Melodicer vs. Black Sequencer - one or both?

video upload by John Schussler

"I haven't spent much time with the Erica Synths Black Sequencer, and I noticed in a thread the other day somebody mentioning it serving as a substitute for the Vermona Melodicer.

Say what? I have a Melodicer, and it's the cat's meow. Can it really be supplanted by the Erica Synths offering?

They're big modules, so it's worth asking the question. Which is what you have here...me asking the question of whether I keep both or just one.

Source VCO is an Acid Rain Chainsaw. No envelope, just the output gates from the sequencer’s going to a Bard tube LPG.

00:00 Intro
00:20 Vermona
02:21 Black Sequencer
10:29 Tiebreaker"

Eurorack Formant Filter Comparison

video upload by John Schussler

"I now find myself with 3 separate filters that do "formant" filtering, so clearly it's time for a comparison. I'm literally getting my ya-yas out. And my yi-yis, and sometimes my wa-was. Just depends on where you turn the knob....

There are other formant filters out there, this isn't all of them, but it's all the ones I have, so don't assume this is the exhaustive comparison.

Formants are fun. And though I don't get into it much in this video, using formant filters for "regular" duties with only mild formant effects can be quite interesting.

Actually, using formants sparingly should probably be the rule. There's definitely too much of a good thing possible here....

00:00 Intro
00:20 Gyrinx VCF
08:00 Morphing Filter Bank
18:10 Formantic"

Eurorack Waveshapers - May 2023 comparison

video upload by John Schussler

"Another month, another new set of modules needing listening to. These are all waveshapers in one form or another. Ok, not entirely, the first one's just a filter. So technically it shapes the wave, but not like, folding it or anything.

Anyway.

Just some more modules that seem like they sorta live in the same category, up for comparison and general listening/introduction.

00:00 Intro
00:20 T2K
05:15 Morphing Filter Bank
11:57 Roucha Legio
20:08 Flexhaper
26:00 Dis"

Vice Virga - Great fill maker for drums

video upload by John Schussler

"In an earlier Beat Mangler video I tried out the Jam Jam from Noise Engineering, and had a hard time getting what I wanted out of it. Turns out what I really needed was a Vice Verga. That's arrived, and is clearly the answer to the question: 'What if you want some interesting drum fills on a regular basis, but don't want to do it manually?'

I used a 2hp Burst in this patch, but I'm guessing if I read more of the Pam's manual there's probably a way to do it entirely within Pam's.

Either way, Vice Verga is a great fill maker for drums."

Jroo Loop - Pitch shifting tape looper

video uploads by jroo


video upload by John Schussler

"Here's a fairly simple tape loop module from Jroo called Loop. When you
change the speed of the loop it actually pitch shifts, which makes for some
really interesting opportunities for new harmonies.

This whole video is the same very simple sequence from a Pittsburgh Micro
Sequence b driving an Acid Rain Chainsaw VCO. On top is a bucketload
of reverb from Valhalla to let things ring out into space.

Fun.

00:00 Intro
00:20 Clean
11:53 Distorted"

loop is a frippertronics-style dual mono digital tape loop, echo and delay utility with adjustable tape speed, play head position, feedback and levels. It has a customizable loop length of up to 2.5 minutes.

loop is modelled after tape loop systems where audio is recorded to and played back from a tape that’s continually looping. Several interesting effects can be accomplished in this system when the position of the play head, tape speed, direction, and audio and feedback levels are modified. loop gives you manual and CV control over each.

Three Versio Delays - Melotus, Yester, Imitor

video upload by John Schussler

"The Yester Versio arrived the other day, so I wanted to compare it to the other Noise Engineering delay lines I have handy: Melotus Versio (which is actually a granular sampler, but is easily used as a delay), and Imitor Versio, which is a delay with an unusual dose of attitude.

No commentary, just listening.

