Unlocking the Expert Sleepers FH-1 ‘faderHost’

Unlocking the Expert Sleepers FH-1 ‘faderHost’

Modern MIDI controller keyboards come with a lot of input options. However, very few MIDI to control voltage + gate (CV/Gate) converters have enough outputs to take advantage of all these performance inputs, plus restrict how you use them to select operating modes. By contrast, the FH-1 comes with eight outputs (expandable to 64), with all of its operating modes available simultaneously. I’ll explain a couple of approaches to harnessing all that power.

When Do You Actually Need a Buffered Multiple?

When Do You Actually Need a Buffered Multiple?

A perennial question is “do I really need a buffered multiple to connect to my oscillators?” The correct answer is “it depends” because there’s so many variables with the way different modules were designed. I figured it was time to flesh out those details so it didn’t seem like so much voodoo.

Second Oscillator, or Waveform Animator?

Second Oscillator, or Waveform Animator?

Many semi-modular synths have just one VCO. They usually feature a square wave with pulse width animation, but if you want to use the sawtooth wave instead, the sound can be rather static. A common addition is a second oscillator; an interesting alternative is a “waveform animator.”

Patching a Ratcheting Sequence

Patching a Ratcheting Sequence

Ratcheting is a Berlin School sequencing technique where an individual note in a sequence has its envelopes retriggered multiple times, usually at a musical subdivision of the sequence’s tempo – such as playing 1/32 notes in the middle of an 1/8 note sequence – to create a roll. Although used since the 70s, not everyone knows how to create a ratcheting patch on their modular. In this article I demonstrate creating and performing several typical ratcheting patches.

Matching Octaves in Your Modular

Matching Octaves in Your Modular

Different oscillators and MIDI to CV converters may have varying ideas of what voltage a given note produces, and what pitch should you hear as a result. If there is a difference, in most cases it can be dialed out with a pitch knob or transpose switch. However, there are occasions when you need the assistance of an additional module to settle these disagreements.