Author |
Message |
Scott Stites
Janitor
Joined: Dec 23, 2005 Posts: 4127 Location: Mount Hope, KS USA
Audio files: 96
|
Posted: Sun Mar 23, 2008 4:15 pm Post subject:
Klee Sequencing 101 Subject description: Post your tips and settings |
|
|
I thought I'd start a thread here on actually operating the Klee. The Klee is a sequencer, but it is a very unusual sequencer and "Klee sequencing" is an entirely different concept from "normal" step sequencing. There are some very non-obvious subtleties that, if pointed out, might be of assistance to all of the Kleeites out there.
Please don't let me hog the thread - if you come across some neat application or discovery or have a question, by all means post to this thread!
This first post will deal with using Klee sequencing to control the pitch of notes.
If you've read "know the Klee", you're aware that Klee sequencing operates on the principle of adding voltages from the stage pots rather than sequentially accessing only one pot at a time. On paper, this makes perfect sense, but in practice the results may actually be quite different than what one expects. The voltages may add up, and they may be set at perfect voltage intervals, but often the sequence is not following many of the musical rules we've been trained to recognize and accept. In other words, the intervals may be correct, but they do not mesh in a standard musical format - the resultant pitches will often clash. If you're after atonal music, that's fine. But if you're not, then working with a Klee sequence to make it mesh into a standard musical motif may prove more challenging.
This leads me to a very basic adage of Klee sequencing: Less Is Often More.
Like the Klee sequencer, a sixteen step standard sequencer will have a row of sixteen pots with which you program the sequence. If a particular sequence has, say, eight different pitches that make up the sequence, you must program at least eight different pots in the row of pots for those eight different pitches. So, now you have a Klee sequencer, and there is your row of sixteen pots. Each pot screams to be adjusted - for those really complex sequences, then you want to adjust a lot of those pots, right? Not necessarily. You can, but the more pots you move from zero, the more complex and, ultimately, hard to control the Klee sequence will be.
Start small.
When you have your Klee sequencer patched up with the gate bus triggering some things, and the voltage outputs controlling others, set all of your pots to zero. Try different intial tunings on your VCOs and manipulate the gate bus with different patterns - the random function will be helpful here for spontaneously exploring patterns. You'll find that often you don't have to touch a single pot to get a very interesting rhythmic base for a song.
Adjust a single pot, see how it fits in the pattern. Adjust another pot, see how it fits and combines with the first pot. The key here is experimentation. Sometimes things won't fit, but sometimes you will stumble across a "golden" pot setting that just fits, regardless of the pattern that is selecting the various pots as it cycles through. The example I have in this post is one such setting - at least it works for me.
1. Set all pots to zero.
2. Set the range to position 3 (perfect fifth, 0.58333V).
3. Set the Stage 1 Pot full ON (full clockwise).
4. Set the Stage 4 Pot to 12:00 position (half way on).
5. Set the Stage 7 Pot to 11:00 position - this is slightly less than half way on, and may take a little bit of fine tweaking when you have things going.
6. Set the Stage 9 pot to 12:00 position - halfway on.
7. Set the Stage 13 pot to Full On (full clockwise).
Now, very important, control one VCO with output A and control the second VCO with output B. This patch does not use A+B for pitch control - use it to control a filter cutoff, for example, or just leave it unconnected.
Cook up some cool gate bus settings - with a golden setting, it's hard to find a bad one. Should you set it to 8X2, 16X1, Random, Invert B On or Off? Yes. They will all work.
Adjust your VCOs for the same initial pitch, or even different pitches - experiment.
Now, let's look at this arrangement. You have 16 pots. You only have five of them contributing anything. In fact, because you're using the A output and B output, not all of those pots will add together, because we're not using A+B output. Sounds like it might be pretty lame and unvaried? Not really.
