Chysn's Gear Rant Thread...

[chysn]

Sounds like a good plan. Sticking to the 2-way rack will at least prevent you from things going way overboard.

My wife golfs, so I'm not going to feel too bad about this. And the major Eurorack investment seems to be oscillators, more than anything else. The utilitarian stuff to move signals around isn't too insane.

I already know that I want to find room for at least the DSI Feedback module, because I really like the cut of that thing's jib, especially sequenced. Hopefully that will be a future gear rant.

[Paul Dither]

I already know that I want to find room for at least the DSI Feedback module, because I really like the cut of that thing's jib, especially sequenced. Hopefully that will be a future gear rant.

I have to agree in that I think the feedback module is the most exciting sounding of them all. Will you get a Maths?

[chysn]

Will you get a Maths?

It's on the short-list. The thing with Maths is that it takes up a third of the entire Mother-sized box, but it seems flexible enough to be worth it.

[dslsynth]

Some of the stuff on my cable salad list is Mutable Instruments Braids/Clouds/Rings, Make Noise Maths, Toppobrillo Tripple Wave Folder, Expert Sleepers Disting and Analogue Systems RS-500e EMS filter.

But there are so many insane modules out there and honestly I would rather like to see complex voice synthesizer modules based around an analog/digital hybrid concept using components/software from several interesting eurorack modules that work well together. But from time to time I do dream a little and stuff like the above shows up.

Good luck with your new state as a self-confessed eurowreck, chysn!

. o O ( gear envy )

[chysn]

A three-oscillator Little Phatty: Volume Envelope Out to VCA CV In, Mother-32 Audio Out to LP Audio In, set M32 to VCA On, filter open, resonance minimum, LFO amounts at 0, etc. Either MIDI or CV can be used for pitch. If using CV with this setup, the Gate Out to Gate In isn't necessary, since I'm trying to turn over as much control as possible to the LP's panel.

The M32 doesn't track as well via CV as it does over MIDI, to the surprise of hopefully nobody. Despite concerns voiced elsewhere on this forum, the M32 stays in tune with the LP perfectly fine via MIDI across the keyboard.

The upshot of this exercise is that now I get it. I understand why Sacred Synthesis clamors for three analog oscillators. The Little Phatty sounds great with two oscillators, but three is a whole different thing.

[Paul Dither]

A three-oscillator Little Phatty: Volume Envelope Out to VCA CV In, Mother-32 Audio Out to LP Audio In, set M32 to VCA On, filter open, resonance minimum, LFO amounts at 0, etc. Either MIDI or CV can be used for pitch. If using CV with this setup, the Gate Out to Gate In isn't necessary, since I'm trying to turn over as much control as possible to the LP's panel.

The M32 doesn't track as well via CV as it does over MIDI, to the surprise of hopefully nobody. Despite concerns voiced elsewhere on this forum, the M32 stays in tune with the LP perfectly fine via MIDI across the keyboard.

The upshot of this exercise is that now I get it. I understand why Sacred Synthesis clamors for three analog oscillators. The Little Phatty sounds great with two oscillators, but three is a whole different thing.

SoundCloud or it didn't happen. 

Seriously, it's good that this was a fairly easy "fix." How does the M-32's oscillator compare to those of the Little Phatty? Any notable differences?

[Sacred Synthesis]

The M32 doesn't track as well via CV as it does over MIDI, to the surprise of hopefully nobody. Despite concerns voiced elsewhere on this forum, the M32 stays in tune with the LP perfectly fine via MIDI across the keyboard.

So it's true!

[Sacred Synthesis]

The upshot of this exercise is that now I get it. I understand why Sacred Synthesis clamors for three analog oscillators. The Little Phatty sounds great with two oscillators, but three is a whole different thing.

Or four!

[Paul Dither]

The upshot of this exercise is that now I get it. I understand why Sacred Synthesis clamors for three analog oscillators. The Little Phatty sounds great with two oscillators, but three is a whole different thing.

Or four!

[Sacred Synthesis]

Paul, posting a picture of the Oberheim Two-Voice Pro is cruel and unusual treatment.  I appeal for mercy.

[Paul Dither]

Paul, posting a picture of the Oberheim Two-Voice Pro is cruel and unusual treatment.  I appeal for mercy.

