As a huge Korg fan I got to put together an Ensemble piece using 1978 era Korg Synths. The hero is the mighty PS3200 polyphonic synth playing homage to its big brother (and, as of 2024, soon to be re-released by Korg, the PS3300) by using the direct out of the 3200 into a MAM RS3 Resonator which recreates the famous PS3300 & 3100 modulated resonator circuit. The 3200 plays pads, base and noises.
Lead lines and extra pads via an MS20 into a VC10 Vocoder combo give a haunting breathy sound.
The SQ10 Sequencer drives the MS50 and MS20 synths for a rhythmic sequence and the MS10 with its famous pulse width modulation provides additional baselines.
Effects include the SE500 Tape Echo and the more modern Kaos Pad Mini.
All recorded on a Zoom R24 recorder.
Percussion utilises some sounds sampled from the various Korg Synths and is added in Ableton Live.
Recorded in April 2024, Wollongong courtesy of Jondent, with some additional sounds from my own original MS20 in Sydney.
The Video is mixed together bits of footage from the session but missed most of the playing and modulation action - but still it’s always nice to see some vintage Korg gear in action!
Additional notes: Some subtle detuning of the PS3200 individual notes was made possible via the Temperament Adjust mini pots. The PS3010 keyboard also provides for some interesting modulation effects via the joystick and the unique note triggering control. A Korg 3100 in the same studio verified the RS3 Resonator accuracy and the RS3 unit also is CV controllable like on the 3300. By using it with the PS3200 (which has 2 oscillators per note) it gets close to the functionality of a PS3300 but of course misses the fact that the 3300 has 3 Oscillators and 3 resonators etc. I look forward to the new PS3300FS announced by Korg at NAMM 2024.
Modular Clocks ... seems simple at first, but the more you delve into this subject and try to sync
devices from different manufacturers, the more complex things can get.
If you have ever heard the Daft Punk tune "Moroder by Giorgio" you can hear Giorgio talk
about how he synced a Moog Modular.
"I know the synthesizer, why don't I use the synthesizer Which is the sound of the future" And I didn't have any idea what to do but I knew I needed a click So we put a click on the 24-track which was then synced to the Moog modular I knew that it could be a sound of the future But I didn't realize how much the impact would be..."
Basic Tempo is made up of beats.
Beats are grouped into bigger units called measures.
Most often, a measure has 2 to 4 beats (though it can really have as many divisions as is desired).
A note which lasts for 1 beat is called a quarter note..... since it divides the average measure into quarters......
For electronic instruments.... this beat is actually a pulse of electricity..... often a 5V to 10V amplitude pulse which had a regular cycle. This cycle was the sync signal and was used to clock pre midi devices.
With the advent of MIDI, instead of being measured by cycles per second, the time base
was changed to Parts Per Quarter Note (PPQN), also known as pulses per quarter (PPQ), or Pulse (per) quarter note (PQN), and ticks per quarter note (TPQN)
If the time-base divides the instrument into 48 parts, that is called 48 PPQN.
MIDI sequencing hardware and software uses a variable number of timing
resolutions. From as little as 24PPQN to 480 PPQN
A sequencer's resolution is defined as its ability to divide the beat of a quarter note into a pulses. The more pulses, the more accurate a sequencer is.
Common divisions used by sequencers are : 24 parts - 24 ppqn 48 pulses - 48 ppqn 96 parts - 96 ppq 192 ppqn, etc etc etc
A module like Pamela's Workout will sync to an external clock input between 1PPQN to 24PPQN.
My Beastek Amoeba trigger module needs a 8 TPQN clock if you require external syncronization. Note that most analog sequencers send out a pulse every 16th note which equals 4PPQN
MIDI clock = 24 pulses, so called "ticks" per quarter note Roland equipment (606,707.727,808.909) use 24 pulses per quarter note (PPQN for short), known as DIN Sync24. A notable Roland exception is the CR-78 which uses 12ppqn.
Korg equipment (eg KPR-77, DDM-110 & DDM-220) uses 48 pulses per quarter note. (You also need to make a V-trig to S-trig cable). Oberheim (DMX) & Linn is 96ppqn. The SCI Drumtraks handles 24, 48, and 96 ppqn EMU drumulator - 24ppqn - needs a din to 1/4 Y cable
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Summary:
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Clock rates Equivalent in PPQN Manufacturer
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STEP GATE 1 PPQN ? LFO or GATE OUT
Pre - MIDI (advances in time on a rising edge and
returns to zero on a falling edge)
eg: DOEPFER DARK TIME, Korg SQ-10.
eg: Euro - Zularic Repetitor
(Noise Engineering), Erica Pico Seq &
Pico trigger , Delptronics Triggerman,
Disting Mk3 & 4,
Modcan Touch Sequencer (ext sync)
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KORG Pulse 2 PPQN KORG (SQ-1), Volcas,
Teenage Engineering Pocket Operators
(POs sync on audio pulses,
essentially a click track).
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STEP CLOCK 4 PPQN ARTURIA , DOEPFER MCV 24 – MSY2
or 1/16th Korg SQ-1 analog sync , most analog
sequencers, Orthogonal Devices ER-101,
TipTop Trigger Riot & Circadian Rhythm.
Erica Synths Drum Sequencer , 1010 Black Box (clock in)
Quite common to find as the default
for Eurorack modules.
