0-Coast Patch of the Week Videos

Published on Dec 15, 2016 MAKEN0ISE

Official Make Noise 0-Coast videos.

Manual: http://makenoisemusic.com/content/manuals/0-coast_manual.pdf

Playlist:

0-Coast Patch of the Week #1: Intro and Simple Bass with Brightness Control
0-Coast Patch of the Week #2: Organ Lead (Early East Coast Style)
0 Coast Patch of the Week #3: Sync Bass
0-Coast Patch of the Week #4: Key Controlled Echo
0-Coast Patch of the Week #5: Wobbble Bass
0-Coast Patch of the Week #6: Arcade Trills
0-Coast Patch of the Week #7: East Coast Bass
0-Coast Patch of the Week #8: Fluttering Arpeggios
0-Coast Patch of the Week #9: Pitched Noise Orbit
0-Coast Patch of the Week #10: External Processing
0-Coast Patch of the Week #11: Krell [Forbidden Planet & Todd Barton videos here]
0-Coast Patch of the Week #12: Shepard's Pie
0-Coast Patch of the Week #13: SubHarmonic Pulsar Generator
0-Coast Patch of the Week #14: Dark Techno
0-Coast Patch of the Week #15: Telegraph
0-Coast Patch of the Week #16: Pitch Contour
0-Coast Patch of the Week #17: Quasi Random Gates
0-Coast Patch of the Week #18: Kick Drum
0-Coast Patch of the Week #19: Snare Drum
0-Coast Patch of the Week #20: Rhythmic Animation with TEMPO In Division
0-Coast Patch of the Week #21: Simple Random Timbre Animation

AJH Synth Patch of The Week Videos

video uploads by AJH Synth Official

Videos by supoorting member, DreamsOfWires.

Playlist: 1. Patch of The Week: The Sonic XV's Wave Folder - So many tones from just 1 VCO's Triangle wave

'Sonic Arps': The Sonic XV Transistor Diode Ladder Filter has a built-in Wave Folder, and in this video I'm using an arpeggiator in random mode to show the many subtle flavours of sound it can achieve from just a simple triangle wave from a single VCO. I will also pull a huge variety of timbres from a sine wave in a similar fashion.
The filter is a re-creation and expansion of the VCF from the Musonics Sonic V (5) synth of the 1970's (predecessor of the Moog Sonic Six), and shares a similar character to that of the EMS Synthi and VCS3, also being early diode filters. Bearing that in mind you might expect it to produce aggressive tones and chaotic feedback, which it can do well enough, but you might not have expected that it can also be very subtle, organic and warm in character, particularly well-suited to melodic arps/patterns and percussive sounds. With the added wave shaping functionality that wasn't present on the original, along with 24dB and 6dB low pass modes, and band pass filtering, this module packs a lot of tone shaping into 14hp.

Index:
00:00 'Sonic Arps'
00:34 Introduction
01:01 Assembling the patch
01:39 Sounds & Settings
04:33 Patch Sheet

A PDF file of the patch can be downloaded here: https://kvisit.com/8AE/xfUG

Patch notes:
Green dots show approximate pot and switch positions. Where a pot has two dots, this illustrates the range I move them during the video. Pots and switches that do not have green dots are not used in this patch, and should be left at their zero or off positions.
I'm using the VCA as a mixer so that I can use the outputs from both the BP and 6dB outputs of the Sonic XV. Notice in the video they are set at different volumes at different points depending on the sound - you will need to adjust this too, as different combinations of IN LEVEL, IN MIX, IN WAVE, and filter settings can make a significant difference to volume levels.
Modules used from left to right: Vintage Transistor Core VCO, Sonic XV, Contour Generators, Discrete Cascaded VCA.

2. Patch of the Week: 'Schulze School' - Melodic Eurorack performance + 'how-to' guide & patch sheet

This week's patch makes use of the V-Shape wave shaper/wave folder to sculpt the great analogue tone of the MiniMod VCO to create some delicate timbres that reminds us of Klaus Schulze's mesmerising sounds created on his sequencer-driven Moog modular synth systems in the 1970's. It also makes particular use of the Ring SM as a sub oscillator generator, and the rich tones of the Sonic XV diode filter.

Check out the AJH Synth playlists for more 'Patch of The Week' videos, which will be either performances or 'how to' guides detailing a range of sounds, some familiar, some less so, and each containing a patch sheet at the end to show you how to construct it for yourself.

3. Patch of the Week: 'Singing Gemini' - Dual Analogue VCF as a Dual Sine Wave VCO How to & patch sheet

This patch uses each of the 2 analogue filters of the Gemini as a dual VCO, self-oscillating, so that they produce sine waves and can be sequenced melodically using the Korg SQ-1 or any analogue step sequencer. This guide shows you how to make this patch, along with a patch sheet at the end. It is one of the many ways you can use just a couple of Eurorack modules to make music, as modular synthesis can be rewarding even with a minimal gear list.

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Patch of The Week: 'Filter Drums' Part 1 - Analogue Cowbell w/ Fixed Filter Bank 914 (& VCF Clave)

video upload by AJH Synth Official

"This week's patch is the first of a short series showing ways to use filters for vintage rhythm/drum machine percussion style sounds, beginning with an analogue cowbell-type sound using the Fixed Filter Bank 914.

00:00 Patch of The Week: 'Filter Drums'
02:07 Patch Sheet

Some filters can be used to create tones without any input sound, simply by pushing them into self-oscillation (raising resonance beyond it's threshold point), but the Fixed Filter Bank is not a regular filter/VCF, so it works a little differently. Rather than controlling the overall frequency of the filter, each of it's bandpass filters has a preset frequency, for which you control the level. On the AJH Synth module they are deliberately tuned to one of two pitches when pushed into feedback, which makes it more musically useful. Here, I mix in some white noise to add texture to the feedback frequencies.

For comparison, I also included the Ladder Filter here to demonstate how a typical VCF (which can self-oscillate) can be controlled by a sequencer, with the steps controlling the pitches it produces. The point is that either module has it's advantages when used to synthesize particular sounds. In this video the ladder filter is producing simple tuned claves."

Patch of The Week: No-Input Filter Drums Part 2 - Using VCF Self-Oscillation to create Percussion

video upload by AJH Synth Official

"This week's patch shows some ideas for using self-oscillating analogue filters to produce vintage drum machine inspired sounds, the basis of which can be used to emulate such sounds as the clave, bongo, cowbell, and kick/bass drum of early rhythm boxes. I used the sounds of the Roland CR-78, TR-77 and Acetone FR-2L as inspiration here, but in a later Patch of The Week video I'll be recreating some sounds of 70's machines more directly, using VCOs and noise sources. In the meantime, the methods contained here might be of interest to those wanting to make some simple percussive accompaniment with a limited number of modules. At the end of the video I'll show some vintage-inspired patterns using the modular as a 4 voice drum machine, without needing to use samples or a sampler. Patch notes and link to downloadable patch sheet below.

