Showing posts with label Eurorack. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Eurorack. Show all posts

Wednesday, 20 July 2016

Modular - eurorack - 303 patch

 This is an advanced patch for a modular acid baseline.
303 style. It's from the VCF303 manual.
 
 There are many modules you can use, however these I have.
Makenoise Rene, Brains+Pressure points  ADSR, VCA with two cv inputs, DinSync VCF 303

ADSR: 2HP ADSR
VCA: Doepfer A131
Clock source & VCO: NLC Dual LFO/VCO

The sequencer you use is really important.
Apart from the usual CV and gate outputs for each step it should have outputs for
accents, tied notes, and slide.

René is extremely good at making acid thanks to the glide mode.
The Pico Seq also does pitch slide between notes, constant or random.
I think glides, slides and portamento are all the same  ??
 
A tie however, is not the same as the slide.
The difference is that a slide is a smooth change from one note to a different note, whereas a tie will hold the same note for two or more steps.

Other sequencers that should be Ok are the Metropolis, DU-Seq, Stepper Acid, Verbos Voltage multistage.
Nerdseq and flxs1 both have slew and ratcheting.

 The Winter Modular Eloquencer does have tied notes but can't as far as I can see do slides / portamento.

 
 
 
 

To add slew, possible modules that may work include the makenoise Function/ maths, the doepfer 171 VC slew, the serge VCS, the NLC Helvetica Scenario.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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The patch
1.Connect Rene QCV to your Oscillator's cv in 
2. Set Rene to snake mode (X FUN page) 
3. Set Rene glide on (X FUN PAGE) 
4. Connect Pressure Points top row output to Rene XMOD 
5. Connect Pressure Points second row output to VCF303 AC TRIG
6. Optionally connect Pressure Points bottom row output to VCF303 CV 
    (if you want sequenced cutoff)
7. Connect your VCO's square or saw output to VCF303 input 
8. Connect VCF303 output to vca signal in 
9. Multi your clock pulse. It connects to VCF303 ENV TRIG in, Rene XCLK, 
    Brains clock in and the ADSR gate in 
10. Connect the ADSR output to vca cv in 1
11. Connect VCF303 ACcent out to vca cv in 2 (
 
Use the top row of Pressure Points to control sequencer glides 
Use the middle row of Pressure Points to control accents 
Use the bottom row of Pressure Points to control frequency cutoff (if connected)

Monday, 18 July 2016

303 style sequencers

 Trying to build a modular 303  is tricky.
The TB 303 is really the sum of many parts.
Everyone goes on about the filter, however without a sequencer which can do accents, ties & slides 
you won't be able to get the real feel.
 
This search really is like a dog chasing its tail.
If you want a real 303 sound, best to get a TB 303. 
Building a modular 303 will make something different -- but that might be a good thing.
 
Accent - extra emphasis(sometimes velocity) on that step

Tie - tying two steps together to create a longer note. 1/8th note tied to 1/8th note = 1/4 note etc.

Slide,glide,legato,portamento - similar to a tie, but slides the pitch from the first note to the second one.

 
 
Slew. You will need to do some work with slewing certain notes to nail the acid sound, while leaving others unaffected. You can do this with a 2-way sequential switch and a slew (e.g. Maths, Function) or you can do it on your sequencer if it supports glide/portamento.

Here are some suggestions:

1. Chronovore, 24HP CV/Gate Sequencer
    Michigan synth works. 
    This really does everything -- Ties, slides, accents

 
2. Acidlab Autobot -
    Works mighty fine with the M303 but also with other modules. Includes accents and slides
    just like the original 303. 

 
 
3. Stepper Acid
     16 step, slide, , swing, 
      Adjustable clock sync input and output
       Includes: 24PPQN (Sync24), 48PPQN, 96PPQN and 4PPQN (one note per pulse)
 

 
 
4.  Seek - copper traces
     64 steps.
     CV/gate sequencer with legato and an accent output. 
     Separate gate and accent outputs with per step legato, accent and rest
 

 
 
5. GMSN  - Pure Sequencer
    8-step sequencer with direction, range, clock in/out, pause, reset, slew and
    has gate outputs per step.

 
 
6.  Klee.
     Over kill ???
     Has glide in abundance.
      



7. Metropolis - Intellijel
    The slide functionality is a constant time portamento very similar to the Roland TB303 
    (unlike most synths/sequencers that use constant rate portamento) which produces a very musical 
    and interesting result. 
 

8. Moog Mother 32
    You can create both Ties (duration) & slides 

9. Erica synths pico SEQ
    Pitch Slide function on selected steps. 16 steps. 
   There is also a step merge function which is similar to a tie I think. ?
   compact- just 3 HP
   Despite the small size it’s easy to program and most importantly – 
   up to 16 patterns can be saved in memory and instantly recalled.
   

10. Bastil - popcorn.
     10Hp 
      Has slides. Just 8 steps
 
11. Super 16             
      per-step glide/portamento
      up to 64 step sequence length
      Tie ??
 

12. Korg SQ-1
      the korg SQ1, has slides and 2 gate outputs, so you trigger also accented notes.
       Only 8 steps if you want to trigger accents.
 

