Eurorack Neural Network Jam: “An Explanation of the Universe”

A mess of Eurorack CV feedback that’s not random. It’s chaotic!

This instrument creates chaotic synthesized music that I interact with using four knobs. The music that this synthesizer creates is not random. It is determined by a set of “rules” created by the different components interacting with each other. However, because each of these modules influences and is influenced by several others, the interconnected network of interactions obfuscates the rules of the system. This leads to the instrument’s chaotic, incomprehensible behavior.

As with all chaotic systems, though, if it were possible to understand all of the different components and their relationships, and do complex enough calculations, we would be able to predict the outcome of all of our interactions.

Patch notes: ….Uh…. I just kept patching things back into each other, and this is where I ended up.

Reaktor 6 Primary Resonant EQ (Faking the Serge Resonant EQ in Reaktor)

Building a resonant EQ in Reaktor Primary, taking inspiration from the Serge Resonant EQ’s unevenly-spaced frequencies and nonlinear controls.

In my regular journeys across the internet, I came across the Random*Source Serge Resonant EQ, a reissue of the resonant EQ from the Serge Synthesizer, and became a bit taken with its implementation and ideas. $400 is a bit too much for an impulse buy, so let’s see what we can do in Reaktor.

Random*Source Serge Resonant EQ

Even if we don’t end up with something that sounds perfect, we can use this as an opportunity to think more about subtractive synthesis, and talk about “parametric support” in our control schemes.

0:00 Purchase Your Way to Music Proficiency!
0:43 Random*Source Serge Resonant EQ
1:14 What’s interesting about this?
2:59 Disclaimer
3:22 Reaktor Primary Peak EQ
5:00 “Boost” vs. “Resonance”
5:53 Making Selectable Sound Sources
8:18 Throwing in an Oscilloscope
8:49 Starting the Resonant EQ Macro
9:28 Creating a Single Band
11:24 Level Controls to Avoid Clipping
13:13 One Knob for Resonance and Boost
14:28 “Funny Math”
21:13 Recapping the Flow / Fine Tuning
22:49 Duplicate! (for each frequency)
23:23 Setting the Frequencies
25:09 Adding a ByPass Switch
25:53 Sound Test
27:14 Saturator
28:04 Waveform Variance Across Instrument Range
29:38 Feedback
35:30 Next Steps

Internet-Based Feedback Loops: Eurorack vs. Zoom (with Spectral Evolver)

Using the latency from videoconferencing software as a delay for Eurorack feedback loops, creating (noisy) evolving sonic textures.

I’m in Connecticut, Spectral Evolver  is in Colorado, but that doesn’t mean we can’t connect our Eurorack systems.

Through the “magic” of Zoom, we create a feedback loop: I’m ring modulating the signal coming in from Zoom, he’s filtering the signal coming in on his end. This creates a “no-input” system across the world wide web, allowing us to create evolving textures inspired by Dutch composer Jaap Vink.

More on feedback loops and cybernetic systems here:

Understanding Mid/Side Stereo in Synthesis (Pure Data, Reaktor, and Eurorack)

Mid/Side is a different way of working with stereo, where, rather than one channel for the left, and one for the right, you have one channel for the “mid” information, and one channel for the “side”. This format allows for different approaches to stereo processing, playing with the stereo image in new and interesting ways.

I’ve seen a lot of videos about mid/side for mixing or mastering but I thought I’d talk a bit about the potential for this approach in sound design, and how it can help us think about 3D audio and ambisonics too.

Modules in the Eurorack modular demonstration:
-Winterbloom Castor&Pollux dual oscillator
-Shakmat SumDif precision adder
-Hikari Instruments Ping Filter
-Instruo Tanh saturator

Analog. Audio Multiplication, Ring Modulation, & AM Synthesis (Snazzy FX Dual Multiplier)

I got a Snazzy FX “Dual Multiplier” the other day, and thought it might be a good opportunity to talk about audio multiplication and the difference between AM synthesis and ring modulation.

Both AM synthesis and RM can be accomplished by multiplying a waveform (the “carrier”) by another waveform in the audible range You don’t need an analog multiplier to do this! You can do this in whatever synthesis environment you’re working in–Pd, Max/MSP, Kyma, Reaktor. All you have to do is multiply your signals, being mindful of whether the signals are unipolar (0 to 1) or bipolar (-1 to 1).

More on modulation synthesis: