Intersection Points by Walker Farrell

Recorded Sept/Oct 2015

This patch is an attempt to realize several ideas in a single knot: musical, philosophical, practical.

Here are some ideas from which I have drawn, in no particular order:

3. Prisms

The DPO, which is one of the sonic centers here, contains the word "prismatic" in its name. The word evokes the image of an object whose visual identity, more so than the typical object, is determined by the angle from which it is viewed. The DPO achieves its "prism" status by having its two oscillators affect each other in various ways natively: cross-modulation in FM, Hard-sync and pitch-following from B to A, timbral modulation from A to B. Varying degrees of these operations yield a multitude of ways to look "through one side and into the other". Expanding on this notion, I wanted to create a patch whose parts were deeply interconnected to the point where nearly any part influences the "viewing angle" of the whole.

2. Modelessness

The word "modeless" is often used with reference to the Erbe-Verb and tELHARMONIC. As with the DPO, both of those modules are used in this patch and that is not coincidental. The strength of a module that is modeless is that is possible to reach many extremes in many dimensions with continuous access to all points in-between. Contrast it with many digital hardware products that allow a number of modes to be switched between - the difference is that of selection (as from a list) versus exploration (as in a space).

In the past I have created live performance patches, and maximized use of rack space (which is naturally limited on stage) by building multiple "mini-patches" and setting out a plan to move from one to another. The advantage to this approach is that no one of the mini-patches is likely to last long enough to wear out its welcome, and if anything goes wrong in a patch I can simply move on to the next segment. A disadvantage is that each mini-patch is more limited in complexity than it would be if it utilized the full rack, and also that this approach requires great care not to accidentally alter the initial states of mini-patches before their "turn" comes.

For the current patch I decided to expand upon the notion of "modelessness" and forsake the idea of working down a list. Instead the patch is designed to allow access to many extreme states that all utilize the same set of relationships (patch connections) across the entire system.

5. Intersection Points

William Burroughs memorably emphasized the endless and beginningless nature of his work, that it was more a process, a mosaic, or even a "virus" than an object with defined boundaries. One phrase regarding this stuck with me in particular: "You can cut into Naked Lunch at any intersection point." There is an evocation here of both homogeneity and of radical difference from point to point, especially when the rearranging techniques of "cutup" etc. are brought into the fold. This concept of intersection points gives me a useful alternative to modes or "mini-patches", in that instead of coming to several wholly new places during a performance, I re-enter the existing lattice from a new location. I see this as related to the "prismatic" notion above, but where that involves turning the object slowly to watch the juxtapositions shift, a new intersection point involves a more immediate change. During performance I switch to a new intersection points by settling on a new pulse rate for the leading clock, and then arranging the other clocks around it. The number of times this happens is determined simply by the passage of time, which almost always contracts or expands during performance in an unpredictable way.


4. Harmonics, "metaHarmonics"

One common challenge for performers (including myself) with modular synthesizers is the difficulty of keeping everything "in-tune". Often my "mini-patches" for performance have involved cascaded sequencing using Analog Shift Registers and the like, meant to create dense layered textures using a number of oscillators. This is a dangerous practice on stage because most VCOs are meant to be constantly tweaked rather than set to one root, and in a patch with (for example) four VCOs tuned to the same note, a bump somewhere can lead to spending most of the performance troubleshooting.

As I prepared this patch I was thinking about how harmony is traditionally conceived in terms of relationship between the fundamental frequencies of simultaneous notes. This is true of many tuning systems, most of which are derived from some conception of the harmonics within a single note - but in practice, even "just intonation" in its various incarnations is usually applied to fundamental frequencies. With that in mind, I began to imagine an escape from the nightmare of needing oscillators to be in tune with each other by focusing instead on what is really a big strength of the synthesizer: control of harmonic relations within a note rather than between them. I was lucky enough to be working on this patch right around the release of the Make Noise tELHARMONIC, which provides an unusual focus on both sides of that coin: fine control over relations between fundamentals on the left side of the module, and fine control over harmonics on the right side (to the point where the fundamentals can be willfully obscured if desired).