Let's look at the B output first. The B section only has two pots contributing any voltage - Stage 9 and Stage 13. Even though you have only two pots set, the VCO that is controlled by the B output will actually cover (potentially) four discrete steps, the order and number of variations will be controlled by the bit pattern:
1. Neither Stage 9 or 13 selected (VCO base frequency).
2. Stage 9 selected only (VCO frequency set by Stage 9).
3. Stage 13 selected only (VCO frequency set by Stage 13).
4. Stage 9 and Stage 13 simultaneously selected (VCO frequency set by the sum of voltages set by Stage 9 and Stage 13).
So you have a sequence consisting of four discrete pitches, but how many "steps" are in this sequence? That is determined solely by how you have the pattern, mode, and invert b switches set. It can range from an 8 step sequence, to a sixteen step sequence , to a 32 step sequence, to an infinite non-repeating random sequence.
All right, let's now look at output A. Section A has 3 pots contributing voltage to this sequence. Each of the pots is set to a different value. Out of these three pots you have the potential to get eight distinct pitches. That's right - eight! Less is more.
Let's see how that's possible:
1. Neither Stage 1, Stage 4, or Stage 7 selected (VCO base frequency).
2. Stage 1 selected only (VCO frequency set by Stage 1).
3. Stage 4 selected only (VCO frequency set by Stage 4).
4. Stage 7 selected only (VCO frequency set by Stage 7).
5. Stage 1 and Stage 4 simultaneously selected (VCO frequency set by the sum of voltages set by Stage 1 and Stage 4).
6. Stage 1 and Stage 7 simultaneously selected (VCO frequency set by the sum of voltages set by Stage 1 and Stage 7).
7. Stage 4 and Stage 7 simultaneously selected (VCO frequency set by the sum of voltages set by Stage 4 and Stage 7).
8. Stage 1, Stage 4 and Stage 7 simultaneously selected (VCO frequency set by the sum of voltages set by Stage 1, Stage 4 and Stage 7).
Again, the number of steps, pitches and sequence of pitches is soley determined by the pattern and the mode switch settings.
I've come across a number of different "golden" pot settings. Some are more effective than others - some translate well to other range switch settings, others don't. This one does not. Some work well for A+B output also. Again, this one does not. I wish I would have written them all down, but I haven't really up to this point. As I find more, I'll post them.
And, this isn't to say that adding more active pots to this won't work - it's a good starting point.
"golden_pot.mp3" is a sample using the above pot settings. In it, I switch from different modes - random, random/pattern, 8X2, 16X1, 16X1 Invert B On, etc. I adjust the merge switches here and there (I'll cover cool merge trix later), and, towards the end, I add a bit of slew to the A and B outputs. The sample is not recorded all that well, but demonstrates the concept of having only five pots out of sixteen producing a very wide range of sequences and patterns that blend together quite well on transition from mode to mode.
The sort of flutelike voice is controlled by output A, and the other part is controlled by, of course, output B.
I urge anybody who finds a set of pot settings that "works" to post them. Now, you may think "but if I use somebody's pot settings, my composition is more or less just going to sound like theirs." With Klee sequencing, nothing could be further from the truth. When I had the Klee on breadboard, I would often find an interesting pot configuration and just leave it there literally for weeks, if not months. Hey, if you think panel mount pots or sliders are difficult to set up, try a row of trimpots. Anyway, without adjusting the pots I could come up with literally scores of different compositions using the same pot configuration, none of which sounded remotely alike, at least to me. The reason is this is Klee sequencing - the pots don't determine the notes solely on their own, it's the patterns that manipultate the voltages. Add to that different gate bus settings, different patches, different filter settings, different initial VCO pitches, and you'll find that a fixed set of pot settings will yield a goldmine of inspiration. In fact, the inspiration for the Klee itself was the Quantized Random Voltage function of the Buchla 266 Source of Uncertainty - it is essentially the same concept as the Klee, only its voltages were fixed by resistors. It was my desire to be able to change the quantization that led to the Klee.
The voltage ranges were created for this concept - to have fixed intervals that could easily be reproduced, and to a degree I think that works. In a live setting, one could set up a "golden" range of pot settings and drive several different compositions through gate bus manipulation and patching, and not worry about jacking around on the slippery slope of programming a Klee sequence on the spot.
I've attached an example of what I'm talking about - the "gold_pot_short_comp.mp3" is a recording I did right after the first one. It by no means is a great composition - it's something I quickly rattled off using the example pot settings to make this point. It uses essentially the same patch, but the timing and initial VCO frequencies are different, as well as the gate bus switches, and it is using a fixed pattern in 16X1 mode. It uses just two VCOs.
