#45

I’ve heard a couple of people claim Model:Cycles is secretly an ambient powerhouse too. Has anyone here found that to be the case?

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#46

Absolutely. To my surprise I’ve been mainly approaching it as a six (+ because of the chord machine) voice drone synth. Lots of lfo tricks to make for very complex morphing sounds

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#47

I had the Qu-Bit Chord 2 in eurorack format earlier and I love that the Chord machine in Cycles is pretty close to that, only with an excellent sequencer

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#48

Whoa. This was a really good summary of the tiny diesel model:cycles. Gives me a lot of food for thought. I like the idea of using it as a subtle underlayer of percussion elements. I was starting to think it might become obsolete in my setup, but it definitely has a place. Especially since it’s very inviting and fun to use.

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#49

I’d say that’s a qualified yes, depending on the style of ambient. It does some cool weird percussive elements that can easily blend in with rhythmic or semi-rhythmic ambient, and as mentioned–the chord machine is great–way easier than anything I’ve used in modular. To create drones, you have to slightly hack conditional trigs on the sequencer (basically making a one step sequence), since it doesn’t have any option that’s the equivalent of opening up a vca to bypass an envelope. It would be great to see some kind of drone setting for each channel in a firmware update, but it’s still workable. The different machines all sound great when droning and sweeping the parameters.

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#50

Did you know that you can set a trig length to inf then remove the trig and it’ll keep the vca open as long as the transport is running?
Sorry if this has been mentioned in this thread already, maybe someone will find it useful. It’s my favorite hack/workflow I’ve discovered so far. I’m no good at drum programming lol

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#51

wonderful points here. and I too struggle with the Digitone/M:C balance of “do I really need both of these…?” :thinking:

but yes, it’s incredible through a saturation device (Boum is my favorite). also the kick is to die for; gives me what I miss from Jomox machines, without having to deal with their crap OS. otherwise, the general vibes from it get me what I miss from the Machinedrum, without having to buy one for 7-8 times what this costs. definitely a value and a really fun package.

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#52

I also enjoy the Cycles very much going through the Meris Ottobit Jr (for filter, grit, and stutter) and the Oto Bim (for lush synced walls of delay).

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#53

I would say it’s something you should get if you already dove into FM synthesis or don’t really want to and just wanna make some music. 2 Operator FM is the starting point for almost all my patches on the digitone or on the computer. Also, the M:C is a good case study in the whole being more than the sum of its parts, layering accounts for so much richness. Just copy and paste a tone sequence across 3 tracks, I think you will find an astonishing amount of timbral diversity.

What I would say is that the model:cycles will disappoint people who try to make resonant filter sweep sounds.

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#54

And inspired by this thread I walked to the studio and took the Cycles home for a sofa jam. I love how they made the Models accept 4-10 V power instead of 12 V, making them work with USB power banks with the right cable.

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#55

If you enable grid view with the record button, you can rotate where the sequence starts by pressing and turning the data encoder.

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#56

I picked up the Model: Cycles when it came out purely on a whim. I was working entirely with modular for some time and hadn’t bought a groovebox or synth like that in over a decade. I enjoyed it immediately but then it kind of took over my life, haha. I am slightly ashamed to say that I haevn’t turned my modular on in a few months now. I have been working exclusively with the M:C for several months and I love it so much. I’ve been making all sorts of music, from new age ambient to gabber noise core, and it seems to lend itself well to many different vibes. It’s an absolutely wonderful machine for happy accidents. It’s totally changed the direction of my music and life, oddly enough. I have greatly enjoyed working within it’s limitations. I’d love an attack on it though haha.

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#57

All sequencer tracks on the Model:Cycles can also be set to send its sequencer data through the MIDI OUT or USB ports to control external, MIDI equipped, gear. Each track sends note, note length and velocity data over MIDI. So if you have a midi to CV module, there is zero reason you couldn’t reintegrate M:C back into your modular rig. :slight_smile:

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#58

Oh for sure. My not using modualr recently isn’t because of connection issues but is the result of how much fun I’m having with the M:C, hehe. I was using the M:C as a sequencer for my modular this summer, and I’m still using it as a sequencer for several things, but the modular I had built has ceased to have much use to me. I fully intend on continuing with modular but I’m going to have to totally rebuild it into something more exciting to me.

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#59

heres my entire live set from the model cycles launch party at elektron studios berlin, this is entirely model cycles with only an h9 for some reverb:

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#60

I forgot to take video or photos while playing the model:cycles last night, but had no issues changing patterns using this basic setting. As I mentioned, I triggered the change mid-sequence the change does happen on the one of the “new” pattern.

Screen Shot 2021-01-13 at 9.21.21 AM

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#61

Thanks for checking, but from your photo I can see that you’re still in pattern (PTN) mode. What I originally described was an issue that occurs when the m:c is in track (TRK) mode, which is the mode that allows for you to have different scales and/or lengths per track. It’s basically preventing me from effectively making polymetric patterns within the device.

And to answer your previous question- yes, I’m triggering pattern changes mid sequence and also sometimes chaining my patterns together and the issue occurs in both cases.

#62

Ah sorry I misunderstood!

#63

That’s ok! If you ever have the time, I’m still interested to see if you can replicate the issue with your m:c. You would just have to change two of your patterns to trk mode and make a pattern change between them.

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#64

yeah, to me it’s kind of like the OP1 in that you kind of don’t need to know exactly what the sound control parameters are doing. just tap the button and turn the knobs a bit and pretty soon you’ll find something sweet. versus the Digitone where there’s WAY more you can do, but you have to actually put your synthesis thinking cap on and dig in a bit.

2 Likes