Driving a second synth with the DB-01

video upload by Richard DeHove

"The DB-01 is usually stuck in the bass realm, but simply driving a second synth by MIDI can add an entirely new feel to a bass sequence. Here the DB-01 is driving a Vermona PerFourMer MkII. The DB-01 is going through a Boss RV-6 reverb, the PerFourMer through the Erica Synths Zen Delay (which seems to suit it so well). The second DB-01 makes a tiny cameo appearance with an effect sound. No other effects or processing than what you see.
Although the DB-01 is very happy driving other synths via MIDI or CV, it is surprisingly unhappy driving a second DB-01. Not only could I not get one DB-01 to drive the other, using CV seemed to somehow corrupt the pitch and I had to do a complete unit reset.

0:00 Intro blather
0:15 Basic pattern & setup
0:50 Added revern
1:09 SFX sound
1:27 Vermona sounds
1:39 Pattern starts, talk ends
2:25 Zen delay

My site: https://richarddehove.com/
Lots of downloads for supporters on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/richarddehove"

LXR-02 tutorial - Part 8: Euclidean triggers

video upload by Richard DeHove

"Part eight of a guide for the Erica Synths LXR-02 drum machine. This is with firmware 1.2. In some ways this is less of a tutorial and more of a fun exploration with the LXR-02 paired with a DB-01 Bassline and then a Vermona PerFourMer MkII with a Zen delay. The Euclidean triigers come from the LXR-02's pattern generator. In the first example one channel is dedicated to running the DB-01. The interesting sude effect of the triggering is that it adds sustain to the DB-01 sound. This means switching it on and off gives a very different quality to the sound. In the second example four channels of the LXR-02 trigger four different sounds on the Vermona PerFourMer. The fun comes from switching between channels on the LXR-02 to create rythmic variations. The Zen delay gives some extra complexity and dirt on top.
0:00 Technical setup
1:12 DB-01 pattern
1:44 DB-01 triggered
2:37 Changing the pitch
3:37 Euclidean jam
5:44 PerFourMer MkII setup
6:39 PerFourMer sounds
7:20 Fiddling with triggers
9:10 Zen delay
10:08 Overdrive
12:00 Kick fiddlings
13:00 More drive!

My site: https://richarddehove.com/
Lots of downloads for supporters on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/richarddehove"

LXR-02 tutorials by Richard DeHove

Two DB-01s visit the fairy grotto

video upload by Richard DeHove

"How "sweet" can the DB-01 sound? Can they gently float through the fairy grotto sprinkling magic pixie dust? Well it's certain they didn't want to, and they fought against the visit the whole time, and wouldn't play with the fairies at all unless they had help from some heavy effects. In the end they were probably rightly regarded as a couple of intruding goblins, but they behaved themselves and might yet get another invitation.
Here we have three short little sketches. Each DB-01 gets the effect next to to it: The Strymon Timeline on the left and either the Strymon El Capistan V2 or the DBA Rooms reverb on the right. Absolutely no other effects or processing are used. The Keystep-37 is central to the setup and you'll notice the different key modes on the DB-01 in each piece, either "key" which means the Keystep is playing the unit directly, or "arp" which means the Keystep is triggering the DB-01's own arpegiator. This gets most interesting where the Keystep is in strum mode and each strum note is in turn activating a restart on the arpegiator. The MIDI chain is simply out of the keystep into the left DB-01 then MIDI Through to the right DB-01. All three units (and the Timeline) are receiving their own feed of an external MIDI clock (the ERM MIDI Clock).

0:00 Silky's Theme
1:41 Midnight
2:56 Dame Slap

Lots of downloads for supporters on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/richarddehove
Many thanks to my kind patrons who keep this channel ad-free My website: https://richarddehove.com/"

PWM Malevolent meets the DB-01 (No FX & No talk)

video upload by Richard DeHove

"What better to team with a dirty DB-01 than an absolutely filthy Malevolent :D Here the DB-01 feeds the Malevolent some CV and provides a percussion-like bed for some simple keyboard noodlings. This isn't an exploration of the Malevolent, more just a momentary discovery that I recorded. I'm not sure that the knob and cable positions were all significant but small changes made big differences so I kept to playing with the filter and resonance knobs (which deserve to be a lot bigger) and a little touch of FM1 and FM2 amounts, all slopped over with near-maximum drive. The setup: The DB-01 is sending its clock to the Malevolent's back-panel clock-in (which keeps the arp in sync). DB-01 CV out is going to FM2 in; and the DB-01 Gate Out to FM1 in. The Malevolent is also sending its own gate to AM2 in.
There's no effects on either machine, nor is there any DAW EQ or other fiddlings. It's all raw as you see it. The two scope displays show the direct output of each machine.
More Malevolent videos when I start to understand what's going on.

