video uploads by Whimsical Raps
Playlist:
1. Whimsical Patching // 1. Audio-Rate Modulation
from Dani:
"One of my favorite aspects of modular synthesis is that signals we can hear are made of the same basic building block as signals which provide control and modulation -- they're all just voltage moving at different rates!
When we use an audio signal in the place of control voltage, we're touching into a technique broadly known as audio-rate modulation. Using audio-rate modulation in the Whimsical Raps ecosystem is incredibly rewarding, as it can unlock unexpected behaviors in familiar and new modules alike.
Here, Mangrove (our formant oscillator) modulates Silhouette's (our new 'signal combiner') SPOT, which is mixing six audio channels from Just Friends (our six-voice digital oscillator). I noticed that sending Mangrove into SPOT bleeds Mangrove's audio signal into the mix, so I tuned Mangrove to harmonize with Just Friends. This endowed FORMANT changes with new power, adding harmonic depth to the chaotic modulation -- notice the sizzle around 0:30 as FORMANT is cranked up.
Once INTONE adds distance between the ratios of Just Friends' oscillations, I reduce FORMANT to a low-frequency grumble -- I particularly enjoyed Silhouette's delayed vocalizations of these changes across the stereo field. Manually scanning SPOT offsets the input channels we're highlighting, which reveals the new INTONE-spread pitches. Increasing FORMANT introduces audible discontinuities as Mangrove regains its pitch, which are unique in the left and right channels. A final INTONE adjustment is added for performative spice, which is caught by the bucket-brigade device for a muted splash of stereo color."
