Eurorack Modular - Sequencing in Stereo using a Sequential Switch
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- Опубліковано 29 вер 2024
- In this video I demonstrate a simple technique for splitting the gate signal generated by a single sequencer in order to give you the ability to create stereo spread or other variation and effects using multiple synth voices.
2:21 “not many patchpoints on this module” ... shows module which consists almost entirely of patchpoints 😅
Great use of this module! What's the drum machine you use?
After seeing this video I got inspired to design and build this module for myself. Its function is not very complex and can be realized using a CMOS counter, a quad analog switch, an opamp and some resistors. Here is a video showing the result: ua-cam.com/video/jn3fWWigyjA/v-deo.html
Just one thing to be aware is that most (traditional) sequential switches are only unidirectional (choosing one of n inputs). Also, one way to get around longer envelope times letting through the alternate CV is to use track and holds (or sample and holds) with the selective gate to hold the CV constant until the next gate of the respective channel.
That sounds like the solution to a problem I’ve been struggling with. Thanks!
I’ve couldn’t imagine a designer making a sequential switch that is unidirectional. Every sequential switch that I’ve seen has used an CD40XX series analog multiplexer which are bidirectional. Which ones did you find that is unidirectional?
A dual quantizer would work as well. Granted the quantize bit might be redundant. But if both quantizers are only set requantize the input signal on a gate/trigger... well there you go. Some people might have quantizers but not S&H circuits.
This is a really clear and incredibly well edited video. Thanks for the effort youve put in here.
Tim, As always, I am not only impressed by your knowledge and very clear explanations of "how to do this at home," but by your true musicians code of sharing your tips, tricks, and insights with the rest of us, rather than hoarding these brilliant ideas to yourself. You not only got this guitar player down the Eurorack rabbit hole with your earlier videos on affordable and fun Eurorack modules from Behringer and Doepfer, you have made me much more competent with the equipment; which has made the whole experience with modular synths that much more enjoyable. Keep up the outstanding work on these wonderful videos!
does the A-151 do S&H on the outputs so they hold the input once no longer 'active' or do they drop to zero? I've got an A-152 but it does T&H rather than S&H on the outputs - you can mod it for S&H but I'm not great with a soldering iron
This video shows a perfect example of applying this underrated module. The same result can be reached by using a an lfo, an inverter and a divider, among others. A patch example named Stereo ping-pong can be found in the Korg MS-50 owner,'s manual. I prefer your method though. I used the Analogue Systems sequential switch on my track A perfect storm on the album Sense of Urgency to sequentially switch between three different patches. It was a nightmare to patch three sounds and an even bigger one to write them down. In hindsight, the sound wasn't spectacular but at least I showed for myself a complex patch like this was possible. As far as I know, the sequential switch is the best tool to simulate the bowing of a violin on an analogue synthesizer. Alternating between envelopes or whatever module makes the sound more dynamic, which is one of my goals in electronic music.
just curious: what is the module to the right with the orange cascading display?
Again another wonderful "Tim Shoebridge" video. I appreciate your work that offers so much information and practical advices. And I like the way of your unagitated presentation. Thank you.
Nailed it.
Hydrasynth spotted! Will we see a video featuring this synth? It will be interesting to hear your thoughts.
How refreshing to have a video not start with ‘yo, what’s up UA-cam? This is your boi ******’.
hah I like how the Perfourmer is almost trolling the video because it does the same kind of thing
was just thinking about how to utilise my 151
I have avoided getting any Eurorack modules, because I have a Paia 4700 series modular. But this video is Quite inspiring, and I am reconsidering... Thanks for sharing!
Tim, did you look at the A-150 dual vc switch as an alternative. it's cheaper and has two switches, so it could be used to also split the gates and allow notes to overlap. You absolutely need an A-151 (or other sequential switch), but I think the A-150 is really great for the times you don't need 3 or 4 connections.
Couldn't you just use a single oscilator with one envelope, and use the switch to alternate the output of oscillator into a stereo mixer/VCA left and right channels? Thanks
Great video. Thank you so much for the work you put in for us. In the comments you keep saying “panned hard left and right”, however, in the video you don’t show this being done. Are you panning in some hardware mixer or are you recording both left and right in mono channels and panning those left and right in your DAW?
