The Finish Line

video upload by davidryle

"Having a little fun with the Q960 sequencers and the Moog Matriarch.

The Q960 pair are set up for index sequencing on the bass line. This is a fun way to mangle the bass line but keep it steady in time with the drum pattern. The gate duty was handed to the Dotcom Q172 quantizer for only sending gates when there is a change of pitch voltage. This helped to avoid the typical pulse rhythm.

The bass voice is a pair of Synthetic Sound Labs TZ-VC Oscillators in FM coupling. There is a third VCO from SSL for a sine wave sub-oscillator. These are mixed through the Corsynth C114 transistor drive mixer to the Oakley Voltage Controlled State Variable Filter in low pass mode. The signal is split and sent through the Modcan 73B stereo echo delay and also a dry signal is driven by a second Corsynth T-Mixer for added saturation.

The drum sounds are from the Delptronics LDB-2E and the TipTop SD808 snare. There is a Mutable Instruments Grids and the Moon Modular 563 trigger sequencer coupled to trigger the modules. The snare is sent through the MakeNoise Echophon delay and produces the raspy pulse voice heard throughout.

A hollow wood/metal block percussive sound is generated by a pair of Dotcom Q106's, a Mega Ohm Audio CdS LPG and an SSL Digital Delay. This is triggered by the STG Trigger Mini Store and reset by the Moon 554 Octal Clock Divider.

The IN-YER-FACE lead line is the Moog Matriarch through a T.C.Electronics D-Two delay unit.

Clock source was from Cubase through the STG Time Divider.

A pair of Dotcom Q962 Sequential Switches were used to route the various step gates from the lower Q960 Sequencer to the upper Q960. Routing and pitch values were pre-determined after hours of rehearsal to set up a particular scale or mode that determined what I should play on the Matriarch.

It should be noted that certain happenstance values of the sequence pattern produced passing tones that lead to the typical blues scale in C. I just had to go with it."

Meet You At The Top

video upload by davidryle

"A two part piece. Both are pitch voltage quantization controlled from the ACL Sinfonion. I switch presets through the first part from preset 1 - 4 and in the second half I leave it on preset 5.

The Sinfonion chord section is sending pitch quantization to the Doepfer A-111-4 quad VCO and A-105-4 quad SSI filter. The mixer is the Corsynth T-Mixer. The Empress reverb in Ambient Swell green mode is used.

The opening voice is Channel 2 of the Sinfonion and is sent to the Dotcom Q206 with the Dove D502 in BP mode P1, then an SSL Serge Resonant EQ and finally the Strymon Blue Sky.

A counter voice is the Channel 3 quantizer to a pair of Synthetic Sound Labs TZ-VC Oscillators to the Oakley VC-SVF in BP mode. The audio is routed through a Moon 517S high pass filter to roll of the lower mid tones. I used an instance of Relab Development's LX480 classic Lexicon reverb. This same voice is used for the main melodic part in the second section.

The Channel 1 of the Sinfonion is to the bass voice which is the Dotcom Q169 Oscillator++ and Grove Audio G294A ladder filter.

The Sinfonion arpeggiator part is to the STG oscillator duet and the Dove D501 2069 filter. The signal is sent through the Modcan 73B dual delay. In the first section this voice is solo, but in the second section I added in a duplicated run of the MosLab 901/904A through a different envelope which is timed a bit more sparse and sent through the second section of the 73B delay.

Most of my time was spent mixing levels and changing the timing of the SSL Hagiwo Geo-Gruvn euclidean sequencer. The clock timing was controlled by row 3 of the Moon 563 trigger seq. I used two different memory presets on the Geo-Gruvn for each section. These timings were used for the gate controls to the SSL Octal VCA, CV-8 Breakout and AD/AR Expander. The eight channel vca handled four of the voices. Very cool array of modules.

I also sent and effort to control the timing of the STG Voltage Mini Store's timing with row 2 of the 563. The right VMS is used for the Root control to the Sinfonion. The faster moving left VMS is to the arpeggiator of the Sinfonion.

