#cv: octave

[chasingvelocity]

hi i still have backlog i just forgot to post these bc i was playing frontiers! oh hey time for some random side characters saying incorrect quotes

Terra is a seedrian! she looks a bit different now bc for a while i wasn't sure how i wanted seedrians to look in CV whoops. my updated notes on her are also currently misplaced so i can't.. actually say much about her.. because everything i remember is out of date! hooray

meanwhile Octave is fairly straightforward: she's a minor antagonist, she's a petty jerk, and the only person she gets along with is.. maybe the only human oc in CV so far

[patchdotexe]

second comic successfully remade! will i make more of these? yeah probably.

somehow this is an average conversation between T1 and rocket. mostly because T1 has been around long enough to remember KG's old shames and remind her of them. (also including: cvtails questioning his choice in new friends.)

[auberylis]

I made a VCO that covers <0.03Hz through >13KHz out of crap and sticks!

6 generic op-amps, 3 generic transistors, 3 generic diodes, 1 capacitor and 20 resistors - and you, too, can have one TODAY, since my article on Ultra-Widerange Micro VCO is now out!

It's not a very precise VCO - it tracks exponentially and CV inputs can be tuned to track 1V/Oct over 2-3 octaves, but not more than that. But it requires no fancy or obsolete parts like a VCO chip or an OTA - just the most bread-n-butter parts ever. It's also a simple circuit and an easy build. If you were meaning to build an oscillator that is something more than an atari punk console, but all designs online are too complicated and have uncommon parts, this design just might be suitable for you!

Here's a basic sweep:

And here's some gross noise it and another VCO make in tandem!

As always, all the info, including schematics, circuit notes, more sound demos and module photos, veroboard layouts, etc, are in the article on my site. I'll drop the schem here, though, because for once i really like how it looks, despite in fact being a kinda hacky design.

(i actually think the only reason it doesn't heat up is because TL07x are too slow for that to happen lmfao)

[taperwolf]

So I've decided to try something using my LittleBits Arduino bit and my LittleBits Adapter Eurorack module: the Dumbest Possible Quantizer.

(To overexplain, a quantizer takes a continuously varying voltage as an input and outputs a voltage that follows it, but in defined steps. The usual use case in Eurorack is mapping a control voltage onto the levels needed to produce, in the volt per octave tuning, a musical scale; you run random voltage levels through and get more musical results.)

Quantizer modules typically support different scales, modes, and keys, and sometimes even temperaments, but for the Dumbest Possible Quantizer, I'm limiting things to the bare 12-tone chromatic scale. And as suits the title, I'm doing this in the simplest possible way: I'm taking the 10-bit ADC value of the input — a number between 0 and 1023, covering from 0 to 5 volts — and mapping that onto the 60 midi notes that cover those five octaves. I'm then immediately turning around and mapping those 60 notes onto the 8-bit (0-255) value that the PWM "analog" output can take. This is nobody's idea of the proper way to do this, but since I actually had decent success using the second half as a USB MIDI to CV converter on this board already, it has a reasonable chance of approaching the desired functionality.

Long term, of course, I intend to build or otherwise acquire a quantizer module with real functionality, probably using a proper DAC; I'm following the in-development Teensy 4.1-based Ornament and Crime upgrade with great interest. But I really want to see how much I can do with very low effort!

[spiritualdirections]

ADVENT IS NOT THE CHRISTMAS SEASON!!!

Lots of people today refer to the period when Jingle Bells is playing in the CVS as “The Christmas Season” or (more frequently) “The Holiday Season.” It’s the time when we are supposed to be “festive.” There are so many parties and cookies and cakes that the average American adult gains one pound each year during the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas (and keeps it on the next year). It is the time of year when people spend so much money that it’s an essential part of the business model of many retailers.

   None of this is thinking the way the Church does. Rather, it serves to undermine the meaning of Christmas.