Cheerio,
Scott
Description: |
Long trial run of gold pot settings switching between modes and patterns |
|
Download |
Filename: |
golden_pot.mp3 |
Filesize: |
4.03 MB |
Downloaded: |
1192 Time(s) |
Description: |
Little thing using the pot settings |
|
Download |
Filename: |
gold_pot_short_comp.mp3 |
Filesize: |
4.42 MB |
Downloaded: |
1135 Time(s) |
_________________ My Site |
|
Back to top
|
|
|
Uncle Krunkus
Moderator
Joined: Jul 11, 2005 Posts: 4761 Location: Sydney, Australia
Audio files: 52
G2 patch files: 1
|
Posted: Sun Mar 23, 2008 4:53 pm Post subject:
|
|
|
Great thread you've started here Scott!
Once I get some tuning problems with my Sorcerer sorted out I'll be dialling up some spicey dishes to post here. _________________ What makes a space ours, is what we put there, and what we do there. |
|
Back to top
|
|
|
State Machine
Janitor
Joined: Apr 17, 2006 Posts: 2809 Location: New York
Audio files: 24
|
Posted: Sun Mar 23, 2008 7:19 pm Post subject:
|
|
|
Great thread Scott. read every word and listened to the examples. This is very good information. I may be talking with you soon as I will most likely be heading up to Massachusetts on April 26 to attend the "Analog Heaven North East" and do a demonstration of the Klee sequencer. I want to mention all the key points you make about this instrument. I will most likely bring:
(1) Klee Sequencer
(2) Blacet VCO's
(1) VCF
(2) VCA (My own LIN/LOG designs)
(1) AD Generator
(1) ADSR Generator
(1) Clock Source
(1) Mixer
and what ever else I can think of that I have forgotten here
http://electro-music.com/forum/post-176175.html&highlight=#176175
I want to demonstrate just what you are doing here and that is that you can get very good results by just programming a minimal amount of pots.
Bill |
|
Back to top
|
|
|
Scott Stites
Janitor
Joined: Dec 23, 2005 Posts: 4127 Location: Mount Hope, KS USA
Audio files: 96
|
Posted: Sun Mar 23, 2008 10:26 pm Post subject:
|
|
|
Wow, I'd love to go to that show!
This pot setup would be a good start for demo. I tried the settings at higher ranges, and the setup actually works out pretty good.
I used a technique I like to think of as "range stretching". In other words, take a setup that works out pretty good in the small ranges and just crank the range switch and see how it works out in the higher ranges
With a good set of pot settings, you can literally go all night. This sample uses two VCOs and my Triple Wilson SVVCF module in self oscillation (same patch as before, I just cranked the res on the triple SVVCF). There is one twist - I'm using the Late MS-20 module in self resonance, set to a low frequency, as the clock! Yep - the Klee will clock off just about anything you throw at it. This works out really well, because I'm sending one of the voltage outputs to one of the modulation inputs of the filter, so the more voltage, the faster it clocks.
This is a really fun patch. The sample was taken all at once, no overdubbing, etc. Just having fun at the controls....
Cheerio,
Scott
Description: |
Klee Sequence using a self resonant filter as the clock |
|
Download |
Filename: |
21st_century_schizoid_Klee.mp3 |
Filesize: |
7.21 MB |
Downloaded: |
1189 Time(s) |
_________________ My Site |
|
Back to top
|
|
|
Pehr
Joined: Aug 14, 2005 Posts: 1307 Location: Björkvik, Sweden
Audio files: 2
|
|
Back to top
|
|
|
sneakthief
Joined: Jul 24, 2006 Posts: 569 Location: Berlin
|
Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2008 2:23 am Post subject:
|
|
|
bill - you're forbidden to demonstrate the Klee without an SN-Voice! listening to all of scott's demos has burned a permanent association in my brain between the two _________________ Sneak-Thief - raw electrofunk |
|
Back to top
|
|
|
Scott Stites
Janitor
Joined: Dec 23, 2005 Posts: 4127 Location: Mount Hope, KS USA
Audio files: 96
|
Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2008 10:19 am Post subject:
|
|
|
Hmmm....a Klee with a couple of SN-Voices, my that would be interesting!
