#43

Ok so my idea here is to use two Intellijel Quadratts for mixing the signals (already have one).

So VCO1, SUB1(1) and SUB2(1) would go into Quadratt 1 for mixing and then out to a VCA controlled by Maths.

VCO2, SUB1(2) and SUB2(2) would go into Quadratt 2 for mixing and then out to a VCA controlled by other side of Maths.

VCA 1 and VCA 2 will route into the Stereo return of a Make Noise Rosie to get them to pan left and right. Only issue I see is I lose out on the Moog Filter, but would this work?

#44

Two Quadratts will definitely be enough to mix all six signals. Controlling VCAs with Maths sounds like a good idea. You’re right, you’re losing the on-board filter in this setup. If you’re not into Streams as I was, something like a QPAS or a Morgasmatron would fill this gap very well.

But that’s only if you actually want the stereo signal end-to-end. If you only wanted to decouple the sequencers, you might still just mix the VCAs together and use a single filter on the way out.

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#45

Awesome! I’ve had my eyes on QPAS for a while now, so I think I’ll start with adding the Quadratt.

If the split signal is something I enjoy, I will try to sell a few modules and look into swapping in QPAS and X-PAN.

Thanks for your help!

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#46

I know that by doing so, I’m bypassing 90% of what makes Subharmonicon special, but- man- I have really been enjoying it as a drone machine. Setting up some rich chords, long A/D, and just letting it wash over me.

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#47

Subharmonics are 50% of the name! So I wouldn’t feel to bad not messing with the polyrhythms too much.

My stereo 1OSC/channel experiments have been limited to the primary oscillators so far, so no chords but still a ball of fun.

Also, those slow chords sound great!

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#48

Does anyone know the mechanism Moog uses to generate the subharmonic oscillators? I imagined one possibility:

  1. Pass the main oscillator through a comparator to make a square wave
  2. Use this to drive a frequency divider (I’m not sure what this would be: a counter, shift register, other?)
  3. Have the suboscillator circuit charge a capacitor, and the frequency divider output activate a switch to rapidly discharge the capacitor (generating a sawtooth wave).

One problem with this set up is that the rate of charging would have to be decreased with increasing subharmonic number to maintain a consistent peak output level.

Anyone thought about how Moog made their circuit?

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#49

I’m curious about this too… even thought about buying a Subharmonicon and looking inside to find out. Your plan seems the obvious way to approach it but step 3 is tricky, because it is not easy to keep the final sawtooth amplitude fixed: as the frequency goes up the cap has less time to charge so unless you adjust the gain somewhere, a double frequency wave would have half the amplitude.

Not that it’s impossible to add some gain compensation that depends on frequency, but it’s starting to get pretty tricky. (Edit: thinking about it a bit maybe that could be done with a current mirror from the main oscillator control current. Hmmm.)

When I was first thinking about this I came up with some other approaches, like using a counter to generate a staircase wave and then adding an attenuated version of the sawtooth on top, to “join the points” from the tip of one stair step to the next, but that just seemed ridiculous.

#50

This page is in German but it parses through Google Translate pretty well and there are schematics:
http://www.analog-synth.de/synths/trautonium/traut.htm

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#52

The consensus on the Synth DIY Facebook page is that Moog’s implementation uses DCO’s (Digitally Controlled Oscillators) controlled by a Texas Instruments MCU.

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#53

Perhaps a silly question, but if I"m clocking SubH (1ppq) with Pam’s (24ppq), am I going to run into issues?

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#54

Any reason youre not clocking from pams at 1ppq?

#55

I’ll give it a shot!

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#56

You should be able to change Pam’s ppqn in/out in the main settings :slight_smile:

#57

Edit: I suppose I should just quit beating around the bush and ask- how is everyone reliably syncing the Subharmonicon to their modular system?

#58

Honestly… midi. Sorry, not very helpful. I’d have to experiment to give you a 100% confident answer. I would have thought pams has everything you need to clock the subharmonicon in a stable way.

Off the top of my head, assuming your Pam’s is your master clock, configure one out on pams to be 16 pppq and run that to the clock in on the sub. Configure a second out on pams to be a constant ON when running, and send that to the sub reset in. Press play manually on the sub first, then on pams. You could probably hook it up so the ON signal from pams also triggers play on the sub. Let us know how it goes!

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#59

Honestly, I hear you. I’ve been thinking about getting the Pam’s expander, and this may be a good excuse. Clocking the moog from Live via midi is rock solid.

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#60

Just picked one of these up and I can’t tell what exactly isn’t gelling with it for me. The sub oscs sound really distorted no matter what I do. Having trouble tuning it to play along with a wider system as well. Generally doesn’t sound as good as what I see on here and other places online! Maybe because I’m running it through my rack?

#61

There are some sweet spots to be found. I honestly find that the Subharmonicon is either best treated as it’s own beast, but used along with a percussive instrument (or solo) or using only the main oscillators Asia moog oscillators along with your rack and potentially eliminating the sequencer and suboccilators from the equation.

On top of all this, the filter is wonderful, but it’s envelope can make it tough to find exactly where you wanna be.

Finally, this synth, like many, sings when through a filter and delay.

But I actually am contemplating letting mine go, since I might not need a performance synth and the moment v

#62

I’ve been letting it be the clock/pulse for the most part but only because it’s been fun and I haven’t gotten around to feeding it clock from other sources.

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#63

Circling back for posterity. The issue here was one of procedure. Whatchagottado is- after patching into the clock input of the SubHarm- arm the Play button before starting the clock. I was try to hit play while the clock was running.

Also, regarding PPQN and all that, it simplified things greatly for me when I starting thinking in terms of note division. TL;DR- send the Subharmonicon 16th notes.

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