Index:
00:00 Intro
00:25 VCF Clave
01:12 Fixed Filter Bank Bongo/Cowbell
02:27 Gemini 2412 Bongo
03:20 VCF Kick/Bass Drum"

Synth Demos by Lost Clouds

If ou are viewing this post from the front page you will see a more link directly below. Click it before you start to get to the list of videos plus descriptions for each. You can use the controls at the bottom of the player to skip around. You can find Lost Clouds music at https://lostcl0uds.bandcamp.com

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Dave Smith Was an Ironman Triathlete

In case you missed it in this post, Roger Linn noted Dave Smith was "an avid athelete, cyclist and triathlete. He actually participated in the Hawaii Ironman Triathlon in his younger years..."

@birdkids reminded me of an article on the development of the Prophet VS archived on the WaybackMachine. In it, Chris Meyer mentions Dave was in Hawaii prepping for the tournament during that time. I thought it was interesting and worth sharing. I captured it below.

"Date: Wed, 15 Jan 1997 07:55:41 -0800
From: Xrystal
MIME-Version: 1.0
Subject: Birth of the Prophet VS

I thought the following might be of interest to you. Xrystal
_____________________________________________________________________


The Birth of the Prophet VS

By Chris Meyer, ex-employee of Sequential Circuits

reprinted from the VS WaveWrangler User Guide by permission of Interval Music Systems,
©1991 Interval Music Systems.

It all started somewhere in 1985. We were still working on the Prophet 2000 sampler,
and as resident historian (in other words, I had the most magazines and manuals) another
engineer was asking me to explain how various instruments performed crossfades. I had
finished discussing the Fairlight, and had moved on the PPG - explaining its wavetables,
and the ability for it to scan a group of waves first in one direction and then back again,
While I was scrawling this back and forth motion in my notebook, suddenly a little twinge
went off in the back of my head, and myhand drew the next line arcing down the page.. and the
concept of crossfading beween waves in two dimension, not just one, was born.

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Massive Update on Percussa's SSP's Software Development - MPE, USB and More

via the Percussa Kickstarter:

"It’s time again for an update on the development of the SSP. The past few weeks a lot has happened!

1) more parts arrived for production of the SSPs

We’re getting ready for the production of the rest of the SSPs! We already have a small number of SSPs from our initial run a while ago which we’ve been using for hardware testing, and will now be producing the rest of the SSPs. Almost all the parts we need have arrived and we’ll be kitting and delivering the parts to our subcontractor over the next weeks. It looks like the first PCB revision of the SSP does not need any fixes or additional revisions, so that is really good news. We’ve also been testing the SSP with multiple power supply solutions and a variety of modules in our intellijel 84hp performance case.

2) development of the MPE features in full swing

Since our last video where we showed how you can plug a MIDI controller into the SSP’s USB port, have it detected automatically and instantly play a patch, we’ve been working on support for the MPE features of the SSP. For testing we are using a ROLI Seaboard block. For the moment the parameters from the Seaboard are automatically mapped to Wavetable oscillator parameters, such as X, Y and Z and to envelope generators which amplitude-modulate the oscillators. The notes are assigned to voices internally in the SSP’s software, and the modules in the patch are grouped into these voices so they receive pitch and trigger info. The Seaboard’s strike and lift parameters are mapped to scaling of the envelopes, so the wavetable oscillators’ sounds are louder or softer depending on how you play the Seaboard. Press and Slide are used for the Z and Y parameters of the WT Oscillator and the Glide parameter is of course mapped to polyphonic pitch bend.

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Forms

videos upload by Forms

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'Classic Flute' - How to create a more realistic all-analog patch than Classic vintage preset synths

video upload by AJH Synth Official

"A more realistic flute patch than you'll find on classic vintage synths, showing how it's possible to attain a more convincing recreation of an acoustic sound with modular synths, and without the need for samples or digital modules. A truly realistic flute is too much of a tall order - a greater amount of modules, and a more complex controller, would no doubt get you nearer, but here is a more modest way of achieving a reasonable, and nice-sounding impersonation.
Some of the early self-contained synths of the 1970's tried to make useable impersonations of 'real', acoustic or familiar instruments using easily-selectable presets with a very simple voice architecture. Some sounded better than others, but whilst they were often sonically appealing in their own right, they were seldom anywhere near realistic. Among the more famous were the ARP Pro Soloist, Roland SH1000/SH2000, and the Korg 700/700S - all of which very characterful and unique instruments, with their own strengths, and much loved to this day. This patch is a nod to those classic synths, but also exploring what is possible now with modest amount of purely analogue Eurorack modules.
Patch sheet with notes below.

The AJH SYNTH Eurorack range consists of high-end modules, all hand-made in the UK, most of which are based on classic, vintage designs, authentically recreating the circuitry of much sought-after analogue instruments and technologies of the past, whilst greatly expanding them, and bringing them to modern Eurorack levels of convenience, limitless flexibility, and reliability.

Check out the AJH Synth playlists for module 'User Guides', and 'Patch of The Week' videos, which will be either performances or 'how to' guides, detailing functions/methods, and a range of sounds, some familiar, some less so, containing a patch sheet at the end to show you how to construct it for yourself.

Video by @DreamsOfWires

Patch Sheet: https://kvisit.com/8AE/kYAH
NOTES
_______
Green dots show approximate pot and switch positions. Pots and switches that do not have green dots are not used in this patch, and should be left at their zero or off positions. Multiple cables may branch from one output to different destinations, so here a multiple should be used.
This patch needs a lot of fine-tuning, so precise pot positions cannot possibly be illustrated, but this should serve as a starting point, from where further experimentation should be applied. The video tries to explain what is happening with the core modules, which should make it easier to understand what needs fine-tuning.
KEYBOARD: Here the controller's MOD output is used to send Aftertouch, but alternatively Velocity, or direct control from the MOD wheel/strip could be sent to the Dual LFO's CV input instead, depending on your controller and personal preference. In the video I also used the Glide module as 'slew' to soften the harsh changes in aftertouch CV from this particular controller, which may not be needed on others.
TAP TEMPO LFO: Because the base tempo is selectable by tap, the rate of the LFO will have to be set by ear.
VCO: If you don't wish to use the envelope to affect PWM, then PWM SHAPE will need to be set just below -1 - the envelope makes a subtle difference here, changing the shape of the VCO's sound slightly.
NEXT PHASE: This is optional, as the noise is heard subtly in this patch, and only becomes more apparent when the AUDIO MIX of the Gemini is in favour of VCF1 (noise) rather than VCF2 (VCO), but to my ears it makes the sound of the noise more similar (see video description).
GEMINI 2412: I'm using the 'high resonance' setting on VCF1. which is set by the rear jumper, or optionally using the Gain Switch (see User Guide video or manual on the website. Without it the resonance will need to be set to maximum, but still might not be quite enough.
Modules used from top-left to bottom-right: Glide + Noise, Vintage Transistor Core VCO, Contour Generators, V-Scale, Tap Tempo VC-LFO, Next Phase, Gemini 2412, Discrete Cascaded VCA.

#eurorack #synth #modular"

ReSynthesizer (Autonomous Synthesizer Installation at MIT's PSFC, Spring/Summer 2018)

video upload by ParadisoModular

"In December of 2017, as part of the 50’th anniversary celebration for MIT’s CAVS (Center for Advanced Visual Studies), I was invited to install my large, custom built-and-designed modular synthesizer system into the experimental hall where Alcator C-Mod was residing, MIT’s most recent tokamak reactor used in plasma fusion research. Known as being a pioneering melting pot for art and technology during the 60s, 70s and 80s, the CAVS was a place where scientific fields like physics would commune with performance and music. Modular synthesizers, as used there by early adopters like Paul Earls, were part of the Center’s original vernacular, and after many decades they are being enthusiastically re-discovered, re-embraced, and in many way re-invented by the current young generation of electronic musicians. Such reflected synergy into the present led to my invitation (as well as this installation’s name), as did the match between the aesthetic and technical grandeur of a large heavily-patched modular synthesizer and the huge mélange of custom, elegantly-kludged electro-mechanical systems that surrounded the tokamak. Similarly, the researchers’ quest to manage the chaotic nature of an energetic plasma (as expressed inside the tokamak’s torus during the peak of plasma confinement) resonated with my efforts to ‘sculpt’ my autonomous and likewise chaotic huge synthesizer patch into a definable aesthetic.

As I have my PhD in high-energy physics (having worked at CERN at various times between the late 70s and early 90s) in addition to having designed, built, and used electronic music systems of various sorts over the last 45 years, I was anticipating having access to actual Alcator data and using it in the patch that I would compose when the installation would go live in late March of 2018. My plasma physics colleagues resonated with this idea, and I was provided with several waveforms coming from various sensors on the tokamak acquired during its record-breaking run from a few years ago, when Alcator C-Mod had attained the largest recorded plasma pressure. Listening to this data as audio, I was immediately transfixed. This didn’t sound like bland digital noise, but instead felt alive – some strange kind of muted rattlesnake here, burbling life forms on a weird water planet there, perhaps other samples evoked the barely scrutable control room of an alien spaceship. These sounds, played at various rates and filtered into audible bands, were strongly otherworldly. This dictated the flavor that I’d strive for in my patched composition. Accordingly, I loaded banks of Alcator’s waveforms into an array of Eurorack samplers that I could control from processes running in my synthesizer. While most of these signals were used as direct audio, some were adopted for modulation envelopes and slow control – the tokamak cycle exhibited a variably noisy build-and-release structure as the magnetic fields were ramped up to concentrate the plasma before it went terminally unstable, which worked well here.

My patch evolved considerably during the installation, which ran from late April through late August of 2018. I worked on it weekly, and it achieved its ultimate balance between form and complexity by the beginning of July. At the end, I used every patch cord that I owned (on the order of 700) and nearly all modules in the synth, in addition to an assortment of outboard effects and commercial Eurorack modules that I coaxed to work with my system. Towards the end, when I was starting to run out of cords and hardware capacity, I resorted to kludging in simple wires and electrical components hanging in the air between modules to attain effects and sounds that I still wanted but didn’t have the modules available to make. This was the most extensive and ambitious synthesizer patch that I’ve yet composed – it pushed me to extremes of being simultaneously a composer, synthesizer musician, engineer, and scientist. Having designed, built or custom-modified nearly everything in my setup creates a special rapport for me that goes deeper than interaction with commercial synthesizer equipment – my system has its own unique capabilities and quirks that reflect my personal audio nuances and what I want to achieve with them.

At various stages during the 4-month run of this installation, I digitally recorded the patch’s stereo mix – in all, I have archived probably on the order of 60 hours of audio. The excerpts provided in this video all came from different sections of this long set of recordings. Aside from cross-fading between different excerpts, there was no manual intervention or overdubbing in these clips – the sound was made entirely from the patch running on its own after I set it on its way, with updates and augmentations I made every week or two based on ideas I got while listening to it stream online. The video also features a brief example of some of the raw plasma data sounds that I used."

And in the studio:

Synth Patch For Chaos Unit, Sitar Pedal, and NightSky'ed Keyboard (August 2021)

video upload by ParadisoModular

"In the summer of 2021, I put in a synth patch to test out my newly-arrived Sitar Pedal as well commemorate the tweaking/repair of my voltage-controlled chaos module. This was a very simple patch compared to my usual - nothing too deep or thought out, and the master sequence is a bit shallow - but it has its vibe. Plus, at 2:30 in, I added a keyboard line over what the patch was doing. This was all live - the synth patch ran autonomously and I just recorded as I played - no preparation, overdubbing, or refinement here - hence it's raw and not even close to what I'd term finished or a 'demo' - but I kinda like its intrinsic 'hopeful' feel.

The basic sequence is running through the sitar pedal, which locks on fine (it can separate the drone sounds and re-synthesized lead into separate channels). I'm running a fixed tone also through my chaos generator, which I move in a complex way into and out of stability - it locks onto subharmonics or devolves totally/partially into noise as it sweeps. This sound goes through several signal processing paths that periodically fade in, involving filters, unstable phase-locked loops, and a Boss guitar synthesizer pedal (which does wonderfully noisy gyrations as it tries to lock onto the chaos signal between stable moments).

At that time, as opposed to collecting Eurorack modules, I was slowly accumulating and modifying pedals - pedals are all about modifying an input sound in interesting ways, and which generally appeals to me (I hack them, of course, to accept voltage control in different ways).

The only keyboard sound here (aside from one chord and arpeggio at the end) is from the little cheezebox Casio 'toy' that the Minskys gave me at a Media Lab event some years ago - I abandoned my more sophisticated synths for this one in this piece, as it fits easily on your lap (that's how I played it in the excerpt here) and it sounds amazing if you feed it through one of the new complex reverb/echo/delay pedals like the NightSky or Micropitch (those pedals can put any sound into an evocative space).

The video is indeed of this patch and me playing atop it (shot while I was holding the phone in my other hand), but it's not the live segment that you hear in the piece, so pardon if things don't line up entirely, but you get the vibe.

OK - I figured I'd let this one get a bit of air in case it hits some resonance... It radiates a bit of melancholic positivity, which is something we all relate to these days."

Shine On You Crazy Diamond - A Pink Floyd classic Minimoog lead sound recreated on a MiniMod system

video upload by AJH Synth Official

"How to guide with Patch Sheets: An interpretation of the classic lead sound from the intro to Pink Floyd's 'Shine On You Crazy Diamond Part 1', which is believed to have been recorded using the Minimoog synthesizer. The AJH Synth Mini Mod system is a Eurorack modular recreation of this classic analogue synth, and in this video just the modules from the standard Mini Mod system are used to create the lead sound. An additional, simple background drone is created using another system, comprising 3 VCOs, Wave Swarm, Ring SM and Sonic XV Diode Ladder Wave filter.

Check out the AJH Synth playlists for more 'Patch of The Week' videos, which will be either performances or 'how to' guides detailing a range of sounds, some familiar, some less so, and each containing a patch sheet at the end to show you how to construct it for yourself.