VCO: Acid Rain Chainsaw. LPG: Natural Gate. Sequencer: Pittsburgh Modular
Lifeforms Micro b + VPME.de T43 transposer

00:00 Intro
00:20 Melotus Versio
06:04 Yester Versio
15:26 Imitor Versio"

Bastl Drum Kastle - Eurorack version(s)

video upload by John Schussler

"Bastl created the Drum Kastle as an offshoot of the Kastle portable sound maker. It's now available in Eurorack by a couple makers who've adapted it for the 3U format, with appropriate cv controls.

I was curious to see if there was much sound difference between the two, given they're working from the same basic circuit design. There are a few differences, but do they radically change the experience? Inquiring minds want to know.

No other modules involved. Just Kastles.

00:00 Intro
00:20 Drum Kastle
12:48 Rythm Lab"

Small rhythm generators - instant gratification test

video upload by John Schussler

"There are a metric ton of rhythm generating modules in Eurorack. I have a few of them. My goal in this video is to look at the instant gratification level the modules in this group provide. Some of them are significantly more complicated than others, but all are 10hp or less.

It's not a feature-to-feature comparison, since some are Euclidian and several are not. It's really a 'how hard is it to hear something good come out' kinda deal, without having to study and elaborate manual. Yes, one should RTFM, but on the other hand it's a sign of good design when the interface is so intuitive you don't need the manual.

The drums are an MSW SY0.5, a WMD Kraken, and a WMD Chimera.

00:00 Intro
00:20 Kompas
04:30 Beat Freqs
10:16 Little Nerd
16:55 Euclidean
21:56 Dot
28:02 Grids
34:51 Launch Codes"

Three Generative Sequencers - And one that isn't

video upload by John Schussler

"I have a few generative sequencers I've not had time to play with, and figured I'd compare how they...play. Three are generative in one form or another, and one, the Berlin School, is not. I leave you to suffer with that incongruity in silence.

This is my first exploration with each of them, so I'm just getting a feel for how they work. You're along for the ride, but don't expect too much.

VCO is Acid Rain Chainsaw. LPG is Rabid Elephant Natural Gate. No envelope. Delay here and there is Make Noise Mimeophon. Quantizer is 2hp Tune.

00:00 Intro
00:20 Feigen
12:00 Anima
23:29 Odds
31:34 Berlin School"

This appears to be the first post to feature Subsongs Modular.

WMD Legion vs Intellijel Dixie II+

video upload by John Schussler

"As is so often the case with these videos, I'm trying to make a 'keep or sell' decision. In this case between the WMD Legion, which has just arrived, or the Intellijel Dixie II+, both of which are 8hp VCOs.

They have different feature sets, and that's not really what interests me here. In this video I'm just doing a comparison of the basic sounds, getting a feel for whether there's a big difference in sound quality that would indicate keeping one or the other makes sense, or if they're so similar it's just a feature competition.

Sequencer: Stochastic IG. Envelope: Zadar

00:00 Intro
00:20 Saw
01:15 Triangle
01:59 Pulse
02:49 Pulse+sub
03:41 Pulse width
04:34 Saw+sub
05:01 Triangle+sub
06:01 FM
11:15 Legion features"

Sovage Engineering - L'Ecorcheur eurorack distortion

video upload by John Schussler

"I did a video a little while back comparing some distortion modules, and included the L'Ecorcheur. At the time I didn't really understand how the Glitchzr knob worked, so the demo was...sub-optimal.

Here's another try, focusing this time just on the L'Ecorcheur. Starting with the Glitchzr knob down, so we get a better comparison of its straight distortion capabilities, then later we turn it up for the full experience.

VCO is a WMD Legion in swarm mode. Envelope: Zadar. Sequencer: Stochastic IG

00:00 Intro
00:20 Sweeps
06:06 Sequence
13:49 Zone output
14:37 CV in and GLITCHZR"

Eurorack Waveshaping VCOs

video upload by John Schussler

"Several interesting new VCOs have been released over the past 6 months or so, and just recently the one I was waiting on, Legion from WMD, arrived.