You asked for four voices and you like it if it's all in own package, so… 

[Sacred Synthesis]

Next time, give me a warning.  My synthesist's heart can't handle that much analog beauty in one shot.

[Paul Dither]

Next time, give me a warning.  My synthesist's heart can't handle that much analog beauty in one shot.

Careful…

[Sacred Synthesis]

   Gasp...gasp...thud....

[chysn]

  Gasp...gasp...thud....

Well, so much for him. Too much phat to abide.

SoundCloud or it didn't happen. 

SoundCloud is coming. Once I get myself on good terms with the sequencer, I'm going to do a Mother-32/Evolver duet. The Mother-32's sequencer is seriously harder to use than the Evolver's. Also, there's no way to de-couple the Mother-32's sequencer from the VCO, which means that I'm going to have to have a eurorack sequencer or two for modulation of other things.

Seriously, it's good that this was a fairly easy "fix." How does the M-32's oscillator compare to those of the Little Phatty? Any notable differences?

To my ear, the oscillators are about the same. There is a difference in the filters. It would be dishonest to say that the LP's filter is "better." I probably think that because I'm used to how it behaves. The LP filter seems to leave a little more high-end behind as you close it, which makes the M32 filter sound a little darker. I'm aware that a lowpass filter "leaving more high-end behind" technically makes it a worse filter.

It's a weird synth, no doubt about it.

[chysn]

Been a while since I did a gear rant. I've got two: one bad, one good.

The bad one is that my reverb pedal seems to be dead. It's a Hall of Fame Reverb, and I liked it a lot. For a while, the thing didn't switch on sometimes. Yesterday, it suddenly just started buzzing like crazy, and now that's the only thing it does. I ruled out the power supply. So, bummer about that.

The good one is that my Moog eurorack case arrived today. I don't have anything to put into it yet, but I've got a uZeus power supply on the way from Detroit Modular. Then the adventure begins. I don't know if I'll be able to divert resources from this project to replace the reverb pedal.

Edit: And the uZeus came today! Okay, the cool thing about Detroit Modular is that the stuff arrives the next day if you live near Detroit. Now I've got power. All I need is a module. If the DSM-03 was available, I'd order it immediately. I want to be one of the first guys in the world with that thing.

[DavidDever]

That is a sweet Eight Voice.

[chysn]

My first actual eurorack module arrived today. I wanted something useful, so I got the Make Noise Function.

Function is a very elegant design. The CP-251 made me realize that there wasn't much difference between a slew processor and an envelope generator; just more stages. Make it cycle, and you have an LFO. Give it the ability to send voltage when it reaches its peak or reaches zero again? Now you have a clock divider, or a sequencer trigger. Function wraps all this stuff, and more (sample-and-hold, for example), into a small, simple package.

As I said before, I'm working on a slightly non-traditional monosynth whose centerpiece will be the DSM-03. I'm not going to totally unveil it here until the DSM-03 is on the market. Also, it's not completely planned out. Suffice to say, it's a challenge to build an entire synth in 60hp of space, because we always want more.

Anyway, the Function's beautiful combination of simplicity and flexibility is making me think that I should consider another one in place of an ASDR. Function will be sufficient to control a VCA via a gate signal, and I've already got a pair of ASDRs from the Little Phatty for when I want more complex envelopes.

I'm also not entirely sure that I need an oscillator for my synth. Karplus-Strong synthesis just takes a little noise burst to get going, so an oscillator might be superfluous (depending on how well the DSM-03 tracks). On the other hand, an oscillator would give me the flexibility to do traditional subtractive synthesis as well.

[chysn]

Some more on the Function, because I love love love this thing. Just this one module brings so much to the synthesis techniques that I have available. At this point, I'm strongly leaning toward foregoing envelope generators and LFOs in my synth in favor of Functions.

With multiple Functions, I could use them to trigger each other, using the end-of-cycle trigger. I tried this out with one Function, and it works fine. It could make a pretty insane sequencer.

I'm sure plenty of folks would wonder why I don't get Maths instead. It's because I've watched a lot of Maths videos, and Maths is more opaque than I want something to be. Function can be used to build complex things, but it's not particularly complex itself.

[DavidDever]

You could also use that "spare" oscillator for additional FM or LFO functions. (Edited: saw remark regarding LFOs)