Video by DreamsOfWires

Index:
00:00 Intro
00:32 Shine On... Part 1 Intro
02:43 Patch sheet - Lead
02:54 Patch Sheet - Drone

PATCH NOTES:
(Download - https://kvisit.com/8AE/z_oG)
------------------------
LEAD SOUND
Green dots show approximate pot and switch positions. Pots and switches that do not have green dots are not used in this patch, and should be left at their zero or off positions.
This patch uses only the modules contained within a standard MiniMod voice, which is the equivalent of a Minimoog, simply for a little more authenticity, as this is the synth that was believed to be used on the original Pink Floyd recording. The version here is our interpretation of it, and not intended to be an exact match, so opinions will differ as to the setting used, but we feel it's pretty close. For example, it's possible the Minimoog's MOD MIX control was used on the original to mix VCO 3 and Noise modulation to affect the pitch and filter, but here it would require an additional module to mix both signals, and simply adding Noise as audio sounds very similar, whilst allowing greater control of both.

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Patch of the Week: Whistle Lead (Tomita/Tangerine Dream) Using self-oscillating Filter/VCF as a VCO

video upload by AJH Synth Official

"This sound is inspired by lead sounds of the 70's/80's from Isao Tomita and Tangerine Dream (Remote Viewing), but will also be reminiscent of Kate Bush's 'All we ever wanted', and even Jeff Wayne's 'War of The Worlds' musical. It uses a filter/VCF in self-oscillation as a VCO, controlling it melodically, with envelopes and noise to help recreate the sounds. No VCO/oscillator is needed in the patch, and white or pink noise is optional, but necessary to get a Tomita-like whistle sound. Tomita originally used a Moog modular system for these sounds, so given that the AJH Synth MiniMod system and it's Transistor Ladder Filter are directly based on the early R.A.Moog version of the Minimoog, it's possible to get very close to such sounds. However, I've not tried to emulate it exactly, but you can see that the basis for this patch is very easily customisable, so it's a very useful synth patch to understand for a variety of musical applications. Patch sheet PDF can be downloaded here: https://kvisit.com/8AE/rv4G

Check out the AJH Synth playlists for module 'User Guides', and 'Patch of The Week' videos, which will be either performances or 'how to' guides, detailing functions/methods, and a range of sounds, some familiar, some less so, containing a patch sheet at the end, with notes below, to show you how to construct it for yourself.

Video by DreamsOfWires

Index:
00:00 Intro
00:29 Performance Example & Overview
02:22 Assembling the patch
03:14 Importance of envelope
03:42 Delayed LFO/Vibrato
05:25 Adding Glide
06:12 Adding Noise
06:56 Mod wheel control of LFO
07:36 Noise as Filter Mod source
08:16 Patch Diagram

Patch Notes:
Green dots show approximate pot and switch positions. Pots and switches that do not have green dots are not used in this patch, and should be left at their zero or off positions.
This is based on the version in the video with noise mixed in as audio, and glide applied to the keyboard CV. For variations without noise or glide, and usage with a mod controller, see the appropriate part of the video (check Index). Only a couple of connections need to be changed for these purposes.
V-Scale: Used here as a simple multiple, but since it's handling Gate signals any passive multiple could be used.
DH-ADSR: Another Contour Generators could be used instead, but the advantage with the DH-ADSR is independent control of both Decay and Release, meaning greater control. It serves as a great companion to the Contour Generators for this reason.
Dual LFO: The Tap Tempo VC-LFO module could also be used here in the same way, as it also has a built-in VCA (level control).
Ladder Filter: The Gemini 2412 would also work well here, it's tracking in self-oscillation is actually better overall. It would just need to have high resonance/self-oscillation enabled by the rear jumpers (see online manual or video user guide). The Ladder Filter struggles to track at lower frequencies, this is an authentic characteristic of the original Minimoog filter, but it's fine for the pitch/note ranges used in this video. The Sonic XV will also self-oscillate, but it's ability to track 1V/Oct is not as tight as the Gemini.
Modules used from left to right: Glide + Noise (Mk I or Mk II), V-Scale, DH-ADSR Envelope, Dual LFO + VCA, Contour Generators, Transistor Ladder Filter, Discrete Cascaded VCA."

Exploring the 1st Buchla 100 Modular Synthesizer

video upload by Sarah Belle Reid

"This video is a historical, technical, and musical deep dive into the Buchla 100 Series Modular System at the Mills College Center for Contemporary Music. This instrument was the first voltage controllable modular synthesizer built by Don Buchla—it was delivered to the San Francisco Tape Music Center in the mid-1960s.

In this video we’ll start with a brief historical overview of the Buchla 100 Series Modular System and the San Francisco Tape Music Center. Then, we’ll unpack everything that’s inside the instrument module by module. Finally, I’ll share some of the quirks of this particular instrument, and lots of patch examples to illustrate its unique voice and character.

As I was getting to know this instrument, I tried to keep in mind the circumstances surrounding its development—the people who contributed to it, the time in which it emerged, and the state of electronic music at the time of its invention. These thoughts greatly inspired my approach to working with the instrument and are present throughout this video.

It’s a rare opportunity to be able to work with a historical instrument like this one. I have always been super inspired by Buchla’s work in general, but like many people have had few opportunities to work with his original instruments. Instead, much of my experience has been through newer instruments inspired by his designs. Being able to work closely with this instrument was an incredibly inspiring and clarifying experience that allowed me to gain a deeper understanding of Buchla’s own creative and technical development, as well as the multitude of music, modern modules, and instruments that have been inspired by his work.

Special thank you to Mills College for letting us spend a week in the electronic music studio working with the Buchla 100; to The Buchla Archives and Ryan Gaston for helping to put this video together; and also to all of the amazing folks in my Patreon community for your support in helping to bring educational projects like this one to life!

Learn more / join the waitlist for Learning Sound and Synthesis, my online modular synthesis and sound design class: https://www.soundandsynthesis.com

Join my Patreon community for behind-the-scenes content, unreleased music, and extended tutorials: sarahbellereid

Thank you to:
Mills College Center for Contemporary Music https://www.performingarts.mills.edu
The Buchla Archives https://www.buchlaarchives.com
Ryan Gaston (co-producing + filming) https://gastonsounds.com
Hainbach (tape slicing footage)

TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 Historical Overview: Buchla 100 + the San Francisco Tape Music Center
7:38 Mills Buchla 100 System Overview
14:27 Timbre in the Mills Buchla 100
18:29 Chaos in the Mills Buchla 100
21:52 Voltage Control Quirks
25:00 Sequencing Tactics: Triggered Segments
30:40 Sequencing Tactics: Extended Sequences
32:06 More Patches + Sounds
32:36 Ring Modulated Reverb Patch
34:40 Keyboard Chaos Patch
36:55 Gated Voice Patch
38:29 Wonky Drum Machine Patch
38:57 Triggered Gestures Patch
39:14 Transposed FM Sequence Patch
39:48 Bell Tones Patch
40:27 Touch Controlled Ratchet Patch
41:00 Sequenced Melodic Patch

Sarah Belle Reid is a performer-composer, active in the fields of electroacoustic trumpet performance, intermedia arts, music technology, and improvisation.

www.sarahbellereid.com"



"In the Spring of 2024, Reid spent a week at the Center for Contemporary Music at Mills College, where she worked closely with their original Buchla 100 modular synthesizer system. This specific instrument’s historical significance can’t be overstated. It was the very first voltage controllable modular synthesizer that the now-famous artist, inventor, and electronic musical instrument designer Donald Buchla built in the mid 1960s—indeed, one of the very first modular synthesizers altogether. In its time, this specific system has been used by countless inspiring and influential musicians, such as Pauline Oliveros, Morton Subotnick, Suzanne Ciani, Warner Jepson, and others.

