Venom 2.6 Beta - looking for testers and feedback

Development
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I think I have my next release of Venom fleshed out, and I would love if some people test it out before I submit to the library. Obviously I want to fix any bugs that might crop up, but I am also open to suggestions for improvement.

Newest stabile binaries with new Widget Menu Extender module are here

First appearance of Poly Sample & Hold Analog Shift Register is here

Original outdated Venom v2.6beta binaries available here

Global Enhancement

There is one major enhancement for the entire plugin - all Venom controls and ports now have a context menu option to set a custom name. The custom name does not appear on the faceplate, but it does appear in the hover text and context menus - great for verifying you have the correct control before you twist a knob, or for tracing patches.

There are 5 new modules

Venom 2.6 Modules
Venom 2.6 Modules783Ă—521 90.3 KB

Benjolin Oscillator

A complex chaotic oscillator emulating the oscillator and Rungler components of a Benjolin. Simply pair the Benjolin Oscillator with a resonant filter such as the Vult Unstabile, and you have a complete functioning Benjolin.

Benjolin Oscillator Documentation here

This is my favorite of the new modules. I already had a good emulation of the Benjolin using pre-existing modules, and it sounds great. But my emulator was unable to control aliasing introduced by the Rungler. This was typically not an issue, but aliasing would crop up when clocking the Rungler at high frequencies. This new Venom module allows me to oversample the Rungler timing and thus get anti-aliased Rungler and XOR outputs. So now all outputs can have anti-aliasing, allowing the oscillator to create sweet sounds even at extreme frequencies. (No worries - it still can create harsh sounds as well, just as it should!)

The patch and video below hardly scratches the surface of what a Benjolin can do. But it does show how easy it is to patch up a fully functioning Benjolin with this oscillator, and I really like the autogenerative “song” in the video. The top dark row is a complete stand alone Benjolin. The bottom light row provides some additional modulation and effects.

Double Venom Benjolin.vcv (5.4 KB)

Logic

Flexible logic gate processor suitable for both CV and audio applications.

Logic documentation here

This is something I have been wanting for a long time. There are already plenty of options for performing AND, OR, XOR, NAND, NOR, XNOR, NOT operations. But unlike all the others, this module can control aliasing via oversampling, making it ideal for audio applications.

Other nice features include options for many more than two inputs, ability to merge polyphony into multiple inputs to a single logic gate, and ability to reuse a prior gate output in another computation without introducing sample delays. So you can create compound logic like (A and B) or C and easily keep the input signals aligned perfectly.

NORSIQ Chord to Scale

Converts up to 14 channels of a polyphonic “chord” input into a set of CV outputs that define a scale for the Non-Octave-Repeating Scale Intervallic Quantizer (NORSIQ).

NORSIQ Chord to Scale Documentation here

I believe when pairing this new module with my NORSIQ it provides very similar functionality to the SIM Coerce module. However Coerce does not work great with scales that don’t fold at one octave. It either forces all chords into octave repeating, or else restricts the quantized notes to the range of the input “chord”.

NORSIQ Chord to Scale works great with extended chords, allowing them to be turned into non-octave repeating scales so the quantizer works with notes outside the range of the input.

KNOB 5

Five independently configurable constant voltage knobs.

Knob 5 Documentation here

Each knob can be configured for different voltage ranges.

The Venom parameter rename feature works great with this module.

PUSH 5

Five independently configurable push buttons

Push 5 Documentation here

Each button has multiple configuration options:

  • Mode: Trigger, Gate, or Toggle
  • On and Off output voltages: 10, 5, 1, 0, -1, -5, or -10
  • On and Off button colors: All the primary and secondary colors (bright and dim), plus white, gray, and off

The Venom parameter rename feature works great with this module

16 Likes
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NORSIQ Chord to Scale works great with extended chords, allowing them to be turned into non-octave repeating scales so the quantizer works with notes outside the range of the input.