Hi, I'm panning left and right in a stereo mixer eurorack module and then recording the mixer's two outputs separately in my DAW.
Great Video. Thaks a lot. What do you think about the Vermona PERfourMER MK II?
Hey thanks a lot. It's honestly too early to tell, I haven't had the synth long or had any time to even switch it on! But at least it's out of the box which is a good start! =D
Those Behringer modules are great!
I've been looking for a way of alternating the frequency of a filter, so that a solo audio voice alternates between two different filter frequency levels when played, so the first played note might sound "aaaah", and the 2nd played note sounds "ooooo", then the third note sounds an "aaaah" again, and so on. You've given me the idea of using my 151 to achieve this. Time to experiment.
I was thinking how to do this since I saw Steevio do something similar but with his huge trigger sequencers, I knew I needed a sequential switch with but it was the small cable you added to the trigger that was the missing piece I needed. Thanks Tim :)
I love these videos about one specific eurorack module ! Nice trick, brillant explanations and lovely demonstations... Thank you !
Thank you! This works great with my Erica Synths sequential switch.
Very nifty, thanks!
Did I understand this correctly? You’re using the same signal for both input and triggering? Such a glorious idea!
Yes - it's the basic principle that makes the Vermona PerFourmer(lower right in some shots) so much fun!
This really opens a world of ideas, thank you for the video and sharing with us.
Thanks a lot, I absolutely enjoy these sessions about modular gear and your strong focus on music, IMHO the best way to learn.
Incredibly informative video! What synth did you use at the beginning of your video?
Sequential switching 101- brilliant. I now know not only that I need this module, but that it won’t scare me when it arrives. Thank you!
I had always assumed the mults on the 173 were passive, but seeing them used here to split the cv from the sequencer, makes me question this. Just tried to find out, but can’t see buffered or unbuffered mentioned anywhere in the docs. Would be great to find out they’re buffered!
They are passive. But you can get away with splitting into two as long as you don’t go crazy with the octave range
@@TimShoebridge thanks Tim!
killer music dude, do you keep specific brands together, like, do you build a doepfer set, and a behringer set, and etc
ive seen lots of different eurorack setups and its all super killer!
Thanks a lot. Yes I like building sets of modules by the same manufacturer, but I also mix and match stuff to suit a specific requirement or project. That's the great thing about eurorack, it's like building up a box of tools
@@TimShoebridge i have noticed i own a lot more noise engineering modules and qu bit stuff haha, but yeah i tend to just look at function over collecting the whole module set, but im sure one day i will have everything haha
are you excited for plinky? im on that waitlist and it looks very functional for the compact setup
very nice!!
Sensational Shoebridge supplying synth-heads smashing sonic solutions. Terrific Tim, thanks.
Aptly applied alliteration always amuses.
Always nice to watch your videos - love the subtle tape fast forward sound and video effect here: ua-cam.com/video/L21BPV1RRdU/v-deo.html - is that a built in feature of a particular video editor you are using? Either way - very cool :)
Sequential switches are the best! Such a flexible module with so many musical applications. Highly recommended for any setup. Loved the funny outro by the way :-)
No more with Dave Smith synths. RIP Dave!
i've been thinking about this last year & I have the same switch 🤓
Excellent and insightful. Thanks 🐣
This is another great video Tim, I can see its been over 14 months since you posted it and you might not remember but can you confirm the audio route after its left each VCO please, im assuming they go into two seperate mixer channels to keep the stereo effect but it sounds like there is delay and verb also added to the final sounds of both channels
Hi, yes the audio is kept separate, panned hard left and right, and stereo effects were added 👍
@@TimShoebridge thank you 😊
I’ve got the sequential switch arriving today and look forward to giving this a try
Very interesting. When you showed the module (which I own but underuse) I thought that you sould hook up the gate of the sequence to the gate input but then send the audio of the oscillator into the input and would switch output 1 and 2 to left and right side of your stereo out. That would only work if one note stops playing (and ringing out) before the other starts being played. But you solution is a lot more flexible (but needs two pairs of oscillators instead of just one)
Sorry I meant to say you could separate out both the gate & the cv
the alm boss bow tie v1 is a really great switch. I managed to get lucky and get one for 60cad used.