The video begins with a brief historical overview of the Buchla 100 Series Modular System and the San Francisco Tape Music Center. Then, Reid unpacks everything that’s inside the instrument module by module, with sound demos and examples. Finally, she shares some of the unique quirks of the Mills Buchla 100 instrument, and patch examples of how the instrument can be used to create a wide range of music and sounds."

Sequential Circuits Six-Trak

images via this auction

"The Sequential Circuits Six-Trak was released in 1984 at a list price of $1295. It is 28’’ wide, 11 ¾’ deep, 4 ¼ high, weighing in at 18 pounds. It features a 4 octave, non touch sensitive, keyboard with non spring loaded pitch and modulation wheels located on the left hand side above the keyboard. My initial impression of the wheel location was negative but after using the board for about a week, I become accustomed to reaching above the keyboard for the wheels. The pitch wheel’s range is a third and is not adjustable. I prefer a spring loaded pitch wheel but this made up in the fact that the six-trak will send and receive pitch and modulation wheel data via midi. The six-trak is a six voice, multi-timbred unit that features an 800 note sequencer, arpegiator, and 100 patch locations. The back panel features and a single audio out (six would have been great and was later implemented in SCI’s multi-trak), midi in and out ports (where’s the thru?), and a control foot switch which can be used to scroll through programs and advance the arpegiator one step at a time.

Multi-Tambral/Keybord modes/Sequencer/Apregiator
The unit can be used in number of keyboard modes which will alter how the voices are assigned. When powered up, the unit is a six voice, homophonic synthesizer. You can program the patch to operate in unison mode which will play all six voice at once (lowest note priority), or normal which assigns one voice to each key press. Triggering may be single or multiple. What is amazing is something SCI calls stack mode, which allows you to assign six separate patches (SIX separate timbres) to one key. When in stack mode you can turn off voices by simply setting their the ‘trak’ volume to zero for the particular voice. The unit can remember two of these stacks in the units memory. Additionally using its internal sequencer, you can assign six separate monophonic voices to each of the one six sequencer tracks. And you can play along with the sequencer using as many of the remaining voices that aren’t being used by the sequence. Once a sequence is recorded you can go back and change the applicable sequence’s patch and volume.

The unit offers a simple arpegiator which only uses the sixth voice. It can be assigned to play in an up/down mode or in the order the notes are played. The arepgiator may be latched and the remaining five voices may be used to play on top of the arpegiator. Unfortunately to get the unit to realize you want to change the arpegiation you have to take it out of the latch mode. Additionally the sequencer can not be used at the same time as the arepgiator - Probably to much work for the central processor.

The six track has an 800 note sequencer that is divided into two banks. Its a bit on the slim slide and I really don’t use it much. Once a sequence is recorded you can speed up or slow down the sequence from its initial recording speed. You can change the patch it will use to play the sequence but you can insert patch changes in the middle of the sequence. By turning the sequencer’s speed knob all the way to the left, the sequencer will sync to incoming midi clock. (Note: The arpegiator will not sync to incoming midi clock - this should have been implemented in the o/s ver .11 (final release) but wasn’t)

The Voice
Each voice is contained on a single CEM 3394 chip which includes a single VCO, VCA, and VCF. The LFO and three envelopes per voice are software generated. The VCO offers saw, triange, vairable pulse width waveforms, and more than one waveform may be selected at a time. The pulse width may be controlled by the LFO. The VCO may be modulated by its own dedicated ADSR which may be inverted and portmento (glide) is included at the patch level (much better than global i.e. Roland JX8P). The LFO offers either a square or triangle waveforms and can modulate the filter, VCA, and the pulse width. However the amount applied to each of these destinations is set using one LFO parameter and you can only choice if you want this amount to affect each of the three destination. There is no delay for the LFO either. The filter is great it can sound real dirty or pretty clean. The filter offers the cutoff, resonance (self oscillating), three levels of keyboard tracking (on, half, off), LFO on/off, and a dedicated ADSR which may be inverted. Additionally the filter may modulated by the oscillator’s triangle wave which is excellent and offers some really cool sounding effects. Last but not least the filter offers a mixer to mix the level of the oscillator and a dedicated noise source. The VCA has its owned dedicated ADSR and the VCA output level is programmable. Included at the patch level is a parameter to select normal or unison mode (see above).

Editing is done by using a 10 digit (0-9) numeric key pad to dial up the applicable parameter you wish to adjust. Parameter values are adjusted by a single knob. For some reason the evelopes only offer a range of 15 values for each parameter which is to restrictive for my liking. Almost all other parameters offer plenty of values. The two digit LED will display the patch number, or the parameter number or parameter value. Clearly knobs for each parameter would have been great but would have increased costs. This method is reasonably simple and easy to get used to especially once you become familiar with parameter numbers which is listed on the front of the synth for easy reference. The only draw back is that you can't see what parameter you are editing and its value at the same time. On the Multi-trak, Sequential devised a grid for selecting paramters which is quite good.

So how does it sound? Let me first say that is no OBXa or Memory Moog when it comes to obesity and lushness. Having said that though, I still think it sounds great. Its sounds analog and it excels at making synth sounds. While a second osc would have been nice - it was obviously not included to keep the cost down and not to directly compete with the Prophet 600. However having the ability to modulate the filter with the oscillator and having three separate envelopes in tremendous. And the ability to layer six different sounds on one key will provide you with massive fatness at the expense of polyphony.

MIDI
The six trak has a midi in and out ports but no thru port. The unit may operate in onmi, poly, or mono mode. In mono mode each monophonic voice is assigned a midi channel so the unit can be used in a multi-tambral fashion via a midi. It would have been nice if the unit used a voice allocation scheme (preferably dynamic allocation scheme) so you could have played more than one voice on each channel if there were unused voices.-but I dont think any manufacturer had implemented this feature back in 1984. The unit can perform system exclusive dumps of its sequences, stacks, 100 programs, or single programs. The unit will send and receive program changes, pitch and modulation wheel movements. Additionally the unit will respond to parameter changes but not send them. (Does anyone know if the ability to send them was implemented on later operating systems). Local on/off is also provided which allows you to turn off the six trak’s keyboard. The best midi feature of the six track is that each paramter will respond to a specific midi continious controller number (cc#). Paramter 0 will respond to message sent by cc #2, parameter 1 will respond to messages sent by cc#3 and so. Essentially, just add 2 to the parameter # and you have identified the CC# that affects the parameter. One word of caution, the cpu of the six trak is not that fast and if send the unit more than 4 or 5 of these cc commands at one the unit will lock up. However for most practical uses it works fine and realy lets you control the unit via midi."

