vocoder – Reason101

57 – Kong FX Chain Builder

In this tutorial I’m going to show you how to create a flexible FX chain that has 8 stops along the chain, and at each of these stops, allows you to select from 1 of 6 different FX devices. This means you have a total of 48 different FX devices to select from in the chain, and the possible permutations of all these FX are 8×7 possible FX combinations, which amounts to 40,320 possible FX chain permutations. Don’t believe me? Go here: http://www.vpgenius.com/tools/combin.aspx. That’s a hell of a lot of possibilities. Now change the order of your FX chains, and you end up with double, triple and even more possibilities. So let’s see how it’s all done.

You can download the project files here: Kong-FX-Chain-Builders. The file contains 3 different FX chain combinators that are outlined below. The effects in each chain are the same. The only difference is that they each present the chain in a different order. You can take this idea and build any number of effects chains in any order you wish to combine both “Serial” and “Parallel” processing of your audio signal through various FX that you create in Reason. It’s all only limited by your own imagination.

Introducing the “Kong FX Chain Builder” Patch

The beauty of this type of system lies also in the fact that you can combine a “Serial” and “Parallel” audio system together. So when I was working on my “Key Flux FX Processor” in project number 56 here on my site, I introduced the notion of a Parallel system, whereby the same audio was sent through many different FX chains and then sent out to the soundcard. In this tutorial, I’m going to introduce the idea of a Serial FX system, and merge it with a Parallel FX system so that you get much more flexible audio routing and audio possibilities.

The main controls for the Kong FX Chain Builder (and Combinator Controls)

The idea is pretty simple. First you have a set of FX in a chain, as follows:

Filter > Delay > Distortion > Chorus > Phaser > Delay 2 > Filter 2 > Reverb

Now, each of these “stops” along the chain also has 7 different selectable FX sound possibilities, as follows:

Filter> (Pad 1)	Delay> (Pad 2)	Distortion> (Pad 3)	Chorus> (Pad 4)	Phaser> (Pad 5)	Delay2> (Pad 6)	Filter2> (Pad 7)	Reverb> (Pad 8 )
FX 1	FX 1	FX 1	FX 1	FX 1	FX 1	FX 1	FX 1
FX 2	FX 2	FX 2	FX 2	FX 2	FX 2	FX 2	FX 2
FX 3	FX 3	FX 3	FX 3	FX 3	FX 3	FX 3	FX 3
FX 4	FX 4	FX 4	FX 4	FX 4	FX 4	FX 4	FX 4
FX 5	FX 5	FX 5	FX 5	FX 5	FX 5	FX 5	FX 5
FX 6	FX 6	FX 6	FX 6	FX 6	FX 6	FX 6	FX 6
Dry Audio	Dry Audio	Dry Audio	Dry Audio	Dry Audio	Dry Audio	Dry Audio	Dry Audio

The Dry audio is there so that you have a selection that sets things back to being the original audio, like a pass-through. Using this table you can come up with an amazingly large array of different sounds by mixing and matching the different FX together. You can, for instance, create the following:

Filter > (Pad 1)	Delay > (Pad 2)	Distortion > (Pad 3)	Chorus > (Pad 4)	Phaser > (Pad 5)	Delay 2 > (Pad 6)	Filter 2 > (Pad 7)	Reverb > (Pad 8 )
FX 1	FX 1	FX 1	FX 1	FX 1	FX 1	FX 1	FX 1
FX 2	FX 2	FX 2	FX 2	FX 2	FX 2	FX 2	FX 2
FX 3	FX 3	FX 3	FX 3	FX 3	FX 3	FX 3	FX 3
FX 4	FX 4	FX 4	FX 4	FX 4	FX 4	FX 4	FX 4
FX 5	FX 5	FX 5	FX 5	FX 5	FX 5	FX 5	FX 5
FX 6	FX 6	FX 6	FX 6	FX 6	FX 6	FX 6	FX 6
Dry Audio	Dry Audio	Dry Audio	Dry Audio	Dry Audio	Dry Audio	Dry Audio	Dry Audio

And that is just one example.

Switching the Order of Effects in the Chain

The Kong FX Chain builder from the back of the rack

Now I know some of you are going to say, “well why can’t I switch the order of the FX chain?” So instead of having the Filter come before the Delay, how about switching it so that the Filter comes after the delay. And to that I’ll say that Reason is not the easiest software to work with when it comes to making routing decisions such as these and building it into a single setup is very difficult. But thankfully it’s pretty easy to build multiple instances of the Combinator to come up with any FX chain order you like. The trick is to flip to the back of the rack and change the following:

The order of the “Gate Out” CVs from the first 8 Kong Pads
The order of the 14:2 Submixers and their associated splitters. The signal flow goes from the “To Devices” of the Combinator into the first Effect’s splitter. Then the 14:2 Submix main output of the first effect goes into the second effect’s splitter. And so on down the chain, until the final output goes into the Pan splitter device. The Pan also has a bank of different “Global” LFO Panning selections. This can be selected on Pad 15.

So anyway, this just shows you that with a little thought, you can create a variety of FX of your own and route them in a serial way. Then use the “Parallel” processing idea to create multiple effects at each stop in the chain. Simple enough right?

Here are the other 2 effect chains I came up with. Feel free to create your own based on variations that work for you. You can either change the routing scheme as I outlined above, or you can change the actual effects at each stop. As you can see, you don’t even need to have all the FX in play within the chain. You can keep any part of the chain set to “Dry Audio” so that it will not be affecting the chain at all. This means you can make your chain simple with only 1 effect in play, all 8 in play, or any amount in between. Here are the other two effect chains I put together:

Delay > Filter > Phaser > Delay 2 > Chorus > Filter 2 > Reverb > Distortion

Phaser > Chorus > Filter > Reverb > Distortion > Delay > Delay 2 > Filter 2

Working with the “Kong FX Chain Builder”

There are 2 components to working with the Kong FX Chain Builder: 1. The Combinator and 2. The Kong device. Both work together to create your FX chain. You can also use them “Live” and play the different effects out on the pads in real-time, or else build them up in the studio until you find a combination of effects that works for your sound, and then just leave this setting as it is (or save it for future recall).

