[sdiy] Modular - sound or song

[Scott]

And, I just want to add, modular-machine music (what's the proper term?) doesn't have to be the totally free running completely random stuff that you often hear.  I've also got a bunch of the CGS modules.  Using dividers, gate sequencers, analog switches, sequential switches, etc, brings order to the chaos. I can force it to make a transition every 32 measures, or something..  or better, suggest it makes one of a few transitions every so often.. (another cgs module, weighted random switch).  The songs it makes really do sound like real songs.  Generally early techno or industrial or DnB type stuff, but songs none the less.

I think my modular is becoming an over sized, uncontrollable sequencer that can only play one song at a time.  But, I guess that's what I want it to be.


Ian, I  built several midi to CV converters..  The paia midi/cv.. the midibox cv.. the midibox seqv3 w/ the CV converter..  so 24 cv's, 16 gates from midi..  I never used them.. The midibox seqv3 does everything all of my other gate sequencers and cv sequencers do, plus so much more, but I never touch it.(it's somewhat menu driven, and doesn't fit in w/ the modular theme of having a knob/switch for every function)  I took all of them out other than the little paia, just in case...



-----Original Message-----
From: synth-diy-bounces at dropmix.xs4all.nl [mailto:synth-diy-bounces at dropmix.xs4all.nl] On Behalf Of Ian Smith
Sent: Wednesday, April 08, 2009 2:29 PM
To: synth diy
Subject: RE: [sdiy] Modular - sound or song



> So what that takes me to.. do you use your modular as a sound generation device, like a normal synth, that you play w/ a keyboard or sequencer, or do you use your modular as a semi-random song creation machine?
>
> I started my modular w/ the idea of it being a normal playable synth, but after the first time I patched it up, that philosophy changed. Now, I almost always start a patch w/ a clock going to a divider, going to a percussion module and to some semi-random CV generating module, etc, and build my patch into a song.
> so, im just curious how others use their modulars.

I'm right there with you. I'm in the process of building up my first modular, but I keep finding myself designing pseudo-random tone generators and sequencers and being drawn to modules like Ken Stone's CV cluster and Ian Fritz's Chaos modules... I'm beginning to think that I may leave off the MIDI to CV converter for quite some time.

-Ian (randomness) Smith

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