   The season of Advent is a time of preparation; the season of Christmas is the festive time. The season of Christmas begins...on Christmas, not before. There ought to be a marked contrast between the tone of Advent and the tone of Christmas:

The Season of Advent

Time to prepare for the Second Coming

Time of fasting

Liturgical color: violet (like Lent, funerals)

Don’t sing the Gloria at Mass

Time of Penance and Confession

Theme of readings: world is passing away

Time of almsgiving, sacrifice

Time of quiet prayer, meditation

The Season of Christmas

Time to celebrate the Birth of Jesus

Time of feasting

Liturgical color: white (like Easter)

Angels sang the first Gloria to the shepherds

Time to celebrate birth of our Savior 

Theme of readings: Peace on earth

Time of family, good cheer

Time of louder prayer, singing

Keep in mind that the preparation for Christmas is really limited to the novena before Christmas, starting on Dec. 17. The majority of Advent involves praying for Christ’s second coming, rather than remembering his first coming.

Some practical ways to celebrate Advent: 

Call it Advent. That’s the proper name for the liturgical season, so actually use it.

Choose a mortification for the season, a lesser version of what you choose during Lent. This coincides with the nickname of Advent--the “little Lent.” Perhaps you could give up alcohol or cookies or other sweets, so that when you go to “Christmas” parties, you maintain an appropriate mentality.

Do something special on Sundays. Light Advent candles, for example, or do something analogous that marks the progress of the season with your friends. 

Spend some extra time in prayer. Perhaps make the effort to go to daily Mass, and say the rosary.

Make a special effort to perform works of mercy, which in certain contexts might simply mean smiling more and sharing your Christian joy with those who are stressed.

And then, when Christmas comes around--really cut loose! The Octave of Christmas is 8 days of celebrating the great mystery of Jesus’ Incarnation, so celebrate it accordingly. The contrast between Advent and Christmas should help to make the Christmas season not just a continuation of a month of getting fatter, but a special season focusing on the fact that God became Man in order to save us from our sins. Rather than being exhausted because of weeks of excess, we are prepared to welcome the King of Kings with excitement.

[synths-and-sensibility]

Guess who's got 4 channels of midi to cv covering 8 octaves!

It's an Adafruit Itsy Bitsy 32u4 with a couple of MCP4822's and then non-inverting amplifiers. It's kind of a hot mess behind the panel and I had to do some extra steps in code to map out the outputs to the different channels, but hey, it works!

[modsyvoxynth]

Hi Tumblr :)

Earlier today, I posted an UTAU cover I've had up on my SoundCloud page for a few years now. Even tho I went pretty in-depth in the description of that upload, I'm gonna talk my shit here too cuz that was originally posted like 4-5 years ago!! And also I'm super proud of this cover!!! Similar to how I'm treating my cover of Fly Me to the Moon I uploaded a few days ago, I'm including this in my general portfolio as well as my "older/unreleased" covers, since this has technically already been part of my current artist portfolio :)

I've loved Ferry's songs for many many years, I think my first song I heard of their's being The Faulty Feline Philosophy? So as I've already covered a few of their songs (electric knife & a remix of through me to you), I jumped at the chance of covering this sick ass remix of DEAD HAND!!

The main voicebank of this cover is my retired UTAUloid, Dell's, SOLSTICE CV-VC duotone English bank, which is equipped with a SUMMER tone (default tone) and a WINTER tone (softer tone). The song itself is a bit faster than what Dell is capable of, so at some points it did get tricky to tune the quicker lyrics. In the MV (done by the remix artists, Two Makes One of a Kind), there's a countdown sequence that hatched an idea to take Google translate's Russian TTS counting down from 10, and through chopping it up and pitch adjusting in NewTone, I managed to get a really cool adlib! During the bridge, I used another one of Dell's banks, titled DECAY, which was a Japanese CV-VC I recorded one time when I was sick, to create this cool vocal choppy adlib to duck behind the lead vocals. Finally, at the end, I just took the melody for the chorus, replaced the lyrics with "la," and split it into 3 octaves using 3 more of Dell's voicebanks (DAWN-Lite VCVC_J, TERRA CV-VC_Mlt, & NEO CV-VC_K) to get a nice chorus to send off the song :)

