#8

I can usually spark some inspiration by picking out a module I don’t own and trying to replicate its behavior as close as possible with what I have in my rack. Even if I can’t match it exactly, it usually leads to something interesting and helps me get a better understanding of what the module I’m imitating is actually doing.

One of my favorites is Plaits particle noise mode. Take pink noise into a comparator, and mult the output to ping a resonant bandpass filter and to trigger a sample & hold. Put what you want into the sample input, and send the output to control the filter’s cutoff. It’s a very fun patch and you can explore what Plaits is doing but with direct control over each point of the system, or try things like filtering the noise before it hits the comparator, or putting a delay between the comparator and filter.

8 Likes
#9

Self-patch your LFO before you send it out to anything else.

7 Likes
#10

build complex level shapes with more than a simple envelope, imagine this shape as a composition of multiple elements, experiment ways to combine them together, to make them happen in discrete moments (dc coupled mixers, trigger delays,rectifiers…)

2 Likes
#11

remove Maths from your rack

9 Likes
#12

Ha, I can’t imagine! You first, Billy. (I know you have Stages too though…)

1 Like
#13

Slow things down. / Speed things up.

Double it. / Halve it.

Try to achieve the same effect without module X. / Don’t use your 2 favorite modules in this patch.

Turn off audio for 10 minutes but continue patching.

See how different you can make it sound without changing any patch leads.

See how different you can make it sound only by re-patching (without touching any knobs/buttons).

Invite an outsider to make arbitrary changes to your patch.

Raise/lower everything by a semitone/third/fifth/seventh/octave.

11 Likes
#14

currently working out a 3u with neither Maths nor Stages I’m wild

3 Likes
#15

Here are some things I’ve found useful:

  • Turn it off and walk a way for a week, do something else entirely (I personally go more for like 6 months, but that might be too extreme for most).

  • When you finish for the day, unplug and reset everything. Repeat each successive day for an extended period.

  • Focus on one module to start, try to get something you like before adding anything else.

9 Likes
#16

#1 is a superb technique

#17

audio source as modulator

5 Likes
#18

Visualise a patch in your mind, patch it in silence, turn volume up when done, see how you did.

16 Likes
#19

I thought that this would make a great thread – blind patching, or whatever you’d call it. This has always been a great thing for me!

2 Likes
#20

  1. Dry bath.

  2. The reign of Henry III.

  3. Sheep and cream.

  4. Ruined church.

  5. Receive messages standing upright.

  6. The place of judgment.

  7. Boil violently.

  8. Deposit your heart.

  9. Hot bath.

  10. Circular craters.

11 Likes
#21

Make a piece of music in a genre you don’t normally listen too or play. Discover and recreate the form. Find the nuances. Embrace all it’s cliches.

10 Likes
#22

I love this, fantastic advice.

#24

Patch LFO’s into the v/oct and use v/oct sequences as modulation only.

3 Likes
#25

Don’t change pitch in a patch / piece, see if you can make it interesting without “notes”.

12 Likes
#26

Cool thread! I actually have a few guidelines that I usually use when I feel like I need to explore or get out of a rut. They’re really simple and universal.

  • Dont tune the VCO(s) - at least to start
  • Don’t patch the 1/vOct inputs - at least at the start
  • Patch the audio path last (modulation, sequences, clocks first)
  • Build entire patch without listening to it (variation on previous)
  • No VCOs for audio (modulation only - clocks, env, noise, etc has to be audio sources)

Most of it is really just slight pushes outside of habitual patching. Probably the most common one I do, which is kind of implied above, is to always un-patch every cable. Like not leaving the 1v/Oct inputs patched, or leaving VCO-VCA/F paths patched when I take a patch down, this always seems to be the most useful - starting from a true “scratch”.

9 Likes
#27

Don’t use modular, at least at first.

6 Likes
#28

this guy gets it haha

-> go to another room

-> don’t be afraid to take cables off and retreat a few steps

-> patch naked

-> judge how your cat reacts to the music (doesn’t work with dogs sorry)

-> frequency modulation into a low pass gate randomly triggered

-> modulate the hell out of the delay, don’t clock your delay

-> force yourself to use utilities: rectify bipolar LFOs, use switches to exchange between two modulations in the same voice, sample and hold modulation with an out of phase clock for controlled mayhem, and…

-> use goddamn logic modules, XOR is amazing, it can generate entirely new trigger patterns. Use logic with uneven clock divisions (/4 and /7) (doesn’t work with dogs sorry)

-> close your eyes and scan with your hands (one finger per hand) thru the cable ins and outs, open your eyes and check if your hands paired an in with an out. If yes, patch it, if not, repeat.

-> ask mom to patch, but teach her about ins and outs beforehand. Bonus: cook dinner.

-> play your acoustic instrument while your patch plays to feel the vibe you want that to take. The hands don’t lie. Bonus: detune that baby all the way down.

->

9 Likes