The Sinfonion is using various cv's from the Q960 step sequencers to affect the chord spread and note selections. Also an LFO is used to affect the pre-transpose of the chord section.

A convoluted patch using the Lower West Side Studios CGS88 triple switch, the Dove D900 sequencer and three voltage sources to send control voltage to the transpose on the Sinfonion. I used the Moon 564 trigger stage 1 to turn this on and off by hand when needed.

The final clangorous opening and ending patch voice was the Mutable Instruments Rings through the Behringer Bode Frequency Shifter clone and the Encore Frequency Shifter, and on through the Tip Top Z-DSP signal processor running Halls of Valhalla reverb (Niflheim preset). It was also the midway noise rush background sound where the sections changed. These were added later in Cubase and triggered by hand.

The sections were performed at once live to Cubase and video edited in Final Cut Pro."

Creating Different Pads & Moods | Voltage Labs

video upload by Voltage Labs

"In this video, Jonas dives deep into the world of pad sound design, exploring three distinct moods using the Oberheim TEO-5.

Interesting bits and pieces:
00:31 Dark & Aggressive Pad
02:20 Soft Breathing Pad
04:37 Washed Out Melancholic Pad"

Why did this strange digital Synth become a classic? | Voltage Labs

video upload by Voltage Labs

"What made the Elektron Monomachine go from misunderstood digital oddity to one of the most iconic cult synths in electronic music?

In this video, we explore the story behind the Monomachine, from its controversial 2004 release to its status as a modern-day classic among experimental producers like SOPHIE, Actress, Autechre or even the UK duo Overmono."

Franke and Ruby

video upload by davidryle

"I keep returning to the bass line off of Tangerine Dreams 'Rubycon' (1975).
This rendering is more of an exploration of variations of how to control that sequence on the synthesizers.com Q960, a clone of the Moog 960 Sequential Controller. Short but fun and always satisfying.
The oscillators used were the Q169 dual Oscillator, a Q206 and Q206A. The Q169 is in square wave and sync, the Q206 is doubling in a sawtooth wave. The Q206A is a triangle wave directly to the mix in a lower octave.
The filter was the Grove Audio G294A Tribute Series Moog transistor ladder low pass.
I also used a tube drive from the Synthetic Sound Labs/CGS 1530 Tube VCA/Timbral Gate module after the output of the filter.
The envelope generators included a Q109 for the final VCA shape, another Q109 as the filter shape, an STG EG for the tube drive gate shape and another STG EG for the lower bass vco.
The signal was split and sent to the Yusynth panning mixer from Lower West Side Studios and to an Echo Fix tape echo/reverb device. The tape echo was panned using the second row of the Q960 sequencer. That row was also sending a filter modulation voltage. The final output of the mix was sent through an Empress Reverb pedal in red reverb+delay setting.
The final third row of the Q960 sequencer was used in 'Third Row Control Of Timing' mode for the fast burst motion as in the original bass line performance by Tangerine Dream."