0:00 Filthy stuff
1:13 Filthy arpegiator
2:35 Happy arpy filth
3:30 Simple filth

Lots of downloads for supporters on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/richarddehove
Many thanks to my kind patrons who keep this channel ad-free
My website: https://richarddehove.com/"

Erica Synths DB-01: Using it as a drum machine

Richard DeHove

"The DB-01 makes an interesting and unusual drum machine, keeping sync beautifully while being manually played. It also uses features which tend not to get as much love in the usual bass-duties mode, such as the triangle wave, drone mode and FM.

0:00 Creating a simple starter pattern
0:25 Adding pitch envelope
0:42 Copying and adding steps
1:38 Adding accents
1:46 Modifying the pitch envelope
2:22 Changing octaves
2:57 Filter modulation
3:29 VCA on drone mode & tweaking
4:17 LFO on the filter
4:40 Square wave nmode
5:08 Adding noise
5:27 LFO for basic beat
6:24 Step Roll mode
6:58 Fun noodlings
9:00 Changing the Arp pattern style
9:20 Arp in latch mode

https://www.patreon.com/richarddehove
On Patreon you'll also find some DB-01 loops in wav format"

Richard DeHove DB-01 posts

Dead Kennedys Police Truck cover on two DB-01 synths

video upload by Richard DeHove

"Was enjoying some Dead Kennedys nostalgia listening when I thought 'I wonder if I could get the DB-01 to chug like that?'. After some extended noodling I decided to add some bass as well. Three patterns was just enough to muddle through the guts of the song.
So here's the result: two DB-01s playing Police Truck. It's not a 1:1 copy of the structure so you can't quite song along but I think the spirit is there.
I thought about adding drums and extra distortion but in the end I decided to leave it "pure" with just the DB-01s and exactly the effects you see. In fact the right-hand DB-01 doesn't even use the SpaceTime, just the EQ. Regular pitch-mod accents on the bass DB-01 give a hint of drums. The left-hand DB-01 is all played live (although I had to cheat slightly and chop up two takes) and goes through the EQ, B3K and DIG delay. Absolutely no further processing of any kind other than what you see - consequently it's all a bit raw and there's quite a bit of noise from the B3K, but this is an old punk classic after all. Let's Ride!

My site: https://richarddehove.com/
Lots of downloads for supporters on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/richarddehove"

You love that machine? A DB-01 synth solo performance

video upload by Richard DeHove

"This piece began as a demo for the Boss SL-2 slicer pedal. After noodling with it I thought it'd be interesting to slice up a distorted sound, so added the trusty Darkglass B3K which just loves chewing the the DB-01's Polivoks filter.
Turns out that the SL-2 is a lot more subtle than just the obvious rhythmic patterns. Here's there's three intertwining elements: The actual programmed pattern of notes on the DB-01; the DB-01's synced LFO with a sawtooth wave giving a separate filter envelope hit every 8 beats; and then the SL-2 which superimposes its own pattern on top. The mix of the DB-01 pattern and SL-2 pattern is set on the pedal, and the relative strength of the LFO filter hit depends on how much you open the filter. So with three synced patterns clocked together there is much fun to be had. Which is why I didn't make it past preset one in bank A.
I was going to layer this up with some other sounds but thought it was more useful to show the degree of complexity that you can get from a mono synth and a couple of pedals looping through one 32-step pattern.
This is all one take with no DAW effects or processing (other than the added movie quotes of course), but I did chop out a few sections to trim it down from its original 7-minute version.
As soon as I can make it past the first few presets I'll do a real walkthrough of the SL-2 - it's an incredibly deep machine. Like so many pedals and synths the satisfaction and beauty comes from subtle tweakerings. The main change I made was to switch it into 'ping-pong' mode which is perhaps a bit too strong if you listen through headphones - well, live and learn. My only immediate advice with the SL-2 is that, unless it's the master, it's absolutely vital for it to run off a common MIDI clock. You also must be able to send a MIDI clock restart.
The short intro video and title of the piece "You Love That Machine?" is one of the quotes about halfway through. They're taken from the low-budget classic "Creation of the Humanoids" - one of my all-time favorite movies. The robot-human images are all originals generated by me using AI. All 79 images (plus a few extras) are on my Patreon page for download and you're free to use them for any purpose.

