=== vcp challenge #76: one voice ===

[DaveVenom (Dave Benham)]

I love the sound of a Benjolin, and it is a wonderful starting point for creating a single voice patch.

I have created multiple VCV Rack virtual emulations of the Benjolin, and gotten great satisfaction. I also had the chance to compare my most recent version with an actual hardware Benjolin from After Later Audio, and was thrilled at how similar my emulation is.

Here are some of my favorite Benjolin emulator patches/recordings in reverse chronological order. They are all from the same thread, but collected here for easy access. Patches are available at the links.

Showcasing 11 diverse sounds in one patch:

Benjolin patch (new version 4) for VCV - Show me what you can do with it!

So here is my final version 4 of the Benjolin, after incorporating Koen’s suggestion of a linear feedback shift register, as well as the oversampling from my new version 2.1.4 of the Venom WinComp module to improve the quality of the PWM output at high frequencies. The zip file on PatchStorage includes two different versions of the patch: Benjolin V4 Pony - Uses 4 Befaco Pony oscillators, which have anti-aliasing to give improved sound at high frequencies. Since each logical oscillator takes…

Benjolin V4 Demo

A Dark Foreboding Patch

Benjolin patch (new version 4) for VCV - Show me what you can do with it!

I finally have released my much improved Benjolin patch version 3 that features the great Mind Meld Patch Master to create a clean user interface. It also adds a new Resonance CV input to the patch bay. The demo video shows how the resonance CV can produce some really satisfying swells. Most of my Benjolin videos show static patching and settings, but it is great fun to play this patch live. It pairs well with a midi controller. I’ve used this patch quite a few times at a monthly experimental m…

VCV Rack Benjolin Patch Version 3

My first try adding delay with an early form of the emulator

Some great diverse sounds here.

Benjolin patch (new version 4) for VCV - Show me what you can do with it!

Some nice sounds in that recording. I had a go with the patch. The chaos is good from a pitch and timing standpoint, but I had trouble discovering a wide variety of textures, and I could not get the filter to ping at all. I hope you had a chance to try my Benjolin out. It really is a blast to play with. After seeing your video, I decided to have a go at adding some delay to my Benjolin to go with the reverb. Before now I had been going for a fairly stripped down sound to showcase the power of …

VCV Rack Benjolin with Stereo Delay and Reverb

A short emulation of a sax!

Benjolin patch (new version 4) for VCV - Show me what you can do with it!

I realized I could shrink the Benjolin patch down and improve CPU usage by using 2 VCV Fundamental LFOs instead of the 4 Nysthi oscillators. I don’t notice any qualitative difference in the output after making the change. Then I stumbled on a configuration that sounds remarkably like an irritating avant-garde jazz sax solo. [VCV Rack Benjolin Squawking Sax]

VCV Rack Benjolin Squawking Sax

Long form auto-generative ambient piece with my first emulator

This is still one of my favorites

Benjolin patch (new version 4) for VCV - Show me what you can do with it!

In 2009, Rob Hordijk designed a “primitive” synth instrument called the Benjolin and released the design to the world for DIY enthusiasts, as well as developed a kit and conducted many workshops. It consists of two oscillators, a multimode state variable filter, and a pseudo random circuit called the rungler. It is a shift register sample and hold using oscillator 2 pulse as the clock, and oscillator 1 triangle through a comparator, XORed with the end of the shift register as the data input. Thr…

Benjolin V2 implemented as a VCV Rack patch