wikipedia is a huge source of knowledge I used it to learn specially about the different Synthesis approach, circuits and much more
2 Likes
You need to differentiate between control signals (relatively slowly changing, normally too slow to hear as audio) and audio signals (rapidly changing and audible). A sequencer generates control voltages, which can be used to set the frequency of an oscillator which will output audio signals, or maybe the cut off point of a filter processing audio signals. A gate sequencer generates ons & offs, which can be used to trigger percussive sounds, envelopes feeding VCAs or even VCAs directly if you like. A modular synth does not differentiate between these types of signal, you can route anything to anything (not that you should, and certainly not when beginning, but you can and this can be useful once you know what you’re doing).
There is a blurry line between the two though. Consider a simple oscillator, treating its output as audio you will be able to hear it down to whatever frequency your speakers are capable of reproducing, below that frequency it becomes more of a control signal (LFO) which could be used to modulate another audio signal (produce vibrato by modulating the frequency or tremolo by modulating the amplitude for example). A square wave LFO could be used in place of a clock module to run a sequencer from, in either case (using a square LFO or a clock module) you effectively have an oscillator driving a sequencer.
2 Likes
To put that in perspective here’s what an LFO will look like on a real-time spectrum analyser at low and high speed(frequency):
1 Like
Hi, because probably you are still thinking that a synth works like a piano or everything else in nature. The truth is that a piano is always silent, until the moment you press the key. In that moment a hammer hits a string and the sound comes out. It’s like hitting a ball, you hit the ball, you here the sound.
If you turn on a synth with a keyboard, you press a key, you here a sound. But the truth is that a synth is always playing, and the vibration produced by its VCO has always a pitch, even if you are not hearing it. As you press a key, it changes the vibration rate (accordingly to the key pressed), which we hear as “pitch”, and then happens the strange thing: a kind of “gate” opens, and only in that moment we can finally hear the sound.
Moving on, try to imagine a sequencer as a machine used to deliver different output values, step after step. The VCO that is receiving signals from the sequencer changes frequency, step after step. The V/Oct input on a VCO is there for that purpose. If we were playing a keyboard, we would have put the “output value” of the keyboard into the V/Oct input of the VCO. The lowest key on it would have delivered a low frequency, the highest key would have delivered a high frequency.
Let’s start with this, I hope I have explained it in a simple way.
cheers
A
6 Likes
this is a really important point that I don’t see made enough.
1 Like
Yeah. I know that WikiMedia has also a lot of great royalty free books and music and stuff like that.
I knew that I didn’t come up with this stuff. I got it from somewhere “indoctrinated”. My goal should therefore, as a beginner, be to reach that blurry line between experience and just noob-ishness.
Did you record that extra for me? Or is this a frequent question? Or are you simply collecting VCV Rack videos? XD
Yeah. Omri also mentioned in one of the beginner videos: The VCO creates always sound. You only hear it though when you connect the VCO with your sound output and I know from a technical standpoint, that your keyboard is “connected” nonstop and as soon as you press a button. And when you press the button you “break” the connection, therefore the keyboard knows what you’re playing.
It also makes now sense to me, since everybody mentions that everything is possible to connect.
The limited VST-mind of mine was: “If the sequencer controls the VCO… why does it have a knob to change the hz? Shouldn’t the sequencer be able to do it? When the VCO has a knob to change the hz… that must mean that the VCO controlls the sequencer.”
Silly assumption basically.
My suggestion is to start small.
Don’t overwhelm yourself from the very beginning with too many modules or super complex patches. Instead, pick out a handful of simple modules (like the Fundamentals pack stuff) and limit yourself to that set for a while. Pick out 4-6 modules (not including scope, input or audio out), park them somewhere on your rack, and see how many different patches you can create.
After all, this is how it would probably shake out if you had a hardware rack–you’d probably have a small, finite set of modules screwed into your rack that you would play with, and through exploring the possibility space of that particular setup you’re going to be working out your creativity muscles. =]
As tempting as it is to add more, and more, and more modules, instead become a master of those 6 modules, then pick out 6 different modules and master those, then put all 12 of those modules on your rack and explore that possibility, and so on. I’m still learning myself, but I think that’s a great way to go.
edit: And don’t feel bad for being kind of lost. Synth can be pretty complex in general, and modular is really geeky and deep stuff.
2 Likes
I watched a beginner tutorial of Omri, where he also mentions this in the start. Like so many others though I started with VCV rack and got myself immediately every plug-in, which slows VCV Rack down quite enormously.
On the other hand de-installing everything just so I can learn better with the beginning tools and to later download all the plug-ins later on again makes even somewhat less sense to me. So I am kinda “trapped”.
Doesn’t matter though, because I still stick with the beginning modules.
Just remember that everything is voltage. There are exceptions but the majority of modules are not about “audio” or “cv”. It only matters whether a signal is at audio rate when it’s trying to move a speaker. Everything else is available.
2 Likes
Learn the essentials via the Fundamental collection. Know the functions of the basic building blocks, i.e. VCO, VCF, VCA, etc. Make dozens of very simple patches to learn how connections are made in VCV Rack. Study patches with only a few components, try to understand the reasoning behind the signal flow (the patching). Make sure you have a good reference book for learning terminology.
There aren’t too many hard rules about working with modulars. It seems that every good patcher has found his or her style by extensive experimentation, just trying things to see “what happens if…”. Modular synthesis favors that approach to learning.
3 Likes
The way I’m getting started is by going through the lessons in Syntorial and attempting to build similar things in VCV Rack as I go through the lessons. However, it means a fair bit of “module shopping” since they don’t tell you what modules to use.
I feel like VCV Rack needs a better search engine so you can see what modules are available in each category without installing them all? As a beginner you don’t have any idea who wrote what kind of modules so browsing that way is mostly useless until you start to get to know the module authors.
As it is, I try to make do with Google searches and forum searches, and occasionally asking questions since we are not to the point where everything has been asked already.
2 Likes
Thank you for that syntorial tip.
Other way to go around is like I did and how many beginners do: Just getting every plug-in. Xd