:heart::heart::heart: thank you for this!

Would love to test, but I am currently resting my ears and getting infusion treatment after an acoustic trauma. Will check the modules out after release!

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That sounds horrific! But I love your enthusiasm

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Oooh - I like the result of this extended chord experiment with my NORSIQ Chord To Scale module! For this demo the chord intervals are constant, and only the root changes. I can only imagine what a keyboard player (especially a jazz player) could do with this thing if providing live extended chord changes as scales for the quantizer.

NORSIQ Chord To Scale Demo.vcv (7.6 KB)

I threw this patch together in very little time. First I ran the PolyCon through a “normal” quantizer and then to an FM-OP, and tuned the 8 pitches to an extended chord that I liked, covering one octave and a perfect fifth. I then rerouted that polyphonic chord to the NORSIQ Chord To Scale module, and the intervals go to my quantizer.

Venom Random Rhythm provides a randomly generated pattern of gates for 5 FM-OP voices, and a RND provides random V/Oct to be quantized. The RND range is 2.5 octaves, and then a PolyOff offsets individual voices by ~0, ~1, or ~2 octaves.

The quantizer also sends the complete chord to a 2nd FM-OP for a droning chord voice.

A sequencer changes the root of the chord/scale at the start of each bar of 5 1/4 notes.

I spend very little time sculpting the sound, but I love the result.

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this is so good!

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This patch is a certified banger

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Anyone have a name suggestion for my last piece? I think it deserves a good one.

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I updated the KNOB 5 and PUSH 5 modules to support polyphony. Each control has an option to clone the output into multiple polyphonic channels.

New binaries available below:

Here are some more examples using the NORSIQ Chord To Scale. Nothing as beautiful as last time, but they better show off the dynamic nature of the quantizer.

All three are derived from the previous patch. For each I change to a new random chord/scale at a regular interval.

Slow ambient piece using random extended chords.

No surprise that the random choice of notes for the “chord” leads to lots of discord in the scale. But much of the discord is hidden by playing at a very slow tempo, with massive Planetarium reverb from Valhalla Supermassive.

Slow Stacked Random Chords.vcv (8.6 KB)

Stacked random extended chords

I build random extended chords by stacking two randomly chosen 4 note chords that are rooted a perfect fourth apart. The resultant extended chord becomes the non-octave-repeating scale. There is lots of discordant tension in this one.

Stacked Random Extended Chords.vcv (9.5 KB)

Stacked random triads

For this one the scales are based on randomly chosen triads. More concordance with lots of tension that periodically resolves nicely

Stacked Random Triads.vcv (9.5 KB)

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The last patch feels “musical” enough to do the video game ost feel. Pseudo western classical influence.

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I believe I have made the last major changes for this next release - I added a new Poly Sample & Hold Analog Shift Register.

PolySHASR

This module is heavily inspired by the VCV S&H ASR, with the following enhancements:

  • 10 rows of S&H instead of 8
  • All inputs and outputs are fully polyphonic
  • All rows with patched TRIG input have the DATA input normaled to the random number generator. The VCV module only normaled the first row to the random source.
  • Oversampling is available to control aliasing when triggering the module at audio rates
  • The saving of held values with the patch may be disabled in the context menu

The new beta binaries are here

Full documentation is here

I am not very happy with the CPU usage of this module, especially with oversampling enabled. I think my code suffers by writing universal code that generically handles all feature permutations instead of optimizing various permutations individually. I also need to test whether the simd operations are helping or hurting in some of the code. I may do more optimization before release, or I may save that for a subsequent release.

I will let people test the new module for a few weeks, and then I hope to push to the library.

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Oversampled asr is a huge deal. Thanks for this.