Lots of downloads for supporters on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/richarddehove
Many thanks to my kind patrons who keep this channel ad-free
My website: https://richarddehove.com/"

The DB-01 turns two: An interview with its designer, Girts Ozolins

video upload by Richard DeHove

"It's just over two years ago that the DB-01 was released into the wild. Gritty, aggressive and surprisingly deep, it may well eventually join the ranks of classic synths. Founder of Erica Synths and designer of the DB-01, Girts Ozolins, explains how the machine came to be, how it was designed and dives into history, engineering and future. Along the way we also get an insight into some of the design philosophies of Erica Synths.

0:00 Origins of the DB-01
2:24 Sequencer integration
4:16 The design process
11:00 Links to the 303?
13:20 The drive circuit
14:28 A happy surprise
15:35 The preset debate
17:30 Testing the sound
19:50 Latvian production
22:30 DB-01 component changes
23:00 Verion 2 ?

My site: https://richarddehove.com/
Lots of downloads for supporters on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/richarddehove
Many thanks to my kind patrons who keep this channel ad-free"

Turn orphan DB-01 patterns into full themes

video upload by Richard DeHove

"If you have any sort of sequencer then chances are you have banks full of orphan patterns, promising 16 or 32-step riffs that turned into dead ends. For DB-01 owners, here's one (pretty obvious) way of reviving them and hopefully making them into something more useful: MIDI them up to a polyphonic synth. Here the DB-01 is MIDIed to a DSi Prophet Rev-2.
Not only is it fun just to flip through presets on your poly synth looking for 'matches', but they can turn into things which are completely different from the source mono sequence. A dirty bass pattern can sometimes even become a delicate polyphonic high melody.
By also combining these experiments with some manual playing and arpegiator fun the theme can thicken out into something which sounds like it's been multi-tracked.
Record all this into your DAW in one long take, align it to the grid, then use 'snap to grid' and chop out loads of new loops. Now your orphan pattern has now produced a big family ready to arrange. I think this is one of the most entertaining ways to create longer themes.
No other effects, layers or tweaks used here except what you see.

0:00 Intro blather and setup
0:48 The awful starter pattern
1:20 The arp on top
2:18 Gate length quirks
3:50 Playing over the top
4:38 Add Space Echo
5:20 DB-01 off
6:20 Scale problem?
8:10 Pattern 2 - DB-01 only
8:35 Pattern 2 - Rev2 only
9:07 Added arp
10:22 Filthy original
10:50 Sweet new version
11:00 No more talk

My site: https://richarddehove.com/
Lots of downloads for supporters on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/richarddehove"

Using the DB-01 for live dronescapes

video upload by Richard DeHove

"A simple way to perform live ambient dronescapes with the DB-01. Here I just use the DB-01 with a Strymon Timeline on the pattern delay setting. Ideally I would have changed the Timeline pattern but the delay can't handle the transition and completely cuts out. For a more 'hands-free' performance you could switch the LFO to 'sample and hold' and give it a little filter modulation for interesting filter echoes. Or put a few more steps into the DB-01 pattern and switch playback mode to 'random'. If there's any interest I'll do a part 2 for more techniques. The on-screen display is showing the left & right channels of the DB-01.

0:00 Intro blather
1:08 Program the pattern
2:38 Scale fun
2:58 Random pitch
3:35 Initial hit
4:31 LFO filter mod
6:00 FM

Lots of downloads for supporters on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/richarddehove
Many thanks to my kind patrons who keep this channel ad-free
My website: https://richarddehove.com/
My other channel "IntraCosmos" of long-play dark ambient textures: https://www.youtube.com/@intracosmos"

DB-01 does acid (no talking)

video upload by Richard DeHove

"I love reading comments and on a recent video 'Alfie John' commented on the lack of 303-style Acid demos for the DB-01. That sounded like a challenge to me so here's my attempt. The title of this video "DB-01 does acid" is very definite but whether the sound is really acid I leave up tp you. There's also the question of whether the DB-01, with its Polvoks filter, can achieve an "authentic" acid sound in place of the 24db LPF on the 303. And of course someone who actually composes acid music would surely get closer than I have here.

Assuming that you've got past all these excuses and actually like the sound, here are a few relevant points on recreating it:
- Both envelopes are on zero. This is especially important for the Amp envelope.
- The LFO is on S&H tempo sync on and set to 1 (for slight variation on every hit)
- The pattern itself has various gate times from 20 to 100
- The Env amount must be low otherwise it'll overwhelm the bandpass filter
- The Arp control that I manually change is the gate length
- I always have a cable from the CV out to the cutoff CV in to provide tracking
Other settings should be reasonably clear from the video.