A Towel For Ms Winters

video upload by davidryle

"Large format modular synthesizer recording live in the studio.
The opening noise burst is the Dove WTF in noise mode along with the Sputnik WCRS to an Oakley SVF in band pass mode to the Modcan 73B dual Delay and Z-DSP with Halls of Valhalla reverb. Modulation to the 73B is from the STG Voltage Mini Stores for delay cv.
Noise cacophony part is a pair of STG Soundlabs Oscillators to the Oakley Sound Systems Ring Modulator to a Grove Audio LPF and a MegaOhm Audio MA20 in highpass mode. The signal is sent to a tape echo then compressor.
The echo drone bass is the dotcom Q169 vco to a Moon 517S LPF. The echo delay is a stereo Lexicon MX200.
The lower bass tone is the Woven Spirits (MI Plaits) from Synthetic Sound Labs. Straight in, no filter or envelope. The chords are a pair of dotcom Q206 vcos and a pair of Q106 vcos for four part harmony. The cv source is the dual Matrix from SSL in dorian modes. A pair of dotcom Q171 and Q172 Quantizers were used with gates from the Geo-Gruvn to time the S&H pitch voltages. Toward the latter half of the piece I was playing the quantizers to change modes from augmented to diminished and back again. The audio signals are sent through a LWSS Yusynth panning mixer then a pair of filters. The Dove D502 in low pass four pole and the Frequency Central System X in 24dB low pass mode. They are sent to the Empress Reverb pedal in blue sparkle mode.
All gate timings were provided by the SSL Hagiwo Geo-Gruvn sequencer and the STG Time Divider. Additional divider s are the Moon 564, Moon 563 and STG Trigger Mini Store.
The theme here was the well known stories of the femme-fatale-gone-awry roles Shelly Winters played in many famous movies. She was drowned a few times and it became an urban legend of sorts. A great actress that rarely was rewarded with much favor but did finally reach a celebrated status."

Covalence

video upload by davidryle

"Large format 5U modular synthesizer with the Groove Synthesis 3rd Wave.
Two passes. The first was the modular synth, and the second was the played lines on the keyboard. All sounds except the melodic part was recorded in real time from the modular.
Two Matrix Algorithmic Composer modules from Synthetic Sound Labs were used for the moving lines throughout. These were fed to a pair of SSL/Ian Fritz Thru-Zero oscillators. The outputs were mixed straight and also split to an Encore Electronics Frequency Shifter, MOTM 440 Filter and heavily modulated 73B Modcan Dual Delay. Further processing with the Empress reverb and the Dove Audio D501 filter.
The bass notes were generated by the STG Soundlabs Voltage Mini Store to a pair of STG Oscillators and a Dove Audio WF. The filters included the MegaOhmAudio MA20 and the Frequency Central System X LPF.
A Q960 sent the arpeggio sweep voltage to an SSL VCO through a Behringer DD400 digital delay.
A Ring Modulator patch on the Q169 Qxcillator ++ from Synthesizers.com was directed through an Oakley Sound Diode Super Ladder filter then through an SSL Digital Delay.
The S&H sounding patch was not a sample & hold at all. It was a combination of a Q960, West Coast Random Source, MosLab 901/904A and a MegaOhmAudio CdS through an Oakley VC State Variable Filter."

Ancient Passage

video upload by davidryle

"This basis of this project was between the new Synthetic Sound Labs 1655 Geo-Gruvn euclidean sequencer and a few different Low Pass Filter modules. The new SSL 1015 LPG with the cadmium sulfide CdS element, the Mega Ohm Audio CdS VCF/A module and the Cyndustries Quad Low Pass Gates module. The Cyndustries module was enhanced by Phil from Mega Ohm Audio to be much more responsive. A big change and very useful.

The Geo-Gruvn module from SSL is an adaption of the Hagiwo board and was also enhanced to provide a more efficient response all the way to audio rate clocking.

The main orchestration automation module in this piece was with the synthesizers.com Q170 Midi Gates module. The use of eight channels of midi gate streams from Cubase were the way each section were enabled on and off. My hands-on modulation was simplified to allow me to change timbre, filter settings and delay rates with ease.

The center section featured the Dove Mu-Seq D900 sequencer for a pattern which began by me running the sequencer in reverse and recording the track to Cubase, then reversing it back into the mix. I started with the Woven Spirits (MI Plaits) at a higher octave and drew it down until it matched the timbre for the rest of the midsection.

The last part was the dual Matrix run into a pair of quantizer modules in which I timed the pitch voltage outputs with the Geo-Gruvn gate outs. These voices were the Dotcom Q206 and Q206A modules through the Frequency Central X Series Low Pass Filter and an Empress Reverb pedal.

Other delays included the Modcan 73B dual delay with loads of modulation, and the SSL 1310 Digital Delay.