I’ll start off with the Kong device. Note that if you want to fully utilize the device, you should create a track for it in Reason or Record’s Main Sequencer. This way, you can not only play the Kong device, but also record your Kong pad changes over time. And you can also lock your pad control surface to the Kong device and another controller to the Combinator; essentially controlling them both via 2 different controllers at the same time. So here are all the Kong pad settings:

Pads 1 to 8: These are the 8 stops in the FX chain going from Pad 1 > 2 > 3 > 4 > 5 > 6 > 7 > 8. In the original file I created (Kong FX Chain Builder A), this goes from Filter > Delay > Distortion > Chorus > Phaser > Delay 2 > Filter 2 > Reverb. The Pads act as a cycle, starting with a dry signal, then going through 6 different possible FX. The pad cycles through these 7 positions. So each time the pad is pressed, you’ll hear a new effect inserted into the chain.
Pads 9 and 10: Decay Down / Decay Up – These pads will shift the decay of all the Reverb effects upward or downward. So you need to have the Reverb effect turned on (in other words, you need to have one of the 6 Reverbs enabled; not the dry signal).
Note that there is an upper and lower limit, which, when reached, will not go any further. However, the pad can continue to go upward or downward for a few more times. This means that if you push the decay all the way to zero, and still hit the “Decay Down” pad, it will continue to move downward. So it may take a few more Pad pushes on the “Decay Up” pad to get it back to a “zero” postion (until you start hearing the decay again). This is true of all the Up/Down pads.
Pads 11 and 12: Envelope Pattern Down / Envelope Pattern Up – These pads will shift the matrix pattern banks upward or downward. These curve patterns are used to “play” the envelope amount on all the filters in the system. Therefore, you need to have at least one filter turned on to hear anything. You also need to have the “Env Pattern On” button (button 2 on the Combinator) enabled. There are 25 patterns on each Matrix (from A1 to D1), for a total of 50 patterns from which to select (you need to use Button 4 on the Combinator to switch between Matrix A and Matrix B).
Note that there is an upper and lower limit, which, when reached, will not go any further. However, the pad can continue to go upward or downward for a few more times. This means that if you push the patterns all the way down to A1 on the Matrix, and still hit the “Env Pat Down” pad, it will continue to move downward. So it may take a few more Pad pushes on the “Env Pat Up” pad to get it back to the “A1” postion (and get the patterns to start moving forward again). This is true of all the Up/Down pads.
Pads 13 and 14: Volume Down / Volume Up – These pads will shift the global volume upward or downward. Note that there is an upper and lower limit, which, when reached, will not go any further. However, the pad can continue to go upward or downward for a few more times. This means that if you push the volume all the way down to zero, and still hit the “Volume Down” pad, it will continue to move downward. So it may take a few more Pad pushes on the “Volume Up” pad to get it back to a “zero” postion (until you start hearing the volume again). This is true of all the Up/Down pads.
Pad 15: Panning. You can select from 6 different Auto-panning effects, which are global and affect the signal after it has gone through all 8 effect stops in the chain. There is also a seventh “dry” position, which is on by default. The Pad cycles through all 7 positions (6 “auto-panners” and 1 “dry” position).
Pad 16: FX / Bypass – this allows you to switch between hearing the effects chain or hearing the original “dry” signal.

The Combinator controls are outlined below:

Pitch Bend: Not assigned.
Mod Wheel: Controls the envelope amount on all the filters. This is used in conjunction with the Envelope patterns in both Matrixes that also control the envelope amount. In other words, you can use the Mod Wheel to scale the envelope amount, and therefore, how much the envelope is affected by the patterns or not. If you wish to control the envelope amount without having any patterns control the envelope, disable button 3 on the Combinator, and then use the Mod Wheel, which will now be the only parameter affecting the amount of envelope applied to the filter(s).
Note also that both the Mod Wheel and the Patterns affect all filter envelopes globally; both “Filter 1” and “Filter 2.” And of course, at least one filter needs to be added into the FX chain for you to hear the effect of the Mod Wheel or Patterns applied to the Filter Envelope amount.
Rotary 1: Filter 1 Frequency. Adjusts the Frequency of the first filter in the chain. All the filter selections for “Filter 1” are affected using this rotary, so that as long as you have one of the six filters enabled in the Filter 1 slot, the Frequency can be adjusted.
Rotary 2: Filter 1 Resonance. Adjusts the Resonance of the first filter in the chain. All the filter selections for “Filter 1” are affected using this rotary, so that as long as you have one of the six filters enabled in the Filter 1 slot, the Resonance can be adjusted.
Rotary 3: Filter 2 Frequency. Adjusts the Frequency of the second filter in the chain. All the filter selections for “Filter 2” are affected using this rotary, so that as long as you have one of the six filters enabled in the Filter 2 slot, the Frequency can be adjusted.
Rotary 4: Filter 2 Resonance. Adjusts the Resonance of the second filter in the chain. All the filter selections for “Filter 2” are affected using this rotary, so that as long as you have one of the six filters enabled in the Filter 2 slot, the Resonance can be adjusted.
Button 1: Not Assigned.
Button 2: Invert Envelope. This is a simple envelope invert button, and affects all filters in both the “Filter 1” and “Filter 2” slots in the FX chain.
Button 3: Envelope Pattern On. This turns on the envelope pattern Matrixes so that the curve pattern that is selected in Matrix A or B will affect the envelope amount of all Filters in both “Filter 1” and “Filter 2” slots in the FX chain. There are 2 parameters that both affect the Filter Envelope Amount: The pattern here, and the Mod Wheel. The higher you raise the Mod Wheel, the higher the Envelope amount. You can use a combination of the pattern and Mod Wheel to effectively “play” with the Filter Envelope Amount parameter. The reason I set it up this way is that you have ultimate control over the envelope amount. For example, you can turn off the pattern by keeping this button (button 3) disabled. Then use the Mod Wheel to scale the amount upward or leave it fully off (when the Mod Wheel is fully down). Or you can turn on the pattern and leave the mod wheel fully down to have the amount controlled solely by the pattern. Or use both in combination to play around with the envelope amount.
Button 4: Envelope Bank A / B. Selects between the two pattern banks (2 Matrixes) that affect the Envelope Amount parameter on all filters (read above for more information). There are 25 patterns on each Matrix (from A1 to D1), for a total of 50 patterns from which to select. Button four switches between the first 25 patterns on Matrix A (when the button is disabled) to the second set of 25 patterns on Matrix B (when the button is enabled).

Visualizing the active FX Chain

Sterioevo over at Mute.Hate.Loud.Love was kind enough to provide two methods for visualizing the active effect chain (see the comments below this post for more info about this CV method). He used the Gate Length of the Thor Trigger devices to change the Modulation Level Bands of the BV512 Vocoder and the delay steps in the DDL delay devices to show visually which effect was enabled at each stop in the FX chain. So I updated the patches (just download the Project files again if you haven’t already) using his “Vocoder Visualization” method. You’ll now see a Vocoder under the main Kong device. This uses an 8-band setting to display the position of each effect on Pads 1-8 in the Kong device. This way you can visualize what’s going on as you play the pads. Very cool and handy little tool! Thanks Steve!

