Polyrhythms with FM synthesis • Using Akemie's Taiko as the Voice • Eurorack + Semi-Modular • Part 1
Channel: Aaron Taylor-Waldman
Date: 2020-05-28

Exploring rhythmic patterns on my modular system. I'm using using a bit of FM synthesis in combination with a overdrive and filter resonance to achieve a bit of distortion and animation.

Patch Notes:
• Ornaments & Crime, with Hempishere firmware, is doing the main, rhythmic gate sequence. It's pretty basic, using the Dual Trigger Sequencer applet. It is a pair of trigger patterns, up to eight steps each. I believe I have a 6 and 8 step pair going, which generates some basic polyrhythmic triggers.
• Akemie's Taiko (AT) is the voice, and the triggers are sent to AT's trigger input
• AT's audio out goes to Mutable Instruments' Ripples
• Ripples LP4 goes out to a channel of the 138-s mixer, and on to WMD Overseer stereo filter, which is the end of the chain before going out to my external mixer + speakers.
• Ripples BP2 takes the bandpassed AT audio signal and goes to Joranalogue Filter8, where it heads out of the BP4 output and into the audio in of Noise Engineering's Sinc Bucina (Low pass gate), and from there is goes to Joranalogue's Mix3 VCA mixer, and outputs all the way back to the 138-s mixer to join the original AT LP4 signal to make a stereo pair (there is some light panning in the 138-s to each of the channels).
• Basically it is Ripples that does the macro-level tone shaping and filter before sending the pair of AT signals into mixers/vcas. 
• Mimetic Digitalis, Pamela's NEW Workout, Pip Slope, and Maths are being used for envelopes and modulation of some of the parameters of AT, the VCAs
• FM modulation duties are performed by a Neutron, using Osc 1 and Osc Mix outputs to FM modulate Filter8 and Ripples (using their respective FM inputs). The Neutron is set up with a pair of sine waves, pitched up high, with a bit more PWM dialed in on the right hand oscillator (OSC 2) They are synched, which brings the harmonic content of OSC 2 in tune with OSC 1. OSC1 is tuned to complement the harmonic content of AT's output.
• A pair of pitches are being sent to AT via Intellijel Shifty, which gets pitch information from an external SQ-1. It's one pitch, which Shifty sends to AT at two intervals, to the two respective 1v/oct inputs on AT.
• Lastly, my Korg Kaoss Mixer is doing the final mix duties, with a bit of reverb on the final output mix from the modular system. A duplicate of the final mix is sent through a Korg NTS-1, which is being used for additional reverb and delay, to the 2nd channel of the Kaoss Mixer. The 2nd channel is high-pass eq'd, and I am able to get some basic wet/dry effects mix going on by having it in a dedicated channel.

Let me know if you have any thoughts and questions, and what modules you're enjoying, particularly when it comes to rhythmic and/or FM synthesis fun. Cheers.