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Euro 8 or 16 PPQN Beastek Amoeba
drum trigger module
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CR 78 Drum 12PPQN Roland
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MIDI & Sync 24 Modcan Touch Sequencer (Midi sync)
Roland DIN SYNC 24 PPQN ROLAND, ARTURIA, ELEKTRON
Computer DAW Korg SQ-1 MIDI sync, DAW
TipTop Trigger Riot & Circadian Rhythm
Nerd Seq Mod.clock24 in (XOR)
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KORG DIN 48 PPQN LINN LM-2, ARTURIA, ELEKTRON
Sync 48
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Step Gate
Starting off with the basic analog clock. ....
This is all pre-MIDI. The signal can be a simple
LFO or a gate module producing a square wave. The Doepfer Dark Time for
example can produce a 1 Step gate. A basic analog, pre midi modular
will use this form of timing.
This is almost a 1PPQN equivalent.
Most common in Eurorack ... eg Zularic Repetitor, (Noise Engineering), Erica Synths Pico Seq &
Pico trigger , Delptronics Triggerman, Disting Mk3 & 4, Modcan Touch Sequencer (ext sync)
Korg Pulse - 2PPQN
Korg SQ-1 sequencers and the Korg Volcas use this standard.
A single KORG pulse is equivalent to just 2 PPQN.
Step Clock (16th clock) - 4PPQN.
This is an analog trigger. It's equivalent PPQN is 4.( ie four pulses per quarter note
or 1⁄4 the duration of a quarter note.)
It's also called 16th because a note is sent or received every 16th note. This is quite common to find as a default for Eurorack modules.
This is the most common clock among old analog sequencers.
Devices like the DOEPFER MCV 24 & MSY2 can produce this type of clock. Also, Eloquencer (Winter Modular) (So too does the Tip top trigger riot though it can also be set to use 24PPPQ) MIDI - Sync 24 - Roland DIN Sync - 24PPQN
In the case of MIDI (and Roland DIN Sync), the standard is 24PPQN. MIDI clock sends a tick 96 times per quarter note.
Lots of old Roland Synths such as the TB303 & TR606, 808, 909 use this standard.
Most DAWs will also use a 24 PPQN signal
This means that you can have a triplet for each 8th note. (24/3 = 8) Korg DIN SYNC - Sync 48 - 48PPQN
Korg has it's own version of DIN Sync.
It uses the same 5 pin cable/socket, but the PPQN is 48.
When syncing Roland and Korg gear via DIN sync, they will work
however the Korg machine will run at 1/2 the tempo/speed of the Roland
unit.
This can be corrected with several devices which will
translate 24-48 sync, such as the Korg KMS-30.
Korg drums such as the KPR-77, DDM-110 & DDM-220 use 48 sync.
Other devices that use 48 PPQN are the LINN ELECTRONICS LM-2 Drum and some Oberheim Drum Machines.
The Pioneer Toraiz can input & output clock signals of value 1PPQN, 2PPQN, 4PPQN, 24PPQN, 48PPQN.
Synstrom Deluge : Trigger clock output, configurable up to 192 PPQN
Kenton Modsolo - outputs 24PPQN, 48PPQN.
I understand it can also be set to between 1PPQN to12PPQN (though I haven't tested this).
This is a really interesting way to generate tunes.
It uses the mathematical idea of Lowest Common Multiples (LCM).
The idea for this patch & video came from a fellow You Tuber, Mike Olson.
He posted a cool video showing how to use a single Korg SQ-1 to make a sequence longer than 16 notes. https://youtu.be/JYTCQ1zrtvc
Mike demonstrated how by combining two 8 step sequencers, he could generate a miriad of patterns on the fly with final step lengths ranging between 1 & 56
I decided to replicate this patch using two old Korg SQ-10 sequencers.
They have a maximum sequence length of 12. However, by combining two, one can achieve a large range of step numbers ... between 1 & 132
The control voltage out of the two sequencers is added before it enters the synth (a Korg MS-20 in this case).
And the MS-20's envelope is triggered every step on the sequence.
Please excuse my very rough handwriting. The top horizontal row and the left vertical row are the sequencers. They are related to one another via the grid. Their intersection is the LCM.
The relationship between the two initial step lengths (sequence A + Sequence B) and the final Sequence length uses the mathematical principle of Lowest Common Multiples.
The final sequence length is the LCM of the two initial step lengths (sequence A + Sequence B).
You should be able to replicate this with any two sequencers.
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eg:
What is the LCM of 4 & 7?
Multiples of 4 are:
4, 8, 12, 16, 20, 24, 28, 32,36,40, 44, 48, 52, 56, 60, 64, 68, 72..... etc
Multiples of 7 are:
7, 14, 21, 28, 35, 42, 49, 56, 63, 70, 77, etc Common multiples of 4 and 7 are the numbers that are in both lists:
28, 56..... So, from this list of the first two common multiples of the numbers 4 and 7, their lowest common multiple is 28.
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Hopefully this wasn't too geeky and you've made it to the end of the post without falling asleep.
:-)
All this is a perfect demonstration of the close relationship between mathematics & music.
I think this is a cool way to discover new melodies.
It would be neat to see how the addition of two more sequencers would add to this complexity.
