Archive of the former Yahoo!Groups mailing list: Modular Synth Panels

In it's simplest form, a Wogglebug is a VCO with a slowly moving pitch that is trying to be
tracked by another VCO being controller by a phased locked loop. The exact technical
details of a phased lock loop are not important.

What is important is a guy named Norbert Weiner wrote a book in 1948 called
"Cybernetics" which had to do with the mathematics of control systems. Later, a guy
named Louis Barron read Mr. Weiners book and realized that a phase locked loop was the
most primitive and relatively easy to implement form of a "cybernetic organism". His
experiments with this produced an enormous amount of strange electronic sounds on
magnetic tape.

His poor wife Bebe had the arduous task of going through all these tapes and locating the
sounds that produced some kind of evocative response in the human listener. In my
humble opinion, Bebe really deserves the glory for having the patience and talent to
assemble multiple evocative compositions from more or less random noise segments.

I had the idea of implementing Don Buchla's circuit for a Model 265 Source of Uncertainty,
but using CD4046 chips as the voltage buffers instead of simple op-amps. After several
months of experimenting, I stumbled on a configuration where I realized I had accidentally
rediscovered one of the techniques used by Louis Barron in his original research. A
tracking phase lock loop that was rythmically disturbed by another random source.

In theory, this would be the basis for at least some of what Mr. Barron did for the
"Forbidden Planet" sound tracks. The only way to find out would be to methodically "circuit
bend" Wogglebug modules to produce more and more bizarre behavior and tonalities.

I have experimented with this and I can give you some tips, most things you try will do
nothing, others will amaze you. I suggest you have a recorder handy for the good parts.

1. The Wogglebug is powered off of "energy limited class 2" circuitry according to
Underwriters Laboratory". As long as the +/- 15 volt supply is UL listed, then there should
be nothing you can do to electrocute yourself or start a fire. However common sense is
needed, do not run electricity through your body deliberately, and make sure the wire you
use is insulated and you touch only the insulated part (that is the plastic part and not the
metal part).

2. You can connect a 10K resistor from any point in the circuit to any other point in the
circuit without doing any harm. What is more useful is wiring a 1 meg potentiometer in
series with a 10K resistor, then connect the two leads to any two random points and vary
the 1 meg potentiometer from end to end while listening to different points in the circuit.

3. This tip gives the best results I have found so far. Take a VTL5C3 Vactrol and wire a 1K
resistor in series with the LED inside. Connect the LED to various outputs while connecting
the resistor side of the Vactrol in parallel with different front panel controls and internal
resistors.

Absolutely nothing you can do with or to a Wogglebug will make you even slightly rich, so
if you find something cool, instead of clutching this secret knowledge to your breast like
Scrooge, why not publish it here to the adulation and acclaim of the Loyal Order of the
Wogglebug? We who are about to Woggle, Salute You!