Elektron Analog Four Solos

Published on Oct 5, 2019 Brittle stR music

Playlist at the time of this post:

Elektron Analog Four solo: Cloud Deck
Elektron Analog Four solo: Brittle Star
Elektron Analog Four solo: Soda Swarm 2

Space music: Waldorf iridium, Virus C, Moog Slim Phatty. "Dune Field"

video by Brittle stR music

That Iridium screen is impressive.

"The lead bass and Martian wind are the Iridium, high melody is the Virus C, clave rhythm is the Moog. Sequencing, string pad (the Mono/Poly emulation) and drums are Korg Gadget on the iPad. Images are from NASA and the European Space Agency orbiters and rovers."

Space music: Hydrasynth; Slim Phatty; Virus C; Gadget 2 "Deep Field"

Brittle stR music

"The main mid-range voice is the Hydrasynth: I'm tweaking 4 macros that modify different sets of parameters. The bass is from the Virus and high arpeggios from the Moog. Sequencing and the introductory meteor fall are from Gadget 2.

Photos by NASA."

Berlin School on Waldorf Iridium, Slim Phatty, Virus C: "Dwarf Nebula"

Brittle stR music

"Some space music, Berlin School style. The Iridium does the pad and the space warbles; the Phatty does the bass; the Virus does the higher arpeggios; sequencing from Korg Gadget. If you've been to this channel before, you may notice the Iridium replaces the Hydrasynth! The Hydrasynth is a superb piece of design but I found its sweet spots too elusive. This isn't a cover version: I just stole the title from Frank Zappa!"

JS Bach prelude from BWV 998, for Waldorf Iridium

Brittle stR music

"Originally for lute, this is the first movement of 'Prelude, Fugue and Allegro' of BWV 998 (from the Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis catalogue). It's produced in Logic using a single voice in the Iridium. The 3 oscillators are respectively a square wave, a wavetable and a 'kernel' (or FM synth). Velocity on a 12dB/oct filter envelope provides expression, and big tempo changes give rubato and pauses before recapitulations of the main theme. I've avoided my usual sweeping oscillator mods and other fun electronica artefacts for this one! More than with any other composer, Bach's music lends itself to instruments that were invented later - piano, guitar, synth etc - but a light touch works better IMO."

Berlin School jam: Moog Slim Phatty, Hydrasynth, Virus C, DSI Pro 2, Gadget 2

Published on May 19, 2020 Brittle stR music

"This is Slim Phatty’s first recording (on bass) since arriving from eBay.

I’d not used Gadget for a long time, then the other day found it had updated itself to v2 - and it can now control hardware via the new “gadget” Taipei! Now it’s not limited to Gadget’s own instruments - some of which I like a lot, others less so - the excellent sequencer is perfect for my sort of rig.

The percussion is from the Gadget drum machine 'London' put through a Lexicon MX200. Strings are from the Virus, arpeggios from the Hydrasynth, and space dust from the Pro 2."

Vertebrae: Octatrack and Roland TR8s

Published on May 10, 2020 Brittle stR music

"Samples in the Octatrack and TR8s are all from: ASM Hydrasynth, DSI Pro 2, and Ultrabeat and ES1, both in Logic Pro 8."

Hydrasynth, Slim Phatty, DSI Pro2, Virus C, Thor, Gadget: "Small Moon"

Brittle stR music

"Morphing different timbres on various performance controls: the macros on the Hydrasynth for the acid-style bass; then the trackpad on the formant filter in Thor; and finally the cutoff and waveform encoders on the Slim Phatty. All sequenced from Gadget 2."

Hydrasynth - first patch

Published on Feb 20, 2020 Brittle stR music

"Self-playing patch on the Hydrasynth, which arrived this week. The ratchet on the arpeggiator is something I can see myself overusing shamelessly! It's a surprise to find this feature on an arp. The patch uses just the one oscillator, with a free-running LFO modulating the wavescan. Strings pad is from the Virus C sequenced in Logic; solar wind FX is from the DSI Pro 2."

