It has been 56 days since I’ve worn what would qualify as pants. Netflix needs to stop shaming me with, “Are you still watching?” Or at least start asking, “Do you really need more chips?” My quar buzz cut is starting to grow out and I get tired from taking a shower.
Confinement has us all experiencing unfamiliar restrictions. Let’s turn those restrictions into something productive and creative together.
THE CHALLENGE
This patchable encourages you to explore square waves. FM a VCO with a square wave and output the square wave. Open a VCA with a GATE instead of an envelope. Ping a filter, delay or any sound processor with a GATE. Send timed GATES to CV inputs on various modules. Send a square wave LFO to multiple destinations. Send an audio rate square wave to a clock divider and output multiple divisions to a mixer. Turn other waves into square waves with a S&H. Be creative and come up with your own use of square waves. The only rule here, you must only use square waves as your control or sound source.
HOW TO PLAY
THIS PATCHABLE RUNS FROM MAY 8TH – MAY 23RD
- Create an original piece of music. It does not have to be a complete track. Ideas are welcome.
- Include the suffix PATCHABLE-0015 in the track title. A completed track title would look like this: Spiral Vortex PATCHABLE-0015
- Upload your track to soundcloud by end of day, Saturday May 23rd.
- Include a link to your track and patch notes in the comments below.
https://soundcloud.com/crewcalledself/squarebiz-nyms-patchable-0015
PATCH NOTES
main clock is metropolis because my LFO is not reliable
DFAM kick w/both VCO in square mode and high FM is triggered by KLEE bus 1
DFAM VCF MOD is the snare type sound handled by KLEE CV-A&B
Metropolis is sending pitch to Dixie2 square wave out and that gates gated by Metropolis as well thru VCA
Dixie is getting PWM from a square LFO and FM from DFAM VCO2 pitch sequenced at near audio rate
KLEE bus 3 gate is triggering a VCA for Chainsaw on highly detuned square
Chainsaw is sent thru VCA to Mimepohon w/tight repeat and hi rate
KLEE bus 1 gate is triggering a S&H which is pinging Forbidden Planet self oscillating and then sent thru Pura Ruina that is gated by KLEE master
KLEE bus 2 gate is triggering open hats and KLEE Master trigger is hitting the closed hats
https://soundcloud.com/makamqore/belirsiz-kare-unknown-square-patchable-0015 ABOUT: Patch diagram: there were modules, and then there were cables. Sines and triangles and saws and drills were furloughed. I don’t know what to say, I can know that ideas came to mind when I was playing it and later mixing it down, though. I thought about squares (squares will be squared), but then thought of a Turkish proverb that doesn’t exist: “belirsiz kare artık kare değildir.” It exists now. Say THAT on a crowded Istanbul pedestrian thoroughfare in your best “outdoor voice” and see wtf happens. Happy accidents: slew the square to slay the swing. Red-knob-square-swing-slayer. 14 square waves banging on, only one pitch-melody space (everything else is a phantasmagoria), and better yet despite the sharp edges no-one got hurt in the affair.
https://soundcloud.com/user-731767312/nyms-patchable-0015 The wobble bass is a square wave from oscillator 1 on the Matriarch with an envelope from PNW at x4 the clock rate modulating the envelope amount on the filter. A gate from PNW at /4 the clock rate is modulating the pitch of oscillator 1. The filter is opened every 4 bars by another gate from PNW at /16 the clock rate modulating the filter cutoff. The FM sound is a pulse wave from oscillator 2 of the Matriarch hard synch’d to oscillator 1 and FM’d by a square wave from the Rubicon.
https://soundcloud.com/dysonant/patchable0015
I used square waves for almost all signals in this patch. All modulation was a form of square wave including pitch and LFO. The only none square wave elements were the LPGs and manual knob manipulation.
The main clock was a Intelijel Noise Tools pulse. I multed this to several destinations.
Pad = Piston Honda set to a square wave in unison mode. Mixing attenuated random gates to get pitch variation sequence. Open and closing VCA with gates from Animodule STD.
Modulated Drone = Benjolin rungled bandpass out.
Percussive notes = Sent STO square to Doepfer A-160-2 Clock divider set to Prime. Output 4 audio rate snare waves from clock divider to 4 LPGs (optomix and LxD). Sent 4 gates out from Zorlon Cannon to strike LPGs
Longer melodic lines = manually opened the LPGs(from above) to extend note time.