The opening drone is a feedback from the TipTop Audio Z-DSP VC-Digital Signal Processor with the Halls of Valhalla chipset in Plate Reverb mode. This drone also arose in the center section.

A pair of frequency shifter modules (Encore Electronics and Behringer Bode Clone) were used for the Snare and Hi Hats enhancement. The kit drums were the LDB-2E Analog Drums from Delptronics and the TipTop SD808. They were sequenced from the Mutable Instruments Grids module and a pair of Turing Machines and an MI Marbles module."

Behind The Drums Ep 16 - The Cars "Drive" Linndrum

video upload by Controlled Voltage Sound Labs

"An in depth look at the making of The Cars' classic single 'Drive.' Video includes a re-creation of the drum beat + synthesizer arrangement using a Linndrum, Roland Juno 106, and Roland JX-8P."

Drum Processing
Kick - Teletronix LA-2A + Lexicon 224 (Room Setting)
Snare - Teletronix LA-2A + Lexicon 224 (Plate Setting)
Hat + Crash - Teletronix LA-2A + Lexicon 224 (Hall Setting)
Clave - Teletronix LA-2A + Lexicon 224 (Hall Setting)
Tambourine - Teletronix LA-2A + AMS DMX + Lexicon 224 (Hall Setting)

Behind The Drums Ep 15 - Flashdance "Maniac" - Michael Sembello Linndrum

video upload by Controlled Voltage Sound Labs

"An in depth look at the making of Michael Sembello's number one hit 'Maniac,' from the Flashdance movie soundtrack. Video includes a re-cretion of the drum beat using a Linndrum."

Drum Processing
Kick - Teletronix LA-2A (No Reverb)
Snare + Tamb - Teletronix LA-2A + Lexicon 224 (Plate Setting)
Cowbell - Teletronix LA-2A (No Reverb)
Clap - AMS Reverb (Non Lin Short decay)
Stick - Teletronix LA-2A (No Reverb)
Hat - Teletronix LA-2A + Lexicon 224 (Room Setting)

Behind The Drums Ep 14 - Tom Petty "Don't Come Around Here No More" Oberheim DMX

video upload by Controlled Voltage Sound Labs

"An in depth look at the making of Tom Petty's "Don't Come Around Here No More." Video includes a re-creation of the drum beat using an Oberheim DMX drum machine.

Join us on Patreon! - / cvsoundlabs
INSTAGRAM - @CVSoundLabs

Drum Processing...
Kick - Teletronix LA-2A + Lexicon 224
Snare - Teletronix LA-2A + AMS Reverb
Hat + Cabasa - Teletronix LA-2A + Lexicon 224
Toms - Teletronix LA-2A + AMS DMX Delay + AMS Reverb"

Behind The Drums Ep 13 - Berlin "Take My Breath Away" Linndrum with Yamaha DX7

video upload by Controlled Voltage Sound Labs

Additional Behind The Drums episodes

"An in depth look at the making of Berlin's international number one hit, 'Take My Breath Away.' Video includes a re-creation of the drum beat using a Linndrum and bass line using a Yamaha DX7."

Drum Processing...
Kick - Teletronix LA-2A + AMS Reverb
Snare - Teletronix LA-2A + AMS Reverb
Hat - Teletronix LA-2A + Lexicon 224
Conga - Teletronix LA-2A + Lexicon 224
Tambourine - Teletronix LA-2A + Lexicon 224

Behind The Drums Ep 12 - Pat Benatar "Love Is A Battlefield" Linndrum

video upload by Controlled Voltage Sound Labs

Additional Behind The Drums episodes

"An in depth look at the making of Pat Benatar's highest charting hit 'Love Is A Battlefield.' Episode includes a remake of the beat using a Linndrum."