Waldorf Iridium, Moog Slim Phatty, Virus C, DSI Pro 2, Korg Gadget: 'Giussani'

Brittle stR music

"Giussani (or Giunssani) is a remote valley in northern Corsica. I'm tweaking cutoff against filter envelope amount on the Pro 2 for the high arpeggios; filter envelope amount on the Phatty for the bass; the X/Y pad on the Iridium controlling filter and FX on both layers. Ambient pad from the Virus and sequencing/drums from Gadget."

Virus C meets Octatrack, with Roland TR8S

Published on Jan 21, 2020 Brittle stR music

"The loops in the Octatrack are all sounds from Access Virus C. After all this time, it's still a top synth! Drums from the TR8S, with samples cooked up using various hard and soft synths, including the 'guiro' loop which is from Waldorf Nave on my iPad.

Both melodic sequences are Virus patches where random arpeggiator patterns are selected within the modulation matrix. This makes the arp sound like an improvisation in a way that a repeated single pattern never could."

Modular self-playing patch: Erica Black Sequencer, Roland 510, Octocontroller, Clouds etc.

Brittle stR music

"This is a 3 voice patch, all sequenced from the Erica Black Sequencer:

* Lead sound is the Roland 510 synth voice with auto-panning from the Erica DSP, before going into Halls of Valhalla on the Tiptop Z-DSP.
* The ‘bass clarinet’ sound is the Doepfer A-111-5 synth voice with panning and delay from my DSI Pro-2, then Lexicon reverb.
* The abstract background is a noise source from Abstract Data Octocontroller, band-pass filtered by Tiptop, modulated by a CV track from the sequencer, enveloped and amped, then into Mutable Clouds for some unpredictable granulation. (I have absolutely no idea why it’s doing what it’s doing!)

On the 2 tonal tracks, there’s probability on a lot of the steps for melodic variation. I’ve just acquired the Black Sequencer, and it’s great having probability in Eurorack at last!"

ASM Hydrasynth: self-playing patch

Published on Feb 25, 2020 Brittle stR music

Update: tutorial video for the above posted here.

"This patch is a serious edit of the 'first patch' in my previous video. I used all 5 LFOs on this one! Plus ENV5 is cycling to modulate the depth of ENV1 filter 1 cutoff. Another LFO slowly crossfades OSC1 and OSC2, each wavescanning modulated by its own LFO at two different rates. Then the arp is ratcheting at 44% Chance, giving extra unpredictability. There's a sine wave in the wave sequence for each OSC: this gives a bass timbre to mix in with the brighter waveforms.

The Hydrasynth gives more complex results than any other hardware synth I've ever used. This is just one chord arpeggiating, but it never seems to repeat, what with all the timbral modulations and ratcheting! It keeps spitting out irresistible little phrases that I might never have invented by playing manually.

All FX are onboard the synth."

Modular self-playing patch: Z-DSP; Octocontroller; Roland 510; Mutable Instruments Clouds etc

Brittle stR music

"The high lead sound is the Roland 510 synth voice sequenced by Copper Traces Seek, with gating from Pico logic, and a different kind of logic triggering the envelope, and S&H modulating the filter. Audio goes into the Z-DSP with the Cathedral algorithm from Halls of Valhalla.

The pad is an Omnisphere sample played back from Disting Mk4, then into Mutable Instruments Clouds.

The bass is the Mother 32 into the delay of my DSI Pro2, then into Lexicon "ambience" which I use a lot for bass voices. I'm tweaking the filter envelope amount and resonance as it plays.

Everything is clocked from the Octocontroller.

Stipa is a genus of grass, popular as an ornamental plant but not yet available for Eurorack AFAIK."

Mini Synth Orchestra “MSO-1” in Custom Cabinet

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.
video upload by Brittle stR music

via this auction

"All units are used but in excellent condition, mounted in a custom cabinet. All cables, power supplies, original boxes and manuals are included. There’s even a spare 13A socket in the rear-mounted plug board to power your controller, or another mini instrument. The cabinet has room for something like a Pocket Operator or 1010Music Nanobox, and a spare stereo channel in the mixer. All units sit firmly, held in by gravity.

