Throughout the course of our daily lives there is a continuous influx of aural stimulation. We naturally filter out many of these distractions in order to remain focused on the task in front of us. This patchable asks you to turn off those filters and listen to the droning sounds around you. Pay attention to distant white noise hum of a highway, the sound of a refrigerator condenser or your own breath. Let these long, unceasing noises be the inspiration for your next patchable.
THE CHALLENGE
Create a drone patch inspired by the everday sounds around you. There is no limit on modules or external gear used. Simply that the sounds your create should be classifiable as drones.
HOW TO PLAY
THIS PATCHABLE RUNS FROM MARCH 2ND – MARCH 14TH
- Create an original piece of music. It does not have to be a complete track. Ideas are welcome.
- Include the suffix PATCHABLE-0013 in the track title. A completed track title would look like this: Spiral Vortex PATCHABLE-0013
- Upload your track to soundcloud by end of day, Saturday March 14th.
- Include a link to your track and patch notes in the comments below.
https://soundcloud.com/sukasurok/late-night-offices-paper-cups-patchable-0013
1. There is a no input mixer sample out of a bunch i made a while ago, looping in the ER-301. It has some chorusing but you can hear it throughout the patch pretty much unchanged. I also use a separate channel of the 301 to extract triggers from it via comparator, that is fed into Mannequins JF which is the source of most modulation in the patch (to maintain rhythmic relationship to the sample)
2. On the plumbutter, I sent both Gongues into self-oscillation and heavily FM-modulated the Deerhorn with that. The Deerhorn is plugged into the crazy local manufacturer’s FX processor for reverb (part of ::vtol:: “system”, borrowed from a friend). That processor has an audio rate clock input for its DSP, so I underclocked it with cycling Falistri to make it sound grittier. The Deerhorn is played by hand during the recording (that fluctuating dark noisy drone thing)
3. There’s also Benjolin, modulated by JF that takes triggers from the 301’s sample. It is randomly panned by SSF Ultra Random Analog clocked by Benjolin’s B square output (that random is used in a couple more spots). Benjolin’s “pitch” is modulated by the Doepfer A149-1 Quantized Random output (that module is a clone of a half of Buchla 266 Source Of Uncertainty and I think it’s nuts). Benj output is multed into the modulated Folktek Conduit delay
4. There’s another sample in the granular unit in the ER-301, that’s from a recent birthday party i’ve been at, my friend and her husband were performing some folk song in a duo after a tad too much booze. The position in the sample where grains are taken from is sequenced with ER-101 that i manually switch through preset voltages I chose prior to recording the patch (so yes, used like a Pressure Points). Granular unit has some jitter (start time modulated a little) to provide “breathing” texture
5. Recorded live into Reaper as 4 stereo pairs. No editing, just some EQ / limiting. Reverb is the Reaper’s convolution reverb.
https://soundcloud.com/w-y-543363470/w-y-indiana-drones-patchable-0013
My Patch Notes.
I’m playing the two oscillators on the Pittsburgh SV-1 with Pressure Points. Each oscillator receiving its own CV from rows one and two of the Pressure Points. Before CV reaches the input on the oscillators, I have them going through channels 1 and 4 of Maths for some slew/portamento. Also, row three of Pressure Points is being split to modulate the both-rise/fall input of channels 1 and 4 of Maths to fine tune the slew for each pad of the Pressure Points. Also I have oscillator 2 of the Pittsburgh FM-ing oscillator 1.
The Pittsburgh oscillators are being mixed with noise from sample and hold from the SV-1 and noise out of the Telharmonic. Sample and hold Noise is going through the SV-1’s filter, and the Telharmonic noise is going through a Pittsburgh LPG in filter mode. The Degree and flux on the Telharmonic are being modulated by the pitch CV and velocity CV of the DFAM (no noise is coming from the DFAM, just using its sequencer for modulation)
The two noise Sources as well as the two Pittsburgh oscillators are all being mixed to a single output and going through a Pittsburgh Binary filter before going to a Make Noise Mimeophon the Mutable Instruments clouds. Neither the Mimeophon or Clouds have any modulation going to it.
All 8 oscillators on the Dreadbox Antiphon are going. 2 oscillators are being used for modulation. An audio rate oscillator is modulating an the VCA and an (attenuated) LFO is modulation global pitch CV. This LFO is also modulating filter cutoff for the the noise from the Pittsburgh Sample and Hold.
All filter cutoffs were being played by hand with the exception of the SV-1 noise’s filter which was a combination of CV and playing by hand.
Finally I have the output from a 4MS Spectral Multiband Resonator as a sound source just kind of droning away as the low-ish end rumble.
https://soundcloud.com/dysonant/forever-of-patchable-0013-hertz-donut-mk-iii-drone
https://youtu.be/97vS7379FiY
zero sequencing. lots of knob turning. done in a single take.
deep bass drone
This was mainly the Hertz Donut MKIII being modulated by really slow LFOs and knob turning. It was also being amplitude modulated by the Piston Honda MK III. The Piston Honda top OSC was being FMd by it’s lower OSC.
mid freq drone
This was a mix of the STO and VCOb routed to Fuzz Factory to the FXDf out the 692 and 1411 to left and right channels. I had the VCOb sine wave routed to a VCA to control the Linear FM on the STO with a randomly triggered very slow envelope.
chaotic texture
this was provided by both the trogotronic m679 and the benjolin both routed to their own channel in the mix to manually control volume.