So what do you think of this combination of “Parallel” and “Serial” effects processing using Kong? Any other ideas come to mind on how these ideas can be used? I can envision setting both this and the “Key Flux FX Processor” ideas on the alternate devices. For example, you could set up the “Key Flux FX Processor” on Kong and you can probably set up the “FX Chain Builder” on a Combinator. The device is somewhat irrelevant. What matters is the concepts and what you want to accomplish. And as you can see, Reason can usually provide an avenue to make your systems come to life.

Until next time, hope you can make this work for you and use it in your own productions. If you do, drop me a line and let me see what you come up with. I’m always interested to see how others’ use my patches. Cheers for now.

52 – Dr.VocoRex: Going Loopy

It’s time for something new and fresh to come out of Reason 5. So I give to you the Dr. VocoRex Loop Manipulator. It’s a bit of a glitch, and it’s a bit of a fun creative way to merge some Rex Loops and a Vocoder together, and provide a few parameters that you can play with and manipulate. So let me know what you think. I’ll show you how to build it below, and then I’ll provide a few Combinator variations. You’re the loop doctor. So let’s start dissecting our patient.

The project files can be found here: Dr-VocoRex-Loop-Manipulators. This is a zip file that contains 3 Combinators that we’ll be building below. I used Reason 5 to build them, and since they use features from the new Dr.OctoRex, you’ll need Reason 5 to work with them. However, try to work on something similar in Reason 4. You won’t have access to multiple loops in a single device, nor some of the CV inputs, but you can still go a long way to recreating something similar. I also included an .rns file so that you could quickly open them both and try them out. For the .rns file, I believe you will need Reason 5.

To start off, you can do a lot of neat things with the Dr. OctoRex via CV, and that’s really at the heart of this tutorial. When you start creating 2 Dr. OctoRex devices with different loops and using a Vocoder to bring them together, things can quickly get very wild and interesting, especially where the CV routing is concerned. So it’s time to put on our CV hats and dive in.

The Basic Setup

Here’s the video to showcase the kinds of setups we will be working to build:

First, create a Combinator and 6:2 mixer underneath. Now create a Dr. OctoRex, Vocoder, and Spider Audio Merger/Splitter. Then holding the Shift key down, create another Dr. OctoRex loop player.
Flip the rack around and send the Left and Right audio output from the second Dr. OctoRex player into 2 left (mono) channels on the Merger side of the Spider. Then send the left output to the Modulation input on the Vocoder.
Flip the rack around to the front once again. Expand the Rex loop players and Add two different loops into the first slots of each device. For the moment, let’s ensure they are both the same speed. So now you have a loop in slot 1 for both devices. The top Dr. OctoRex is what will be played (the Carrier). The bottom Dr. OctoRex is what will be used to modulate the top Rex loop (the Modulator).

For this exercise, I chose the Drb18_Optical_165_eLAB.rx2 for the first Dr. OctoRex and the Drb09_Shadow_165_eLAB.rx2 for the second Dr. OctoRex loop player (both files can be found under the Dr Rex Drum Loops > Drum N Bass folder).

On the Vocoder, set the number of bands to 32. I prefer this band level because it gives a better definition of the sound.
Now let’s get into the CV and play with a few bands in our Vocoder. Flip the rack around and create the following CV connections:

Vocoder (Band 12 CV Out) > Dr. OctoRex (Carrier) Osc Pitch CV In (trim knob set to 127).

Dr. OctoRex (Carrier) Voice 1 Filter Env. > Vocoder (Band 7 CV In).

Dr. OctoRex (Modulator) Voice 1 Filter Env. > Vocoder (Band 11 CV In).

Immediately playing this will yield some interesting results. Now try adjusting the Filter Envelope on both Dr. OctoRex devices. You’ll notice you can get a variety of freaky sounds out of this setup.

The back of the rack showing the two Dr. OctoRex devices used as a Vocoder Carrier and Modulator

All that’s left is to open up the Combinator’s programmer and setup the Rotaries and buttons to gain access to a few crucial elements of these devices. Here’s how I set things up:

Rotary 1 > Vocoder Dry / Wet : 0 / 127

Rotary 2 > Vocoder Shift : -64 / +63

Rotary 3 > Dr. OctoRex (Carrier) Osc. Env. Amount : -64 / +63

Rotary 4 > Dr. OctoRex (Modulator) Osc. Env. Amount : -64 / +63

Button 1 > Vocoder Hold: 0 / 1

Button 2 > Unassigned.

Button 3 > Unassigned.

Button 4 > Unassigned.

Going a Few Steps Beyond the Ordinary

So the next logical step is to add more loops and then set up 2 Combinator Rotaries to adjust the loop slot position of each. This opens you up to 8 different Loops in each Dr. OctoRex device which can be mixed and matched to your liking (it’s like having 8 carriers and 8 modulators; all of which are adjustable.

If you add more loops and then adjust the loops so that they can be tied to a Rotary knob and switched at will between them, ensure the “Trig Next Loop” on the Dr. OctoRex devices are set to 1/16. This way, the jump from one loop to the next will happen fairly instantaneously and without a long delay.

And Now for Something Completely Different. . .

Alternately, you could send all the output bands of the Vocoder into a series of Thors (4 CV bands for each Thor), then use these Thors to convert the CV to Audio and send all the audio outputs to a Mixer (you’ll need 2 14:2 Mixers to carry all 16 audio inputs). Then set up another bank of Thors to control the Level CV of each Channel on the Mixers. Once this is done, send the main audio output through a Spider Audio Merger/Splitter to make the signal Mono, and convert the audio back to CV in yet another “master” Thor. From there, it’s a matter of sending the CV into the Osc. Pitch of the Dr. OctoRex Carrier device. Now you can open the Combinator Programmer Modulation and set up a Rotary to control the “Step Count” (from 1 to 16) of all the Thor Audio devices (set in the “Reverse” direction). This allows the Rotary to cycle through the Vocoder’s “CV out bands.”

Of course, if you use this method, you’re going to need to give up a Rotary. So I would do this as an alternative to adding multiple loops. Instead, use only one loop for the Carrier and another loop for the Modulator. Then you free up 2 Rotaries (Rotary 3 and 4, which were previously used to control the loop slot position of both Dr. OctoRex devices). Apply the Step Count parameter to Rotary 3, and you’ll still have another Rotary (4) to spare, for controlling any other parameter(s) you like.

Then you can set up a series of Thors to control where the CV gets sent back “into” the Vocoder. To do this, you need to again convert the CV into Audio using a Thor, and then send this audio into a bank of new Thor devices, which are set up to determine where the CV source is sent (into 1 of 16 Input bands on the Vocoder). Then do the same thing we did previously on the Combinator’s third Rotary, except this time you’re using the Combinator’s fourth Rotary to control the “Step Count” of these new Thor devices. And there you have it. Rotary 3 controls the Vocoder’s “CV Out” bands, and Rotary 4 controls the Vocoder’s “CV In” bands. Pretty nifty. And it has all sorts of other applications, not just controlling parameters on a Dr. OctoRex. See: This tutorial provides you with more than just another loopy way to play with your loops. 😉

Ok this is a little crazy, but you can control the CV ins and outs on the Vocoder via 2 Rotaries on the Combinator. Here's the back of the rack.

