Thoughts on the Instruo Harmonaig Eurorack Module
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- Опубліковано 24 лип 2024
- Here's a brief look at a fascinating eurorack module called Harmonaig by Instruo. It's a quantiser and chord generator and I was keen to see how I might use this module to create chord-based sequences alongside my Vermona Melodicer. I must admit the Harmonaig didn't immediately gel with me, it took some experimentation to figure out how best to use it, and of course you're going to need four oscillators and other supporting modules to get the best out of it. It's an expensive module but for me it's proved itself to be a valuable addition for playing chords without a keyboard, DAW or sophisticated outboard hardware sequencer.
Here's a link to the official Instruo video on the Harmonaig: • Harmonàig - Polyphonic...
Great tutorial Tim! Thank you for focusing on the musical aspect and how to use it in such context. You gave me some more ideas on how to potentially use mine in my modular system to exploit its polyphonic capabilities. I look forward to future videos from you.
So happy you're sharing perspectives on this tool!
Wow. Is Tim reading my mind all the way over here in Southern California? I wanted Tim to do a preview/review of the Harmonaig before I put the money in and now here it is. Great video as always.
I love that sound as well Tim! Lovely! 🤟
Best overview of this module that i have seen thanks alot this is actually more intuitive than the instruo video
Always so appreciated to watch your videos
Really great and engaging video! Thank you for this really good content
Thanks Tim, wonderful insight as usual.
Best video on this module.Thanks Tim.
Nice video as always. Funny, I just posted about this module in the Eurorack Polyphony group on FB. Might share this one, too. Nice.
Thank you for this video Tim!
Nice demo mate
Great video! I'm totally buying one
Brilliant video !
Thank youTim !
wonderful demo....
I've literally just ordered the Qu Bit Chord V2, I'm now keen to see how it compares. Thanks for sharing.
FWIW I have both and like the Chord V2 more. It's fluid to work with, self contained and also a great VCO.
@@darrenblondin Thanks. I think mine arrives today :) it will plug the last hole in my Eurorack, and I’m excited to get it installed
@@darrenblondin hi. I am revisiting harmonaig UA-cam vids. I have the module but I didn’t keep it in the rack. The Chordv2 seems more intuitive for me, but I’m into this for the sounds: are there any musical characteristics or features of the harmonaig that impress you? Thanks
I am going to try the Seq Switch idea from my Chord v2 to do a similar thing. I'll let you know if it works. Great video.
I have a criminally-underused Harmonaig, and am considering selling it on. The first half of your video convince me that selling it was the right thing to do- and then the second half persuaded me to hang on to it and have a bit more patience in my dealing with it. Thanks (I think)!
Tim, you have really turned to the dark arts called eurorack, and you are doing it Very well, I love your videos and presentation. Please keep doing what you are doing 🙂
Good stuff Tim
VERY HELPFUL...THANK YOU!
what a good sound ! why did i found it, now i want harmonaig :D
Great vid! Thanks!
Have been listening to some of your videos while working, that intro tune hit hard! Makes me want to make music instead of editing stuff :)
You know, the Instruo modules are also available for the Open Source VCV Rack. I know Omri Cohen has done some video's, including this one on the Harmonaig: ua-cam.com/video/SjMxhkyJtGI/v-deo.html
Maybe you find something useful.
Thanks! This is another great reason to get into vcvrack🙏🏾
Nice informative video thanks. But gosh! It seems like a lot of work! Have you tried the chord mode in Plaits? It is easier to create a similar effect, but of course you can't define your own chords and you can't feed the CV out to different oscillators which is probably where the Harmonaig really starts to earn it's keep. :)
Hello Tim congrats for this video even instruo do not explain properly how work Harmonaig there is a lots people out there that start in the world of eurorack but the big UA-camr that make tutorials miss this big piece of cake 🍰 without explaining in the way that the newbie like me that buy Harmonaig couldn’t use properly
Thanks again hopefully you could make some more videos I will take my Harmonaig from his box again
Thanks 🙏
Youre so cool , mr. Shoebridge - Its hard not to like you....very very hard ! And i count you among my absolutely favorite synth presenters , -on par with the like of Loopop, Marc Doti , OscillatorSINK, mylarmelodies,Omri, Red means Rec, and ofcourse Jay Hosking (well Hainback, Nick Batt, Gaz and so on ....) You are responseble (among the rest of the usual suspects ) of me , gobe utter completely crayzeee in a an unstoppeble GAS explosion Grand Mal !
Re: you not understanding what use the keyboard buttons have. When using a Quantizer on an LFO indeed you’ll have some notes extended. But in your use with something like your Behringer sequencer here, the chromatic buttons will work great for selecting your custom scale. Or have I missed your point? Cheers!
this modules tuning ..as Tim commented, is a bit twitchy to get set up In tune across multiple octaves
My favorite aspect of this module is the CV controllable first and second inversions.