What you hear in the video is the MSO-1 recorded in stereo, with only some compression and EQ to tame the bass. All spatial FX come from the MSO-1. The NTS-1 has the deep atmospheric effects featured in Korg’s ‘logue synths, and can receive 3rd party oscillators and FX algorithms. The M100 has some of TC Electronic’s high quality reverbs in a small box!

UK bidders only please.

Korg Volca Bass (synth)
Korg Volca Keys (synth)
Korg NTS -1 (synth)
TC Electronic M100 (FX)
Behringer Xenyx 802 (mixer)
Keyboard not included."

CLICK FOR MORE »

Hydrasynth, Slim Phatty, Virus C, Pro 2, Gadget, Thor: "Celandine"

Brittle stR music

"2 separate time signatures in this one: 6/8 followed by 4/4, then back to 6/8 for the ambient coda (mostly ). I borrowed my wife's iPad/Thor for the live part. The Hydrasynth is a pretty decent VA instrument I'm discovering, even though best known as a wave morphing machine. The 24db/oct ladder filter emulation is lovely. The coda is mostly Helsinki in Gadget, with automation of lots of parameters in both synth and insert FX. Gadget is a massive sequencer now it can control hardware too! I'm constantly charging my iPad tho."

Berlin School jam: Hydrasynth, Slim Phatty, Virus C, Pro 2, Gadget, Thor... "Centaurea montana"

Brittle stR music

"(Centaurea is the genus including cornflowers and knapweeds.) You can't quite see me tweaking the cutoff on the Slim Phatty - that's going on while I'm not playing Thor - on my wife's old iPad with the X-Key. Ambient wash by Hydrasynth and strings by Virus C. Pro 2 does the falling space whistle. Sequencing and percussion by Gadget 2 on my own - almost as old - iPad. Phatty is going through Line 6 HX Stomp with tape echo emulation."

Waldorf Iridium, Moog Slim Phatty,DSI Pro 2, Virus C: sequenced jam

Brittle stR music

"Iberis is a miniature shrub with a mass of white late-spring blossom: almost as pretty as the Iridium's dynamic display of filter modulation! The popcorn percussion is from the Phatty; the arpeggiated sequence from the Pro 2; swell pad from the Virus; and the Iridium provides the big brassy melody and complex pad. All is sequenced by Korg Gadget 2, with drums by a couple of the drum machine gadgets."

Modular self-playing patch: Clouds, Roland 510, Z-DSP, Octocontroller etc. "Digitalis"

Brittle stR music

"This is a 2 voice patch:

The ambient wash is a sequence on the DSI Pro 2 going into Clouds. Freeze is switched in and out with a slow pulse wave, and LFOs from the Octocontroller modulate density and position.

The (sort-of) bass clarinet is the Roland 510, sequenced by Copper Traces Seek. Clocking is via Pico Logic, with a different logic triggering the ADSR on the filter, which is also opening and closing by a bit of S&H. I've done a few experiments where envelope and note gates happen on different beat divisions and interact unpredictably.

Digitalis is the genus that includes foxgloves, a dramatic wildflower always welcome in northern gardens."

Hydrasynth, Slim Phatty, Virus C, Pro 2, Gadget: "Elizabeth's Land"

Brittle stR music

"The bass lead is from the Phatty, going through the Line 6 HX Stomp tape echo. I'm sweeping the VCF cutoff as the sequence plays. The pad is the Hydrasynth, with multiple LFOs unpredictably modulating the cutoff of both filters. The high reverb'ed sequence is the Virus. The S&H drone in the middle section is the Pro2. Drums and sequencing from Korg Gadget 2.

The title is a location in the sci-fi novel 'Legacy' by Greg Bear, which for me has the most vivd and inventive depiction of an alien biology in all of fiction."