 1k for RL.
I'm also going to build my own vactrols.
So I Used 4.7k for the RL resistors
I'm trying some GL5549s with some yellow LEDs
Some info about vactrols:
The 1M* at the base of the vactrols set the maximum slew rate, feel
free to leave them off or change to suit your needs (lower resistance
= less slew). If not sure, just install 1M for now.
Do the headers next.
These join the two PCBs
B100k - linear pots
Jacks
OK ... all done.
The blue LED... part of the chaos circuit
Friday, 7 January 2022
Dustwork - self tuning VCO
Some build notes for the Dustwork VCO.
The official website is here:
And the build guide
A super easy build since most of the SMD components are already installed
All parts supplied.
This is version 2
Its 6HP
A VCO that can tune itself. Imagine !!!
Just 1 PCB
The way it works is simple. Send it a ‘C’ note over a 1v/oct CV signal,
hit the button and the module will do the rest. It will calculate the
offset voltage needed to bring that C up to perfect pitch. It’s
recommended (as with any analogue synth) to let the module warm up for
10 minutes or so before tuning up.
The AS3340 chip is Alfa's modern equivalent of the famous CEM3340 voltage-controlled oscillator. It provides Ramp, Pulse/Square, and Triangle outputs, has inputs for oscillator sync, is temperature compensated and stable, and provides excellent 1V/Oct tracking.
Look for the bevel on one side of the chip to help orientation.
The bevel is the same side as the dot on the PCB.
For more info
Next add a 300k resistor between pins 15 & 16 of the AS3340 chip
2x 10K trimpots
The two headers.
A 6 pin and 10 pin.
The 10 pin is of course the power supply.
the 6 pin is used in programming
The 3 pots.
they are all B100k
These go on the other side of the PCB
two 3.5mm socket jacks
the push button switch
and the LED
short lead = flat side = cathode
it’s time to program the module. For this,
you’ll need the USB Tiny programmer, along with AVRDUDESS programming app which you
can find online.
you need to download the latest firmware (it’s a .hex file) on the product
page on Duskwork.net
page on Duskwork.net
To be continued....
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