Another recent comment (on the One pattern, 20 sounds video) said that all the DB-01 sounds were terrible because they were distorted. In that case I can expect an even more disappointed comment here :D

And another recent comment said they preferred the sounds without effects - but here I've added delay to almost the whole thing :/ My excuse for that is I just bought the DM-2W delay and I love it! It takes line level beautifully.

Finally, there is absolutely no further processing than what you see here, not even a master limiter.

My site: https://richarddehove.com/
Lots of downloads for supporters on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/richarddehove"

Erica Synths DB-01 quick tip: Long steps

Richard DeHove

"The DB-01, good as it is, doesn't have sustain. But there are ways to achieve long sustained notes, as well as mixtures of long and short envelopes in a single pattern.

0:00 Quick overview
0:13 Gate length
0:35 Using gates for sustain
0:55 The LFO as an envelope
2:06 Modulation for sustain
3:00 Combinations"

You can find additional Erica Synths DB-01 quick tips by Richard DeHove here.

Using CV to create generative ambient with the DB-01

video by Richard DeHove

"The Erica Synths DB-01 plus a single Eurorack LFO module (the Erica Synths Drum Modulator) can achieve generative dark ambient. Seems unlikely but is really very straightforward. In this example it even sounds a bit like a thunderstorm. An Eventide Blackhole provides the obligatory big dark reverb and there's also some limiting in the DAW from a Fabfilter Pro-L.

0:00 Creating a pattern
1:00 Into drone mode
1:18 Clock out to LFO
1:48 CV input
2:30 Internal LFO
3:20 Gate in
3:58 Add reverb
4:40 Pitch CV in
6:00 Creating the storm

My site: https://richarddehove.com/
Lots of downloads for supporters on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/richarddehove"

Richard DeHove DB-01 posts

Erica Synths DB-01 Quick Tip: Filter Tracking

video by Richard DeHove

"The DB-01 doesn't have tracking by default, but it's easy to activate by CV. There's some other internal CV patching that can give interesting results as well!

0:00​ Setting up filter tracking
0:45​ Tracking with noise
1:14​ LFO in noise mode
1:40​ Useful resonance
2:36​ Clock to Gate In
3:12​ Clock to CV In
3:55​ Odd 'delay' effect
4:30​ Adding white noise"

https://richarddehove.com/​
Lots of downloads for supporters on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/richarddehove​

Richard DeHove DB-01 posts

Getting the most out of FM with the DB-01

video upload by Richard DeHove

"With a little simple tuning, FM on the DB-01 can become extremely useful. You can create multiple pattern variations by moving the FM tuning from note to note. And instead of "losing" the LFO it's now available to create interesting filter modulations that start sounding like bit crushers and distortion. Changing the LFO shape adds even more flavors. If you haven't used much FM before, it's worth choosing one of your favorite patterns and experimenting with variations.



In the video I use a Fabfilter L2 limiter on the output for consistency. More importantly, if you're trying to recreate the sound, I also have the CV out hooked directly to the VCF/CV in to give filter tracking.



0:00 Why no love for FM

0:36 Setting up for FM

1:15 Choose a note and tune

2:04 Filter modulation

3:30 Re-tuning to a new note

4:00 New pattern

4:52 The joys of the sub

5:24 Changing the LFO shape

7:40 Square wave FM



My site: https://richarddehove.com/

Lots of downloads for supporters on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/richarddehove" Richard DeHove DB-01 posts

Erica Synths DB-01: Advanced randomization

video by Richard DeHove

"The DB-01 has some excellent randomization features. Go into play mode, press and hold a step and select either a percentage chance for that step to play; or select a ratio of plays to pattern cycles. With a little planning you can get some very long and complex patterns. Added to that is the pattern randomization page with all sorts of options that can be great starters:

0:00​ Intro and Play Mode
1:00​ Percentages in Play Mode
1:52​ Step cycles in Play Mode
3:11​ Randomize Pattern Mode
3:30​ Deleting modulations
4:20​ Accents
4:37​ Slides
4:44​ Filter modulation
5:12​ Pitch envelope
7:17​ Gate distribution
8:28​ Cycles and percentages
9:37​ Gate length
9:58​ Scales and note ranges
11:32​ Creating a user scale
13:50​ One-note scale
14:36​ Fixing the start point
17:08​ Saving settings per bank
18:42​ Scale bug on save settings

My site: https://richarddehove.com/​
Lots of downloads for supporters on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/richarddehove"

Erica Synths DB-01 demos by Richard DeHove

DB-01 firmware update 1.08: Rotate sequence

video upload by Richard DeHove

"Firmware update 1.08 has suddenly made the DB-01 random pattern generator a whole lot better. It's now possible to 'rotate sequence' - in other words, change the start point. It's a little thing but makes a huge difference. In this video I take a quick look at the new feature, try it out on a 32-step random pattern, and finish with a guitar solo.