Quote: | With 3 active pots there are actully 4 different pot settings (incl. 0), meaning 2^4=16 combinations/notes. |
It's an interesting concept. The number of discrete note values within a given Klee sequence actually depends on to what value those pots are set! If all of the adjusted pots are set to a different value that is not a multiple of any other of the values, then the translation is binary - four pots set, each to different non-multiple values, renders 16 potential note values. 5 pots, each set to a different non-multiple value, will be 32 potential note values. With normal 16X1 sequencing, you will have 16 steps to each sequence, so a given output could not cover 32 notes with only 16 steps. If you are in 16X1 mode, Invert B on, you'll get 32 step sequences. There are ways to manipulate the random input and gate bus to get even longer chains of repeating values, and in full random mode, you could potentially hit every combination available, which is a gigantic number of values (65,535 values to be exact) should you have each and every pot set to a uniquely different value. And, you'd have to set all of those pots to a value that was not a multiple of any other pot value, I think. What would they have to be - prime numbers? Fibonacci Sequence? I dunno, I'm not mathematically adroit enough to figure it out.
Of course, you would have to run the gamut of 65,535 possible patterns to realize all of those notes, should you arrive at distinctly non-multiple values for each pot - that's the theoretical limit of the Klee.
However, back to my point. In my example in the first post of the thread, three non-zeroed pots rendered 8 distinct possible note values. This wouldn't be true in all cases - in order for there to be 8 note values, all of the adjusted pots must be set to a different value. If, for example, two pots are set to the same value (say, full "on"), then the number of possible note values drops.
To make it easy, let's say we have all three pots set to maximum range (full On). The possible combinations are:
1. No pots selected (VCO base frequency).
2. Pot 1 selected (VCO tuned to frequency of pot 1).
3. Pot 2 selected (VCO tuned to frequency of pot 2).
4. Pot 3 selected (VCO tuned to frequency of pot 3).
5. Pots 1 and 2 selected (VCO tuned to sum of Pot 1 and Pot 2 values).
6. Pots 1 and 3 selected (VCO tuned to sum of Pot 1 and Pot 3 values).
7. Pots 2 and 3 selected (VCO tuned to sum of Pot 2 and Pot 3 values).
8. Pots 1, 2 and 3 selected (VCO tuned to sum of Pots 1, 2 and 3 values).
Now, item 1 is a separate value. Item 2 is another value, but items 3 and 4 would be the same value as item 2 - the pots are at the same value, so 3 and 4 would be the same as item 2. So, mark off two values there.
Item 5 would be a separate value, but items 6 and 7 would be at the same value as item 5 again, so mark off items 6 and 7.
Finally, item 8 would be a separate value. So, we've eliminated four of the above items giving us a grand total of four separate values for three adjusted pots! Just like a normal step sequencer, but arrived at in a totally different way (and with quite different repercussions in the gate bus response). The Klee variation is the pattern driving those pots in this instance. Figuring out more adjusted pots (whether of different or same value) gets pretty interesting, especially when you mix same and non-same pot values. It takes a lot of scratch paper.
That's the beauty of Klee sequencing for me - (Forrest Gump Voice): Klee sequencing is like a box of chocolates...
Again, the pattern is the great differentiator - it's going to manipulate both the voltage output into something unique along with the gate bus.
I wrote (most of) a treatise on the gate bus - it got complicated in a hurry analyzing the implications of simple changes in pattern. I found it's better to just sort of let the Klee flow rather than try to analyze what's happening. I'll dig it up, but I wouldn't recommend reading it.
Cheerio,
Scott _________________ My Site |
|
Back to top
|
|
|
BananaPlug
Joined: Jul 04, 2007 Posts: 307 Location: Philly
Audio files: 5
|
Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2008 12:40 pm Post subject:
|
|
|
Thanks for starting this great thread.