The whole mix went into LRMSMSLR
I sent the mid to a EQ and cut the highs and boosted bass a little. I sent the side to a multiple. One mult went to an EQ to boost the highs and cut the lows then to the Tyme Sefari. The other went to Erbe Verb.
https://soundcloud.com/crewcalledself/drones-nyms-patchable-13
Mother 32 in VCA mode with square LFO running at audio rate into the EXT IN
M32 VCA OUT to Mimeophon
DFAM doing chittery noises into a VCA getting CV from Pons Asinorum that is triggered from Turing Machine Pulse
DFAM Out to Erica Pico DSP in circular filter mode
M32 and DFAM and Mimeophon are all getting modulated from a Doepfer LFO attenuated by Maths
I’m pretty sure the Doepfer LFO is also being modulated by Pons Asinorum in LFO mode
A lot of knob turning as well
https://soundcloud.com/makamqore/bulasikhane
I decided to get to know the distinctive voice of our dishwasher a bit better. Turns out, it’s an angst-ridden lil fellow with a lot to express, but was hard to come to an agreement about filter settings and the future potential of the S&P 500. Despite our differences, for a moment, even if only fleeting, we were united as bulaşıkhâne, and it was droney, and it was good (well, awlright). One dish-song went into a morphing morphagene, the second into a stereo dipole near self resonance, and a third was a battle between a disting, a plaits, and a vca (there were no winners). All the other modules ( https://www.modulargrid.net/e/racks/view/1069834 ) tried to collaborate to stop the mess, but only modulated the outlook. Credit should be provided to Seventh Generation for the soap, and to Ashokan for the quality water.
https://soundcloud.com/beaver-crossing/tape-and-microsound-music-machine-drone-patchable-0013 This is a microsound drone using the take and microsound system.
https://soundcloud.com/unsaidleek/undulation-patchable-0013
Patch Notes:
Morphagene drum loop (left)
* OUT > Q-PAS > Mimeophone > Xpan
* cv out to QPAS Radiate Left
* Maths > Gene size
* Maths > slide
* Tempi > Shift
* Telharmonic (drone 1 – center )
* H > Erbe-Verbe > X-Pan Aux
* Maths Inv > EV Depth
* Maths (2) INV > EV PRE
* PLANAR Y > EV Decay
* STO (drone 2 – right)
* Tri > QPAS R > BP > Mimeophone > X-Pan
* Wogg Smooth > Q-Pas Freq 1
* Maths > Q-PAS Q
* Morph CV > Q-PAS Radiate L
* Maths Sum > STO Shape
* Wogg 2 Smooth > STO 1V/Oct
* Planar > Expo
* Tempi
* 1 > Wogg tempo
* 1 > Morph Shift
https://soundcloud.com/thornymusic/holed-up-in-a-miami-storm-patachable-013
I know its a bit late to the party. Hectic WFH prep week. Anyway: Plinks and Plunks from the Division 6 Dual mini sequencer feeds 3 oscillators that provide tone, LFO’s sometimes with an adsr running into the Qpas provided drones and repeating machine noise. 6 tracks total edited and rearranged. On the whole it reminds me air conditioners in south Florida, during heavy rains.
https://soundcloud.com/brain-basement/heart-meditation-patchable-0020-0013-wav
One of my jobs as a media composer is to write meditation music for an energy healer in New York City. Since the challenge was to use only drones, I made a meditation track focused on the heart chakra frequencies.
Patch notes:
Clock:
Frap Tools Sapèl with green random clock inbred back into yellow clock.
Stream 1:
Random Source Serge NTO with variable out to Serge Variable Q VCF. The variable wave shaper is being modulated by a Make Noise Maths in cycle mode, with the fall time randomized by a Frap Tools Sapèl. I’m using the Notch output of the VQVCF being modulated by a channel of an Intellijel Quadrax in LFO mode. Audio to an Optomix being modulated by another channel of Quadrax in Burst mode being triggered by a Maths LFO. Audio to an Erbeverb with Depth CV modulated by Sapèl. Panning is modulated by an LFO being attenuated by a Tangle Quartet. NTO pitches are randomly sequenced by Stillson Hammer.
Stream 2:
Final output of Instruo CS-L to Optomix to Erbeverb. Wavefolding being manipulated by hand.
Stream 3:
Pulse width modulation output of CS-L to Tangle Quartet. PWM is being randomly changed by Sapèl CV. Amplitude modulation from Quadrax in Burst mode being triggered by Maths LFO. Audio to QPAS filter with frequency modulated by Sapèl and right radiate modulated by Wogglebug Smooth CV. Audio to Erbeverb.
Stream 4:
Final Instruo CS-L output in ring modulation mode to Echophon to attenuverted panning.
Stream 5:
Morphagene to Monsoon (clouds clone). Morphagene Morph, Gene, and Slide CVs are sequenced from 0-ctrl.
https://soundcloud.com/forestine1/homesick-drone-patchable-0013
I started out thinking about household noises and was thinking about busy signals and dialtones, so first I made this in the Werkstatt:
Some chugging:
Thinking about humming appliances, decided to make an electrical sound:
Started trying to make a fridge but ended up with a train when I combined this with the next section. I figured, might as well embrace it being a train. That was an everyday sound growing up for me:
Train whistleish: