You can also use it as a straightforward waveform mixer - in classic Serge offset could come in handy occasionally as some of the oscillator waveforms are unipolar.
I use it to create exponential envelopes with different duration with the DTG.
-DTG envelope goes to MixPro in 1
-“length CV” (sequencer, random, whatever) goes to MixPro in 2
-set the attenuverters to taste and put the result in the DTG VC in jack (both or fall switch position works best imo)
Another use is as an audio mixer: When I want to create a monster drone on the Silver Words panel (two oscillators, two slopes, smooth side of the SSG, maybe even a resonating filter) I need to mix sound sources…
The offset off switch allows for some kind of crude transposition, too when you send a CV through the MixPro to the 1V/Oct input of an oscillator.
Serge is all about feedback, and the MixPro helps a lot (audio and CV): Send the CV or audio you wish to be fed back into one of the inputs of the MixPro and then out to the audio or CV processor of your choice. Mult the processor output
a) to your final destination (audio output, CV input etc.)
b) back to another MixPro input.
Now you can control the feedback in different ways.
Question, when you order from Random Source, do the panels come with boats?
This is amazing, it didn’t occur to me using it to create the exponential envelopes!
I’ll go and try this recipe, right away!
there’s a sts animoo/animate/tkb setup for sale on mw and the fb group for $12k several lifetimes worth of serge right there
Well, if you just want envelopes that are not linear but of uniform length, you can route the DTG out to its own CV input. Attenuverter to the right = exponential shape, to the left = logarithmic shape.
If you want the envelopes to be varying in length, then you use the MixPro.
For example, send the s/h source to stepped in and the DTG end out to sample. Then you mix the stepped out with the DTG out and put it back into the DTG CV in.
Here‘s an example of this technique on an eurorack serge system I had prior to the Silver Words:
Thank you for taking the time to share this @radioland !
(I’m listening to your Serge snippets on soundcloud)
I’ve been using the module in a pretty straightforward manner, these examples open new possibilities for me!
You‘re very welcome. I‘m just passing on what I‘ve learned from the old legends here, on MW, the Serge discord and the general www. As a teacher it‘s pure joy to see eager learners and patient, willing savants interact in a meaningful and human way on a topic they share interest in!
I just got an :NCOM and took some great first patches inspiration from others.
I’ve only ordered R*S from Patch Point, but it’s the same product. Panels come in powered boats. If you don’t have a power supply already, you’ll need to buy that separately.
My favourite thing to do with an NCOM is to send white noise to the IN+ and turn the -5 +5 knob around 1-2 o’clock. Miracles do happen.
20 chars of Thank you!
Agree completely! Only good things come out of this combination.
I hear that the NCOM module is a gem. I hope I get to work with it at some point.
(And I’ll definitely try this @ThanosF)
as an addition to this nice patch, you can put it through a bandbass filter (mid freq) with no resonance & add pink noise in VCF of the filter - fully positive makes a nice campfire.
Which VC (+) do you mean? On the NCOM? And in which input of NCOM do you sent the white noise exactly?
into the VCF of the filter, with knob positive fully sounds like nice campfire for me. edited to be more clear.
It’s clear now, thnx! Sounds amazing, and such a wide range of sounds turning the attenuator knob on the VCF cv input. Turning negative around 9 o’clock I can hear the sound of a wood saw if you wave it hard in the air.
I’ve found an interesting way to extend the NCOM patch using feedback with a slope generator and Mix Pro. This allows the “crackle” sound to morph into something with a tonal character. There is an interesting chaotic region between tonality and noise.
This is a performable patch with the main controls being Noise amplitude, NCOM threshold, USG rise and fall. The output is taken from the bottom NCOM section (Black cable).
The patch begins with attenuated noise (Noise into first channel of Mix Pro), into the ‘-’ input of the comparator (Blue cable, originating in a noise source off camera). Note the attenuator position, which indicates a very low amplitude.
The comparator output is fed into a USG, then the output back into input #3 of the Mix Pro. This input is bipolar, meaning both positive and negative feedback can be tried. As it turns out, this patch works with positive feedback.
If the noise is attenuated to zero, this patch will oscillate at high frequencies. It sounds like a sawtooth. The tone is very pure. The exact frequency is determined by the USG rise and fall controls.
If the noise input (Mix Pro #1) is increased slightly, the oscillation begins to break up. The familiar crackling sound can be explored by adjusting the comparator threshold.
Finally, I tried to add some texture by taking the NCOM Step out to control the USG rise/fall, this makes the result more interesting but is probably unnecessary.
Additional things I’ll probably try:
– instead of noise, use a sample, such as radio or drum loop (preamp/external input).
– Instead of USG, which is the reactive element responsible for oscillation, use a lowpass filter. I did try this, and the results are interesting. It works instead under negative feedback, and the comparator threshold has to be tuned precisely to get any sound at all, because of limited parameter ranges this is more difficult to perform. Since it’s the threshold which is finicky, I added another feedback loop: Monitor the output with an envelope detector, and patch the detector’s output into channel #2 of the Mix Pro. This attempts to auto-tune the threshold to get a wider range of acceptable results.
– Set up two identical such patches, then introduce cross-feedback with the unused inputs (#2) on each Mix Pro. This requires double the resources.
Anyway, it might take a little work to replicate these things, I’m not sure how exactly it will translate across different Serge systems, but I hope at least some of this will be of interest.
Thank you for this! I was always dreaming of a forum where people talk patching ideas and not buying and selling stuff.
About the patch:
- I don’t have a Mix Pro unfortunately so i can’t replicate this. I will try with a different VCA tonight see if I can get something interesting.
- I tried using radio directly in the IN- of the NCOM and it works! Using the DUSG I could almost hear what the radio was playing with lots of distortion of course.
- Using the VCFQ I get very interesting timbres. But my favourite thing is to use the output of the DUSG to trigger things.
Anyone else is trying this?
All the feedback parts are non-inverted, so any CV mixer will do.
Actually if you use a VCA to attenuate the noise/radio, you can plug it directly into the ‘+’ input of the comparator, and the result will be the same. Attenuation of noise is important, most of the interesting region of this patch – between tonality and noise – is varying the noise gain between zero and a very small amount.
I noticed that the useful feedback gain is close to 1. So the DSG output can be plugged directly into the ‘-’ input.