"2Frame with the following modules (SynthVoice plus extras): Compact VCO x3 Quad Sine 2130 VCO Phaser Dual Mixing Dual Envelope DC Mix Multiplier Dual Filter Dual Amplifier LPG PT Delay
Also includes: Two packs of BugBrand banana cables in two lengths. Blank panels Power brick (not pictured)
"Some time ago around a visit down to Bristol I got the chance to go and see Tom from BugBrand (again, first visit linked below). The then new Phase standalone box and Phaser module were out on show so we had a listen and chat about them but spoke more generally about who and what BugBrand is, how Tom works and the development of the equipment he builds."
Bananas, Synths & Studio FX - An interview with Tom Bugs of Bug Brand [posted here]
**TIMING INDEX // CHAPTERS **
00:00 Intro
01:15 Who & what is BugBrand?
09:11 Modular synths as limited creative instruments
14:47 Phaser & product development
23:25 How BugBrand operate (differently)
"A basic walk-through of the new Weevil module for BugBrand Modular.
1) the individual oscillators, then RingMod1 + Power Starve behaviour
2) processing a static VCO
3) then using a rhythmic gate into the audio input
Support from Penrose plus, off camera, a CVCO & the ever present DDSR.
--- https://www.bugbrand.co.uk/product/we..."
"Back in the Old-Blues days, I tried to port the Weevil design into the modular format but it was a challenge.. The circuitry of the regular Weevils is really very simple & the chaos comes from circuit-bending (an unconventional approach!) – the difficulty was how to add voltage-control features to this simple circuitry (modular approaches are quite a bit more involved). So while I did a design back then which was enjoyed by bug-users (SYN1 Weevil), I never thought it quite captured the chaotic sonic worlds of the ‘true’ Weevils.
For a few years I put the Weevils to bed, but have recently come back to thinking on them – so, looking again at modular approaches, I’ve come up with something that I feel works things a bit differently and, while it still feels a bit different from more regular/simple Weevils, it offers a whole host of chaos & noise.
See the block diagram!
First off we have the power starvation core – this unfortunately couldn’t viably be voltage-controlled. Turn the Starve dial fully clockwise for regular/full-power usage. When starved, everything goes a bit nuts, everything interacts & we get to much more noise-based areas, though note that all outputs pass through circuitry to ensure they remain ‘full-strength’ (all are 0V to +10V). There is also a Stable switch which adds a little smoothing – it isn’t exactly stable, but it is more-so/different.
There are two voltage-controlled oscillators ranging from c.0.5Hz to 20kHz from the front panel (they can go slower with external negative CV). There are CV inputs with depth controls & polarity/mute switches for each Osc plus a CV Both input which affects both Oscs. The Oscs track 1V/Oct reasonably well, but are not temperature compensated, nor do they have the best high-frequency tracking. The two Oscs interact a little, especially so when starved. Each Osc has an independent banana output + LED indicator.
The basis for Weevils was a simple cymbal noise-source generator which quasi-ring-modulated square waves together for richly (en)harmonic tones. Here we have a first RM combining the two Oscs, followed by a second which mixes RM1 with an external signal which has passed through a drive/squaring circuit so that it matches the Weevil-core (inc. starvation). This audio input is quite level dependent so do play with the Drive control – you can also input gates/clocks/etc. to the input which can generate some interesting behaviours when using Starve. Note that without an input signal, the output of RM2 will appear quiet (ie. it isn’t silent, but it isn’t regular amplitude).
All in all, the Weevil Module is inherently quite chaotic compared with my other module designs – that is, I feel, its strength & interest! Experiment, feed different signals in, feed outputs back into CV inputs, etc."
"The FilterQAmp (FQA) combines a 2-pole State Variable VC Filter with a Linear VC Amplifier and an inbuilt variable-decay Envelope Generator. It is capable both of processing and, when the filter is self-oscillating, generation of synthesised sounds such as drums.
The VCF section contains a State Variable Filter (similar to my other designs) – this offers switchable Low or High Pass responses and covers the full audio range. It is temperature compensated & tracks 1V/Oct accurately. The Resonance/Q is voltage controlled with a linear response up to self-oscillation – this creates a pure sinewave, useful for synthesis.
The VCA is linear in response and takes the Low/Hi-pass output from the VCF section. It can either be set, via rear jumper, to a clean response (gain from 0 to +1) or saturation (gain from 0 to +1 then +/-5V zener clipping beyond – unity at approx 10 o’clock rotation).
The Filter, Q and Amp sections each have a CV Modulation depth control with switchable polarity (centre off) – the Filter has an additional 1V/Oct control input. In addition there is a simple variable-decay Envelope Generator which can be fired either with the manual Trig button or via the Trig input – this has a comparator so triggers on any signal over c.+1V. Decay time is variable between approx 15mS and 3Secs with an amplitude of 0 to +10V. The envelope is internally routed to modulate the Filter and Amp sections via individual depth controls – it could be manually patched to QCV with a 0.75″ shorting bar or cable.