If all of this is making your head spin, just check out the Project files. The third Combinator in the set (Dr. VocoRex 004) is the one that houses this little configuration. So look it over and you’ll see how it’s all set up.

Where do You go from Here?

Well, there’s many different directions you can go. If you’ve set up all the Vocoder CV bands as I did in the last part, it’s a cinch to plug the CV destination (from the Out bands) or CV source (from the In bands) to any CV in/out you wish on the Dr.OctoRex (or any other device you wish to introduce. So try playing around with these CV source/destinations.

You could also introduce another set of Dr. OctoRex / Vocoder devices and have two going simultaneously. Just a thought. And with the new editability of slices in the Dr. OctoRex, you can adjust each of the slices individually.

Or try perhaps to have a single Loop both be the Carrier and Modulator. With the separate outputs, you could have one set of slices modulating another set of slices; all within the same loop. Lots of possibilities.

So these are just a few ideas you can use with 2 Dr. OctoRex loopers and a Vocoder. There’s probably a million ways to combine them together for some awesome results. Why not share a few with me here. I’d love to hear all your ideas. Until next time, happy Reasoning and happy Recording. Go out and make some masterpieces!

BV512 Spectrum Analyzer

This is what fills my heart with warm fuzzies. When those that are part of the Reason and Record community come together to Analyze and tackle some of the more difficult aspects of the software and fill in the gaps that may be left by incomplete specifications. Ed did it previously with his Thor Sine Wave Shaper tutorial, using it to cross-fade between 4 different devices. And now Allen Day (“rogerraa”), Wendy of Wendy Dunham Music fame and Giles Reaves (Selig) from the Selig B3-Leslie refill fame have teamed up to provide the penultimate BV512 Spectrum Analyzer. Selig provided the charts, and Wendy provided the Combinator with a backdrop that cleverly shows the frequency bands.

Download the charts along with the Combinators here: spectrum-analyzer-project-files. This zip file contains the two charts outlined below, and Wendy’s 2 Combinators: 1. A 16-band Spectrum Analyzer and 2. A 32-band Spectrum Analyzer. They both use the BV512 Vocoder/Equilizer in Reason. You can, however, use this in Reason or Reason+Record.

So how do you use this? Well, let’s let Wendy explain:

Note: This excerpt is taken from her site. There is also a video you can watch about how it works here: http://www.galxygirl.com/videos/music-making/spectrum-combinators.html. She has graciously allowed me to present it here on my blog (thanks Wendy, you are indeed amazing for sharing this with us 🙂 )

BV512 Spectrum Analyzer with Frequency Band labeled Backdrop

These are convenient Spectrum Analyzer Combinators to see your song’s frequency spectra. Each one has an accurate Scale with Band and Hz labels. I prefer the Spectrum Analyzer 32 band version, but in case you don’t want that much resolution, I also created a Spectrum Analyzer 16 band version.

Band Select: 4, 8, 16, 32, FFT (512)
Decay: Lower = faster display; higher = overall averaging.
Display Scale: Roll this back to see the peaks.
Display Hold: Take a snapshot in time.

Place before final output. It’s a great aid for balancing your mix!

You can leave this on without adversely affecting your output. The main signal passes straight through the combinator via an Audio Spider, so it’s monitoring the frequency safely.

These reference charts for all band frequencies are printed on each combinator. The frequencies were measured accurately by Giles Reaves (“selig”) and Allen Day (“rogerraa”) on the Propellerhead User Forum.

Here’s another tip:

If you have an MClass EQ somewhere in your song, temporarily sweep one filter back & forth (with max Q, max Gain), and you should be able to see that peak on the analyzer and identify the frequency.

For those interested, Selig did a great job putting together the frequency charts for the 16- and 512 (FFT) -band modes of the Vocoder. Here are the screenshots:

BV512 Vocoder - 16-Band mode Frequency Chart — BV512 Vocoder – 16-Band mode Frequency Chart

BV512 Vocoder - 32-Band mode Frequency Chart — BV512 Vocoder – 512 (FFT) Band mode Frequency Chart

There you have it. Thanks so much to Wendy, Giles, and Allen for these great resources. Your important work does not go unnoticed.

16 – Multiband Anything: Freq. FX

Usually we think of Multiband being reserved for Compression, but why not divide any type of effect, sound, or multiple effects and sounds into different bands using the BV512 Vocoder / Equalizer supplied with Reason. Doing so, you can divide effects and sounds into 32 distinct frequency bands, and that, my friend, can open the doors to a whole wealth of possibilities.

You can download the project files here: multiband-anything This is a zip file which contains an .rns file with 6 Effects Combinators to showcase how you can use the BV512 in Equalizer mode to split different effects to different frequencies in order to process your sound. All the Combinators process the same matrix pattern which is sequencing a Thor synth. Each combinator then outputs the sound to a separate channel on the main 14:2 Mixer. To hear the various effects, mute/solo the specific channels on this mixer.

Starting off Small: Understanding the BV512 Digital Vocoder

The BV512 is a Digital Vocoder which can be used as an EQ device as well. When set in EQ mode, you can select 4, 8, 16, 32, and 512 bands of EQ separation. You’ll have to understand that the 512 bands is an FFT (Fast Fourier Transfer) mode, which for all practical purposes will color your sound and will cause a slight delay in the realm of 20 ms. when processing audio through it. There will only be 32 bands displayed, but each of those 32 bands will actually control a higher amount of bands (512 / 32 = 16 bands each). So for this tutorial and for processing purposes I’m going to stay away from the FFT (512) setting, and instead focus on 32 bands or less (a much more manageable number for the following types of effects).

Just because I’m staying away from using the FFT (512) setting doesn’t mean it’s not useful. Try it out in your own patches, because you never know where you’re going to find that signature sound that makes your brain melt. And in certain situations, I really like the color of the FFT (512) setting.

A Basic Multiband Delay

At it’s simplest, here’s a method to split out a different delay to affect different frequency bands. First, the video. Then the instructions below:

First, Create a Combinator. Then inside, while holding down the Shift key, create a 14:2 Mixer, Spider Audio Merger/Splitter, BV512 Vocoder, and DDL-1 Digital Delay device, in that order.

Set the Vocoder’s Band Count to 16 Bands, and switch from Vocoder mode to “Equalizer” mode.

Hit to tab key to flip the rack around and route the L/R master outs of the Mixer to the L/R “From Devices” of the Combinator. Then route the Combinator’s L/R “To Devices” into the Spider Audio’s main L/R Splitter inputs. Send one pair of L/R split outputs to the Vocoder’s L/R Carrier inputs. Then send the Vocoder’s L/R Carrier outputs to the Delay’s L/R inputs. Finally, send the Delay’s L/R outputs to the Mixer’s L/R channel 1 inputs.

This image shows a single instance of the Vocoder and Delay hooked up to a Channel in the 14:2 Mixer.

Hit the tab key again to flip the rack around to the front. Hold the Shift key (if using Reason), or hold the Ctrl key (if using Record), and select both the Vocoder and the Delay devices. Then right-click and select “Duplicate Devices and Tracks.” Do this two more times to create 4 sets of Vocoder/Delay devices.

On the first BV512 (the low range), set bands 5-16 to zero. On the second BV512 (The low-mid range), set bands 1-4 and 9-16 to zero. On the third BV512 (the mid-high range), set bands 1-8 and 13-16 to zero. On the fourth and final BV512 (the high range), set bands 1-12 to zero.

The four BV512 devices with their Frequency bands divided, and 4 associated delay units

Set the first Delay unit at the top (the low range) to 1 step, set the second one (low-mid range) to 3 steps, the third one (mid-high range) to 5 steps, and the fourth one (the high range) to 7 steps. This way, each frequency will produce a different delay.

Again, press tab to flip to the back of the rack. Send the other 3 L/R splits from the Audio Splitter into each of the other 3 Vocoder’s L/R carrier Inputs. Then send each of the Delay’s L/R audio outputs to their own Channels on the mixer, so that Channels 1-4 are taken by the Delay Devices outputs.

Now all that’s left is to save the Combinator, and load up your favorite sound to pipe into this effect. To do so, open any instrument and route it’s L/R audio output into the Delay Combinator’s L/R “Combi Input.” Play the sound on your controller keyboard or set up a matrix pattern to sequence the instrument and you’ll hear a different delay for each of the four sets of bands. In other words, the frequency of the sounds you put into the combinator will determine which delay affects the sound. Different frequencies will get different delays applied. Then the sum of all these delayed sounds are mixed into the Mixer, and sent back out the Combinator.

If you give this some thought, you’ll realize that you can apply any number of effects chains to any of the 32-frequency bands of the BV512 to split up effects according to frequency. Furthermore, you can apply this multi-band technique not only to audio and effects, but also to Filters, LFOs and Envelopes which affect the audio. Let’s take a deeper look into how this is done by creating a multiband filter.

MultiBand Filtering: The next step

Now to get a little more complex. Let’s try Filtering our audio based on the Frequency of the incoming signal, and then providing a way to adjust the filter applied to each set of bands. Using our above technique, this becomes child’s play.

Building on the last Delay device we created, select all the DDL-1 Delay units and delete them all.

Then under the first Vocoder, hold Shift down and create a Thor device. Bring all the levels of Thor down to zero (what I call truly initializing Thor). Bring the range on the pitch wheel down to zero, bring polyphony down to zero, bypass all the oscillators and filters, bring all the levels down to zero, and turn all the green buttons off. Leave only the Global envelope Gate Trigger button on, and leave the Global Evelope ADSR envelope in its default position. This way, the envelope can affect Filter 3, which we’ll turn on a little later.

Thor fully initialized, except for the Global Envelope Gate Trig and Tempo Synch Buttons

Now that Thor is much more initialized, go into the MBRS (Modulation Bus Routing Section) and set up the following modulations:

Audio In1: 100 > Filt3 L.In

Audio In2: 100 > Filt3 R.In

Routings in Thor's Modulation Bus Routing Section (MBRS)

Next, duplicate the Thor device 3 times, and place each new Thor under each of the other Vocoders.

Flip the rack around and Move the L/R Carrier output on each Vocoder to the L /R Audio outputs of each corresponding Thor device (1 Mono/Left and 2 Right output on each Thor). Then route new cables from the L/R Carrier output on each Vocoder to the L/R Audio inputs of each corresponding Thor device (Audio In 1 and Audio In 2, respectively on each Thor).

The Back of the Rack showing the Routings for the topmost BV512 device and Thor device

Flip the rack around to the front again, and open up the Combinator’s Programmer. It’s time to add in our Filters and make them adjustable for each set of BV512 bands. For each Thor device, add the following modulations:

Button 1 > Filter 3 Type: 0 / 2

Button 2 > Filter 3 Comb Preset: 0 / 1

Mod Wheel > Filter 3 Res: 0 / 100

Now for each Thor, assign the Filter 3 Frequency to it’s corresponding Rotary as follows:

Thor 1: Rotary 1 > Filter 3 Freq: 1 / 127

Thor 2: Rotary 2 > Filter 3 Freq: 1 / 127

Thor 3: Rotary 3 > Filter 3 Freq: 1 / 127

Thor 4: Rotary 4 > Filter 3 Freq: 1 / 127

The Combinator's Mod Matrix settings for the first Thor

Now when you plug an instrument into this Combinator, you can selectively adjust the filtering of the various frequencies of the sound using the 4 Rotaries of the Combinator. Rotary 1 will affect the low range, Rotary 2 and 3 will affect the mid range, and Rotary 4 will affect the high end.

Where do you go from here

Included in the project files are a set of 6 effects unit that utilize the Equalizer mode of the BV512 to divide the audio source into separate bands and apply effects to each of those bands. Here’s a brief explanation of each:

4 x 16-Band Delay FX: This Combinator uses the Vocoder in 16-band mode to create 4 splits of the audio source going through 4 different delay units. This combinator is the same one created at the beginning of this tutorial, except that there’s an additional delay created under each Vocoder in order to split the delays left and right (for a wider stereo separation). Each rotary controls the delay time for each left/right delay pair. And the buttons underneath each rotary will change the rotary between Steps / MS delay count. A very important feature of this Combinator is the Mod Wheel, which is used as a global Dry/Wet knob for the delay. In its default low-end position, there is no delay. Push the Mod Wheel all the way up and you’ll push the delay fully wet.

8 x 32-Band Delay FX: This combinator is exactly the same as the above 4-way delay, however this uses the Vocoder’s 32-band setting, and splits the signal into 8 different delay units (affecting 4 bands each). Since there’s only 4 rotaries and buttons, you can’t control each delay individually as you can with the previous Combinator. So I opted to put the global dry/wet delay knob on Rotary 1, and put a global steps/ms switcher on Button 1. The only real effect button 1 has is if you want to quickly edit all the delays and have them in MS mode instead, you simply press the button, then go into each delay to edit the delay time.