Some of the Klee threads are so long now that it would be great to have some link pages or something. I'll be building one of these before too long and reading all the build-related posts is no longer practical. Searching is way to go but maybe a few Best-of-Klee meta-threads would be in order.
electro-music DIY |
|
Back to top
|
|
|
State Machine
Janitor
Joined: Apr 17, 2006 Posts: 2809 Location: New York
Audio files: 24
|
Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2008 12:59 pm Post subject:
|
|
|
Quote: | Wow, I'd love to go to that show!
This pot setup would be a good start for demo. I tried the settings at higher ranges, and the setup actually works out pretty good.
|
Yes, the organizer is asking not so much for music performances but for 10 to 15 minute demonstrations of things that may be of interest to the group. These demos will be every half hour throughout the days activities. I figured the Klee would be interesting for attendees. I will be mentioning your name many times Scott and of course the "Klee Team" members
This thread came at the right time as I think this pot demo would be a cool way to introduce the guys to this instrument. I can then end with a more complex sequence to show what it can do once you build on the basics. If you, or anyone, has any killer sequences, post them please. I will see then what they sound like using my sound modules If I use it, I will be sure to mention the author
Scott, do I have your permission to distribute the "Know the Klee" print document at AHNE 2008? I have some other questions I will take offline with you.
Bill |
|
Back to top
|
|
|
State Machine
Janitor
Joined: Apr 17, 2006 Posts: 2809 Location: New York
Audio files: 24
|
Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2008 1:01 pm Post subject:
|
|
|
Quote: | bill - you're forbidden to demonstrate the Klee without an SN-Voice! listening to all of scott's demos has burned a permanent association in my brain between the two |
Oh, of course, how could I forget the SN Voice !! I will be sure to re-tune that baby and bring it along !!
Bill |
|
Back to top
|
|
|
Scott Stites
Janitor
Joined: Dec 23, 2005 Posts: 4127 Location: Mount Hope, KS USA
Audio files: 96
|
Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2008 2:09 pm Post subject:
|
|
|
Why, soitanly Bill, distribute away!
So - any Mankato filters in your system? _________________ My Site |
|
Back to top
|
|
|
Danno Gee Ray
Joined: Sep 25, 2005 Posts: 1351 Location: Telford, PA USA
|
Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2008 2:16 pm Post subject:
|
|
|
Would it at all be possible for someone to collect these priceless gemas of knowledge into PDF's that one could download and save? I fear that a happenstance or crash might at some time make them unavailable before I can sort through this thread after having built my Klee. |
|
Back to top
|
|
|
State Machine
Janitor
Joined: Apr 17, 2006 Posts: 2809 Location: New York
Audio files: 24
|
Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2008 4:15 pm Post subject:
|
|
|
Quote: | Why, soitanly Bill, distribute away!
So - any Mankato filters in your system? |
Great, I will make up a stack of copies with links to the electro-music Klee sub-forum.
Yes, I have a Magic Smoke PCB and probably most of the parts I really should crank this one out as I hear this is one "hot shit" of a filter I would have to crank out a panel design for it ... I am in midst of building my second Blacet VCO. Also, I wanted nothing to go wrong with the Klee so I replaced the last of any questionable switches for a total of 12 today ... That was a bit of work as both PC boards and the power supply had to be removed from the panel to do the work. Everything is back up and purring along !!! Now every switch works. I really had installed a crap lot in there and payed the price. I will just recalibrate the analog board and "glip" the potentiometers
Bill |
|
Back to top
|
|
|
Scott Stites
Janitor
Joined: Dec 23, 2005 Posts: 4127 Location: Mount Hope, KS USA
Audio files: 96
|
|
Back to top
|
|
|
neandrewthal
Joined: May 11, 2007 Posts: 672 Location: Canada
|
Posted: Sun Mar 30, 2008 9:57 pm Post subject:
|
|
|
sneakthief wrote: | bill - you're forbidden to demonstrate the Klee without an SN-Voice! listening to all of scott's demos has burned a permanent association in my brain between the two |
Woah, I'm listening to sneakthief live and 20th century schizoid klee at the same time and they are meshing perfectly _________________ " I went through quite a few trannies til I found one I liked" - Wild Zebra |
|
Back to top
|
|
|
Scott Stites
Janitor
Joined: Dec 23, 2005 Posts: 4127 Location: Mount Hope, KS USA
Audio files: 96
|
Posted: Mon Mar 31, 2008 1:34 pm Post subject:
|
|
|
Live Sneakthief! Where? _________________ My Site |
|
Back to top
|
|
|
neandrewthal
Joined: May 11, 2007 Posts: 672 Location: Canada
|
Posted: Mon Mar 31, 2008 9:48 pm Post subject:
|
|
|
I see now there are several live sneakthief tracks, but it was the one at the top of his music page. I bet i just accidentally clicked at the right moment to get the two tracks in sync though, and maybe it wont make sense to someone who listens. _________________ " I went through quite a few trannies til I found one I liked" - Wild Zebra |
|
Back to top
|
|
|
Scott Stites
Janitor
Joined: Dec 23, 2005 Posts: 4127 Location: Mount Hope, KS USA
Audio files: 96
|
Posted: Sun Jun 08, 2008 7:57 pm Post subject:
|
|
|
Here's something I'm rather fond of doing:
You can extend the number of voices that can be controlled by the Klee by using the linear input of a VCO with one of the voltage outputs. A linearly controlled VCO will obviously generate a different series of pitches than a VCO that is controlled exponentially from the same source. Sometimes it works out well. Sometimes not. Experiment.