 
13. Black Sequencer- Erica
       ratcheting, step repeat, glide per step, merging steps (ties)
 
14. Beatstep Pro
      can tie/ slide nicely
 
 

    
 
 
     
   

Saturday, 16 July 2016

Expert Sleepers Disting Mk 1

 Some notes on my Disting Mark 1.
I think this also applies to the Disting Mark 2
 
To pick an algorithm use the S knob. 
A & B are inputs
X & Y are outputs

Z is a CV controllable setting for each algorithm. 
It's parameter changes depending on the algorithm.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The 16 different algorithms:
1a Precision adder
1b Four quad Multiplier - ie a VCA or ring modulator
1-c Full-wave Rectifier
1-d Minimum/maximum
 
2-a Linear/Exponential Converter - good for Hz/V scale conversion
2-b Quantizer 
2-c Comparator 
2-d Dual Waveshaper 
 
3-a Sample and Hold / Noise
3-b Slew Rate Limiter 
3-c Pitch and Envelope Tracker 
3-d Clockable Delay/Echo
 
4-a LFO 
4-b Clockable LFO 
4-c VCO with linear FM 
4-d VCO with waveshaping 
 
 Links

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Polivoks filter demo

 Some demos of a vintage polivoks and eurorack "clones"
 


Great filter
 


Blue Lantern LM4250 VCF

Sunday, 26 June 2016

New Sound Waves - Synth Meet - Sunday 26 June

107 Redfern St, Redfern.

Another fun arvo with my friends from New Sound Waves.



....video 1



video 2



Korg 911 Guitar synthesizer


video 3
 These Metro Modular modules look great. They are on my to buy list.
Justin, their designer was at the meeting. Very helpful in explaining them. The filters esp sound great. Based on old Aires schematics, with oodles of modulation points.

 And, like wow... Paul A shows up with not one, but two Plumbutters. OMG.

Built by Ciat- Lonbarde its true what the blurb says ... its a drum & drama machine.

"My face is a psycho-geographical map of the cities of Baltimore and Cleveland.....
You can see my wild spaces are represented by a deer-horn,...


 and my downtown by a factory, and in between, a vast swath of suburban developments. 


It is a gradient of these three areas- urban, suburban, and rural- that informs my electronic synthesis. "

I'll upload videos soon.
J

Tuesday, 14 June 2016

Synthrotek - 1U Stereo mixer

A very very easy build today.
Parts are cheap too.
It's built around a TL074 opamp.

Great is you have a tight space. Only 1U.
 The assembly instructions are here:
http://www.synthrotek.com/kit-assembly-instructions/modular-circuit-assembly-instructions/1u-eurorack-module-assembly-instructions/1u-stereo-output-mixer-assembly-instructions/



You can purchase these from Matt at RhythmActive
or direct from the manufacturer

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For more Euro DIY builds click here:
http://djjondent.blogspot.com.au/2017/12/diy-index.html
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Sunday, 15 May 2016

Voltage regulators (series)

 These are really useful in synths where we need reliable, stable voltages.
 
They come in many packages 


Here is a transistor regulator
It's a TO-92 package

Here is one with a IC package

In synths common operating voltages are 3.3V, 5V and +12V, -12V.
The most common series of voltage regulators is the 78XX series.  

the 7805 is a 5V regulator
The 7812 is a 12V regulator
 
For negative voltages use the 79XX series
 
The 7912 is a -12V regulator 

For building a +/- 15 PSU you will need a
LM7815 +15V Voltage Regulator      LM7815
LM7915 -15V Voltage Regulator      LM7915  
 
 This is a pic of a NLC eurorack PSU.
It uses two regulators
The 7812 is a 12V regulator
The 7912 is a -12V regulator 
 
 
These can handle up to 30V on the input and depending on the package, up to 1A output current.
 
Arduinos, and many other microcontrollers use 3.3V
 
The LD1117V33 voltage regulator, is a low drop positive regulator with a 3.3V fixed output voltage. 
Making a 5V regulator is very useful in the Euro world.
It's easy too.
Below is a LM7805 voltage regulator.
Notice the two decoupling capacitors:
The capacitors are placed between the power line & ground.  

 
The 0.33uF helps to smooth out any low-frequency changes in an input voltage. 
The 0.1uF helps to smooth out any of the high-frequency noise at the output.
Combining these two caps helps to deliver a smooth uninterrupted voltage to your circuits.
 
The decoupling capacitors are connected between your power source, whether that’s 5V or 3.3V, and ground. (Generally it's recommend to use a 100nF ceramic capacitor and a larger 0.1-10uF electrolytic capacitor for each integrated circuit). 
 
-------------
 
Shunt Regulators
The other type of voltage regulator they you may come across is a shunt voltage regulator.
The main difference between a series and a shunt is how they are connected to the load.
 
 A series regulator is connected (as the name implies) in series with the load to stabilize the regulator's output voltage. 
A shunt regulator, on the other hand, is connected in parallel to the load.
 
 
 
This is a TL431 shunt regulator.
It's used along with a series 78L05 voltage regulator  in a Midi to CV converter.
 
The TL431  acts almost like a Zener diode except for that the voltage rating of this IC is programmable. 

Sunday, 24 April 2016

New Sound Waves Meeting - 17/04/16

It's always lots of fun to meet up with the guys from NSWaves.
I got there a bit late, so many of the guys had gone home.
Still there was much to see & it was a Sunday arvo well spent.


Justin of Metro Modular showing some of his new modules.
Plus his beautiful valve oscillators:

 Justin's facebook page for MetroModular is here:
https://www.facebook.com/Metro.Modular/info?tab=page_info

His website is here:
http://www.metro-modular.com/



They just don't build them like this anymore.




My 12u Buchla: