I'm A M...Mo...Modular Monster!!!!!

O

O.T.G.

New member
recently i was bitten. by a vampire, that is. it was actually an internet vampire - the worst kind as they are sneaky. he said his name was modular synth, which i thought was weird, be he was old and there are a lot of cultures i dont know about....;)

all joking aside, i was bitten by the modular synth bug. i understand it is addicting and i can see why. i have been messing around with the u-he ace demo for a while now. and the sounds are astounding and only limited by knowledge and imagination in that order. i do have a firm grasp on modular synths, i know all the parts and about patch cables and about some basic electronics gear head stuff so im not looking for a pat on the head but...(to the point)

as an adventurous type, i try to steer away from using a semitone-based vco and move more toward a hertz-based vco which is devoid of any sort of pitch and...so far, my experiments show me resonance is almost the only way to attain pitch (since ace vcos dont have a voltage outs). im wondering if any of you sound designers have any better way to achieve pitch using hertz or simple, if anyone has any sound designing tips when it comes to modular exploration.
i post this not just to get an answer to my question but as a way to generate interest and understanding around this world, any input would do nicely! :victory:

im also looking at purchasing some decent vco, vcf and waveshaper modules. so on a side note, any of you have any suggestions for a cheap (-100$/per) modules?
 
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O.T.G. said:
..... some demonstration of a large wind section ;) ....

move more toward a hertz-based vco which is devoid of any sort of pitch and...so far, my experiments show me resonance is almost the only way to attain pitch (since ace vcos dont have a voltage outs). im wondering if any of you sound designers have any better way to achieve pitch using hertz or simple, if anyone has any sound designing tips when it comes to modular exploration.
i post this not just to get an answer to my question but as a way to generate interest and understanding around this world, any input would do nicely! :victory:
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Some things here aren't clear to me .
Can you tell me more of your aims ?
Hertz are just a measurement of frequency (the old UK unit name was better "Cycles Per Second" ) and in that , they do relate to pitch and harmonics in the most absolute terms .

The resonance in relation to a "pitchless" system is confusing too .

Can you shed some light ?
 
Foggy said:
Some things here aren't clear to me .
Can you tell me more of your aims ?
Hertz are just a measurement of frequency (the old UK unit name was better "Cycles Per Second" ) and in that , they do relate to pitch and harmonics in the most absolute terms .

The resonance in relation to a "pitchless" system is confusing too .

Can you shed some light ?
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i would like to say if you at all interesting in any of this you should mess around with the u-he ace demo. it is really really interesting and it could help you understand what im talking about. keep in mind im asking questions because i don't fully know myself (!!) but here is what i understand.

mmm, my aim? i would say it would be to find some different avenues i can go down when it comes to creating crazy/interesting textures through synthesis. i guess my usage of hertz was wrong but in my experience most synths have vco's that are already tuned or, rather, if you played A4 there would an immediate response at a frequency of 440 Hz. but with ace, you can simulate raw voltage. from my understanding the function of the vco is to convert dc voltage into a discernible frequency.

anyway, when i set ace's vco1 to hertz instead of semitones, instead of 440 Hz when i hit A4, i get a something that sounds similar to my speakers dying. its a very rough, harsh sounding signal with peaks that sound like clicks/pops...and furthermore the pitch does not change as i move up or down the keyboard. it will however increase its frequency as i move the hertz knob up.

i would agree! resonance as it relates to this doesnt make much sense. i actually just went back to it and you are right. it isnt just the resonance it is the key follow and the resonance. if i route vco1 directly into vcf1 and crank up the resonance and then turn up the key follow...i get pitch that changes with the keyboard keys.

again, i do know some stuff but im still new to this. sorry for the political incorrect terminology but im trying. i guess i just want to know about the different way to synthesize sound. the hertz function looked interesting. the main difference is that by doing it this way i dont get the standard waveforms (sine/saw/square/etc.) which is sort of intriguing. i just feel like u-he put a hertz option on the vco for a reason!
 
Hertz ...... a note will have a frequency , measured in Hertz , the next semitone will have a frequency in Hertz , or an oscillator is driven in a way to output any Frequency without any specific relation to the "normal" concert tuned 12 semitone western scale .

The thing is , when you state "modular synth" and then state "try this demo" strikes a dischord ;) ....... I think you are talking about virtual instruments , and I thought (OP) you were talking about hardware modular sythns ...... not sure mate , I could well have misread !
 
Foggy said:
Hertz ...... a note will have a frequency , measured in Hertz , the next semitone will have a frequency in Hertz , or an oscillator is driven in a way to output any Frequency without any specific relation to the "normal" concert tuned 12 semitone western scale .