Drum Processing
Hat - Teletronix LA-2A + Lexicon 224
Cabasa - Teletronix LA-2A + Lexicon 224
Kick - Teletronix LA-2A (No Reverb)
Snare - Teletronix LA-2A + AMS RMX Verb
Toms - Teletronix LA-2A + Lexicon 224

Behind The Drums Ep 11 - New Order "Blue Monday" Oberheim DMX

video upload by Controlled Voltage Sound Labs

"An in depth look at the making of New Order's best selling single of all time 'Blue Monday.' Episode includes a remake of the drum beat using an Oberheim DMX drum machine."

Drum Processing
Hat - Teletronix LA-2A + Lexicon 224 Hall Setting
Snare - Teletronix LA-2A + Lexicon 224
Clap - Teletronix LA-2A + Lexicon 224 Plate Setting
Kick - Teletronix LA-2A + Lexicon Hall Setting

The Seventh of Four

video upload by davidryle

"A new project idea to use the synthesizers.com Q170 MIDI GATES module to affect broad changes to the composition within the modular system.

The Q170 has eight output jacks for sending 5V gate or trigger voltages to the modular system. I used my DAW (Cubase) to construct timings for various parts of the modular.

The first four outs were used as pulse gates for the Delptronics and TipTop drum modules. The Kick, Snare and Open and Closed HiHats.
The fifth out is to the Q169 vco's AMP input. That vco is used for the bass line so controlling the on-board vca will mute or enable the voice.
The sixth out was to enable the Dove D900 sequencer to run/stop. The sequencer is feeding pitch voltage to the Synthetic Sound Labs Woven Spirits (MI Plaits). This is the chord pad sound. I used the DAW to pulse the gate info when I wanted the sequencer to reset at certain parts.
The seventh out was to send a continuous gate to the STG Soundlabs Time Buffer. The Time Buffer is receiving a sync-bus 24 ppq clock and run signal. I have a panel access to these with jack inputs so I sent the 5V gate to the RUN input. This allowed me to use this to start and stop all sequencer motion from the DAW.
The eighth out is to a Lower West Side Studios triple switch. This switch is used to add an offset voltage to the Woven Spirits Harmonic control.
The other fun part was playing the LWSS triple attenuator. I had three parts run through the module. The pair of STG VMS sequences were percussive background parts switched in and out as needed. The third part was a pulse version of the pad sound.

The Matrix duet in the mid section was clocked from the STG Time Divider module. Both Matrix were set with very closely aligned slider settings but the "Z" sliders were offset for variety. They sent pitch voltage to the TZ-VCO's from SSL. The duet were sent through the STG Post Lawsuit Filter and an Empress reverb/delay pedal.

Other outboard effects were the Meris Hedra for the bass line and the EMX Grand Canyon for the steady pad sound."

Liminal Patch 008 : Ambient Eurorack Modular Exploration

video upload by Botched Creative

"Creaturae Imaginis is a slow-burning descent into tone, texture, and atmosphere—12 minutes of ambient analog synthesis, layered with subtle generative elements. Recorded live to multitrack, each voice was captured in isolation, allowing for extensive post-processing and detailed mixing. The result is a piece that blurs the line between raw performance and sculpted sound design—a meditation on presence, process, and the strange beauty of voltage in motion.

Main Synths:
Forge TME Vhikk X, Maneco Labs Grone 2 Dark Drone Machine, Moog Mother 32, Moog Matriarch, Archea Loki, Winterbloom Castor & Pollux.

Sequencer:
Arturia KeyStep Pro

Processors:
Make Noise Maths, Happy Nerding 3x Mia, ALM Pam's Pro Workout, Xaoc Devices Zadar, Xoac Timiszoara, Expert Sleepers ES-9, Intellijel Quadratt, Thorn Audio VC LFO, Maneco Labs Clusterverb, Maneco Labs Filter Eko, Animal Factory Vivisect, After Later Audio Cloaks,

Post-Processing:
Walrus Audio Fable, OBNE Darkstar, Meris Mercury X, Meris Mercury 7, Meris Polymoon, Meris LVX, Boss RE-20, Chase Bliss Mood, Chase Bliss Generation Loss, Strymon Timeline, Strymon Big Sky, Abelton Live (tracking), Motu Digital Performer (mixing), Kush Audio, Slate Digital, Valhalla DSP, Waves plugins.