Meanwhile I decided to also obscure the fundamental frequencies in my other voice, the DPO, by sending the two oscillators through the modDemix for ring modulation. This is often how ring modulation is described: as a modulation style that suppresses the fundamental. I set up a number of modulation sources for both these voices (tELHARMONIC and DPO) with a particular ear toward there being no danger in turning the frequency knobs. This way I have freedom on both sides: I can make dramatic sweeps of the frequency knobs, let them sit at the extremes, pick places in the middle, slowly tune them toward and away from each other, etc. without needing to keep them in the same place for the entire performance. Without any advance knowledge of monitoring system, I also have the failsafe option of not paying attention to tuning at all.

On a slightly larger timescale, this patch's event generation is a series of multiples and divisors of the leading clock. Any change to one of them affects all the others "downstream". I consider this to be related to harmony in that we are talking about integer relationships, and the ear tacks on to that just as naturally as it does to harmony. So I consider the rhythmic basis of the patch to be a "metaHarmony" that leads all the harmonic relations.

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The Patch

Here is a list of all the modules used for this patch. Each module is listed followed by a list of its outputs that are used, and their destinations (many have multiple destinations). Some patch connections are temporary or mobile: for example, the tELHARMONIC's N-Out and P-Out are listed as having the same destination. They're not patched there at the same time, instead I switch back and forth as the intersection points demand.

Make Noise Wogglebug (WB)
WB Clk -> H-Lock
-> X-MOD
-> Y-MOD
-> EV Tempo
-> QCD Clk
Stepped Random -> Centroid (-)
-> PEG1 Div (attenuated)
-> MTS Ch1 Both (attenuated)
Smooth Random -> Interval
Woggle CV -> FM Bus

Make Noise modDemix (mDm)(1 of 2)
mDm 2 2 Ch2 -> LEM 5

Make Noise René (RE)
QCV -> DPO VCOB 1v/oct
-> WB speed
-> QCD 3 Div/mult
-> Degree
-> EV Depth
CV => MTom Tune
-> Tonic/Nothing
G-X => MTS Ch1 Trig
G-Y => BD808 Gate
-> D-Gate

Make Noise tELHARMONIC (tH)
N-Out/P-Out -> mDm1 Ch1Sig
H-Out -> mDm 1 Ch2 Sig
-> Mix4 Ch4

Make Noise MATHS (MTS)
Ch4 Unity (cycling) -> Tilt
-> Flux
-> Ego
EOC -> REverse

Make Noise DPO
VCOA Sine -> mDm 2 Ch1 Carrier
VCOBSine =-> Toms HTune
Square -> tH FM
Final -> mDm 2 Ch1 Sig

Make Noise modDemix (mDm)(2 of 2)
mDm 1 Ch1 -> EV
mDm 1 Ch2 -> LEM 6

Make Noise Erbe-Verb (EV)
EV -> LEM 6

Malekko Mix4
Mix4 -> CV Bus

TipTop TOMS909
Toms Mix -> Mix4 2

TipTop BD808
BD808 -> Mix4 1

4ms Quad Clock Distributor (QCD)
QCD 1 -> RE X-Clk
-> PEG Ping1
-> QCD 4,
2 -> Lo Tom
-> BD Accent
-> E102 Clk
3-> Hi Tom
4 -> Med Tom
-> QCD 2

4ms Pingable Envelope Generator (PEG)
PEG Env1 (/2) -> EV Mix/Nothing
+5 env1 -> mDm 1 Ch2 Carrier
EOF -> Ping2
Env2 (/2) -> DPO VCOA Expo (turn up when Synced)
+5 Env2 -> mDm 2 Ch2 Carrier

Synthesis Technology E102 Quad Temporal Shifter
E102 Out1 -> QCD1 Div
-> PEG2 Div
Out2 -> Angle
Out3 -> Fold
-> EV Predelay
Out4 -> EV Size
-> DPO Shape

The patch has 6 basic voices:

1. Bass Drum (BD808)
2a-c. Toms (Low, Medium, High) TOMS909
3.tELHARMONIC H (direct)
4. tELHARMONIC H (controlled via modDemix)
5a-b. tELHARMONIC N/P (controlled via modDemix and patched through Erbe-Verb)
6. DPO (ring-modded and controlled via modDemix)

Voices 1-3 are each patched to a channel of the MIX4, whose output is the main output (the patch is performed in mono since it is designed for live use). These voices are meant to be heard as cleanly and "loudly" as possible.
Voices 4-8 are each patched to a channel of a 6-channel mixer with tape echo (Univox LEM-10), whose output is patched to the preamp on the CV Bus, and then to the fourth channel of the MIX4. This gives two possible stages of overdrive for these voices before they make it to the final mix. They can also be run through the tape echo independently.