This project was a beast to work on, jumping from UTAU to FL Studio to Google Translate back into FL Studio and UTAU and on and on and on. So incredibly proud i was able to pull something off like this <333

[apurikottotii]

feburary song recs!

this month was also CRAZY. first few days of the month were incredibly sinusoidal. i got really close with some friends, because some friends were being incredibly distant. almost threw up from disgust/stress at one point lol. but it worked out fine and the middle of the month was really fun. it reassured me that things were going to be okay. unfortunately things aren't always perfect so that doubt and mistrust keeps creeping up on me, but to be honest i don't really care much anymore. is it alright to let some things fade away?

--- newton dance - nayutalien x chinozo

okay so i heard this ruinene cover- from project sekai: a new voice, i think- on youtube and it's so cool. the voices fit so well (BOTH OF THEM) and the song is perfect for them and so cute. i love the theme of sciencey space love songs nayutalien does. it's SO CUTE. "can't fight your pull of gravity!" is so sweet. the tuning style makes it even more cuter. dfnisdfjnasdjfnadk. and nayutalien has a way of writing songs that scratch that itch in my brain- maybe it's the harmonic minor lol.

--- speak now - taylor swift

listen. i don't listen to pop. i don't like pop. i hate taylor swift. however. however. i love the story this songs tells. it's such a stereotypical straight story, I KNOW. but who doesn't love a stereotypical sort of sweet love story once in a while. the instrumentation is simple yet unique (for pop lol). the way she structures the chorus is different from other songs i've seen.

--- kosho yashiki satsujin jiken - teniwoha

otherwise known as "murder case at the mansion of antiquarian books". I LOVE SONGS THAT TELL A STORY (can you tell??) ESPECIALLY. MURDER. CASES. THAT. IS. SO COOL. sadly the lyrics are hard to understand but i still love it anyways. i especially love the wonderlands x showtime cover because the "sho" and "lie" parts are emphasized when you have several different voices, in different octaves, with different timbres. I LOVE EMU'S VOICE IN THIS. her cutesy voice is mixed with her lower register and it sounds GREAT. this is one of the (few) songs that work with her very cutesy childish voice. the line distribution makes this song so delicious. and oh my god. EVERY CHORUS. PUSHES. DOWN. A HALF STEP. THAT. IS SO COOL. it keeps dropping when you expect it to end or go higher. SADFNAISDUFNAISUDFIU. teniwoha, thank you.

--- sobakasu - judy and mary

ANOTHER recommendation from a friend. took some time to grow on me. what i find interesting is how the verses and instrumental breaks sound very different (pop vs. rock). my favorite part of this song is how raw and genuine it sounds. it's so catchy i hear myself humming this throughout the day. it's really just a sweet song (about love i think... something like love is like a freckle you can't get rid of ...?). the chorus loops in my mind. the way the singer sings it is so aosdfnasdfnjasdj. makes me smile.

--- new rules - dua lipa

okay i swear i don't like pop. i swear. i just heard it in my dance team's playlist and was like "wow i hate how much they play this song" then proceeded to loop it. i'm NOT going to say it's relatable. i'm not.

--- this is how to be in love with you/umbilical in milgram project

mahiru's cv works so well in this song. and i love the es cv cover too. this song itself is so sweet and makes you feel very warm and fuzzy though it's a little sinister lol. like... this is HOW TO BE IN LOVE WITH YOU?? what an awesome title. i really love the line that goes "if you're kind to me, i'm going to start relying on you, so thanks" or something. it's just such a fun vibe. i love when she sings "o-ver-heat" and "AI NAN DESU YO".

it's getting late so i will just say: yuno is relatable. let's reload the warmth y'all. light the oxygen on fire. or something. "i hope i can be someone you like."

