It’s been a varied month: In addition to working on my studio to better prepare it for recording and webcasts (and I have two such events coming up in December), I’ve created videos for a couple of small, inexpensive modulators, and experimented further with altering the waveforms produced by typical VCO modules – a subject that is the featured article this month. 

 

  • featured articleHave a spare filter? Patch it after the VCO and have this second VCF track the VCO’s pitch to alter the waveshapes your VCO produces.
  • new videos & postsVideos on two small, inexpensive modulators, plus another article on chaos.
  • course updatesMore videos added to the Eurorack Expansion Extended course.
  • Patreon updatesArticles on CV processing and generative patching, in addition to my usual extended posts for the new videos I released.
  • upcoming eventsI am one of the performers at the next Resident Electronic Music event, plus Kim Bjørn and I will be doing an Instagram Live chat and taking questions.
  • one more thingAre you a manufacturer interested in Bluetooth MIDI?

New Videos & Blog Posts

I wrote an article on Chaos Generators for the Elby Designs website, but just learned its URL recently. After an introduction to chaos, it focuses on a pair of Ian Fritz’s chaos module designs that Elby has turned into products. (By the way, I just learned that Ian lives on the other side of the Sandia Mountains from me in New Mexico; I always assumed he lived in Australia…as Freff said years ago in Keyboard magazine, it is a very large world – it just folds together in funny places.)

In addition to the video above on using a filter as waveshaper, I’ve also released module-specific videos for the Zlob Modular Diode Chaos and the Mobula Modular ROTLFO. A second public video using the ROTLFO shows how to massage control voltages to get the desired response in general from modules that might behave differently than you might expect.

Finally, I made public the video I shared with you back in the October newsletter of a presentation I did on wave splicing and crossfading for the New Mexico Control Voltage meetup group.

Modular Courses Updates

Learning Modular Eurorack Expansion Extended

Videos on the Zlob Modular Diode Chaos and Mobula Modular ROTLFO modulation sources have been added to the Euroack Expansion: Extended course.

For those who read this far, click here to get $75 off that course through the end of 2020. If you already bought Level 1 or 2 of the Eurorack Expansion course, contact me with your user ID (the email address you log in with), and I will create a custom coupon for you that gives you $75 plus what you already paid for the lower tier courses when you upgrade to the Tier 3 Extended version of the course.

Patreon Updates

If you’re hard core about learning modular synthesis, then please consider subscribing to my Patreon channel. It’s where I first share new ideas ideas I’m playing with, and also where I go into much greater depth than I can with just a video on YouTube etc.

For those who have already subscribed (thank you!) but didn’t have a chance to keep up with my new posts last month, they included:

Upcoming Events

I will be playing under the name Alias Zone as part of the next Resident Electronic Music event on Tuesday, December 8, at 8 PM PST, 11 PM EST, and 7 AM Wednesday CET (don’t worry; there will  be a replay). Resident is very loose with what you’re “allowed” to use to create music for their event, so I’ll be using a combination my Monster studio modular, two or three polysynths, and possibly some acoustic hand percussion processed through The Tardis.

Also, I will be joining Kim Bjørn of Bjooks for an informal live video interview/conversation on the WeMakeBjooks Instagram channel Thursday, December 10, at 11 AM EST, 2 PM PST, and 8 PM CET. Kim and I co-wrote Patch & Tweak, and Kim just released Patch & Tweak with Moog. We will be talking about the two books as well as other topics including modular composition & performance – plus answering your questions from the online chat! I hope you can join us.

One More Thing…

I know a few manufacturers receive this newsletter, so this last bit is for you: Tom White – former long-running president of the MIDI Manufacturers Association – has been consulting with Zhao Yitian of CME (maker of the Xkey Keyboard) about his Bluetooth MIDI or “BLE-MIDI” technology, including his new WIDI Master.

Tom tells me that “Zhao’s developed an inexpensive BLE 5 module (subsystem – not modular synth module) with the firmware for both central and peripheral operation to support connections with or without a host PC, and has optimized the firmware to achieve latency as low as 3ms. He would like to provide the module to other companies for use in their products, and it occurred to me that maybe some modular device makers might be interested in adding BLE-MIDI support (and not interested in developing the expertise to build their own solution).”

If you might be interested, get in touch with me using the contact form at the bottom of this page, and I will put you in contact with Tom and Zhao.

After I get done composing, performing, recording, and editing a new piece of music for Resident, I then need to turn my attention to rewiring my studio to take advantage of a new Allen & Heath QuPac digital mixer. I’m hoping it is going to help automate switching the studio from jamming to recording to creating videos to webcasting performances. I also have another video or two already recorded and waiting to be edited, plus I’m starting to play around with integrating modules with hardware polysynths that have CV inputs. So, lots to talk about in the weeks ahead – as well as some holidays to celebrate!

best regards –
Chris