Here is a breakdown of each (audio) voice's part in the patch, and its main loci of control:

1. This bass drum is an integrated drum module that clones the TR-808. This sound does not allow the artist much control over its parameters, but it is hard-hitting and satisfying, and there is a strong sense of history and nostalgia associated with it. The main control over its sound is in Decay time, which can be extended to create near constant powerful bass during heavy segments.

2. The toms are similar, but there are three of them and they have a specifically dirty sound and somewhat more parametric control. They can be voltage controlled in tuning as well. I have the high tom being hit by audio-rate FM from the DPO which dirties it up even more, and the mid tom being "sequenced" in pitch along with the main voices. Typically the patch begins without either of these modulations active. I affect their rhythms by changing the clock relations in the QCD, which are cascaded and not in a "top-to-bottom" fashion, which I did purposefully to make it difficult for me to create specific rhythmic relationships on the fly. Instead I must feel it out, which I see as finding the most satisfying angle through which to view the prism.

3. This copy of the tELHARMONIC's H-Out is not run through any VCA before the final mixer, so it is a "drone" voice. It is used for interlude or finale, or for adding "texture" to sparse rhythmic portions. The timbral controls are all under modulation that is in sync with the rest of the patch.

4. The more frequently used copy of tELHARMONIC H is run through the modDemix and its amplitude is controlled by one side of the PEG. The pitch of the tELHARMONIC is controlled either just by hand, or using René to sequence the Tonic, or using René to sequence the Degree with a gate sequence in the D-Gate input, which creates a sort of counterpoint sequence if I'm using the main René sequence elsewhere. The Interval control also varies: at most times I keep the three voices at a detuned Unison, but some optional voltage control over it with the Wogglebug's Smooth Random voltage can keep it warping in a pleasing way. As for Centroid and Flux controls, they are usually under modulation for animation of harmonics, but I control the depth and direction of these modulations on the fly with the input attenuators.

5. The other two outputs of the tELHARMONIC are used only one at a time, and the N-Out more frequently. It is patched through the modDemix which is opened periodically by a René gate sequence to a MATHS channel, and then into the input of the Erbe-Verb. The main point of control for this voice is the Erbe-Verb itself, particularly the Mix control, but also all the other verb parameters. For certain intersections it is dry, for many it is about 50%, and for heavy rhythm it is modulated by rapidly changing rhythmic functions from the PEG, either with short decay to suggest echoes, or with infinite decay to suggest an overlapped independent voice. Further, this voice has the treble cranked all the way up in the LEM mixer, to evoke the "sizzle" of hi-hats. During between-states, I remove the regularity from the leading clock (have its speed modulated by the René sequence and slow the main rate down significantly) and set the Mix to 50% and let the reverb go wild. This helps ease transitions between sections and is often impressive to audiences. ("Impressive" with this patch usually means they leave the room)

6. The DPO is the "supplemental" voice of the patch. The two VCOs are ring-modded together using a modDemix channel, and the result is then controlled in amplitude by rapidly changing rhythmic functions from the PEG (the opposite channel of the one controlling the tELHARMONIC's H-Out). The same PEG function is also patched to the Expo FM input of VCO A, allowing pitch or timbre sweeps. Between the two frequency knobs, engaging and disengaging SYNC, adjusting modulation depth to the FM Bus and Final parameters, adjusting Follow amount, and adjusting the VCO A Expo FM input attenuator, many effects are possible. Also the function controlling that Expo FM can be inverted, and frequently I change the Tilt of the functions to be opposed to those on the other side of the PEG.

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