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Away from computer, curious if there is normaled noise as in bogaudio sample and hold. i abuse this feature in that and would absolutely vote for it in your sample and hold if its not there.

if its not too much to ask, an oversampled simple (single, dual, or quad) sample and hold (not asr) would be useful to me, and possibly others. (bonus points for normalled gate as well (similar to that bog sample and hold)

Hope that request doesn’t seem irreverent of the amount of dev work you are doing.

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Yes - it is all described in the documentation that I linked: normalled noise (random number generator), normalled gates, shift register(s) or independent sample & holds, depending on how it is patched, etc.

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The latest beta binaries are here, with a few bug fixes dealing mostly with Poly S&H ASR polyphony.

Here is a patch demonstrating the Poly S&H ASR. It only uses the sample and hold capability, as well as the oversampling option to mitigate aliasing from clocking at audio rates.

Venom S&H Stepped Sine.vcv (6.9 KB)

There are 4 voices generated by the Slips module, each of which is duplicated 4 times with detuning by the Venom Poly Unison and played as sine waves by the polyphonic VCV VCO. A Venom Harmonic Quantizer plays a 2nd oscillator at integral multiples of the base frequency, which in turn trigger the sample and hold to sample the sine waves, generating a stepped voltage sine wave. A second row of the S&H generates random CV to control the integral value (number of steps per cycle).

There is no VCA or envelope generator. The ringing tone is created by syncing the polyphonic oscillators with each note change, which momentarily allows all detuned voices to constructively interfere. As the detuned channels drift apart, the volume reduces, resulting in bell like tones. As the detuned waveforms continue to drift out of phase, different harmonics are accentuated through constructive/destructive interference, yielding a shifting, shimmering tone.

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Another wicked patch. Im gonna have to download and mess with that.

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Perhaps my last demo before I release to the library - a long form experimental sound scape featuring the Benjolin Oscillator, paired with the Questionable Modules Slurp. There is lots of cross modulation. The first half tests out various filter cutoff points, but is otherwise static. The second half I freely modulate various parameters.

The top row pairs one Benjolin Oscillator with a Vult Unstabile filter to create a full Benjolin patch emulating the features of the After Later Audio Benjolin version 2. The bottom half adds the Slurp, a 2nd Benjolin Oscillator, and effects.

The audio output is a mix of the top row Benjolin PWM output mixed with one channel of the Slurp output, sent to the filter. The low pass output goes left, and the band pass goes right. Both are processed by the Plateau and Valhalla Super Massive in parallel, and then mixed for the final output.

The Host-FX is running the Valhalla Super Massive reverb/delay, using the SFX->Nebulae->Planetarium preset.

Slurping Venom Benjolins.vcv (7.0 KB)

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Sounds like it’s moving and changing all the time. Looking forward to the Benjolin Oscillator.

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This is brilliant!

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I lied - here is another demo using a pair of Benjolin Oscillators. The 45 minute Benjolin Safari video is fully autogenerative - nothing was tweaked during the full duration of the video (except for final mix level for start fade in and end fade out).

The original patch uses VCV Host-FX running Valhalla SuperMassive plugin with the SFX->Nebulae->Horsehead preset. The Valhalla SuperMassive plugin is free, but the VCV Host is a premium plugin - it is well worth the small investment.

1.5 Venom Benjolins.vcv (7.4 KB)

For those that do not have the premium Host plugin, I made a version that substitutes AirWindows running the Galactic preset. It has a similar quality, but I prefer the SuperMassive version.

1.5 Venom Benjolins Air Windows.vcv (6.8 KB)

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I updated my Blippoo Box emulator to use the Venom Poly Sample & Hold Analog Shift Register with oversampling. With that and the oversampled Venom WinComp comparator, all components of the emulator now have effective anti-aliasing. The one S&H ASR module is used for both the A and B Runglers, as well as the sample & hold output.

I was planning on creating a demo that shows the positive effect of the oversampled S&H ASR, but I stumbled on this cool evolving drone patch and couldn’t pull myself away.

Blippoo Box Sweet Spot.vcv (10.9 KB)

5 Likes