Enjoy the in-between world."

4/22/25 Soundforce S-LD + SSL 1660 + GenRad 1564-A + BLM Gate Seq + DSP 808 + MIDIVERB II + PV 1300

video upload by Cfpp0

"4/22/25 ElectroComp EML 200 + Synthetic Sound Labs 1660 + Analog Craftsman acVOKs + STG muSonics Vanilla Envelope + General Radio 1564-A + Blue Lantern Gate Sequencer + Soundforce S-LD + DSP 808 + Alesis MIDIVERB II + Peavey 1300

Testing out a used Soundforce S-LD module we just got. You can hear the cowbell and the maraca (there’s a switch on the back to choose the Linn toms or percussion). The other percussion is from the DSP 808 module, which is a similar sampled sound module, but with pitch control and voltage controls. The synthy kick drum is the General Radio 1564-A processing the S-LD kick drum. Its VU meter looks like it’s out of sync, but it’s just slow and getting pinned hard. The two drones that build up are from two ElectroComp EML 200 synthesizers. The synth lines are Synthetic Sound Labs 1660 The Matrix Algorithmic Composer through the Analog Craftsman acVOKS filter into the STG muSonics Vanilla Envelope. The reverb is preset 10 on the Alesis MIDIVERB II."

Behind The Drums Ep 10 - Madonna "Into The Groove" Oberheim DMX

video upload by Controlled Voltage Sound Labs

Additional Behind The Drums episodes

"An in depth look at the making of Madonna's best selling song of all time 'Into the Groove.' Episode includes a remake of the beat using an Oberheim DMX along with a Roland TR 727 to incorporate percussion elements heard in the Shep Pettibone remix.

Drum Processing...
Hat - Teletronix LA-2A + Lexicon 224
Kick - Teletronix LA-2A
Snare - Teletronix LA-2A + AMS non linear
Clap - Teletronix LA-2A + AMS non linear

Roland TR 626
All percussion - Teletronix LA-2A +Lexicon 224 Hall Setting
Timbale - AMS DMX 1/8 delay

INSTAGRAM - @CVsoundlabs"

Busy Bezaleel

video upload by davidryle

"5U modular synthesizer song. Using the LinnStrument 128 and synthesizers.com Q174 MIDI Interface to play into the modular. The main voice was a pair of Synthetic Sound Labs TZ-VC Oscillators and a Yusynth ARP 4072 Filter. Bass line was the Q960 step sequencer to DOve D100 and D110 VCO's on to the Drove G294A filter. A kick drum is from the SSL Woven Spirits.The FX fluttering sound is the Dove D900 sequencer to a pair of STG Oscillators. The noise chuff sounds are the WCRS module into a MOTM 440 filter and delay.

The mid-section is the LinnStrument in arpeggiator mode for the bass line (a pair of Q106's through the Q107 filter) and for the upper arpeggiation (the TZ-VC osc pair through an Oakley SVF. The offbeat sequence is the Dove D900 through the STG oscillators and the Dove D502 filter. The pad sound is generated by the STG Voltage Mini Store to a pair of Q206 vco's and the Q150 filter to a Canyon Delay pedal."

Behind The Drums Ep 09 - Paula Abdul "Straight Up" Linn 9000

video upload by Controlled Voltage Sound Labs

Additional Behind The Drums episodes

"An in depth look at the making of Paula Abdul's hit single 'Straight Up.' Video includes a re-creation of the drum beat using a Linn 9000 with alternate sounds from an authentic 1980's era floppy disc collection.

Drum Processing...
Hat, Cabasa, Cowbell - Teletronix LA-2A + Lexicon 224 Room setting
Snare - Teletronix LA-2A + AMS short gate
Kick - Dry
Crash - Lexicon 224 Hall setting"