Patch of The Week: 'On the Run' Ep2 Percussion - Floyd's Classic Synthi track recreated in Eurorack

video upload by AJH Synth Official

"Second of 2 videos showing how to recreate the classic Pink Floyd track from 'Dark Side of The Moon', originally recorded on an EMS Synthi AKS. This episode covers the percussion element of the sound, which in the original album recording was simultaneously created and performed along with the melody on the Synthi AKS. Effectively, the Synthi was used to create 2 voices from one monophonic synth by some clever use of the instrument's built-in ring modulator.
Episode 1 covered the melodic sequence, how to programme it, and how to get a similar sound. Check it out here: [posted here]
In this version I'm using the RING SM, as it's ring mod is directly based on the one in the EMS Synthi and VCS3, so it's behaviour is the same. This trick will not work on all ring mods, as they vary in design and the way in which they achieve a ring modulation effect. However, the Ring's SM's is a true, all-analogue ring modulator.
I start using white noise from the GLIDE + NOISE module, and then experiment using the ENTROPIC DOOM and LUNAR MODULE as the noise source. CV sequencing is supplied by the Arturia Keystep sequencer.

Patch Sheet PDF for this video: https://kvisit.com/8AE/yfkG
Patch notes also below.

Check out the AJH Synth playlists for more 'Patch of The Week' videos, which will be either performances or 'how to' guides detailing a range of sounds, some familiar, some less so, and each containing a patch sheet at the end to show you how to construct it for yourself.

Video by DreamsOfWires

Index:
00:00 Intro
00:31 Patching the modules
00:56 Explaining the patch
01:40 With ENTROPIC DOOM
02:29 With LUNAR MODULE
04:16 Patch Sheet

Patch Notes:
Green dots show approximate pot and switch positions. Those with two dots show the range I adjust them during the video. Pots and switches that do not have green dots are not used in this patch, and should be left at their zero or off positions.
SONIC XV: This gets us fairly close to the Synthi's sound, as that instrument also used a diode ladder VCF. I use both 24dB, as the original Synthi filter was 24dB, but also the 6dB output, because in 24dB it is easier to send the filter into self-oscillation when using high resonance, and this sound really benefits from a lot of resonance. The 6dB can achieve a more noticeable degree of resonance before self-oscillation occurs. It is subjective, and both have their character and strengths, so experiment!
RING SM: Firstly, depending on what you are using as a noise source you may need to keep levels low, both on the RING SM and the VCA. Here I'm using white noise from the GLIDE + NOISE module, which has a low volume level, but when using filtered noise from the Entropic Doom (for example) the output will be quite high. Therefore, regardless of your noise source, start low, and gradually raise the levels to a useful volume.
DISCRETE CASCADED VCA: Either this or the MUTING MIXER & VCA can be used, as I did in the previous video. All that's important here is having at least two channels - one for filter output and one for ring mod output, so that the mix/volume balance between the two sounds can be adjusted, and then just to be careful of high audio levels.
Modules used from top-left to bottom-right: Glide + Noise, Dual LFO + VCA, Vintage Transistor Core VCO, Ring SM, Sonic XV Diode Ladder Wave Filter, Discrete Cascaded VCA."

'Sonic X-Voice' - Human Vocal Patch from our Klaus Schulze Tribute video with Sonic XV Eurorack VCF

video upload by AJH Synth Official

"This Patch of The Week shows how the vocal sound was created that featured in the Klaus Schulze tribute video. It uses the Sonic XV Diode Transistor Ladder Filter for both it's band pass filter, and it's built-in wave folder. Patch sheet at the end of video, plus a download link for a PDF version with notes further down the page. Musical Tribute to Klaus Schulze: https://youtu.be/VA-Io4jVKbA

The Sonic XV is a surprisingly flexible multimode VCF - it can do the kind of aggressive, screaming resonance chaos that you'd expect from some of the famous diode filter-wielding synths of the past, but it's also particularly good at softer, delicate sounds, and having a well-featured wave folder on board gives it a much wider scope for tone-shaping. This, coupled with it's fast response, and simultaneous band pass, 6dB and 24dB low pass outputs, makes it a great choice for fast melodic sequences and percussion sounds. It's character is significantly different than that of the Minimoog-based Transistor Ladder Filter, and compliments it nicely, even if only used for it's wave folder to feed other VCF's. Sonic Wave Folder & Sequencer: https://youtu.be/pJUb-ZEddqQ

The AJH SYNTH Eurorack range consists of high-end modules, all hand-made in the UK, most of which are based on classic, vintage designs, authentically recreating the circuitry of much sought-after analogue instruments and technologies of the past, whilst greatly expanding them, and bringing them to modern Eurorack levels of convenience, limitless flexibility, and reliability.

Check out the AJH Synth playlists for module 'User Guides', and 'Patch of The Week' videos, which will be either performances or 'how to' guides, detailing functions/methods, and a range of sounds, some familiar, some less so, containing a patch sheet at the end to show you how to construct it for yourself.

Video by @DreamsOfWires

Patch sheet with notes: https://kvisit.com/8AE/x_8G

Patch notes:
--------------------
Green dots show approximate pot and switch positions. Pots and switches that do not have green dots are not used in this patch, and should be left at their zero or off positions.
DH-ADSR: As we are using the inverted output here, it will constantly be sending a +8V signal to the LIN-CV of the VCO (therefore raising it's frequency/pitch) until it receives a gate signal, at which point it will follow the envelope settings, starting from an output of 0V. This is why the VCO will need re-tuning to match other instruments used, but preferably after you are happy with the amount of envelope to pitch influence you have dialled in. Dual LFO: The Tap Tempo VC-LFO module could also be used here in the same way, as it also has a built-in VCA (level control). Sonic XV: Small differences in wave folder settings can make a big difference to the sound, so it'll probably require some fine-tweaking to get the ideal timbre. I have added some resonance in this version, as it can help to simulate the tone of a human voice, but this is of course subjective - all voices are different. Band pass is definitely the best filter type to use, as it can remove both high and low frequencies that would be beyond those produced by a human voice. Modules used from left to right: DH-ADSR Envelope, Dual LFO + VCA, Vintage Transistor Core VCO, Sonic XV Diode Filter, Contour Generators, Discrete Cascaded VCA."

'Pan Flute' - How to make this movie-inspired, all-analog Synth Patch in Eurorack Modular

video upload by AJH Synth Official

"This was loosely inspired by the 'pan flute' sound from the film 'Aguirre: Wrath of God', and uses a single VCO, white noise, and envelope-controlled filtering to simulate the pipe and breath elements that form the sound. Fixed Filter Bank sculpts the noise, removing low frequencies and pushing selected highs, before being mixed into the Sonic XV's bandpass filter along with the square wave from the VCO. Importantly, the FFB's wet/dry mix is also controlled by an envelope here, a rare feature on a filter bank. Pulse width modulation from red noise ads a subtle distortion to the oscillator, and the VCA in the Dual LFO is used to ad optional pitch vibrato and VCF frequency modulation.
Patch sheet PDF: https://kvisit.com/8AE/_v8G

Aside from the flute scene (see link in video), the movie soundtrack was mostly the brilliant work of Popul Vuh, and makes the official album release worth listening to regardless of the movie, with memorable use of Mellotron. However, the Werner Herzog movie itself is equally brilliant and memorable, a captivating, immersive experience to watch, made on an unimaginably small budget, yet a direct influence on Coppola's 'Apocalypse Now' a few years later.