honorary mentions: ke mu san (this meme song SLAPS my #1 listened to lol. the dance is addicting to watch)

[pizzatheif]

two machines appear in town within days of each other. one, a bright blue with illuminated butterfly wings and MORPHO in bright bold letters at the top ; the second, black, blank. the only illumination coming from the screen tucked behind a curtain — it felt like stepping into a photo booth going through its goth phase.

hugo had seen both. hell, the blue one was hard to miss considering it had turned up in the old borders-turned-cvs that sat neatly next to that one bagel place with the thin-sliced taylor ham; his fave. in a matter of days, he’d had to start taking the long way if he wanted breakfast. traffic down that street was a nightmare — worse than usual and that’s saying something.

he decided he wasn’t gonna buy into that crap, though. a matter of principle, he’d claimed ( though he’d probably misspoken ). what did he care that some stupid machines were telling people’s fortunes? he’s content where he is, anything else needed work or schooling and when would he find the time for that?

it eats at him, though – subconsciously plagues his dreams. especially when he finds tony’d gotten his done. ❝ ey, 'ugo, lookit this shit. ❞ the blue card is shoved under his nose and hugo squints at it, narrowed eyes darting upward to meet tony's in the space of a breath. ❝ i thought we thought this shit was bull? ❞ to which tony shrugs, tucking his potential back into his pocket. ❝ you do the death one too? ❞ gaze averts and hugo holds out his hand, ❝ cuh'mon, tone. you holdin' out on me? it's me. ❞ but tony won't let him see the card and hueg don't like the feeling that settles in his stomach because of it.

a couple of days later, he follows his feet to breakfast but he ends up in front of that damn blue machine. his tummy grumbles — he ignores it.

sweaty palms are pressed to the glass when prompted. he almost leaves the stupid butterflied blue envelope that pops out.

he doesn't read the card for a week.

there’s nothing he can rationalize as to why he’s so nervous for it, only that he’s been disappointing people since he was born. what if this card finally means he’ll be disappointed in himself? what if it means tony’ll expect him to change? what if he don’t like who he’s supposed to become?

he knows the thoughts are silly. especially when he gets the call from eloise because she’d gotten her blue card and she wanted to jabber about some conspiracy theories she’d read online that the potentials aren’t what you’re supposed to become, only that they’re supposed to show you a path forward. maybe she won’t become the next picasso, but now she knows wendy doesn’t have a leg to stand on when she criticizes lu’s choices. if she hadn’t gotten an artistic path, she says, then she’d be able to explore what that might mean.

it bolsters him. at least enough to slide the card from his envelope. a cold sweat breaks out when he reads the word.

RAT

hugo flips the card over to see the silver embossed butterfly on the back before rereading those three little letters. fuck.

a rat? his life's potential is to be a fuckin’… nervous gaze darts to the empty spot on the couch, half-relieved that he’d chosen to read his card when tony wasn’t home.

a wave of anxiety shoots through him as he stands, throwing on the green jacket he’d commandeered from tone ages ago. thoughts spiral with each step out the door — who the hell would he rat on? how’d they get him cornered enough to get him to squeal? what if it’s tony he gives up? god, he’s sick to his stomach until he looks up and finds himself at the blue machine, again.

maybe it's a mistake. yeah... yeah. hugo wipes his hands on his jacket, looking over his shoulder to make sure no one was tailing him. laundry quarters are slipped into the slot and he goes through the motions to get another card.

RAT

❝ fuck! ❞ he jumps out of the booth and slaps a five on the counter. ❝ can i get change? ❞ is his voice cracking? he clears his throat, voice dropping half an octave with the follow up demand of : ❝ quarters. ❞ hands are clammy, again, as he punches in his social, again, to draw another card.

