Tag: Ring Modulation

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Patch from Scratch: Reaktor Feedback Loop

Building a dynamic feedback loop in Reaktor 6 Primary.

Here’s a simple patch based off the work of composer/engineer Jaap Vink from the Institute For Sonology, Utrecht. This ensemble is a feedback loop with a delay, a ring modulator, and a saturator (with a simple sine as a “trigger” to get things started).

Each pass through the loop, the signal is delayed, then ring-modulated, significantly changing the spectrum. This can devolve into noise rather quickly, but a soft touch can lead to some interesting evolving soundscapes.

There’s no talking on this one, just building the patch, and listening to it go.

More Audio Cybernetics and Feedback:

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Pure Data Screaming Metal Feedback Loop

A simple digital feedback patch in Pure Data build from just delay, ring-modulation, and saturation.


Building on my digital feedback video from a few weeks ago, here’s a quick patch for setting up a dynamic controllable feedback loop in Pd Vanilla. I’ve set up a way to get things going with a little sine-wave beep, and you can hear that the feedback loop makes things pretty complex pretty quickly.

WATCH THOSE LEVELS! It gets loud in the middle.

More no-talking Pd videos here.
More music and sound design with cybernetics and feedback.

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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:

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Pd Patch from Scratch: Ring Modulation and Filterbank

A quick and easy Pure Data patch-from-scratch tutorial building another feedback loop with a delay and a ring modulator, this time with a fixed filter bank.

Inspired by the music of Jaap Vink, with three sine waves, a filterbank, a delay, and some feedback, we can make some slow evolving-complex and dynamic sounds.

In this patch we take a sine wave, ring modulate it, then ring modulate that result before running into a filterbank, delay, and then feeding it back on itself.

There’s no talking on this one, just building the patch, and listening to it go.

More feedback loops (in analog):

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Pure Data Ring-Modulation Delay

A quick and easy Pure Data patch-from-scratch tutorial building a feedback loop with a delay and a ring modulator.

With just two sine waves, a delay, and some feedback, we can make some pretty complex and dynamic sounds! In this patch we take a sine wave, delay it, and then ring-modulate that delay before feeding it back on itself (feeding it back into the delay, that is).

There’s no talking on this one, just building the patch, and listening to it go.

More Pd Tutorials
More on modulation synthesis

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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: