Is there a module that will generate the 1v/oct equivalent of just intonation intervals? I was hoping Grande Quant Interval would do that, but it doesn’t. What it does is let you choose the equal divisions of the octave (up to 34) and then produce the nearest equivalent within that tuning of whatever JI ratio you choose. This isn’t what I need.
I can look up the values in cents online and plug them into a calculator one by one (by dividing by 1200). For example, 7/4 seems to be 0.8075. That works, but it’s cumbersome. I tried using Nysthi Hot Tuna, the freq-to-voltage output, but that doesn’t seem to get me anywhere.
This is an oddball question, and there may be no answer, but I thought I’d ask.
There must be some quantizers that just do JI without having to find Scala files. My “Substitue” VCO has a JI quantizer, but no jack to get a CV directly out of it - it only powers the VCOs.
Not directly. First you have to use Scala (which is about the least friendly piece of music software in existence) to create the file containing the JI intervals you want. But even at that point, a quantizer is going to spit out whatever step is nearest to the input voltage. You can put a Nysthi MultiVoltiMetro on the output and write down what it tells you about each step, by adjusting a knob on the input slowly. But it’s easier to skip the Scala step entirely and just go from ratios to cents to CV values.
What I do is use ODDsounds MTS-ESP modules, alongside an MTS-ESP source of some kind. As far as I know there is no rack module that acts as MTS-ESP source/master. But the system works even if the source isn’t loaded in the same program.
I imagine this may not be the solution you’re looking for… But I thought I’d share anyway. The potential advantage this can have is A: You can synchronize tuning between Rack and other synths/DAW or whatever. And B: Tuning can be changed on the fly, which I’ve found super useful for Just Intonation in particular.
Yeah this one is good! If it had a way to modulate the scale that’d allow some of the same dynamic tuning tricks as the MTS-ESP stuff I use. But then again, could just use more instances and switch between them.
Or use Stoermelder uMap or CV-Map to get CV control over the JTScaler (Just Scaler) Scale knob and/or Basekey knob.
In case anyone is confused over how the Just Scaler works, simply use your favorite 12-ET quantizer and then rout that output through the docB Just Scaler, setting the Scale to the desired JI ruleset, and the Basekey to the root note of your 12-ET scale. The image below shows how you could get a D major JI scale using the VCV quantizer.
You might think you could use the Just Scaler on its own to quantize a chromatic JI scale as below, but there is a bug or design flaw that causes a 1/4 tone region below each root note to be tuned one octave too low.
In this setup the unquantized V/Oct goes to the WinComp A input with 0 offset, and the quantized signal goes to the B input with 0 offset. The Tol (tolerance) is set to 0.5 V, and the context menu sets the gate output range to 0,1. If the A and B inputs differ by more than .5 V, then the A<>B gate produces 1 volt, which is added to the quantized value. The Thru is used to add 1 sample delay to the direct quantized signal so that both inputs to the VCO V/Oct input arrive at the same time.
Using the right-click menu, I couldn’t find anything even remotely resembling a manual. The video explains absolutely nothing. I tried dialing up some ratios (5/4, 6/5, 7/4, and so on) and sent an 8-step sequence into the jack that’s identified as the Pitch Input. The output signal is identical to the input signal. No quantization has occurred.
For all I know, this might be an amazing module – but at the moment its functionality is entirely opaque. Can you offer an explanation of what it does or how to use it?
There are thousands of possible Just Intonation tunings. This preset is not identified as to the ratios being used. I can tell the C-E-G triad is 1:1, 5:4, 3:2, because I happen to know the cents values of those intervals. It looks as if G-B-D is also a perfect triad. But I’d have to go scouting around on the Internet to find the cents values of other ratios I might want to use, and in any event many (or most) JI tunings have more than 12 notes per octave.
The Just Scaler is a nice little module. I hadn’t noticed it. But it has only five preset tunings, and again you only get 12 notes per octave, which is quite limiting.
I used to own a couple of Yamaha TX802 modules. I wish I still had them. The resolution of the tuning tables was not great – only 64 possible increments between the equal-tempered half-steps, which works out to a resolution of 1.5625 cents. But the tuning tables were full-range. You could tune ANY incoming MIDI note number to any pitch. If you wanted 21 notes within each octave, or if you wanted tunings that didn’t repeat at the octave, the TX802 was just as happy to do that as anything else.
I’m pretty sure there’s nothing even remotely like that in VCV. If I were a programmer, I’d be putting on my propeller beanie and starting to design the UI – but alas, I’m not.
I didn’t understand that was what you are looking for based on your original post.
I can’t help you with MIDI, but my Venom Non-Octave-Repeating Scale Intervallic Quantizer (NORSIQ) may be of interest to you.
It is limited to no more than 13 intervals per scale. But the scale need not be octave repeating. You can specify intervals in cents, which works for JI, or you can use equal divisions of some arbitrary interval. For example, it is very easy to define a Bohlen Pierce Lambda scale based on 13ED3. Set the pseudo-octave interval to 3:1, and equal divisions to 13. Then define 9 intervals in the scale: 2, 1, 1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 2, 1, and specify your scale root note using V/Oct.
There is also a preset for JI Bohlen Pierce Lamda.
