OB-6 controlled by POLYPHONIC LFE using MPE

video by Steve Hunt

"I'm working on implementing MPE in the Yorick Tech Low Frequency Expander. Normally the LFE's modulations are Global (monophonic), but MPE allows them to be truly polyphonic with 6 independent additional envelopes.

The demo shows the LFE's 6-stage envelopes controlling the OB6's filter cutoff polyphonically. This frees up the synth's ADSR to do something completely different. After a few seconds, I turn up the X-mod so that the synth's ADSR starts controlling VCO1's frequency. The OB6 now has three independent polyphonic envelope generators!

There's still a lot of work for me to do to be able to release this to LFE customers so this is just a taster of things to come for the LFE! Three Polyphonic LFOs next..."

Low Frequency Expander using MPE to control OB-6 Part 3: pitch, velocity and aftertouch

video by Steve Hunt

"The Yorick Tech Low Frequency Expander is being used here with MPE (Midi Polyphonic Expression) to control the aftertouch section of the synth, then the pitch bend and then the filter cutoff. MPE allows each of the synth's 6 voices to have its aftertouch, pitch and filter cutoff (or PWM) controlled independently, i.e. POLYPHONICALLY!

The OB6 can assign aftertouch (coming from the LFE via MPE) to the pitch of its VCO(s), loudness, LFO depth, filter cutoff or filter mode. In the first demo here, it is controlling VCO1's frequency, and as the VCOs are synced to VCO2, this gives the characteristic sync sound. The LFE is also multiplying each of its 6 envelopes by velocity, so each voice gets a different amount of sync envelope depending on each note's velocity.

The second part of this demo uses MPE to control the pitch bend of each of the synth's 6 voices. I'm using it here with 6 LFOs to generate vibrato, again multiplied by polyphonic velocity to give vibrato with each note having slightly different vibrato rates and depths controlled by its velocity.

The third part of the demo uses the MPE 'Y-channel' which the synth can assign to filter cutoff or PWM. Here it is being used to control filter cutoff, again with velocity affecting each of the LFE's 6 sawtooth LFOs so that each note can have different LFO depth.

This will all do the same with a Prophet 6.

This is an excerpt of a song of mine called 'Did we do the right thing?'

There's still a lot of work for me to do to be able to release this to LFE customers so this is just a taster of things to come for the LFE!"

See the Yorick Tech label below for more.

Yorick LFE with Trigon 6

video upload by Steve Hunt

"This is 10 patches I've made to demonstrate some of what the Low Frequency Expander can do with the Sequential Trigon 6. It's just my iPhone recording everything through the air, so sorry about the audio quality. Jamie of GEOsynths is about to make a much better video showing similar things!

The LFE can add three complex LFOs, a 6-stage envelope and step sequencer and is able to send these globally to 76 Destinations on the synth (every useful knob and switch) and polyphonically (per-voice) to Destinations on the synth that can be routed through aftertouch (the 3 Oscillator pitches, filter cutoff, amp level, LFO depth and the two FX mixes) so that's an extra 7 envelope/sequencers and 21 extra LFOs for you to play with.

The LFE can also be set up to use its row of 8 envelope knobs to control any device that responds to midi CCs, so while the LFOs are controlling the synth, you have 8 knobs that can control hidden parameters (great for Page 2 of the OBX8 for example, or to control an FX unit etc.) It can also route aftertouch to only the top (or bottom, first or last) note only, allow you to polychain ANY 2 synths together, and be used as a general-purpose mod-matrix for your synth.

Yorick Tech Ltd is currently making a 10th batch of LFEs for delivery in April-June 2023. About 300 have been sold so far and 15 customers have bought two!"