Spooky, atmospheric, beautiful, calming - I will be studying this to work out what’s going on and there’s a lot going on. Just going to leave it playing for a while…
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Thanks! Glad you like it. I have already chilled to the patch for hours - it was a great background atmosphere while I was working at my day job (software development)
I went ahead and updated my post to include detailed patch notes, in case you want to get a head start on figuring out how it works.
I first saw the recursive filtering technique I used in voices 4, 5, 6 in a video by Jacub Ciupinski, though he did not use that term.
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Wow that’s very informative - thanks 
I took my Day of the Dead Give Away 2021 entry “Tuning with A”, and paired it with improvisation on various flutes for my most recent Virtual Open Mic performance on November 11, 2021.
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Nothing like a “Desolate Drone” to finish out the year. The video is from the last Virtual Open Mic of 2021.
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Last Monday I performed two new pieces during the weekly VOM, both featuring Native American flute and VCV with some Fundamental Constructs. The patches use only VCV modules (except for some VST reverb from Valhalla Supermassive)
Ambiguous Ambience - Slow autogenerative piano like “melody” that randomly switches between D major and D minor pentatonic scales - keeps me on my toes! The patch and notes are at VCV Fundamental Constructs - #36 by DaveVenom
I am really disappointed I forgot to direct this patch’s audio to my DAW, so I had to use the ZOOM broadcast audio for the video, causing the audio to suffer a bit.
The Ganymede Children’s Hour - I find this one simultaneously eerie/unearthly, yet playful in a peaceful way. EDIT - Strike that. This is down right creepy. I envision alien children laughing and skipping, just before they jump on our backs to sip out our brains through our ears.
One voice uses hybrid AM and Ring Modulation with sine waves for both the carrier and modulator. The sine waves are generated by VCFs, and rather than use a VCA, I control volume via the carrier wave Resonance CV, which causes pitch drift that contributes to the eeriness of the piece.
I hope to add more variability to the patch in the near future
- Different AM/RM offset settings to vary the AM/RM ratio
- Different RANDOM Step Shape values to vary the number of steps in the arpeggios, which also modifies the rhythm.
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Your flutes fit so perfectly with the sometimes shrill, sometimes airy backdrop, excellent stuff!
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Here is the final evolution of “The Ganymede Children’s Hour” into something much bigger and quite different. I think it is darker, but not so creepy.
This uses even more of my Fundamental Constructs. The opening flute is a contrabass overtone flute I constructed out of 2" PVC. There are no finger holes. Different harmonics are achieved by blowing harder and/or covering the end of the flute. When open it can produce both odd and even harmonics. When closed only the odd harmonics. The fundamental pitch is a C2 - the lowest note on a cello.
You can find the patch with more info about it at VCV Fundamental Constructs - #38 by DaveVenom
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Here is a pure VCV patch (except for Valley Plateau reverb) that is chock full of complex meters and poly-meters. It features a 32 Sequencer I constructed as part of my VCV Fundamental Constructs project.
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I finally got around to resurrecting my Subharmonicon emulator patch for Rack version 2. I’ve got some nice enhancements, like unison with optional detune, and improved FM. But I’m using some plugins that are not yet available in the library, and I’m not sure what changes (if any) will be needed when they finally get there. So for now here is a video of a performance with that patch paired with some Native American style flutes. I’ll post the patch when the plugins become available.
Cries From the Deep
2022-04-23 Update: The patch and a description are now available
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Here is another improv alongside a different patch based on the same Subharmonicon emulator patch. This time I am performing during the 2 year anniversary of Rob’s Virtual Open Mic (VOM 104), from March 21, 2022. This is the first piece from my two song set. I’ll post the second piece in a few days.
In this patch the VCF cutoff envelope is applied positively and has a fast attack and slow decay. The VCA envelope is applied negatively to the VCF resonance, and has a slow attack and fast decay. I like the rhythm that the opposing envelopes create.
2022-04-23 Update: The patch and description are now available
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Here is the second and last piece from my VOM 2 year anniversary performance. I resurrect my drone patch that I used in December last year. But I use a different set of flutes this time.
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I was thinking “who doesn’t use Plateau these days”, especially for a wooden flute Then I saw SuperMassive ^^ I have to get Host, but I want to test every free module first, before beginning to use my VSTs. Peaceful yet melancholic music, feels good
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For my flutes I have settled into using Acon Digital Reverb Solo - a free VST with a dead simple interface that gives consistently good results. I don’t think I would use it for other applications - but it works great with my flutes.