The AJH SYNTH Eurorack range consists of high-end modules, all hand-made in the UK, most of which are based on classic, vintage designs, authentically recreating the circuitry of much sought-after analogue instruments and technologies of the past, whilst greatly expanding them, and bringing them to modern Eurorack levels of convenience, limitless flexibility, and reliability.

Check out the AJH Synth playlists for module 'User Guides', and 'Patch of The Week' videos, which will be either performances or 'how to' guides, detailing functions/methods, and a range of sounds, some familiar, some less so, containing a patch sheet at the end to show you how to construct it for yourself.

Video by @DreamsOfWires

PATCH NOTES:
------------------------
Green dots show approximate pot and switch positions. Pots and switches that do not have green dots are not used in this patch, and should be left at their zero or off positions. Multiple cables may branch to different destinations, this is where some form of multiple should be used.
This patch needs a lot of fine-tuning, so precise pot positions cannot possibly be illustrated, but this should serve as a starting point, from where further experimentation should be applied. The video tries to explain what is happening with the core modules, which should make it easier to understand what needs fine-tuning.
KEYBOARD: Here the controller's MOD output is used to send Aftertouch, but alternatively Velocity, or direct control from the MOD wheel/strip could be sent to the Dual LFO's CV input instead, depending on your controller and personal preference. DUAL LFO: Output goes directly to EXP-CV of the VCO, and IN 1 of the CV MIX.
CV MIX: This module is used here to combine the CV from the LFO and Contour Generator 1, then to fine-tune it, before sending to Sonic XV and Fixed Filter Bank.
FIXED FILTER BANK 914: The IN 2 pot needs to be at zero - this sets the Dry level to zero if nothing is connected to the IN 2 socket, so that when the envelope changes the Wet/Dry level it is in fact affecting the output level of the module, as only a varying portion of the Wet signal is then sent to the Muting Mixer.
Modules used from top-left to bottom-right: Glide + Noise, Vintage Transistor Core VCO, Sonic XV, Contour Generators, Discrete Cascaded VCA, Dual LFO + VCA, CV Mix, Muting Mixer, Fixed Filter Bank 914."

An Interview with Barry Schrader

Hi everyone! As you know Barry Schrader will be giving his farewell concert at CalArts on September 26. The following is the beginning of my interview with him. I opted to post the questions and answers as they come in.  New QAs will get a new post so you do not miss them and they will be added to this post so we have one central post for the full interview. This should make it easier for all of us to consume in our busy lives, and it will allow you to send in any questions that may come to mind during the interview process.  If you have anything you'd like to ask Barry, feel free to send it in to matrixsynth@gmail.com.  This is a rare opportunity for us to get insight on a significant bit of synthesizer history, specifically with early Buchla systems, and I'd like to thank Barry for this opportunity. Thank you Barry!

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'A Space Odyssey' with the LUNAR MODULE - Performance with lo-fi sample processing in eurorack

video upload by AJH Synth Official

"This week's Patch of The Week was inspired by the movie '2001: A Space Odyssey', and uses the LUNAR MODULE by AJH Synth to process audio samples from the film, whilst various other Eurorack modules build the accompanying melodic drone to provide the musical backing.

The Lunar Module is an audio processor and noise generator, which also features distortion, a bit-reduction/bit-crushing effect, and a recreation of the 'Quindar' sounds (beeps) used in the actual NASA Apollo space program/missions of the 1960's to early 70's. In conjunction with the Lunar Module's other sound processing tools this can be used to simulate the lo-fi audio transmissions of the time and then applied to anything. All the features are also useful individually, from a customisable noise source, to adding distortion and bit-reduction to any incoming audio or Eurorack level signals, even melodic sounds. This performance originally appeared at the end of the Lunar Module User Guide video - check it out for all the details on what it can do and how to use it.

Check out the AJH Synth playlists for module 'User Guides', and 'Patch of The Week' videos, which will be either performances or 'how to' guides, detailing functions/methods, and a range of sounds, some familiar, some less so, containing a patch sheet at the end to show you how to construct it for yourself: https://youtu.be/89bv0dI8yw4

Video by DreamsOfWires"

Lunar Module User Guide - Vintage Space Mission Audio/Mic/Sample/Synth Effects for Eurorack

video upload by AJH Synth Official

"The Lunar Module is a fun Eurorack module for recreating the sound character of early space missions, or adding noise and bandwidth limitation to mics, line-level audio, samples, and synth modules. It's effects can be triggered manually, or from gate signals, and include noise with colour control (a bipolar low pass and high pass filter), hum effects with frequency control, variable distortion, and 'Quindar' - an authentic beep used at the beginning and end of transmissions from the Apollo space capsule back to the NASA Huston control centre.

As with all AJH Synth modules, the Lunar Module is designed to be played, and it's pots and jack sockets are made easily accessible so that live tweaking is not hindered, and controls are all substantial in size and spacing. Most are based on vintage synthesizer circuits and designs, bringing the sounds, behaviour and character of classic synths to Eurorack modular, but with the advantage of modern reliability, compatibility, flexibility, and understanding of the needs of modern musicians.

00:00 Intro
00:13 Overview
00:59 Installation Guide
02:12 Inputs & Controls
09:07 Use with Samples
14:43 Use with Microphones
16:29 Use with Synths
19:43 With Other Audio Devices
22:06 A Patch Clip
23:53 A Short Performance"

Video by DreamsOfWires"

Per-step Pitch Intervals with a Sequencer using PRECISION VOLTAGES module for Eurorack

video upload by AJH Synth Official

"Using a step sequencer to change VCO pitch per step: The Precision Voltages is a convenient way to offset VCO frequencies musically, by pitch increments of semitones and octaves, which can be either added to, or subtracted from an incoming CV signal, such as a sequencer or keyboard controller. This can have many uses, not just for melodic control of oscillators, but here is a particularly useful function for pattern-based pitch sequencing.
Modules connected to the outputs of the Precision Voltages will be sent fixed voltages of preset musical intervals, based on the 1V/Oct scale. These voltages, here represented as precise intervals of semitones and octaves, are selected by the two rotary switches. With no external CV signal connected to the inputs, the module will function as a source of preset fixed voltages, with a huge range of +11 volts to -11 volts (10 octaves + 12 semitones). These can be conveniently switched on or off with the A & B switches. When an incoming CV signal is present, this voltage sources is added to, or subtracted from the signal, meaning it can be used to easily shift the pitch, frequency, or CV level of modules it is connected to. This is ideal for shifting the pitch of VCO's to create harmonies or simple chords, or for offsetting CV levels in any application that uses them.
The Gate input of this module affects the value of A only, and will allow it to be turned on with a high gate signal, or off when the gate is low. B will remain unaffected, and will continue to output the pitch/voltage offset selected by the rotary pots and switches. The 'OUT' output will combine both A and B, depending on the switch position next to it. As a result, when A is turned off, either by the switch or a gate signal, then only the value of B will be output here.
Official website page: https://ajhsynth.com/Precision.html

I'm also using the new Chance Delay module on this patch for some generative randomness/probability - it's not necessary, the sequencer can be connected directly to the Precision Voltages Gate input.

