Hi Nils
Nice to see you over here!
I just wanted to mention that in my personal experience (only about 1 year), while having a clear goal in mind is generally a great starting point, I honestly wouldn't get too caught up in visualizing a very specific application, as that can lead to frustration when things don't quite work out. I tend to chance on the best sounds just at the moment when I transition from thinking about how with an extra ADSR I could do so-and-so (left brain, engineering approach to patching) and start just experimenting. Of course, you have to set up a good playground, and that's the art of patching a Serge as far as I can tell. Yes on paper it can do X, Y and Z, but I went through a lull after buying mine when I started reaching the limits of my preconceptions based on other synths.
A lot of the power of a Serge is just the shear power of the sound. I still start each patch with "this is going to be an FM patch" or something similar, but I now let myself end up with something completely different. This took some getting used to. Yes the modules are very versatile, but you probably don't want to think of the top half of an SSG as an LFO for example, that's too limiting, nor is the SSG a very fully featured LFO.
Cheers,
Kkonkkrete
Nice to see you over here!
I just wanted to mention that in my personal experience (only about 1 year), while having a clear goal in mind is generally a great starting point, I honestly wouldn't get too caught up in visualizing a very specific application, as that can lead to frustration when things don't quite work out. I tend to chance on the best sounds just at the moment when I transition from thinking about how with an extra ADSR I could do so-and-so (left brain, engineering approach to patching) and start just experimenting. Of course, you have to set up a good playground, and that's the art of patching a Serge as far as I can tell. Yes on paper it can do X, Y and Z, but I went through a lull after buying mine when I started reaching the limits of my preconceptions based on other synths.
A lot of the power of a Serge is just the shear power of the sound. I still start each patch with "this is going to be an FM patch" or something similar, but I now let myself end up with something completely different. This took some getting used to. Yes the modules are very versatile, but you probably don't want to think of the top half of an SSG as an LFO for example, that's too limiting, nor is the SSG a very fully featured LFO.
Cheers,
Kkonkkrete
--- In SergeModular@yahoogroups.com, matthew carpenter <matfhew.carpenfer@...> wrote:
>
> Hi Nils,
>
> The Animal's a great choice!
>
> I would use the following for a 3 operator FM patch with an Animal. Pretty
> much echoing what Steve said:
>
> The NTO provides a built-in VCA for FM modulation amount so the other VCA
> for controlling the mod. amount of the PCO could be obtained from the top
> section of the Wave Multiplier (in LO mode). Then, if you want control over
> the mod. amount for your third oscillator, which could be the
> self-oscillating VCFQ, use half of the UAP.
>
> The Smooth section of the SSG and both halves of the DTG can be
> patch-programmed to behave as transient generators or dual-waveform LFOs.
> These won't behave like VCAs, if patch-programmed -- the behavior is more
> like a low-pass gate.
>
> Matt
>
> On Mon, Aug 10, 2009 at 10:01 AM, stkorn <stkorn@...> wrote:
>
> >
> >
> > Hi Nils,
> >
> > Welcome to the list! The Animal is a great choice for an all-in-one Serge.
> > As far as I know, the bottom section of the SSG cannot be used as a VCA but
> > nonetheless I think you have all the pieces needed to do the 3 operator FM
> > patch you describe. Oscillators are no problem, you would have at least 6 to
> > choose from. Let's say you use the NTO, PCO and VCFQ. You can then use both
> > halves of the DTG as EG's plus the SSG smooth section which can self-cycle
> > as an LFO (you said you also have external ramp generators so that would
> > give you more options here) . For VCA's you have the top section of the Wave
> > Multiplier plus the two in the UAP. So it looks like you would be able to do
> > the patch (plus a whole lot more of course!)
> >
> >
> > --- In SergeModular@yahoogroups.com <SergeModular%40yahoogroups.com>,
> > "Nils Odegaard" <nilsodegaard@> wrote:
> > >
> > > Hi everyone,
> > >
> > > I'm new to this list, and not (yet) a Serge owner. I'm contemplating
> > acquiring an Animal, after years of drooling over a Serge system.
> > >
> > > One of the things I like about Serge is, not surprisingly, the
> > patch-programmability. Since an Animal seems most suited to my needs, I'm
> > currently trying to understand the possible uses of each of the modules. One
> > way of doing this is to set up "imaginary patches" in my head :)
> > >
> > > I would like your feedback on one of these patches, namely the "reduced
> > Yamaha DX". The idea is to make a 3-operator FM synth, not in any way an
> > exact replica of a Yamaha DX, but with a similar and simplified
> > architecture. The 6-op DX7 arcitecture will of course demand a lot more
> > modules, and I'm thinking 3-op will give me enough to play with when taking
> > voltage-controllability, wave multipliers etc into account.)
> >
> >
> >
>