0:00 Intro blather
0:20 Check firmware version
1:12 Random pattern generator
2:24 Select scale
2:58 The rotate function
3:24 32-step random
4:47 Rotate across 2 bars
6:15 Noddling
7:10 Guitar solo

My site: https://richarddehove.com/
Lots of downloads for supporters on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/richarddehove"

Richard DeHove DB-01 posts

Two DB-01s and a pod-load of CV

video upload by Richard DeHove

"The Erica Synths DB-01 sends and receives CV and includes a handy attenuator, so a little experimentation with CV can really extend the sound design possibilities. Here both DB-01s and a pod of Euro clocks and modulators (two Erica Synths Drum Modulators) are synced together. One DB-01 is the master feeding pitch CV into a mult and then into the second DB-01. Both units are getting filter CV inputs from the Drum Modulators. The main machine is sometimes going through a Microtubes B3K for extra overdrive goodness, and the second DB-01 get washy with an Earthquaker Devices Afterneath V3 - which also accepts CV. Hopefully this little demo gives you some ideas. A little CV goes a long way.

My site: https://richarddehove.com/ Lots of downloads for supporters on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/richarddehove"

The best DB-01 feature you're probably not using

video upload by Richard DeHove

"It's the one trick grammy award winning dentists don't want you to know - yet nine out of 10 cats agree! Seriously though there are functions on some machines that you just never get to unless you go digging. I'm a big fan of the DB-01 arp, especially jamming over the top of existing sequences. And recently I made a huge discovery. Well, actually, a tiny and insignificant realization, but it was that in the DB-01 arp section "PIA" stands for "piano" and "STP" stands for "step". For two years I was guessing at that acronym. A cosmic ray must have nudged a defective neuron aside. Yeah, obvious to you but not me. It turns out that "step" is a fantastic auto-slicing jamming function.

In the comments a while back someone said they enjoyed my "crusty" take on things. That means "a little bit grumpy". I like that. I am a little bit grumpy - about a lot of things. One thing I don't like is demos with too many machines. What tends to happen is that one (or more) machines get latched onto some never-ending-16-step-loopy-thing. Or maybe more than one. I don't like that (but of course I've done it lots of times). I get irritated these days when just one machine is endlessly repeating a 16-step pattern. Did any of the great composers just mindlessly copy bar after bar after bar of the same sludge just to fill out supporting instruments? Of course not. (Although I do like Phillip Glass)

OTOH modern machines usually present you with a 16-step grid. So what can you do?
Which brings us back to STP "step" mode on the DB-01 arp. A single, boring, 16-step pattern can be sliced up on the fly and made into endless variations. Possibly the best use of this is recording it as audio and slicing it up in the DAW. Or perhaps live performance. Whatever you do it's a good way to make 16-steps a lot more interesting. The quick version of this is to take an empty pattern, go into the randomizer and "randomize all" (the button on the far right). Now you have an unplayable mess. But with the "step" arp (latched) you can probably pick out selected parts and make something coherent. In any case it's entertaining. What do you think?

Lots of downloads for supporters on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/richarddehove
Many thanks to my kind patrons who keep this channel ad-free
My website: https://richarddehove.com/
My other channel "IntraCosmos" of long-play dark ambient textures:

/ @intracosmos"

Hardcore Krell with the DB-01

video upload by Richard DeHove

"When I explained to a friend that I was doing a Krell patch on the DB-01 they summed it up as: "Blips and bloops with added bass and distortion". That sort of hurt but actually seems quite accurate. The nature of a Krell patch is absolutely blips and bloops. At least using a DB-01 you avoid the next level of modular insult which is 'a $10,000 fart machine'.

On a more positive note, this little project does highlight that the Erica Synths DB-01 is a very fast and capable generative machine and an able sequencer.
(No other effects or processing of the sound other than what you see.)

0:00 Krell blather
0:37 Patch setup
2:30 Bass starter
2:48 Lead starter
4:14 Random but not krell
5:45 Random playback
6:32 Envelopes via LFOs
8:13 Krell time
10:41 No effects
10:55 Pause to sparsify
13:00 Lead VCA tweaks
14:00 More pitch control
17:37 Krellish
18:00 External CV crazytime

My site: https://richarddehove.com/
Lots of downloads for supporters on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/richarddehove"