The thing is , when you state "modular synth" and then state "try this demo" strikes a dischord ;) ....... I think you are talking about virtual instruments , and I thought (OP) you were talking about hardware modular sythns ...... not sure mate , I could well have misread !
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you are 100% correct. i am talking about a virtual instrument...except u-he ace is one of the very very few modular synth vsti - at least thats what they are marketed as. a few others are moog modular v and karmafx. you actually have to connect modules. ace (any cable everywhere) is a lot more introductory as there are pre-routings but they can be overridden, however, in moog modular v and karmafx you actually have to route the vco to vca to get sound, etc.

The Joy Of Sound for U-He ACE - YouTube

Moog Modular V2 continuously- Moog en continu - YouTube

sorry for the confusion! i was talking about hardwave synths there at the end but was just standing that i was starting to get away from vst and was thinking about purchasing a vco and building my own modular.

---

i am aware what hertz are and that its a unit of frequency. i think most of the confusion comes from the fact that the actual function of the vco is labeled hertz.
 
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so its based on old moog stuff? some of that stuff is hertz/octave so makes sense....

have you checked out aalto? its a west coast synthesis based vst so its going to be quite a bit different than a vst based on east coast synths. think buchla vs. moog. the only softsynth out there with low pass gates :D

personally i don't really bother thinking about the volt / octave or even quantizing stuff so its in a key. i guess if you're going for more tonal music its something to think about. but i'm into drones and noise for now.

you're going to be hard pressed to find modules for around 100$. it not impossible but its tough look for deals on used stuff. don't forget if you're starting a modular you don't just need a vco, vcf, and a waveshaper. but mixers, vcas, and lfos as well. modulation is huge so you want to have enough modulation sources to make things fun.

you are also going to need to get a case and a power supply. looking for used here is the way to go. or a tip top audio happy endings kit.

Please clickthrough for the world's best forum is the forum to visit for info on modulars. very active and helpful community of wigglers.
 
infradead said:
so its based on old moog stuff? some of that stuff is hertz/octave so makes sense....

have you checked out aalto? its a west coast synthesis based vst so its going to be quite a bit different than a vst based on east coast synths. think buchla vs. moog. the only softsynth out there with low pass gates :D

personally i don't really bother thinking about the volt / octave or even quantizing stuff so its in a key. i guess if you're going for more tonal music its something to think about. but i'm into drones and noise for now.

you're going to be hard pressed to find modules for around 100$. it not impossible but its tough look for deals on used stuff. don't forget if you're starting a modular you don't just need a vco, vcf, and a waveshaper. but mixers, vcas, and lfos as well. modulation is huge so you want to have enough modulation sources to make things fun.

you are also going to need to get a case and a power supply. looking for used here is the way to go. or a tip top audio happy endings kit.

Please clickthrough for the world's best forum is the forum to visit for info on modulars. very active and helpful community of wigglers.
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wow! :bigeyes: first off, fantastic post man! i would agree that im gonna be hard pressed to find working modules sub-100 bucks, i mean id might have to sacrifice eating for a month if i want to get the doepfer vco-2rm. its probably worth it haha. and yeah, im aware i need all of the basic stuff like a vcf and vca along with lfos and possibly a sequencer. im also looking into a cloud generator, those things sound so warm and beautiful...speaking of which, if you are into drones it might be in your interest to look at the e340 cloud generator.

anyway, i checked out aalto like you suggested, the demo is fantastic and i simply love the warm nature of the sounds! im thinking about buying it but will mess with the demo some more. madorna labs also sounds like a cool group which makes me all the more willing.

also that forum is great. ive really been looking for a good nerd forum as of late. :cool:
 
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VCO-2RM is cwejman not doepfer huge difference in price. cwejman stuff is pretty dense in features and is supposed to have great build and sound but is on the pricier side of things.

for a first osc there are a ton of options in euro land.
Bubblesound's VCOb, Pittsburgh Modular's oscillator, Tip Top Audio z3000mkII, Malekko/WIARD oscillator. not to mention Doepfer all of doepfer's offering and intellijel is going to have a new pretty small and feature packed on coming out soon.

muff's is kind of an epic nerd forum, my kind of an epic nerd forum. :D
you're going to need a Maths

also the B/S/T on there is like crack, but if you bide you time you can save quite a bit picking up used stuff here and there. one of the biggest hurdles in starting a modular is that you need to have a case and power supply first before you can actually do anything and that can cost as much as a couple of modules. B/S/T is great for finding a used one with a slight discount.
 
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