When Q is set to full, the self-oscillating filter makes good sound generator – it can also ring when set below self-oscillation & fed with sharp edges such as gate signals. A basic drum synth can be achieved with self-oscillation and the decay envelope opening the VCA – try varying how much the envelope modulates the filter cutoff too. You can feed the main output back to the FCV input to self-modulate, resulting in an interesting peaky waveform."
"Just got my 252e back after repair. Running through some tests to refamiliarize myself with the features. This is just a simple test with 252e sequencing 4 voices. Two are using the VCOs from Buchla 259e Twisted Waveform Generator with one through Vedic Scapes 13700 band pass filter. Then there is a kick from Bugbrand DRM2 and a drone into glitchy high hat using Bugbrand Synth Voice modules. Used lots of off-grid timing on 252e to make it a bit wonky.
The bass is 259e principal oscillator with RED cells coming from the 8 and 16 rings. The band pass voice is 259e modulation oscillator sequenced from the GREEN cells of the 6, 8, and 16 ring so some triplets in there from 6. Kick is BLUE cells from the 16 ring. High hat is ratcheted by the subdivided pulses from rings 8 and 16. Using a mixer to mute/unmute off screen to the left.
Recorded as 2 tracks into Ableton Live. Compression and FXs added in post."
"I've been telling myself for too long that I should post more Paia videos. This is an old video shot before I fixed the keyboard on the 2720 (broken sample and hold as you might hear). The main part is 4700, the 2720 helps out with a fourth VCO. The spring reverb is a little noisy.
These were available as kits from Paia starting in the 1970's. The 2720 is closely related to the 2700 that arrived on the market over 50 years ago!"
"Frac rack, FracRak or Frac, from Fractional Rack, is the modular synthesizer format designed by John Simonton of PAiA. It has a mainly USA following largely through the popularity of Blacet modules.
Like the Eurorack format, Frac is considered a 3U format..."
"I did a demonstration with my Serge+friends modular for the LA Synth Club on Monday, January 8 2024. Unfortunately, the multitrack audio didn't record correctly and the audio the camera captured was bad. Also the camera cut out after like ten minutes. :facepalm:
C'est la vie. I'm just glad we had a nice turnout."
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"Blacet Research 2090 Mini Wave. Classic wavetable module designed by Grant Richter. Factory build. Cosmetically in excellent condition with a small amount of rack rash. Tested, working exactly as it should."
"NSH stands for Noise, Sample & Hold – a module which features analogue Noise and a pair of Sample & Hold processors.
The Sample & Hold circuits are identical, each with Input, Output & Clock input (with internal comparator, trigger level c.+1V). The Source Input can be set to either an external signal or takes the White Noise source direct. The S&H can be run at audio rates for ‘bug-crushing’ (analogue sample-rate reduction – NOT bit-crushing).
The Noise section is standard transistor-based White Noise, with a second Filtered output which passes through a simple tilt filter around 1kHz cutoff."
"The Phase is a 6 pole, analogue Phase Shifter designed for hands-on sonic thickening. Made up of 12 All-Pass Filter stages, it features fully balanced Input/Outputs, Feedback, and Modulation from an internal LFO and/or external sources. All in a very playable design, stemming very much from the blue Phaser module.
Check the Block Diagram image. The main Input is designed for typical line level signals with variable gain up to 20dB and soft-clipping so you can add some overdrive if desired. The Feedback input stage is similar but without the variable gain – it is normalised from the Phase output & plugging a jack plug in breaks this normalisation. The buffered input signal is split off to the Phasing stages and the dry signal also passes on to the output mixer where it mixes with the Phase stage outputs. The Phase stages is also buffered to provide a pure wet output.
The magic of All-Pass Filter stages, here built around three of the ever versatile 2164 quad-VCA chips, is that they alter the phase of signals at their filtering frequency while preserving their amplitude. (With a pure sine-wave, this would look like the waveform being shifted in phase from the input – but you’ll rarely be putting in a pure sine!). When you mix together the dry & processed paths, frequencies cancel each other out to create peaks & troughs in the frequency response. The main Phase control, combined with any modulation, sets the centre frequency for the filtering and covers the whole audio spectrum.
Dialing in Feedback passes the phase-stage output back around to its input (via a normalised jack connection – allowing experimentation with further external processing) which emphasises the filtering up to the edge of resonance. The Add/Subtract switch inverts the phase output & the feedback input to give two different response modes and there is also an internal jumper that allows some subtle behavioural differences by putting the feedback into either the first or second filter stage (set as standard to 2nd stage, down position, but… experiment!).
Static filtering (ie. without modulation) can be used to highlight particular frequencies, but bringing in modulation is perhaps the more readily audible approach – give it some movement! The internal sine-wave Low Frequency Oscillator (LFO) covers traditional sweep modulation (range approx 0.08-10Hz), but more interesting usage can be found with external sources such as sequencers etc. Note that when switched on initially, if the LFO Rate is set low then the oscillations will take some time to build up to full strength, so you may want to turn the control up full until the LED indicator is clearly blinking. The LFO also has a banana output jack (+/-5V). The External Modulation input takes a CV input (typically 10V peak-to-peak) and has a convenient polarity/mute switch. See the Understanding signals & voltages and Interfacing with Bananas pages for further technical details."