Often I use my DSC2000 to add some spice to a sequence. An SN-Voice would provide the same kind of effect. _________________ My Site |
|
Back to top
|
|
|
Scott Stites
Janitor
Joined: Dec 23, 2005 Posts: 4127 Location: Mount Hope, KS USA
Audio files: 96
|
Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2008 9:33 am Post subject:
|
|
|
Listening to sduck's composition last night, and his use of A+B out to modulate the filter, got me to thinking. Which may or may not be a good thing.
I'm always stuck in the paradigm of thinking of the Klee as a sequencer for controlling pitch, cutoff, etc. But what if one thought of it solely on modulation principles - in conjunction with some other patch that was controlling pitch?
In other words, the Klee provides some nice possibilities of becoming a complex envelope generator or syncable LFO. My bench/studio is torn apart working on the ribbon controller, so I haven't tried these things out, but......
Complex Re-triggerable Envelope Generator:
Set Klee to 16X1, random mode, but with no random input. Set up whatever pattern you want the envelope shape to be with the pattern bits and stage pots. Apply a high frequency LFO to the clock input. Connect the trigger out of a keyboard (or any other source) to the external load input.
Now, with no input to the random jack, the Klee is just going to sit there doing nothing waiting for a trigger, just like an envelope generator. Then it gets a trigger to the external load input. It will then load the pattern and clock it through until the pattern "runs out" - one shot Klee, so to speak. If it gets another trigger before it runs out, it starts back at the beginning again, like a re-triggerable envelope generator.
Three different envelope out waveforms will be present on the A, B and A+B outputs. Treat these outputs as envelope waveforms on filters, VCAs, etc. Set glide on each one taste. Adjust the clock frequency for longer or shorter envelopes. Adjusting pattern length or pattern starting point will alter the time duration of the envelope as well.
If one just used the A output, the envelope could be 8 pattern bits long. What you do with the A+B and B outputs is your business.
Gatable Complex Envelope Generator:
Set Klee to 16X1, random mode. Set up whatever pattern you want the envelope shape to be with the pattern bits and stage pots. Apply a high frequency LFO to the clock input. Connect the gate out of a keyboard (or any other source) to the random input.
When the gate goes high, the random input will start feeding bits to the pots. You can adjust how the rising edge of the envelope moves with different pot settings. The bits will eventually fill up to the "sustain" phase of the envelope. When the gate goes low, the bits will clear out, dropping the envelope to the complex decay phase. Again, adjust clock frequency and slew to taste. The A, A+B, and B outputs will have different time relationships - A and A+B will rise at the same time. B will rise later. A will decay before B, and A+B will decay along with B. Might be some cool spatial effects there.
A variation on this would be to run the trigger into the external load input and the gate into the random input. That would load the initial pattern for some added variation of the attack as the bits fill up from the gate.
Another variation would be to put the Klee into external input mode (should you have that) and mix the gate and one of the CV outputs together into that connector as well as just the gate into the random connector. This would definitely do some weird things to the envelope.