RAT ( again ).

he sits in the booth, this time, world crashing down around him. how would lulu spin a card like this? his phone is in his hands as he hovers over her name, hesitation stalling him until there's a knock on the booth that rouses him from his panicked thoughts. a mumbled apology falls from him as he pushes past the person waiting their turn and he shoves the three identical cards into his pocket, as deep as they'll go.

he shoulda never read the card. he shoulda dumped it or maybe never tried it in the first place. how're you supposed to come back from this? is he just supposed to give up crime in favor of a boring-ass nine-to-five? you can't be a fuckin' rat and not expect to get got because of it.

he doesn't realize where he's going until he walks into a dude at the end of a line and almost gets himself punched because of it.

he’d heard the news label it the machine of death. hugo swallows thickly, stepping gingerly behind the dark curtain when it's finally his turn. he’s gotta know if they’re related – is he gonna pull cement shoes? is he gonna get whacked just for pulling RAT? the white card slips into the slot and hugo all but rips it out in his fervor.

PIZZA

❝ wh... what the fuck is that s'pposed'tuh mean? ❞

[rabid-orannge]

fun story from togay: i recorded a cv utau vb of myself (gosh, im such an egomaniac /j) and was testing it out on a ust i grabbed somewhere online. the resulting vocals already sounded robotic (because yknow, limitations and my amateur vb configuring) but then i shifted all the notes an octave down... and accidentally turned my own voice into something that sounds like if that singing ibm computer had a nephew

im totally going to take advantage of that :-)

[thenightlymirror]

So, the idea now is: figure out how to get a midi clock out of Ableton, send midi to 0-coast, send that clock to eurorack.

That should be pretty easy, honestly.

It would be nice though, to be able to record whatever cv is pumping out of the sequencer into Ableton. Because you twist the knobs around and really have no idea what's playing, then it becomes something great five steps down the line that becomes important.

But, realistically, if you are recording what you are doing, what matters is that it's in tempo. So, you can record it, sample it, edit it. Whatever weird voltage was serendipitously pumping out of the knobs, fuck it. Once it becomes a sample, that's it.

The alternative is, just make sequences in the DAW. That would be smart. But what makes the SQ-1 better than all the other sequencers out there, is just having a simple 2 octave range, twisting quickly, randomly, into a space you like, and that's it. With the Arturia, you twist it somewhere, and it honestly doesn't matter. You have to be deliberate. It's not just an intuitive, physical process. That's the whole game.

[mega1232]

A conversation from BIG HERO 6 season 4, episode 1, that inly exists in my head:

(I’m not a writer, please be kind)

We join our heroes at the Lucky Cat Cafe, victorious after defeating precredits villains Steamer.

Fred, in his over the top, heroic way of being: And THAT, is how Big Hero 6 continuous it’s Steam Roll (pause for laughter-none is given) our latest villain! We are crushing it!!

Baymax, stiff as a robot, with the innocence of a child: Fred. We did not crush. Steamer. A scan showed he sustained. Zero. Injuries.

Hiro, always ready to correct His big inflatable buddy: Fred means we defeated him easily. I’m fact, everything has been easy lately. I’m all ready for the new semester-

Honey Lemon, cheerily chipping in: - and the three of us (giving side hugs to wasabi and Gogo) we’ve had enough time to find actually look for jobs!!

Gogo, cool as a cucumber, dim as midnight: if they actually hired us.

Wasabi, actually happy and not freaking out (shocking): c‘mon, Gogo, it’s not like we can put “world saving superhero” on our CVs. And-Fred is right, life is good.

Gogo: Fred-right? Batten down the hatches-we’re doomed.

Wasabi: I mean, he is! Who imagined phase 3 would be so smooth

Fred, standing up, striking a pose as if he’s the worlds most dramatic instructor: Incorrect, my dear, sweet and somehow not spicy Wasabi! We are in phase 4-cruising time! Our villains have been established, our skills are on point, and life is good.

Wasabi: well I can’t wait for phase 5 then!

Fred, PULLING WASABI CLOSE, grabbing his mouth and closing it shut: NO!!! No mention of phase 5!! Phase 4, goes on forever!!! You here me! Forever!!!

Honey Lemon: whoa, Freddy, calm down

Hiro: yeah, what’s phase 5?

