New suite of modules from Magus Instrumentalis today. This set focuses on modeled analog chaotic systems, as well as emulations of early modular synthesizers, such as the Buchla 100 Series and the Serge system. Omri Cohen just put out a great video on the new suite that covers all of the basics, as well as some really epic sound examples:
We have in-depth manuals for all of the modules on our website, which will be updated as times goes on. Cheers!
Looks very interesting Ryan!
Thank you! Let me know if you have questions.
I’d like to know how do you get 1v/Oct from the oscillator. I just bought this, tried to do a basic keyboard patch, and I think it’s completely unsuitable for my purposes. I’m a bit frustrated by the affair.
The chaotic oscillator does not perfectly track, because it produces mathematical chaos. Unfortunately that’s just a limitation of the circuit. You will find the same is true in analog chaotic circuits.
You might find it helpful to consult the manuals on our site: Support – Magus Instrumentalis
We also just released a video tutorial, and more in-depth tutorials on each module are on the way:
But to be useful in a western 12 tone ET context, and audio oscillator ought to track reasonably. I.e. you ought to be able to play it as an instrument. I want to make melodies based on the improvisations in my mind. Gear that inhibits this isn’t useful to me. If I hit C then G, I want to hear something approximating (though maybe somewhat varying) a perfect fifth. I bought this based on the pitched sounds Omri was getting. If I don’t have reasonable say over the pitch, how do I play it?
In that case I would suggest you use a traditional oscillator, and not a chaotic oscillator. You could combine a traditional oscillator with the low pass gate in our set to create perfect western melodies. You could quantize the chaotic LFO to produce melodies, etc. The fun of modular is finding your own uses. We design the modules we want to use, and often those ends are quite noisy and chaotic. If you can’t find a way to use these in your music, I would suggest looking at the examples already out there or reading our manuals. Given that there are six modules priced less than the price of a eurorack passive mult, even if one module doesn’t appeal to you, I’d say you’re still getting a good value (Eurorack chaotic oscillators sell for $100-350). Anyway, we cannot change the product because it’s not possible to produce chaotic attractors that follow western tempered scales. If you want to make the music in your head, I would not suggest using chaos, unless the sounds in your head are mathematical chaos. I don’t say that to be rude, but the chaotic oscillator is not going to play melodies because it wasn’t designed for the purpose. Generally speaking noise/random modules do not track volt per octave, even if they provide frequency control. That’s why we labeled the control frequency, not “volt per octave”. You could definitely make percussive sounds by combining it with our low pass gate, if you want to add drums to your music, for example. One way to start incorporating our modules is to load the standard VCV patch, and start replacing parts with our modules (such as replacing the filter with the low pass gate). I’m very sorry that you’re disappointed, but I don’t control the refunds. I can give you a free copy of our Polymaths Suite if you PM me.
I really hope you find a way to enjoy the modules, but I also don’t want you to have purchased something you are unhappy with. You can try requesting a refund from VCV here: VCV - Refund Policy
Unplayable sounds can become playable if you use pitch shifting and sampling e.g. record a few seconds, use a pitch shifter such as Nysthi STKPitchShifter in concert with a tuner like HotTuna to tune the sound to be centred around the closest whole tone then use that as the basis for a sampled instrument.
Edit: I haven’t tried this using these modules, but they look like they should work and was trying to find a solution entirely VCV based. I’d actually use a plugin sampler like Halion IRL.
Also, obviously, the whole idea is kind of anathema to what you get from the crazy organic, wild evolving sounds of the modules if you just “let Bartlet be Bartlet”.
Yes, that’s right, you can sample sections of this and repitch them, but they will no longer be chaotic. Using a pitch shifter will not always work, because these sounds are chaotic and not every attractor will have a stable pitch base. You will notice in Omri’s video that he explicitly points out that the range of this module only goes up to 2000 hertz, so obviously it won’t track the full range. I am watching Omri’s video again, he spends a good ten minutes on the chaotic oscillator, and he’s very clear about using other oscillators for melodic material and that he uses the chaotic oscillator for “noisy, percussive sounds”.
It seems I misunderstood Omri’s patch. He’s using Instruo Saich as the pitch source, and Azathoth merely as a modulator. I was somewhat sleep deprived, and I was in bed hearing Omri’s patches without seeing the visual; I heard things that seemed musically useful to me. Please accept my apologies, but understand my desire to make intentional music. To me, chaos is musically useful only to the degree it can be kept on a leash, and without authorial intent, there is no music.
But, what if the authorial intent is “I’m going to make some music and this chaotic noise is a part of it”? I don’t really get the intentionality argument. When I’m listening to music or sound I don’t care if it was made by a person, an algorithm or a wombat provided I dig it.
That may be your position, but for me, the skilled human behavior aspect is highly important. The whole thing becomes severely cheapened without that. Remove human judgement and execution, and you no longer have art.
No need to apologize, it seriously feels bad to know you had this experience, and I’m happy to provide tips and tricks to get the most out of this set. If you haven’t had a chance to play around with the Yog-Sothoth (the filter), I would definitely recommend you check that out. I think you could get some very nice, tamed sounds out of that because we give a lot of control of the resonance, drive, etc.
/me is happy. I just did a quick patch starting with the default new patch, but subbing your filter, and modding the oscillator with Azathoth. I got a sound that suggests synths used in old instructional 16mm films I had to sit through in school. It’s something that can get played for a certain sort of creepy nostalgia. 
All it needs is the chatter that happens when the sprocket holes get screwed up. 
classroom-movie.vcv (5.8 KB)
Awesome, can’t wait to check out this patch when I get home!
It’s nothing really. Just a quick test to make sure I understand things. I just often decide to keep those things if they evoke something in me even if the patch is trivial. (This one certainly is.)
Yeah, I hear that. I make patches all the time to try capture the feeling of a certain place/time. I’ll be releasing a set of demo patches to get people up and running fairly soon on our website and some of them are like that.