So now seems like a good time to look at this batch of VCOs that all have a similar add-on feature: waveshaping. They don't all do it the same way, and all have very different sounds, but in my head they're sortof a category from which I probably only need one or two.

We'll see.

Sequence from Stochastic IG, envelope from Zadar.

00:00 Intro
00:20 Pony VCO
06:08 Virt Iter Legio
12:15 Pizza
19:58 Legion"

Eurorack distortion comparison - January 2023

video upload by John Schussler

"I used to number my distortion comparisons, but there are so many now, and in different forms, that I've decided it'll be easier to just go by date.

Here's the January 2023 batch. All have been released fairly recently AFAIK.

The comparison is a little tilted in that some are just drive circuits, while others are full on distortion/clippers. But I prefer to think of it as comparing along a range vs. a head-to-head evaluation.

Note that the video goes from soft to loud at times, because, y'know, distortion, so I recommend not blasting it too loud until you've skipped around a bit to get a feel for the dynamic range.

VCO is an Acid Rain Chainsaw saw wave. Envelope: Zadar. Sequencer: Stochastic IG.

00:00 Intro
Sweeps
00:20 Atonal OD
02:44 London Drive
03:49 Twin Drive
04:33 Nijel
05:42 cDVCA
08:08 L'Ecorcheur
Sequence
11:07 Atonal OD
14:18 London Drive
16:25 Twin Drive
18:00 Nijel
19:40 cDVCA
22:34 L'Ecorcheur"

Neutral Labs: Pip clocked cv generator

video upload by John Schussler

"Along with Nijel (see previous vid), Martin at Neutral Labs sent along a kit for Pip, his new clocked CV generator. Its main selling point is the synchronization between the two channels: channel A can run at a multiple or fraction of channel B, and both are clocked so they'll stay in sync with the beat.

You can get some interesting rhythmic sounds out of your modules that have two cv inputs by using contrasting waves and different ratios (there are 16 'pages' of waves, each with two waves that can be morphed to make new waves).

The most interesting part, however, is when you self-modulate it. You get the benefit of the synchronized channels, clocked, plus interesting little additions that bring the whole thing to life (Spoiler alert! Skip to 23m22s for my favorite bit).

VCO: Chainsaw. Sequencer: Stochastic IG

00:00 Intro
00:20 Encephalo Adjuster
05:35 Nijel
07:08 Scrat
11:13 Pizza
13:09 Siren
16:10 Self-modulation"

Eurorack low pass gates - session 5 (ish)

video upload by John Schussler

Note this is the first post to feature BeepBoop.

"I can't stop collecting low pass gates. There's GAS, and then there's LPG GAS. Don't know what the deal is there.

Here's the latest batch. Most of them are small and passive, but some are bigger and powered and covered in knobs and sliders and stuff. So it's really a sound comparison, not a full module comparison.

Sound source: Befaco Pony square wave. Sequencer: Stochastic IG.
No envelopes, just gates out of the SIG.

00:00 Intro
00:20 Agogo
00:48 BeepBoop v1
02:32 BeepBoop v2
04:05 kNoB
05:18 Abyss
06:49 Herzlich
09:29 EAR
12:38 SSF
16:16 Rabid Elephant
19:11 EAR plus attenuator
20:57 Fast gates w/atten"

Neutral Labs Nijel Distortion

video upload by John Schussler

"I really liked Neutral Labs' first module: Scrat. It's a filter plus distortion in 8hp. But y'know, maybe you have lots of filters and only want the distortion bit, so to the rescue comes Nijel: just 4hp, but using the same sound cards as Scrat (the cards are called "Nuts"), and with plenty of attitude.

