I am trying to dynamically mix Dark Energy and Ouros to create a sound that blends between two different qualities. I thought I could do this with a mixer so fed each into a channel of the Surge XT mixer and control the input levels with input 1 controlled by Caudal and input 2 controlled by subtracting the Caudal value from a 10V fixed voltage. That works fine, as one level goes up the other goes down and vice versa. However, the volume does not remain constant; a single source alone is louder than a mix with the quietest being when both are contributing 50%. I need the volume to remain the same with the different qualities imparted by the sources changing according to their ratios. How can I do this please?
I should also note that while I have the ring mod cranked all the way in this example it doesn’t seem to affect the volume. You can see that when the inputs are around halfway the volume bars are very quiet, when one sourse contributes nearly 100% the bars nearly fill the available area.
I’m not sure, but this sounds like the infamous “pan law” issue. There is no single correct answer for that. If that’s what it is, I suggest you a) read up on the issue, b) use a mixer that gives you the control you need:
The “VCV Fade” module does non-linear crossfades too.
From the docs:
" …Right-click the panel to set the “Pan law” setting to -6 dB (linear, recommended for CV) or -3 dB (recommended for audio). -3 dB pan law applies a nonlinear (square root) scaling to each input gain, boosting the center FADE position by +3 dB relative to linear scaling. This produces a more natural pan when the outputs are used as a stereo L/R signal."
I would say this is not related to Pan Law, since nothing’s being panned. You’re talking about modulating the one channel by +Caudal and the other by -Caudal, right?
The solution for this that works for me is “Linear level CV response” in the right-click menu in the various Bogaudio mixers (but not in Mix2). So I use those mixers whenever I want to do this fade between 2 stereo pairs. I prefer this to compression too.
Isn’t just using a crossfader the simplest solution?The Bogaudio one is polyphonic, I’ve also used the Submarine one before to mix between the stereo outs from two wavetable oscillators. Loads more in the library.
Not all crossfaders are created equal. I got curious, so I just tested a few. The Sickozell SickoCrosser4 has an amplitude drop in the middle. The Befaco Morphader actually has a bump in the middle. (The output is a little louder there.) However, the stock VCV Fade module seems to be close to equal-power crossfading.
That’s a fair point, although I haven’t tried the modules you mentioned. The Submarine ones seem to work fine to my ears. Another idea I use sometimes is the Nysthi Vector Mixer. It’s polyphonic too, so you can do things like setting up four different VCOs and blend between them for pads, like a DIY Korg Wavestation
This sure sounds like the exact same issue as pan laws (above) - doesn’t it? In the cross-fader case there doesn’t seem to be a single “correct” answer, does there?
