The envelope in this video is a Pittsburgh Modular envelope for Eurorack, but the principles remain the same.  Send it a trigger, it makes a CV shape, and the output volume follows.​

When using the KB gate on a Moog synth, whatever note was last pressed will come through as the envelope opens up the amplifier. This is handy for droning situations, but if you intend to sequence your synth via CV you would want a KB gate signal in time with a pitch CV. Using the KB gate can also go nicely with our next input…

EXT IN
It stands for “External Audio Input.”  This has been a feature on countless synths over the years, allowing you to process any audio signal through a synthesizers onboard effects (usually filter and VCA).  To hear your external audio processed, you’ll want to turn down the internal oscillators via the front panel mixer of the synth.  You’ll also need to trigger the amplifier envelope, either via the keyboard or CV into the “KB GATE” jack.  TA-DAAA!  Your synth is now an FX pedal!

VOL CV
This one is an interesting control option. A CV input here will define the master volume. As I understand it, this is the last stop in the circuit, which means your VCA will still function as usual. Imagine this input as an invisible hand cranking your volume knob around in time with a CV signal.

I hope this was informative and fun!  If you’re interested in more information on modular synthesis, I made an intro series (with help from Pittsburgh Modular) a while back that should get you going…

​Start here:

Hey everybody! It’s your Old Pal Aen!

Taking a quick break from live electronics to get back with one of my old flames, guitar projects.  Last week I had some time in Minneapolis, so I packed up a bunch of gear in the hopes of trading up to a 70’s (or 70’s style) stratocaster at Twin Town Guitars. I spent at least two hours in the store playing EVERY guitar and bass I was interested in. When the dollars and cents were figured out I was a little short for any of the vintage instruments I was after, but something else really stuck out: a Fender Starcaster.

Learning is HARD.  It seems like it was a lot easier in school, when I was used to it.  These days  I find myself in the middle of a project moaning to myself:

“WHY IS THIS SO HARD?!”

And then I realize it’s because I do not know what I’m doing.  I’m learning how to do it, while I do it, and often times it turns out OK. The older I get, the more difficult it is to start a brand new thing. 

These days I’m learning how to use hardware electronic instruments. Previously I’ve worked long and hard making electronic music, mostly with computers. That method is more about composition than performance. You have a zillion variables, but almost all of them can be visually edited, automated, or otherwise carefully instructed by the composer. When it’s done the computer plays it all back for you, and you can say “Hell yeah, that worked!” and send it on its way.

There is a great pleasure in working physical machines for music. I like the feel of turning knobs,  pressing keys, bending strings, hitting drums. I like the word “tactile.” Please don’t wear it out though. I’ve had a number of Moog synths over the years. Great machines in that they are user friendly up front, but also very deep thanks to MIDI and even direct DAW integration. With The Ronald Raygun we’ve been rocking a Moog or two since 2012, but in a very “live band” context, no midi sequencing or synchronization. All the “tight” or “timed” electronics you hear on our songs were done in Propellerhead Reason. Which is handy, because it’s where we recorded and mixed a lot of it, too.

In an effort to combine the physical pleasure with the electronic sound, I’ve been picking up bits of hardware, first the Volca beats, because I love drum machines, and then the Electribe Sampler, because I love drum machines that can play samples, too.

I generally use the sampler by itself. Although it is very capable of integrating with lots of other equipment, it’s (relatively) simple interface and portability (BATTERY POWER?!?) let you do an awful lot quickly and easily, provided you are cool with doing music “on the grid.” It took me a while to remember, but I actually fucking love making dance music, even though I’ll never be able to dance worth a shit.

The Volca Beats practically dares you to hook up to effects. The built in delay effect gets the mind running right out of the box. Thankfully I have a job that affords me a great many effects pedals. I tend to leave it by the testing station, hence all the instagram videos of Dwarfcraft devices with no knobs mangling the patterns churned out of the VB. 

So for my first trick/video I wrote a very simple pattern on the sampler, knowing that I could clock the sampler with our Happiness pedal, utilizing one of my favorite effects combos, fuzz into filter, in perfect sync with a drum machine. Just because I was feeling masochistic I added another keyboard into the mix.  It turned out pretty well, but was still kind of “rock bass with effects” in my opinion.

Last week I started experimenting in earnest with electronics only. Don’t get all shitty with me, I know the bass is an electromagnetic instrument, therefore it is electronic. I know amplified music is electronic, you know WHAT I MEAN WHEN I TALK ABOUT ELECTRONIC INSTRUMENTS. THE THINGS OLD PEOPLE THINK ARE NOT INSTRUMENTS. Anyway, I thought I was pretty clever when I split the voices on the sampler left and right in order to process them separately via effects pedals. And I thought I was pretty clever when I remembered my loop pedal had two inputs. Perhaps the most clever was the Boredbrain Patchulator. When using that handy little patch bay, you don’t have to decide what order to put the effects in!  You just pick a bunch you like, and try out combos without ripping up velcro and re-arranging all the pedals!

The video below shows you pretty much the first cool sound set I came across.  It doesn’t seem quite complete, but that’s OK.  I’ll be using this technique, and patch in an upcoming full band performance for our new Echoes video series (coming sooooooon!).

Well, It worked, more or less! Like I said, I’m still learning this. I’m actually enjoying learning this, now that that learning muscle isn't so out of shape. I worked on the setup off an on for a few days, testing equipment and sounds, all while fighting off the head cold you can hear so well in the video. And then it took another couple hours to get familiar with the raw sounds, and the processed products. Last night I had all my parts chosen, my patch cabled up, and sound checked.  
“camera rolling!” I shouted into the camera mic. I ran back to the control room and hit record.  I scurried back to the table.
“audio rolling!”  I shouted into the mic, and SPLAT.  A big old blob of blood fell on my hand from my sick AF nose. Oh great.
“CANCEL.”  I yelled even louder and I sat down to sop up my bloody nose.

“Why is this so fucking hard?” I asked myself. And then I remembered: I don’t know what I’m doing. Thank goodness for that nosebleed. It forced me to sit down and have a think, rather than just blasting through, and staying frustrated.  

Nope, I don’t know what I’m doing. But if you want to watch me learn, you’re quite welcome. There’s another synth on it’s way to me, so expect another installment soon. I think next time, as much as I love my amps I will dump everything to a mixer and directly into Reason, so I can maintain better level controls.  Oh, and you can bet your sweet bippy I’ll wreck some shit with that Necromancer.