Voxglitch modules - beta testers welcome!

The sequencer and the Grain Engine module(s) are absolutely wonderful additions to VCV Rack!

And here comes the request :slight_smile: : Could you make the Grain Engine module follow 1 v/oct for melodic pitch control? And with interpolation (smoothing/anti-aliasing for pitched sample playback) please :slight_smile:

@Schabbes, sure, I’ll see what I can do! Please be patient with me - it might take a while!

Hi Bret, sorry for my late reply,

to 1. imho the best would be to set it per-sequence and have a setting"all"
that would make it easy to handle,
I think of maybe two or three sequences set to 12 or 24 to have melody lines and the other sequences unquantized (or maybe quantized) for modulations

to 2. it would be great to have at least 8, 10,12, 16, 24, 32, 36
the user should be able to set the range to -1/1V , -3/3V, -5/5V, -10/10V
and 0 - 1V,0 - 3V, 0-5V, 0 - 10V (as in the Bogaudio modules)

these are be my exaggerated wishes :wink: , but anything in this direction will be fine

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@rsmus7: No worries at all Stephan! I took a few days off from module but should be able to implement your requests soon. :slight_smile:

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@rsmus7 Stephan, do you compile modules from source? I ask because I’ve checked in input snapping and voltage ranges to the main branch and was wondering if you could kick the tires for me!

The one weirdness that’s happening is that the tooltips are sometimes inaccurate, and I haven’t figured out why yet. It’s very minor. For some larger values, such as 10.0, the tooltip will say 9.99, but the actual output will be 10.0. Very strange. I wonder if it’s some nuance with std::to_string? Anyhow, it’s not a huge worry.

Breit, I’m sorry, but I haven’t compiled any modules for V1.xx yet.
But the new sequencer right click menue looks pretty awesome. Btw. I’m on Win10 if you can send me a compiled module (or a download link), I will test it.

That would be fantastic if you could help test it. It should be perfect, but sometimes I miss things! Here’s the newest build on windows:

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I’ll test it asap

so, I used it for a while now, the sequencer is really working fine here, it is imho easy to set the snaps and to set the range of the different sequencers

just some thoughts: it would be cool to have a “smooth” parameter, that smoothes the transition between the different steps, but this is no priority for me

when I randomize the module from the right click menue, it only randomizes the number of steps in a sequencer but doesn’t change the steps itself. If this is not possible, no problem.

Would it be possible to add some “standart waveforms” for the sequencersteps? Like a sinus or saw or Square or triangle that get inserted in the steps? that would make the sequencers a nice simple lfo too. :wink:

so far for now, I will test it more and report what I find.

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Thank you so much for testing it!

it would be cool to have a “smooth” parameter, that smoothes the transition between the different steps, but this is no priority for me

Phil requested the same thing. I don’t know if I’m going to add that feature or not. It’s complicated! You might want to use a slew limiter in the meantime. :control_knobs:

when I randomize the module from the right click menue, it only randomizes the number of steps in a sequencer but doesn’t change the steps itself. If this is not possible, no problem.

For randomizing patterns, hover over the pattern area and press the ‘r’ key. Pressing “r” works for gates as well. I’ll see what I can do about the right-click randomize feature.

Would it be possible to add some “standart waveforms” for the sequencersteps? Like a sinus or saw or Square or triangle that get inserted in the steps? that would make the sequencers a nice simple lfo too.

Sure, I could add “standard steps” in the right-click menu. I’ll put that on the to-do list. It might take a little bit of time. :slight_smile:

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It runs smoothly for me…quite fine modules…

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Thank you Marc!

Coming soon… teaser trailer!

image

(those are gate outputs)

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Is it like Trowasoft trigseq64? If it is then making it polyphonic would be doing us a service.

@dagghand It’s a cellular automaton based gate sequencer. You’ll be able to set “trigger points” on the grid. When the cellular automaton flips a cell from on to off, if there’s a trigger point on that cell, it will generate an output trigger. Explaining it is difficult! I need to practice my elevator pitch. :slight_smile:

Here’s an oversimplification:

  1. Draw a pattern on the grid
  2. Place one or more trigger points on the grid for any of the 5 trigger outputs
  3. Clock the module, which will “evolve” the pattern. The evolving pattern will (hopefully) trigger some of your trigger points and generate gate outputs.

The modules will initialize with a default pattern and trigger points to get you started.

This will be my fourth time writing this same sequencer! Ha ha ha. First I wrote it for the Nintendo DS, then using Processing, then again within Reaktor. I love the ascetics and enjoy working with this type of gate sequencer.

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Quick demo of drawing patterns in the upcoming Glitch Sequencer module:

Coming soon…

  • To place or remove trigger points, you’ll click on the LED above the output to select that trigger. Once selected, the grid will enter “trigger point edit mode”, which will allow you to modify the trigger points by clicking on the grid (just like you would in the above video). Clicking again on the LED above the selected trigger will deselect it and return you back to the normal playback mode.

  • I may replace the LEN knob with a dropdown menu of lengths. Or I’ll display the length using the large grid when you mouse-over or use the LEN knob.

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Glitch Sequencer is functional! If you are a brave early adopter, please have at it! Here’s a build for windows:

You can also find it on github here: https://github.com/clone45/voxglitch/tree/glitchsequencer

image

Brief Instructions

Getting started

At the bare minimum, attach a clock signal to the STEP input as you would any other sequencer. Connect the gate outputs to whatever you like, such as drum modules. Done!

Editing the ‘Seed Pattern’

This sequencer is based on Conway’s Game of Life. The starting pattern (which I call the seed pattern) evolves over time, then restarts at the end of the sequence. The playback length is controlled by the LEN knob. Glitch Sequencer functions very much like any other sequencer in respect to STEP, RESET, and LEN inputs.

Editing the seed sequence is easy: Simply draw on the grid. You’ll notice that when you mouse-over the grid, you’re shown the seed pattern for editing. When you mouse out, you see the pattern being played back.

Editing the trigger points

There are five trigger outputs. A trigger output generates a pulse whenever the playback sequence lands on a trigger point. Think of it like the vintage game “Battleship”: If one of the trigger points is “hit”, it generates a pulse on the output.

The module comes with some trigger points preset to make it easy for beginners. To edit trigger points, click on one of the 5 buttons above the trigger outputs, then click on the grid to place or remove trigger points. Each gate output can have multiple trigger points. The trigger points are not shared between outputs.

To return back to editing the seed pattern, deselect the active trigger button. << IMPORTANT

I haven’t written formal documentation for this yet. I hope that’s enough to get you started! My next goal is to update my documentation and make a demo video for Glitch Sequencer.

Features coming soon:

  • Ability to clear patterns
  • Possibly an optional blue theme to match Digital Sequencer’s color scheme
  • Shift patterns around using the arrow keys

Enjoy! I’ll get this submitted to the user library in a few days.

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New module alert!

I admit that it’s not the most exciting module ever built. It’s essentially eight really simple sample players in one compact module. If you need more options, you could add 8 Lomas Advanced Samplers to a patch. But if this is all you need - tada! :tada:

I’ve submitted it to the user library so it should be available soon. It’s also on the master branch of my github repo.

Enjoy,
Bret

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I have something new on the way! It’s a stereo granular effects processor using a similar engine to Grain Engine. Another way to think of it: Ghosts, but with audio input instead of using samples.

If anyone wants super-early access, here’s the branch it’s on for those adventurous enough to compile it: https://github.com/clone45/voxglitch/tree/grain_blender

Quick notes:

  • Supply a fast clock signal to the SPAWN input
  • I highly recommend modulating the POSITION input. Try using complex modulations.
  • The front panel may be redesigned to conserve space
  • The module “slug” will eventually change, meaning that there will be breaking changes before it goes live.
  • It should be fully functional, but still very much still under construction.

Features that I’m planning to add:

  • Various amplitude slopes for the grains. Maybe morphing?
  • I’ve put in some safeguards, such as grain spawn throttling and various maximums for grain length, recording buffer size, etc. I’m hoping to make those all available via the front panel so you can get more crazy sounds.
  • Ability to freeze the rotation of the ring buffer
  • Maybe provide automatic grain spawning if the spawn cable is not connected. In fact - I’ll definitely do that.

Enjoy!

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yes to morphing and freeze. :cold_face:

@clone45 Just tested Grain FX. The thing is a hectic monster. Rarely felt more creative or more out of control in VCV. If you want suggestions - I would suggest having really sensible default settings - tracking v/o on the pitch control, fairly large grains, in other words whatever it takes to get it at least sounding somewhat like the source material. Once you can get sound out of it, it becomes easier to relax into the mayhem created with more outlandish settings, and you start understanding what effect each knob or switch can do. Almost DIY documentation for a module like this in my opinion. Especially when this is taking live input - I feel like especially as you’ve termed it an effect, people will want to feel like they can switch it on and it starts off sound like a glitchy version of what they are inputting and then modulate the settings to lose more and more control, or indeed vice versa, start completely chaotic but have a saner version to transition to by either knowing the settings or initialising the module. Hope you don’t mind my two cents, absolutely love it overall.

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