SEQUENCER ADVICE: Most sequencers will allow you to change gate length, sometimes referred to as 'duty', as is done in this video, but you'll need to consult your sequencer's documentation if you are not familiar with how to do this. On many it is obvious, but others not so much. Also, some will allow you to change the gate length directly and quite precisely, whilst others will only allow you to change it in fractions or percentages. This may mean that you can't quite get the gate to span the entire step length, meaning that the pitch modification made by the Precision Voltages may be heard ending prematurely. This is the behaviour of the sequencer, not the module. However, there is a way around this...
A gate signal is just a voltage of either zero volts (off/gate is low), or a minimum of +5 volts (on/gate is high). Gates are pulse (square) waves for this reason, as they are simply one of these two states, and so some sequencers will also refer to gate length as 'pulse width'.
However, all the gate input needs is one of these two voltage values to turn it on or off. This means the CV outputs of a sequencer can also be used, so long as your sequencer has a range of at least zero to +5 volts, which they almost certainly will. Therefore if you connect the CV output of the sequencer to the Gate input of the precision voltages, set all of the step pitches (or pots such as on the SQ1 used here) to zero, when you run the sequencer the pitch changes set by the Precision Voltages will not be activated. If you then raise the pitch of a step to maximum, it will activate the pitch change on that step. Problem solved!
This is not as immediate or convenient as being able to switch the changes on or off with buttons, but it works just the same otherwise, and may be helpful if you can't get satisfactory results with your sequencer, or are finding it too difficult to adjust the gate lengths accurately.

The AJH SYNTH Eurorack range consists of high-end modules, all hand-made in the UK, most of which are based on classic, vintage designs, authentically recreating the circuitry of much sought-after analogue instruments and technologies of the past, whilst greatly expanding them, and bringing them to modern Eurorack levels of convenience, limitless flexibility, and reliability.

Check out the AJH Synth playlists for module 'User Guides', and 'Patch of The Week' videos, which will be either performances or 'how to' guides, detailing functions/methods, and a range of sounds, some familiar, some less so, containing a patch sheet at the end to show you how to construct it for yourself.

Video by @DreamsOfWires"

How to use Gated Slew with a Sequencer - Gate signals explained + Sample Hold & Slew module tips

video upload by AJH Synth Official

"Slew allows you to slide/glide between notes in a sequence, like those famous TB-303 Acid House tracks and a whole range of other electronic music styles, but if it's not built into your synthesizer it might be confusing how to achieve it, particularly as there are so many sequencer options available, many of which function differently from each other. This video shows how 3 popular desktop step-sequencers can work with the Sample Hold & Slew module - the Doepfer Dark Time, Korg SQ-1, which are both akin to vintage analogue step sequencers, and the Arturia Beatstep, which functions more like a Roland SH-101. I used just one MiniMod VCO going into the Sonic XV Diode Ladder Filter, since the TB-303 also has a diode ladder VCF, and here I've used it in just 6dB mode for extra squelch! However, I'm also using the Sonic XV's built-in wave folder to significantly change the timbre of the incoming triangle wave. The Sample Hold & Slew can function as a separate gated slew module, with selection of up or down slew only, whilst the sample & hold part of it can be used independently, serving as 2 individual modules in 1. Or both functions can be combined, so that random voltages can slide from one to the next, even at very slow speeds, which is great for modulating gradually evolving drone sounds. The Colour and Restrict controls can be used to fine-tune a more desirable range of random frequencies from the noise source. An external clock can be used to sync the random voltages with other modules, sequencers or keyboard gates.

Additionally, audio can be passed through it to use as a noise source for the sample & hold or track & hold. At high clock speeds this feature can be used a very lo-fi bit-crusher, and slowing the rate down will gradually mangle the audio further, eventually reducing it to random beeps!

Check out the AJH Synth playlists for more 'Patch of The Week' videos, which will be either performances or 'how to' guides detailing a range of sounds, some familiar, some less so, and each containing a patch sheet at the end to show you how to construct it for yourself.

Video by DreamsOfWires

More Videos:
Blade Runner & Vangelis CS-80 Patch [posted here] 'Destination Not Berlin' Performance: [below] Index:
00:00 Intro
00:27 How it works
02:42 Using Doepfer Dark Time
03:35 Using the Korg SQ-1
04:15 Using the Arturia Keystep
08:15 Using CV to control Slew
10:26 Example usage with Sample & Hold"

Performance: Destination Not Berlin - All-analogue Melodic Set using AJH Synth Eurorack Modular rig.

video upload by AJH Synth Official

"This live melodic modular set by 'tomorrow the cure' was originally intended for Superbooth 22 in Berlin, but had to be cancelled due to hearing problems. Since the set was ready to go I thought I'd record it to share with you as another example of what a Mini Mod system can do, and what it can sound like. If this appeals to people there'll be more performance videos in the future, showing AJH Synth modules being used as they're intended - to make music. Hopefully these videos will be an inspiration to people, and compliment the 'User guides' and 'Patch of The Week' videos, which will continue to serve as more practical, or instructional videos.

I've dedicated this performance to Klaus Schulze, who passed away recently. His approach to making music and the sounds he created were a great influence of mine personally. Since then Vangelis has also passed. Fortunately we will always have the gift of their music, both to listen to, and be inspired by.

Performance breakdown:
The synth rig used is based around two voices from just 3 VCO's, 1 of which is paired with a Ring SM, which serves as a waveform mixer, and provides a -1 sub-octave. This then feeds the Gemini 2412 filter, whilst the VCO's triangle goes to the Sonic XV for processing by it's wave folder. All of this is mixed in the Muting Mixer & VCA on the top row. This is responsible for the melodic notes and sequence of the first 8 minutes, the drone in the following section, and then the final sequence.

The other 2 VCO's are going to the Ladder Filter, or the Wave Swarm, which is then passed to both the Ladder Filter and the Fixed Filter Bank 914. These are mixed in the middle row's VCA, and the intervals between the pitch of the 2 VCA's in controlled by the Precision Voltages module. This provides the drone in the first 8 minutes, the played notes/chords thereafter, and the choir-like drone during the final section.

Through the sequencer I switch the keyboard control from one voice to the other. I edited out the re-patching between parts to shorten the video - I took my time over the process as my hearing was still not 100%.

Tracks in this performance:
00:00 Intro
00:31 Part 1 - Opening piece
02:15 Part 2 - 'Monotherapy' from 'Grey Days & Old Ways', 2019
07:47 Part 3 - 'Miserere' from 'Two Voices', 2022
17:33 Part 4 - Untitled...
Parts 2 & 3 are available at https://tomorrowthecure.bandcamp.com

'Two Voices' was recorded entirely using the AJH Synth Mini Mod system - the same modules used in this performance. As was 'One System', and the majority of both 'Grey Days...' and 'Lost Soundtracks'."