9:05 what do you mean by "musical" chord? Doesn't it depend on the context of the following and previous chord?
The Harmonaig isn't a good module for quantized signals like your keyboard. It works best with unquantized CV signals like Pressure Points from Make Noise. The Harmonaig will jump around like crazy if you send quantized signals to the point where it just feels broken.
I have a Harmonaig for sale in UK.
Great video ... also in celtic languages "-aig" can be pronounce with "aye" sound so "Harmonay" also works :)
Thanks for the tip 👍👍
Hy ! I have the duo aszillator 1120 and filtamp from serie 2500and envelope 1003 ! Kan you show waths able ! Sorry myEnglisch
This looks like a lot of work for a quantizer. Maybe I need something simpler. Polyphony doesn't go all that well with modular.
You are not into music theory? What??? You dont want to understand what you are doing? This is so sad :( I can not tell you how fantastic to understand the logic and relationships between notes, chords , scales, modes, keys, modulation, extensions, etc... So facinating and wonderful... The music just starts to unfold in front of you....
Playing music without music theory is reading a book with not in your (mother) language!
V cool, love the part where you polished it up and added the reverb!
The vidéo is cool, great explanations and nice production. The instruo work seems really cool also.. But I still don’t see what modular (not instruo in particular, I mean modular as a whole) is really bringing to sound or music imost of the time. It is not worse than a traditional synth, but it almost never appears better to my ears. Fun to use (as lots of other synths are) but I struggle to see the added value compared to traditional synth with daw, especially when you compare what you can get for the same amount of money. I appreciate the science behind and the « sound lego » kind of activity, but about sounds or music, honestly, I dont feel a better experience at the end of the day.. and all in all, modular user interface are very small for a comfortable use. hard to justify to invest in modular for this reason to be honest (once again, nothing against instruo here, their work seems really fine).
I totally get what you are saying, and for a long time I thought the same. And I still don't think modular adds anything unique to sound quality or music creation, there are so many amazing standalone synths out there. However I think modular, and Eurorack in particular, serves two main purposes...
First, it opens up sound and music creation possibilities for non-keyboard players. Yes you can do that with a DAW and plugins but a lot of people don't feel happy or inspired sitting in front of a computer. And yes you can do that with a sampling groovebox like an MPC but a lot of people want to get closer to raw synthesis which is what modular gives you.
Second, it allows you to go beyond the limitations of any single standalone instrument. Any synth is limited in terms of number of oscillators, number of waveforms, filter types, modulation sources and destinations, polyphony, multi-timbrality etc etc. A lot of synths have just basic sequencers and effects built in. There are no such limitations with Eurorack. You can build your own do-it-yourself synth with patch cables, everything connects together, everything is compatible. You can use modules to recreate a Moog, an Oberheim, an EMS, an ARP. Or you can use modules to create something unique to your imagination, mixing digital and analogue modules how you want.
A lot of people use a DAW or multi-track hardware sequencers to control a bunch of synths and keyboards, plugged into a bunch of outboard effects and pedals. What they're doing is the exact same thing as Eurorack, except Eurorack allows you to choose individual components and tailor your sound creation in a way that other approaches can not.
@@TimShoebridge Thank you for the large and very interesting answer, you definitely raised good points here.
I well understand the idea to fine tune / compliment your own instrument, and indeed I see modular really good to accomplish this : all in all, if you need a very specific feature in addition to your setup, modular is probably the most efficient way to go, no need to get a "generalist" module as traditionnal synths could be compared to. An expensive way, in some case but a deep and interesting way too.
There is still a paradox to me regarding the ability for people to "directly get in touch with the sound" though. While I perfectly understand and second this approach being a hardware enthusiast, I found most of the modular interfaces really poor regarding the proposed comfort use standards. I guess this is also an edge for nomade use, U-spaces management in a rack, but if you really want to tweak the sound with millimeters, good-sized buttons/faders/knobs become essential in my opinion. Not only it is more accurate, but it is also better to explore in details for me. I totaly agree that connecting synth-pedals etc each other, is more or less like doing modular under another form as you perfectly mentionned in your post. But one key difference in that case, is that a "synth module" is way more interesting to manipulate / to experiment imo. In example I experienced the Beads from MI, and the size of the button and littlest knob were really a pain to use, which slows my inspiration although the potential is interesting. Connecting a microfreak in this case would definitely be my choice (but probably not for the exact same features).
Sounds as a personnal preference though.
@@aceboo7541 The widely differing interface implementations and graphics design schemes out there is absolutely a huge impediment to the idea of modular as a complete instrument. But the user does have freedom there at least to build something which suits their own particular tactility.