Tim Great vídeos Go no Dont stop!
Very interesting!
What Res In does?
Hi Tim. Is melody at 01:01 sequenced only by Melodicer? Thank you!
Yes!
Bros eyes r like red
Synths sound salubrious switching sonics sequentially. Stellar splitting, Sir Shoebridge! 👍
Haha! Fantastic 😂
Awesome video. Can't be explained any better!
I LOVE LOVE LOVE your drum seq´s ! you got such a wonderful drive in the rythms you program !- im just a J E A L O U S guy,- .... the only way i get good funky drive , is by playing my electric drums - live - and "fish " for the "good" midi data ! - ....im so DEFF. GETTING THAT VERMONA UNIT THO ! - i always liked the formalised ramdomness , as an inspiration tool,-
Brillitant video, music and ending! LOL'ed at the humorous ending!
nice tut....awaiting your Perfourmer review :-)
Nice stuff - thank you. - superbly!
My favorite application of this switch is as an octave divider. Sounds good on guitar, played monophonically. Also get cool ring mod sounds with audio rate mod in the trigger input
Another great vid. Thanks. I bought a 110 as an extra oscillator for my rack after your previous vids. Great little voice. Far better than I expected. I might get a seq. switch next after seeing how versatile it is.
That is not stereo....
Two synth voices, panned hard left and right, driven from a single sequencer. The result is stereo.
Nice work! Now I wanna see what you do with the SSSR Matrix
This is so awesome! Thanks for sharing :)
That alliteration at the end 😁
Great explanation - very clear. 👍
Superb explanation
Great tutorial! Yes, switches and matrix mixers are support tools that are not given much attention in the Eurorack modular world.
I've been considering this exact module for awhile now. The only thing I wish it had was a second switch to randomize the output order. ALM's Boss Bow Tie / Boss Bow Two are nice, but larger and more expensive.
At 6:13 you say, " . . so that got me thinking about well how can I potentially replicate that rings sort of bouncing stereo effect, but using regular synth voices." I assume you are referring to a mono output device. Most synths are stereo - therefore this would be pointless on these synths for the effects you show here.
I was referring to traditional analogue eurorack modules, such as the System 100 modules I demonstrate with, and not digital modules that already support stereo, That said, the technique is actually to use a seq switch to drive multiple modules from one sequencer gate, those modules could be mono or stereo, it doesn’t matter which...
@@TimShoebridge Thank you for that clarification.
Have to disagree Bobcatt ~ though i welcome the relatively recent trend of more stereo even in some eurorack (notably 4ms) it's still so much easier to find (and afford!) mono synths
@@petedako Pete, was not about what is affordable but how does a stereo output fit in with a Sequential Switch. and In particular, the pan effect.
@@bobcatt2294 I don't have an answer - I mostly still use my stereo delays as mono because it's less confusing to me (eg on DLD and Matriarch) and as far as sequential switch so far, I have been using my new 151 Doepfer to extend the length of sequences with Brains and a single Pressure Points ~ that's why I was watching this to learn something new
If you did this with just one oscillator, wouldn’t there be clicks when the panning happens outside of a zero crossing point in the waveform? Does the sequence switch change outputs like a square wave or is the a little curve to the switching. I’m just now turning my attention to these types of modules.
Well in this example I’m not splitting any audio signals directly, all I’m doing here is splitting out the gate signal so I can fire them at separate envelopes which in turn can modulate separate audio signals. By manually panning those audio signals left and right you achieve the same effect as pan spread. If you used the switch to split audio from a single VCO+VCF+VCA then you would have abrupt cut offs of the signal, maybe a slightly sloping attack using an EG would eliminate clicks but you’d certainly not be able to have any EG releases or overlapping notes...
@@TimShoebridge I actually tried the opposite with this module which was: join signals together at audio rate, by sending 2 waveforms from the same oscillator (so perfectly in sync) to inputs 1 and 2 respectively, as well as the square output of that oscillator into the gate. At the common output you then get a waveform that is composed by alternating cycles of each of the separate waveforms. I didn't recall noticeable clicks.