2-Band Phased Delay FX: This Combinator really was more of an experiment than anything else. The one interesting feature here is that the Vocoder Bands are curved so they blend into each other, rather than have an abrupt frequency change. You can see this on the Vocoder Band area.

Mixed-Band Reverb FX: This combinator uses the Vocoder bands as a notch and Bandpass frequency filter to send your audio through two very different Reverb effects. This goes to show you that there are a lot of possibilities when you start bending different frequencies on the BV512. Use the first Rotary to adjust the Dry/Wet Reverb signal affecting the low and high range of frequencies. Use Rotary 2 to adjust the Dry/Wet Reverb signal affecting the middle range of frequencies. I put a tight small room reverb on the low & high frequencies and a long hall reverb on the middle range of frequencies to show how drastically you can affect the ambience of your sound by toying with the different frequency ranges.

SuperSpreader FX: This is one way you can get some severe (and almost irritating) amount of stereo separation from a single sound source. I had to add a bunch of ECF-42 envelope filters in order to tame the sound somewhat. You can program this up if it’s to your taste. One thing that I wanted to point out here is that you can use Rotary 1 to invert the Frequencies, thereby flipping them around in real-time or in automation if you want to program the knob in the sequencer. Check out the Modulation Routing inside the Combinator to see how this is done. One drawback is that you can only affect 10 bands at once for any given vocoder, which limits you to using a set amount of band counts. But I’m sure there’s a way to push this limit using CV. Any takers want to give this a shot?

MultiBand Filter FX: Finally, you have the multiband filter FX Combinator which was featured in this tutorial, so I won’t go into too much detail here. Just note that I added a Delay and Chorus on Buttons 3 and 4 if you want to give those a try.

I can almost see the next question on your mind. If we can do all this with the BV512 in Equalizer mode, then what’s to prevent us from applying these same techniques using the MClass Equalizer? The truth is nothing! In fact, you can tailor the MClass Equalizer to a much finer degree than the Vocoder. However, the Vocoder can be a great way to test out quick ideas in a visually intuitive way. And as I hope I’ve shown here, you can still find this device highly flexible and usable. But that being said, there’s nothing stopping you from separating your signals using the MClass EQ, and even combining this with the MClass Stereo Imager to create some very unique Effects Combinators. If you have any ideas or come up with some brilliant effect unit out of this tutorial, please share, comment, and let us know about it.

10 – Creative ReDrums (Part 2)

Creative Redrums (Part 2)

In part 1 of our Redrum tutorials, I showed you a few ways you can improve the drum kits in your arsenal by using Thor’s filters, and some M Class Mastering devices. In this tutorial, I’m going to work in reverse and show you how to use the Redrum as a gate CV device to trigger a series of 10 Thors, which act as the drum sounds. This is where things can get pretty interesting, as you can gain complete control over the drum sounds by creating them from scratch using Thor’s Oscillators and Filters. Then, we’ll try to use a technique laid out by Matt Piper in which all the drums are filtered through a Vocoder. This is yet another way to get some beef and boom out of the drums. So let’s work some creative Redrum magic.

The project file contains an .rns file with a single Combinator which outlines a complete drum kit with vocoder filtering, Mastering, and a few extra effects thrown in. Download the Project Files here: creative-redrums-2.

The Basic Setup

Create a Combinator, and inside create a 14:2 Mixer. Then holding Shift down, create in order a Redrum, Spider CV Merger/Splitter, and Thor Synth.
Right-click over the Redrum Pattern section and select “Randomize Pattern” just to quickly add a pattern. For this tutorial, the Redrum is used as a sequencer, and nothing more. You’ll be able to change the Resolution of the Pattern, number of steps, and use the Mute/Solo functions, but samples are not necessary.
Next, Create a Bass Drum sound in Thor. Here’s an example of one way you could go about doing this (see the screenshot below). In the Sequencer section, change the Run Mode to 1-shot, and reduce the steps down to 2. Then in the Modulation Bus Routing Section (MBRS), enter the following:
CV In1: 100 > Filt1 In

The Front Panel of Thor with our Analog Bass Drum Sound
Now let’s flip the rack around to the back and make our routing connections. First, connect the Left and Right Audio Outputs (1 and 2) from Thor into the Left and Right Audio Inputs on Channel 1 on the Mixer. Then connect the Gate Out on Channel 1 of the Redrum into the Split A input. Send one split output to the CV 1 In on Thor, and send another split to the Gate in (Trig) CV input on the Thor Step Sequencer (at the bottom of Thor).
Routings on the Back of the rack
Press Play, and if you will hear the Bass Drum playing. If you don’t hear anything, be sure to check the Pattern in the Redrum and make sure there are some Bass Drum parts in the Pattern Sequencer.
Still on the back of the rack, select the Spider Merger/Splitter and Thor together by shift+clicking on both devices. Right-click and select “Duplicate Devices and Tracks.” Then connect the Left and Right Audio Outputs (1 and 2) from the second Thor into the Left and Right Audio Inputs on Channel 2 on the Mixer. And connect the Gate Out CV from the Redrum second channel into Split A on the Spider CV Merger/Splitter.
Flip the rack around to the front and create a new drum sound in Thor, maybe another Bass Drum or Snare. Repeat this process until you have all 10 Redrum channels filled up. Congratulations! You’ve just created a complete drum kit.

Vocoder Filtering

This trick was shown in Matt Piper’s great Youtube video where he set up a Vocoder to filter his drums. To see the video, visit his tutorial here: propellerhead-record-reason-vocoding-with-drums

Once you have your drum kit set up, go to the back of the rack, and select the Mixer. Hold Shift down, and create a BV512 Vocoder, Thor, and a Spider Audio Merger/Splitter.
Move the Left and Right Audio input cables on the Combinator (From Devices) to the Left and Right Carrier Input on the Vocoder. Then connect the Left and Right Carrier Output from the Vocoder to the Left and Right Audio input on the Combinator (From Devices).
Route The 1 Mono/Left and 2 Right Outputs from the Thor device to two Left Merge channels on the Spider Audio Merger/Splitter. Connect the Merged output from those two cables to the Modulator Input on the Vocoder. With our routing set up, flip around to the front of the rack.
Vocoder Routing setup
On the front panel of the Vocoder, set the Band Count to 4 Bands (I also found the 8 and 16 bands work well, depending what kind of sound you are looking for). Move the Shift knob to around -24, and Decay to around 80.
In Thor’s global top panel, set the Polyphony to 1, Release Polyphony to 0, and Key Mode to mono Retrig. In the Voice section, add a Noise Oscillator in Slot 1, set the Noise Wave to Color, and Noise Mod to around 36. Then turn on “1” to send the Oscillator to Filter 1 slot (which is on Bypass by the way). Turn off everything else except the Filter and Amp Envelope. In the Step Sequencer section, set the Run Mode to Repeat.
The front panel settings for the Vocoder and Thor Modulator

That’s really all there is to it. Not too complex, just time consuming to create all your drum sounds in the various Thor devices. But it’s very rewarding when you have your own custom drum kit set up just the way you want.

Where do you go from here?

You can try the same setup with a stack of Subtractors or Malstrom devices, or any combination of Subs, Mals and Thors to create your custom drum kits.
You can add a reverb and a delay to your drums. Also, for an instant doubling effect, you can modulate a button on the combinator to switch from 1-2 steps in all the Thors at once. This doubles up the drum beats (see below for this setup in my own Electro Drum kit).
Try going into the Thor which is used as the Vocoder’s Modulator, and switch the Oscillator 1 Noise wave from Color to Static, and then set the Noise mod dial to around 30 or so. You’ll create some very interesting glitch effects.
As you can see I’ve added a few effects here and there. There’s two phasers tied to the Hi Hats, for example. In this same way, you can chain some effects into the drums individually. Try adding some scream or even vocoding the drums separately. However, if you do, you’ll have to realize that the more effects, the more CPU intensive this gets. As it is, I only saw 2 bars on my CPU meter. Not too bad. Definitely less intensive than the last kit I put together.

Electro Drums Combinator Controls

Pitch Bend: Unassigned.

Mod Wheel: This controls the Band Count on the Vocoder from 4 bands (no modulation) to FFT (512) when pushed all the way up.

Rotary 1: Voc Filter – This controls the Noise Mod from the Vocoder’s Modulation Oscillator. This can be used to shape the sound of the Drum Filtering through the Vocoder.

Rotary 2: Shift – This controls the Shift parameter on the Vocoder. Again, this can be used to sculpt the sound of the Drum’s Vocoder Filter.

Rotary 3: Pattern Seq. – This knob is used to switch between all 31 patterns in the Redrum. You can assign any patterns you like in the redrum and it will be tied to this knob. In this way, when you’re playing the drums, you can switch on the fly. In my drum kit, I threw in a bunch of random patterns so that you can hear something playing no matter where the knob is set. Note that if the knob is turned fully left, an empty pattern plays (essentially turning the Pattern Sequencer off and silencing all the drums). This is good if you need an empty spot in your song.

Rotary 4: Master Level – This controls the master level of the Submixer, so that you can adjust the drum level globally.

Button 1: Doubler – This doubles all the drum beats via the Thor Step Sequencers. When on, the steps are set to 2, which will play two beats anytime the drum is triggered. When off, only one drum beat will occur when the drum is triggered.

Button 2: Alt Filter – This quickly switches the filters used to modulate the Vocoder, as well as adding a Scream and Reverb effect to the drums. I wanted to make this drum template as versatile as I could, so I thought why not add a completely different sound in the Combinator for some fun. It gives the drum sounds a completely different and more electronic (less organic) sound.

Button 3: Master Bypass – This button controls the Mastering (M Class) devices, as well as the Vocoder filter. If you don’t want to add any mastering or Vocoder Filter to the drums, turn this button on. The Drum sounds are then completely dry (or as they originally sound via the Thors). Leave it off if you want the drums compressed, EQ’d and Vocoded.

Button 4: HH FX – I added some Phaser FX to the High Hats just to give them a different feel. You’ll just have to try it out and see if you like it. I thought it was a cool sound, so I kept it in there as an option for you.

So let me know what you think of this setup, and if you have any other ideas or have some great tips for drum creativity, please feel free to share your comments.

Good Luck!

6 – Vocoder Arp Machine

A very flexible Combinator mashup that plays an Arped up Thor run through a Vocoder. A second Thor is used to modulate the sound. Use this Combinator as a template to drop in your own Thor patches and then take it out for a spin at your next live gig. All the Combinator parameters are assigned to toy with the Arp / Vocoder settings. After all, the more flexible the Combinator is, the more use you will get out of it.

I was looking through eXode’s fabulous collection of free patches and combinators in his massive synthesis refill (available from the Propshop’s Free Refill Download Page – A must have for anyone who is looking for a great collection of new sounds!) when I came across a few patches that were hidden away with (arp) in parentheses after the patch names. Being one who loves a good arp sound I started to delve a little deeper into how it was put together. So this became the inspiration for this project. It fuses an arp with two thors — one for the modulation and another as the carrier, and both Thors feed through a Vocoder to the final output.

Now taking things a few steps further, I decided to deviate from what eXode did and add on a few modifications. Firstly, the sounds I used were completely my own (I didn’t want to copy eXode’s brilliant work). And I then took things another step further by assigning parameters to the Combinator rotaries and buttons. This way, you can use the Combi as a performance tool as well. And you can experiment with your own Thor sounds for the carrier and change the way the vocoder operates by toying with the Thor synth parameters, creating your own endless variety of Arp Vocoder machines.

So this is a bit of a mashup, being a Combinator that plays just fine as it is, or used as a template where you can drop in your own Thor patches. Finally, it can be used in live performance, since all the Combinator parameters are assigned for this purpose. After all, the more flexible the Combinator is, the more use you will get out of it.

The project files can be downloaded here: vocoder-arp. It contains an .rns file with a single Combinator which is pre-programmed to most of the major parameters you’ll need to adjust the Filter Frequency, Arp and Vocoder parameters.

Setting up the Vocoder Arp Template.

First, create a Combinator, then inside the combinator create a 6:2 Line Mixer, Thor, RPG-8 Arpeggiator, BV512 Vocoder, and then holding Shift down (to disable auto routing), create another Thor. Flip the rack around and route the bottom-most Thor’s 1 Mono / Left Output to the Modulation input on the Vocoder. This is the basic setup for the arped-up vocoder. The first Thor in the Combi is the carrier, and an Arp is tied to this Thor. In other words, this is the main sound going into the Vocoder. The second Thor in the Combi is used to Modulate that Carrier sound through the Vocoder.
Next, holding Shift down, create two Spider CV Merger/Spliters below the Combinator’s Line Mixer. Then hold Shift down and create a Matrix at the bottom of the stack. Set the steps to 4 and the resolution to 1/4th. Switch the Matrix mode to Curve, flip the rack around to the back and switch the curve mode to Bipolar. Then flip the rack around again and set up a curve pattern so that step 1 and 3 are +64 and step 2 and 4 are -64.

