Tips n' Tricks: Creating a 64-step sequencer using 2x Moog Mother 32

Published on Jul 24, 2018 Alastair Wilson

"I didn't do a very good job of explaining this patch in the video, so here's a much better explanation:

Theory:
- Both M32s are being triggered by a square LFO. To get them to alternate, one needs to be triggered by the LFO's rising edge (low to high jump), and the second by the falling edge (high to low jump). The problem is that both M32s need a rising edge to be clocked, so we will need to invert the LFO (I say 'reverse' in the video) for the second M32, to turn its falling edge into a rising edge.

Step 1 - clocking the first M32:
By patching the LFO to the Mult, you get 2 outputs of it. One goes straight into the M32's Tempo input to clock it.

Step 2 - inverting the LFO:
The other Mult output is patched to VC Mix Ctrl (which controls the mix between Mix 1 and Mix 2). With no cables patched, Mix 1 is at 0V and Mix 2 is at 5V. We need a jump of 0V to 5V when the LFO falls, flicking the output from Mix 2 to Mix 1, which is the opposite of what is currently happening. To fix this, we have to reverse the voltages at the Mix inputs.

Step 3 - reversing the Mix voltages:
To stop Mix 1 being at 0V and instead be at 5V, we patch in the output of the other M32's VC Mix section, with the VC Mix knob turned clockwise. This sends 5V into Mix 1. To stop Mix 2 being at 5V and instead be at 0V, we patch a dummy cable (a cable only patched at one end) into Mix 2, breaking the normalization of 5V. This puts Mix 2 at 0V.

Step 4 - clocking the second M32:
The VC Mix output is essentially now a square LFO that falls when the clocking LFO rises, and rises when the clocking LFO falls. By patching that into the Tempo input of the second M32, the M32s will both be clocked by the same LFO but will alternate to create a sequence twice as long but also twice as fast. Voilà - a 64-step sequence!"