But for the synths I typically use either Plateau or SuperMassive.
Life is too short! You definitely want SuperMassive for your journeys into the void. So if you need Host to access SuperMassive - then do it! If you have the discipline to hold off buying Host, then I’m sure you can restrict your use of Host and continue to explore the endless VCV possibilities without resorting to VST instruments.
I run everything through Reaper. The Reaper ReaRoute ASIO “device” is great for getting VCV into the DAW. So typically I don’t really need VCV Host - I can just add Supermassive to my synth track in Reaper. But Host-FX is nice for when I want to share patches and include my 'verb. Also I sometimes use CV to automate SuperMassive parameters for different scenes. I’m not sure how it works, but you can even select presets with CV.
I bought VCV Rack Pro to support the project, but I haven’t really used VCV as a VST yet.
Thanks! I actually use the phrase “introspective melancholic music” on my business card. I branch out into some other vibes, but that is my bread and butter, which is what drew me to the Native American flute.
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Beautiful piece as always, Dave. I still have a little cash saved away in my (imaginary) BandCamp wallet, earmarked for your first release…
Also, I really love how you always credit the makers of your flutes in these videos. Very prosocial 
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Here is an epic performance, again using my most recent Subharmonicon emulator, paired with four different flutes. I’m still waiting for one of the modules to be published before sharing the patch.
The Plains of Arrakis
The patch uses sequence 2 to modulate the pitch of sequence 1. So instead of just a pair of 4 step sequences, it effectively has a 16 step sequence paired with a 4 step sequence. The polymeters are all prime numbers - (3, 7), and (11,13). It takes 12,012 beats to cycle around to the starting point. At 30 BPM, that becomes 6.67 hours to cycle.
The main “Subharmonicon” output passes through Host-FX with the Valhalla Supermassive plugin using the Planetarium preset. But you don’t hear this until halfway through the piece.
The intro uses the raw saw wave output of Sub 1B and Sub 2B, and filters them recursively with an LFO slowly sweeping the cutoff frequency to pick off clusters of harmonics. The Squinky Labs F2 filter does a wonderful job with this - I need to create a video about it.
The percussion is all produced by the VCV Drums plugin - I love the sound. I use docB HexSeq and Sha#Bang! Stochastic Sequencer Grid to sequence the drums.
2022-04-23 Update - The patch and description are now available
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Thanks Drew. I’ve actually got a title and concept for the album - “Fundamental Air”. It will be a collection of my favorite and/or best recorded performances from the Virtual Open Mic that was so important to my mental health during the isolation of the pandemic. I’m gathering the material, and working on getting the pieces remixed and mastered. Pretty much all of them will feature both flutes and VCV Rack. Some may use some other electronic music that I used prior to discovering VCV Rack, but I’m not sure I have good enough quality recordings for those performances.
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This may be my favorite one yet, Dave.
Are you applying reverb to the flutes, either by bringing them into VCV Rack, or by some other method (like playing in a desert cave temple)?
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You keep outdoing yourself with all them flutes! Excellent and masterful stuff.
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I talk about my flute reverb and general setup with Reaper in the 1st two responses here: Dave Venom Music - Latest: Sapphire Experiment - #44 by DaveVenom
Funny you should ask that. I first discovered the Native American flute in December 2009 when my wife and I travelled to Santa Fe, New Mexico for our 20th anniversary. One of our excursions was a visit to the Bandelier National Monument where there are ancient cliff dwellings. I brought my newly acquired flute, and played it inside one of the hand carved caves (called a cavate). It was about 10 feet in diameter, and the circular walls amplified and focused all the sound out the entrance. My wife was outside, and she said the sound filled the entire canyon. Truly a magical spiritual moment.
I think that particular cavate was called Cave Kiva - Main Pueblo Loop Trail Stop 15 - Bandelier National Monument (U.S. National Park Service) If not there, then here - Main Pueblo Loop Trail Stop 11 - Bandelier National Monument (U.S. National Park Service)
I actually had the Bandelier cavate in mind when I was developing and performing The Plains of Arrakis. The Bandelier cliff dwellings overlook a desert canyon. And the Fremen of Arrakis lived in cave warrens that overlook the desert dunes.
Unlike many people, I do not see images when I perform or listen to music. Rather I get a feeling of pure, physical emotion. There are definitely a lot of feelings from my Bandelier experience in that piece.
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