Bass = Piston Honda Square wave in unison mode. Sent to Tyme Sefari. Modulating pitch on Sound of Thunder (TS expander)with a gate from Zorlon Cannon to get pitch variation. Modulating Sampling Frequency on TS with main clock pulse for a chorus like effect. VCA opened with gate from STD.
https://soundcloud.com/leftpop/canaries-patchable-0015 Live improvised jam with just an SQ1 and MS20 in one take. The square/pulse modulation generator out is going into the TOTAL in on the MS20. This allows a single square wave LFO to affect the filters as well as the pitches on both (square wave) oscillators. So there is a square-generated melody that interacts with the slower paced sequence coming from the SQ1. As the piece goes on and the filters open up the “Square-ness” of the dual oscillators becomes more apparent. In addition to the synth and sequencer, I’m also applying an echo effect through a pedal chain in realtime. That’s pretty much the patch: a huge amount of variation is possible within this setup by changing the speed of the modulation generator. Adjusting the LFO shape also adjusts its apparent phase, as the higher note in the melody hits sooner or later in the cycle depending on the shape from narrow pulse, through square, to wide pulse. Midway through the piece, I push the modulation generator towards audio rate, deconstructing the groove and landing into a new vibe that contains an eerily spot-on rendition of the classic European(?) police/emergency siren. At this point the high pass filter gets pushed into self-oscillation to provide a counterpoint to the melody.
https://soundcloud.com/user-961949270/squaredance-patchable0015
Modules used:
VCO: Mangrove & Dannysound Cali Osc, STO
VCA/LPG:Optomix RYO Aperure, Bastl Quattro Figaro, Circuit Abbey VacVac
ENV: Intellijel Quadra
Delay: Chronoblob2
Wavefolder NLC Timbre&Timbre
LFO: Batumi
Random: 2HP TM
Quantizer: O&C micro
Mults: Warna, Spaghetti, 2HP
Mixer:Endophins Cockpit
Batumii Div mode
Ch1>Mult>RYO Klang, O&C Trig1, TM Trig
Ch2>Mult>Mangrove Sync, Optomix Ch1 Strike, Chronoblob sync
Ch3>Trig Quadra
Ch4>QuatroFigaro CV ch1
“Thump” STO (SUB) > Optomix ch1>Quatro Figaro C>C&D output to Cockpit ch 2
“Main Melody” TM>O&C providing pitch to CaliOSC & Mangrove. Cali LFO Square to VacVac> FM input of Mangrove
Mangrove >Timbre > Aperture receiving CV from Quadra> QuatroFigaro A (out A&B)>Chronoblob>Cockpit ch3
QuattroFiugaro receivibnf CV panning from Batumi.
https://soundcloud.com/sukasurok/patchable-0015
not many notes here, it’s literally 208r (both oscillators doing squares) and Ciat Lonbarde plumbutter together, feeding back to themselves, triggering and FM-ing each other and that’s it. it’s a variation on a krell patch but pitch is not random. no post edits, no eurorack lol, a touch of reaper’s built in convolution reverb.
https://soundcloud.com/unsaidleek/square-bubbles-patchable-0015
Patch Notes: Only non-square waves are some manual control of cross fading and volume via an Intellijel Planar2. I did a few versions of this patch and don’t know which this was so patch notes are sparse.
Modules used: Makenoise DPO, STO, QPAS, Mimeophone, Tempi, OptoMix, ModDeMix, Brains, Pressure Points, Maths – for attenuation.
Square waves from: DPO, STO Sub, Tempi, and Pressure Points cycled via Brains with all pots set high or low to generate additional square waves and used as LFO’s or at audio rate.
https://soundcloud.com/brain-basement/who-left-all-this-stuff-here-patchable-0015
The track is titled “Who Left All This Stuff Here?”, because it gathers a lot of bits and pieces of different techniques I’ve been working on for the past few months.
Patch Notes:
Stream 1:
Random Source Serge NTO to Make Noise QPAS filter. Level is gated by a clock from Tempi. Low pass output to Erbeverb. Size and Tilt CV are gated by square wave LFOs from an Intellijel Quadrax. Absorb is gated by a clock from Tempi. This stream has both a dry and a wet sound, achieving both a bass pulse and an ambient swirl.
Stream 2:
Instruo CS-L with two square outputs to Optomix. The second square goes into a multiple and then comes back into the input of the 1st oscillator. Both Optomix channels are being struck by gates from Maths. One Optomix channel goes to an X-Pan for final panning and mixing, the other goes to an Echophon and then to X-Pan. Panning is being switched by a square LFO from Quadrax.
Stream 3:
Basimilus Iteritas Alter receiving gates from a Stillson Hammer sequencer. It is also receiving gates from End of Rise and End of Fall outputs of the Quadrax. Morph CV is gated by Tempi.
Okay two of my oscillators are technically ‘Pulse’ but we’re going with that. I mean, at least they’re not rhombus waves.
https://soundcloud.com/forestine1/toothache-patchable-0015
Lots of gates mixed together with stacking cables in this one. So much multing.
Pamela’s New Workout is putting out all gates, but with different speeds/phases/delay times/skips.