Fred, pulling his hand away and dropping an octave as if he was a member of the midnight club: phase 5. I have had many a sleepless night of phase 5. (He pauses for dramatic effect. Everyone but wasabi, who has begun to freak out-his normal state) phase 5 is the exact opposite of 4. New, more terrifying villains!! (Wasabi quivers) a long, mind bending plot!! (Wasabi shrinks down, and pulls his knees in) and…a final battle that will end BIG HERO 6 as we know it-THE END OF ALL!! All is lost!!!

Wasabi, completely off his rocker: AGGGGHHHH!!!

Gogo: nice going, Fred-after a summer of chill, you broke Wasabi in one sentence.

Baymax: Wasabi. You are experiencing. Turmoil. Please take long, deep breaths. There, there.

Hiro, as Wasabi tries to get under control as Honey Lemon runs his back: Yeah, Fred. Calm down.

Fred, less dramatic, putting a reassuring hand on wasabi: sorry-sorry!! It just, a lot of heroes never hit “phase 5”. But if we do-I’m just a little worried guys-but it’s not gonna happen Wasabi. Probably

Wasabi, whimpering: well-how will we know if we’re in phase 5.

Fred: something dramatic that will change the dynamic will happen. A new, overpowered villain. An old character that returns. As long as we avoid that, we’re fine, buddy.

Wasabi: yeah. Yeah, we’re fine. As long as nothing like that happens, were fi-

*ding-ding-ding* goes the lucky cat door, and everyone turns and goes slacked jawed (well, not Gogo, because she’s Gogo. She does look surprised. And not Baymax, because-well-no jaw), and Hiro breaks the silance: K-K-karmi!

Karmi, best selling fan fiction author, young genius, and girl that is crushing on Hiro (and Hiro crushing on her), as awkward as possible: Hiro! (Pause, as the camera goes back and forth between the awkward teens, trying to get out a word and not wanting to interrupt the other) I’m , well, I’m back!

Hiro: oh. Hi.

Karmi: yeah. So.

Hiro: Um. Wel-welcome back!

Hiro and Karmi: *awkward motions to determine if they should hug or high five*

Gogo: *noncholant*

Honey lemon: *full shipper mode*

Baymax: *Baymax*

Fred, eyes narrow, turning to wasabi: phase 5

Wasabi, sputtering like a broken sprinkler: no. I mean. No. I can’t be. Right. RIGHT?!?

Across town…

An empty, dirty alley. A spark of purple energy speaks in the air. Another. Another! A portal of purple energy rips open! A dark figure begins to take form in the portal. The camera pans down as a giant, mechanical, black metal foot crush down.

The camera cuts to the side of the alley. A giant shadow emerges. The shadows head opens to unleash a long, loud guttural, mechanical roar!!

Title sequence.

If this short writing gets enough notes, I’ll write the episode titles and what happens in each episode in another post and edit this one to link to it. (I’ll try to do that. It might take a bit). If not, at least I wrote it down.

[auberylis]

Also it's sort of nicely exponential, so a CV input can be tuned to track about 3 octaves 1V/Oct tuning. It's useless to make a dedicated V/Oct in because the thing is also a fine thermometer, but as a rudimentary SDIYer's side osc for a melodic patch, this will do!

figured out a saw/pulse VCO whose frequency goes from 0.015Hz to 15KHz... that's 20 octaves. It takes one TL074, five transistors and some passives to make :D

[taperwolf]

So this is what Hatsune Miku would sound like singing through a Moog Subharmonicon.

The little white synthesizer is the Gakken NSX-39 "Pocket Miku", a stylus-based synth using the NSX-1 Vocaloid chip. It's in a mode where it uses Miku's voice to sing solfege — "do", "re", "mi", and so on — based on the tapped notes. If the volume of one of those sung notes is loud enough, it triggers the two Sigma slew limiters, which are tuned to output different subharmonics of that starting note. Which subharmonic is playing changes in time with the s&h module. (A deeper explanation for that is under the cut.) The three tones — Miku's voice and the two divided down signals — combine to create randomly changing chords.