The front of the Vocoder Arp with all devices

Flip the rack around and on the first Spider connect the Arp Note CV out to Split A in and the Arp Gate CV out to Split B in. Connect one of the splits from Split A to the Carrier Thor’s CV in. Then connect the inverted split from Split A to the Carrier Thor’s CV1 Modulation input. Connect one of the splits from Split B to the Carrier Thor’s Gate input, and another split from Split B to the Carrier Thor’s CV2 Modulation input.
On the second Spider connect the Curve CV output from the Matrix to Split A’s input. Then connect one of the splits from Split A to the Split B input on the same Spider. Connect another split from Split A to the Vocoder Hold input. Connect the third split from Split A to the Carrier Thor’s CV3 Modulation input. Then connect the inverted split from Split A to the Arp’s Velocity CV in. on the Spider’s Split B, connect the inverted split to the Arp’s Octave Shift CV in. That just about does it for the CV routings. Luckily you can see the Combinator for yourself when you download the project files, because that was a mouthful. But it sounds more complex than it actually is.
Moving to the Arp, and while you’re on the back of the rack, remove the CV cables from the Mod Wheel and Pitch Bend CV out. This way when you use the Pitch Bend, it will only affect the Thor Carrier’s Pitch Bend setting. Now flip the rack around again. Set up the Arp with an Octave Range of 2, and Insert set to Low. On the Vocoder, set the Attack to 8.

The back of the rack with all the routings in place

Now we move to the Combinator programming. Click the Show Programmer button and enter the following settings:
For the Thor Carrier:

Performance Controllers > uncheck the Mod Wheel

Rotary 1 > Filter 1 Freq: 0 / 127

Rotary 2 > Amp Env Attack: 0 / 25

Rotary 2 > Amp Env Decay: 50 / 27

Rotary 2 > Amp Env Release: 18 / 27

Button 1 > Filter 1 Env Amount: 28 / 100

Button 4 > Delay Sync: 0 / 1

For the Arp:

Rotary 3 > Gate Length: 10 / 115

Mod.W > Synced Rate: 5 / 15

For the Vocoder:

Rotary 4 > Shift: -20 / 20

Rotary 4 > Decay: 80 / 127

Button 2 > Band Count: 3 / 1

For the Thor Modulator:

Performance Controllers > uncheck the Pitch Bend and Mod Wheel

For the Matrix:

Button 3 > Pattern Select: -1 / 0

The Combi's mod programming for the Thor Carrier (left) and Arp (Right)

The Combi's mod programming for the Vocoder (left) and Matrix (right)

Now flip the rack to the front now, and load up your favorite patch in the Thor carrier. Usually a bright lead will work best, but experiment with any sound you like. You can take a look at how I programmed the Thor in the image below. I won’t go into all the settings that were used. You can pretty much see them here. However, there are some core settings that are needed in the Modulation Bus Routing Section (MBRS) in order to have the Combinator function properly. On the right side of the Bus, create the following routings*:
CV In1: -32 > Del Rate

CV In2: -56 > Del ModAmt

CV In3: 50 > Amp Pan

Add a matrix below the Combinator so that it is playing the Combi. Then enter a pattern and hit play. This tests out the sounds of the Combi as you experiment with your Carrier and Modulator. For the modulator, you usually want something atonal or heavy on the noise. Unmusical is best. Droning is perfect to affect your carrier signal. This is the fun part where you toy with the Thor until you get something you like. The nice thing is that you have a wide variety of sounds to choose from using the Thor synth.

An explanation of the Combinator Programming

Pitch Bend: This affects only the Thor Carrier as you would expect a pitch bend to operate.

Mod Wheel: The Mod Wheel controls the Arp’s Synched Rate from 1/4 to 1/128th. You can use this as a performance controller to create some interesting arp variations. Let your ears be your guide on this one.

Rotary 1: This controls the full range of the Filter 1 Frequency from the Thor Carrier. Fully left and the filter is closed, fully right and the filter is fully open.

Rotary 2: This controls the Amp’s Attack, Decay, and Release from the Thor Carrier. Fully left and you’ll have very short ADR setting. Fully right and you’ll have much longer ADR settings

Rotary 3: This controls the Gate Length on the Arp. This is one of my favorite settings to play with because it can drastically alter the sounds coming from the Arp. Fully left and you have very short note lengths where the notes are staccato. Turn the knob fully right and you’ll have very long notes – to the point where the notes blend into each other much more smoothly (legato).

Rotary 4: This controls the Shift and Decay of the Vocoder at the same time, affecting the phase of the sounds you hear. This actually shifts the filters of the Vocoder’s Carrier signal down (turning the knob left) or up (turning the knob right). This can be a fun parameter to play with, and you’ll have to experiment to hear what sounds pleasant to you.

Button 1: This controls the filter envelope for the Thor Carrier’s Filter 1. Use it as a sound mode switch, and as with the Rotary 4, you’ll have to hear what sounds pleasant to your ears.

Button 2: This adjusts the band count of the Vocoder. When off, Vocoder has 32 bands. When turned on, the Vocoder has 8 bands. One note about this button: it takes a little time to catch up with itself when you alter the bands. So this may not be great for performance, and you might want to keep this button either on or off. But it’s great fun to test out your sounds through different band counts. If you don’t like these settings, you can change them in the Combinator’s Programmer to switch between any 2 bands you like.

Button 3: For lack of a better word, I named this button “Slider” — as it sounds like the notes from the Arp are being slid on the last beat of the bar. In addition, the Slider button will Pan the sound from left to right in the stereo field based on the Panning settings that were set up in the Carrier Thor’s MBRS. Remember that CV3 in we set up in the Carrier Thor? That’s affecting the Pan of the signal. In addition, the Matrix we placed at the bottom of the Combinator Device Stack is waving the sound up and down like a pulse wave. With a resolution of 1/4, the signal is synched to the 4 beats of a 4/4 tempo. But the Slider does a bit more than that. It also controls the Hold parameter of the Vocoder via CV. This means that on the fourth beat of the bar, the Vocoder is held for the duration of that last beat (one full 1/4 note). Finally, it also controls the Velocity and Octave Shift of the Arp. Yep. One of those spiders and the matrix were set up to perform a simple switch. But I thought it was a pretty cool way to affect the signal. When you turn the button on, it starts up the Matrix pattern to control everything via CV. When you turn it off, the Matrix doesn’t play any pattern at all, essentially shutting down the CV triggers.

Button 4: Finally, we have a simple switch which either keeps the Global delay of the Thor Carrier free running (when left off), or synched (turned on).

* One note about switching the Carrier Thor’s patch. If you switch the patch, you’ll have to remap the settings in the Modulation Bus section for the CV1, CV2, and CV3 sources (all the settings on the right side of the Modulation Bus section). Otherwise, the Delay and Slider functions won’t work properly. Alternatively, you don’t have to switch the patch at all. You can play with the settings in the note / global sections of the Thor until you come up with a sound you like. Point is that since this Combinator is so heavily programmed, switching patches requires a little more tweaking than normal.

Switching patches in the Modulator Thor won’t require any remapping because none of its parameters are used externally.

Any thoughts on this setup? Any ways you can see to improve it? Let me know what you think. . .