Module a month part 3: May

Hi all!
again I am too slow with building, but a module is finished and I'm happy with it. This time the Mankato VCF from Magic Smoke Electronics. As always with their PCBs I have had a few problems with cold joints, but in the end it was all good. I used a kit from Woody's Electronics and the module was finished within two hours. Time for a picture!

What does it do, and what makes this filter special? First of all it is a filter and has 8 outputs: 6, 12, 18 and 24dB/Octave and their inversions. Those outputs have a phase difference of 45 degrees, so mixing the signals gives interesting filter slopes. Secondly the filter can get in self oscillation and due to the phase differences, it is a quadrature oscillator. The frequency range is really large, so it does work as an LFO too!
After playing around with it a bit I have to say for phat bass sounds the 18dB/Octave output is really yummie! The quadrature mode will be used when I've finished the module of June: the Oakley Quad VCA.

Cheers,
Woody

Module a month part 2: April

Dear visitors,

sometimes things don't go as planned. I started this module a month series to complete at least 12 modules this year, and March didn't have a module? Oops, there we go... To keep things going, I started offering kits for various modules as a way to keep the cost down. The good thing: this month will have its own module: the Mankato VCF.
April did have it's module too, the Ian Fritz AD/AR with Pulse Delay. Check out his website, he has some wonderful circuits. This one is pretty easy to build and does the trick well. I find it useful for delayed vibrato and in various noodles.

So far, four months have passed, and four modules are done: MFOS Sample & Hold with VC Clock, MFOS State-Variable Filter, Dual Quantizer with Multiples and now the Ian Fritz ADAR. Time to get back to the soldering iron!

Cheers,
Woody

Module a month part 1: february.

Dear visitor,

after completing the two MFOS modules in January, and finding them really enjoyable, I thought about starting a project, module a month. I'm not the most disciplined guy around here, so a bit of a list always helps. Every month I need to complete at least one module. To help me a bit with the sequences, a quantizer pair would be useful. So I bought two pcbs from Barton Musical Circuits. These two units only take up half a panel, and adding a buffered multiple sounded like a good idea. Again a small module with a wooden front panel.

19th of March will be a nice day at radio.electro-music.com, with a lot of artists performing a live set. Check out the schedule for this event here.

Have a nice and enjoyable day, looking forward to a sunny spring.
Cheers,
Woody

New Year, new modules, new tunes

Dear visitor,
It's been a while since the last time. At this side of the planet we've been doing great. Did some tunes available in the archives of radio.electro-music.com. Worth noting is the piece I did on New Years Eve, being a bit in a minor mode, after my hard drive died the night before. So no modular, but some other sounds in it.
That was last year. We're in a new year now, and I started it with finishing a filter, the Music From Outer Space State-Variable Filter. A 12dB/Oct filter with Lowpass, Highpass and Bandpass outputs. I got to this filter when my personal DIY synth hero Dave of Skrog Productions mentioned it, and thought of building one at the same time. Turned out he was as fast as he always is, and I being a slower builder then a three-toed sloth. Enough with all the drivel, time for a picture!

I've been doing some demos today, again using the SN Voice as a sound source. It's such a useful module, everyone should have one, or two maybe. First the filter sweeps, with all the outputs mixed together. You can find it here. Next is a sequence demoing the different outputs, and last a demo of the voltage controlled resonance. I really liked doing that with the gate outputs of the swing(e)ing Klee Sequencer.

Perhaps you're interested in how the module Dave built turned out. Well, as all his modules, its kinda blue, lovely blue. Go check it out here! As always, please leave a comment, and be sure to ask any question, I'll answer them ;-)

Cheers,
Woody

Mors Zatańczyć

Good afternoon friends,

On the 23rd of October this year I played a live jam on radio.electro.music.com entitled Mors Zatańczyć. This time a patch around the Klee Sequencer, using again the SN Voice, Lopass Gate, the MFOS MiniSynth, a mixer and a pair of LFOs. Oh, and some FX, to spice it up ;-)

If you like to hear this 30 minute jam, go visit the electro-music.com post (a click will bring you there, surprise!) and download the mp3. Thanks in advance for listening, and feel free to leave a comment below.

Have a nice day,
Woody

Klee Sequencer and Noodle

Hi all,

been a while since I posted here last time. In the meantime I finished the Klee Sequencer. A few posts have been on various other platforms. If you've seen those before, scroll a bit to the bottom, as you'll find a new track there.

Here you see the Klee Sequencer, still in the old rack. That's another project I need to finish. The sequencer is a mighty machine, and it needs a lot off pages to describe it. Perhaps the best way is to link to the website of the designer, Scott Stites. But how does it sound?

In the video there are two sound sources: the SN Voice and the Music From Outer Space Soundlab Minisynth. On the PWM output of the SN Voice is a little bit chorus and delay, and the only other effect is a bit reverb on the whole mix.

On to the track I promised in the start of this post, and as you already know, I don't talk much, so you just read that. You can download the file here. The patch is simple, just the triangle and noise outputs of the SN Voice through the Buchla Lopass Gate clone. Klee outputs A and A+B are used to modulate the pitch of SN Voice and LPG, and the Gate 2 output to LPG CV in. Besides that, lots of LFOs, and using the random mode of the Klee. Would be even more interesting with VC LFOs, but I don't have those yet, so no cross modulations. The only thing I tweak is a switch to change the LPG mode, and I tweak the resonance control. So it can probably go for a noodle.

Cheers,
Woody

Work in progress, little update

Hi all,
had some time to work on the projects again. I'm out of sockets again (does someone know where to get a good deal?), out of 680 Ohm resistors and some MKT caps. Aww, can happen of course. Anyway, here you see the Klee PCBs and the Buchla 281 clone pcbs, a Quadrature Function Generator. Nice little project by Toppobrillo, check out his site. He has some nice euro style modules for sale.

For the Klee I needed some 0.1% 100k resistors. Not very easy to get in mainland Europe. I'm a big fan of Skrog Productions, good music (buy his CDs!) and an awesome dude! Dave helped me to get the necessary precision resistors. Big thanks!

That's it for now. Have a very nice weekend.

Cheers,
Woody