So as soon as I heard of Nijel's existence I jumped at the chance to build one (it's a super easy build...all the SMD components are already on the PCB, you just do pots and jacks for the most part). Many thanks to Martin at Neutral Labs for getting me in early.

Sound source: Acid Rain Chainsaw (3 VCO). Envelope: Zadar. Sequencer: Stochastic IG.

00:00 Intro
00:20 Sweeps
01:22 Nuts
03:12 Sequence
08:33 Scrat
12:02 LFO Drive"

Small Tube VCA/Distortion Modules

video upload by John Schussler

"There seem to be more and more folks making modules with small tubes these days. I have a few of them, and figured I'd do a comparison. These are all 'distortion' modules in one sense or another. Some are VCAs, some are filters, and some are just tube-y grimy-ness.

I've also thrown in an intro to the cDVCA, a new kind of VCA that is also a specialist at distortion. It doesn't have a tube, so it gets a solo spot at the end.

Source audio is the saw out of an Acid Rain Chainsaw. Envelope from Zadar.
Sequence from Stochastic IG

00:00 Intro
00:20 Atonal OD - sweeps
03:52 Karltron Tube
06:35 Thermo Nuclear
09:27 Gotharman
11:48 Atonal OD - sequence
15:50 Karltron Tube
18:52 Thermo Nuclear
21:49 Gotharman
25:32 Bonus - cDVCA"

Serge Random*Source Resonant EQ - SMD vs Thru hole

video upload by John Schussler

"I've had an SMD version of the Random*Source Serge Resonant EQ for some time, and have been curious to know whether the older thru-hole version had a significantly different sound. I recently ran across one for sale, so here we are.

This is basically me trying to figure out how they're different, and whether I have a preference. Ideally I'd only keep one, but....

Source oscillator is an Acid Rain Chainsaw in single saw mode.
Sequence from Stochastic IG. Envelope from Zadar.

00:00 Intro
00:20 SMD Self-oscillation
04:03 TH self-oscillation
07:27 Sequence
13:55 Faster sequence"

Siren Meets Godeater - Eurorack drone through distortion

video upload by John Schussler

"EZBot has already done a great video [posted here] on Siren showing it off in a fairly clean environment. I was curious how it would sound when chewed up and spit out by a distortion module.

So here's 15 minutes of mostly drone, with a little sequence, exploring Siren when it's treated to some fat distortion.

00:00 Intro
00:20 Drone
08:34 Sequence
12:24 More drone"

Therevox Ondes VCO + Hakken Continuumini

video upload by John Schussler

"My uCVC module has arrived from Evaton Tech. It's a CV converter that takes the USB output of the Hakken Audio Continuumini (little sibling to the Hakken Continuum keyboard) and breaks it into usable CV outputs.

I got it specifically to use with the Ondes VCO, because the original Ondes Martenot after which the Ondes VCO is modelled used a...well what to me appears to be a ring on a string. So a continuous pitch movement rather than quantized by keys. I already had the Continuumini, so figured it should be a perfect match.

This is me running through the various voices on the Ondes VCO and different pitch ranges on the Continuumini to see what we get.

For a sequencer-based demo, see my earlier video on the Ondes VCO:"

Ondes VCO from Therevox - Ondes Martenot in Eurorack format

video upload by

"This is a first look at the Ondes VCO. It just arrived, and I'm so pleasantly surprised by the sound that I figured I'd put a quick video up so others can hear it as well.

It's not a 'standard' VCO. Based on the Ondes Martenot, each of its voices are, on the one hand, traditional (sine, square, triangle), and on the other specifically treated to give a sound that's unique. And because it allows for onboard mixing of waves, all sorts of variety is possible.

I'll dig in deeper later, but for now, have a listen to some of the very particular voices that come out of this module.

Sequence from Stochastic IG. Envelope from Zadar.

00:00 Intro
00:20 Individual voices
01:28 Slow sequence
05:19 Add reverb and delay
09:16 Fast sequence
10:55 Tighter envelope"