Complex LFO with Sync:
Set Klee to 16X1 0r 8X2 - doesn't matter - pattern mode. Set up whatever pattern you want the LFO shape(s) to be with the pattern bits and stage pots. Apply a high (or low) frequency LFO to the clock input. Connect whatever you want to sync it with to the external load input. Set the pattern fly - use glide for smoothing if desired. Let the pattern fly, and use the voltage outputs as you would use any LFO. Whenever a high signal is received at external load in, the "Klee LFO" will restart.
Cheerios,
Scott _________________ My Site |
|
Back to top
|
|
|
sduck
Joined: Dec 16, 2007 Posts: 459 Location: Nashville
Audio files: 5
|
Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2008 7:49 pm Post subject:
|
|
|
Thanks for the positive replies to my initial mp3 post! I thought it might be a good idea to post the settings I used as part of this thread - they're no big secret, but they sound pretty nice, and this way I'll at least have them stored here. And it's a chance for me to give back a little to the creator(s) of this great device.
I had two vco's, connected to the outs A and B (with no lag), into their respective 1v/OCT jacks. I used the octave range setting, although you could (and probably should) use the 5th setting - my fifth setting is a bit off, and I haven't fixed it yet. With all pots turned all the way down, counterclockwise, and just the first bit active, tune the oscillators to a unison. Octaves and fifths (probably fourths too) also work well with this one. Using a tuner, set both of these pitches to a standard - I used A3 (I think). You're going to need a tuner to set the intervals - the unison is the only one you can set accurately enough with just your ears - the voltage addition magic doesn't work unless the pitches are exactly right. Trust me on this - I'm a professional musician, and even after making a living for 40 years playing music, I can't get this thing to sound right by earballing it, and these are easy intervals. So, using the tuner, set the first pot to a fifth (only vco A will change, obviously enough), the 4th pot to a fourth, the 7th pot to a minor third, the 9th pot to a major second (now vco B is changing), and pot 13 to a fourth. That's it - all the other pots stay at the zero setting.
I had the two vco's going through two standard eg>vca setups, vco A going through one being controlled by bus 1 gate, and vco B by bus 2 gate. I had all the bus switches set to 2, except for step 9, which was set to bus 1. The mix settings on the vca's wasn't completely closed - there's a bit of bleed from each vco even when the eg isn't firing it.
Both voices were going into the filter mixer (voice A went through the tellun doomsday machine on the way), which for the first half of the track was set to an innocuous median setting. I had patched output A+B into the frequency mod of the filter, and tuned up the knob on that about halfway through, and also added a bit of the lag knob to just that output - a little seemed to go a long way.
That's basically it - there's a lot more that could be done to this - I actually meant to patch vco B through a time machine, but forgot about it, and Scott's suggested using the random in. I've only been using the thing for 5 days now, and there are quite a few jacks that are still virgins on this device, except for testing purposes, so I'm looking forward to bigger things! |
|
Back to top
|
|
|
Uncle Krunkus
Moderator
Joined: Jul 11, 2005 Posts: 4761 Location: Sydney, Australia
Audio files: 52
G2 patch files: 1
|
Posted: Sat Aug 16, 2008 12:47 am Post subject:
|
|
|
sduck wrote: | So, using the tuner, set the first pot to a fifth (only vco A will change, obviously enough), the 4th pot to a fourth, the 7th pot to a minor third, the 9th pot to a major second (now vco B is changing), and pot 13 to a fourth. That's it - all the other pots stay at the zero setting. |
Could you describe this for me in terms of semitones? I'm very much a music theory luddite. _________________ What makes a space ours, is what we put there, and what we do there. |
|
Back to top
|
|
|
sduck
Joined: Dec 16, 2007 Posts: 459 Location: Nashville
Audio files: 5
|
Posted: Sat Aug 16, 2008 9:45 am Post subject:
|
|
|
Oh - sure! A major second is 2 semitones - so if A is your reference point, then B is your target pitch. The minor third is 3 semitones, so that would be C. The fourth is 5 semitones, which would be D. The fifth is 7 semitones, which would be E. |
|
Back to top
|
|
|
|