We're exploiting the Sigma's Trigger input. When that input receives a trigger — the front edge of a high enough signal — the module produces a signal that's then slowed down by the Rise and Fall settings: the output goes from its lowest point to its highest point over the duration set by the Rise knob, and then back down over the duration set by the Fall knob. This process is how a function/slew limiter works as an AD envelope generator or an LFO.

To work as a frequency divider, you pass a repeating signal into that Trigger input, and it again does its rise and fall thing. Because the envelope isn't retriggerable, if the rise time plus the fall time is greater than the duration between the input triggers, it starts skipping them. The basic case is that you're skipping every other trigger, and your output now has a frequency of half that of the input — or, if you're working at audio rates, the output is one octave lower, because those are really the same thing.

The CV inputs are set to lengthen or contract the whole cycle proportionately to their input voltage, so when the random voltages of a s&h are given to it, the cycle changes the factor by which the frequencies are divided. Since the CV is attenuated to different degrees on the different Sigma modules, you get differing amounts of frequency changing.

[depthbuffer]

On the one hand, I am once again wide awake at 1am because my belly hurts, the latest in a long line of unrelated ailments that seemingly insist on forming an orderly queue and playing out one after the other over years, instead of being mostly well with the occasional bout of sickness here and there like a normal person.

On the other hand, I just scored a barely used second-hand Keystep Pro, and a massively discounted B-stock DSM-03, a module I didn't even know existed until I stumbled across the listing. (In fact, I never even knew Dave Smith Instruments made modules, however briefly.)

The basic concept is Karplus-Strong in a box, but because it's Eurorack, all the building blocks have their own inputs and outputs. Karplus-Strong is a "plucked string" synthesis technique that works by feeding a short noise pulse into a feedback loop consisting of a low-pass filter and precisely timed delay, so you end up with a repeating wave with frequency based on the delay time, and decay as each repeat goes through the filter. Breaking that into its component parts, this module lets you feed in any audio, not just its internal noise pulse; the attack & decay of the noise pulse can be tweaked; and the filter cutoff & resonance, feedback loop gain, and delay length are CV-controlled. I particularly like how, with a smeared long attack noise pulse, it starts to sound panpipe-y.

The Erica Synths Pico Voice has a Karplus-Strong mode, which I used for the "guitar" on this track - along with overdrive for grit, a dash of volt/octave tuned squeal from a self-oscillating filter, a touch of reverb, then feeding the whole post-oscillator signal chain back on itself and blending back in with the dry stopping *just* before the point where notes would devolve into feedback whine rather than fade away, because why use real hardware if you aren't going to abuse feedback loops in ways DAWs can't do?

But I kind of like having the "real thing" in a module. Plus the thrill of having scored something slightly rare for a bargain price. The Pico Voice, being a fully digital, 3HP module, is awesome at doing exactly what it is advertised as doing, but has no patching potential beyond being an oscillator.

(video not mine)

However, it's 10HP I hadn't planned to fill this way; I had a plan for the remaining space in my case and this wasn't part of it. Oh well. A problem for future self. 🙃

The Keystep Pro I had planned to get for a while, because up until now I've only had a cheap keyboard with USB MIDI out, and only a single channel 16 step hardware sequencer, so I've had to have my PC on & DAW running, relying on MIDI-to-CV to actually pay my modular rig. Which kind of sucks for experimenting/meditating, and rules out live jamming, when you only have two CV outs and no expression or pitch bend. So I might start streaming at some point, just casually on twitch maybe.

[synths-and-sensibility]

Me: "ugh, it's so annoying having to convert V/oct signals down to 0-5V for digital systems. It would be easier just to stick with 5 octaves and deal with that limitation"

Evil me: "Have you considered half-V/oct CVs?"

Me: ...

Evil me: ...

Me: "...what?"