#1

Since there doesn’t seem to be one already, I’d like to start a Verbos Electronics discussion thread.

How are you using yours? Do you have any tricks or sentiments to share? Please do share any videos and tracks!

I’m really interested to see the ways that people in this community are using Verbos modules. It seems like most that are into Verbos systems are focusing on techno, but I’d very much like to see/hear how people are making more ambient, drone and minimal music using these gorgeous modules. Kali Malone and Caterina Barbieri are two very good examples.

Harmonic Oscillator was my gateway drug into Verbos. I bought mine about a year ago and now have the Complex Oscillator, Foundation Oscillator, Bark Filter, Multi-Delay Processor, and the Noise and Filter spread across two smaller systems.

Here’s a few quick demos of how I’m using mine:

They just have an excellent, raw analog tone, and very immediate and playable interfaces that I’ve found really works for what I do and want to achieve!

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#2

The only thing I can contribute to this discussion so far:

Kali and Caterina are two big influences and definitely part of the reason I wish I could afford the Harmonic Oscillator. I hope to one day own one and/or use it as the basis for my own Make Noise-inspired take on how an additive harmonic oscillator could look and function in my setup.

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#3

I don’t own any verbos gear. But they’re one of the of the few makers that I think I could be happy with only owning their modules. A complete verbos system looks very playable.

I’ll probably own the bark filter some day.

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#4


The live music of this show is from a Verbos system.

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#5

I felt the same way. Caterina Barbieri is an artist using modular in really interesting ways, achieving something quite similar to the goals and ideas I had when I first got into it, which I found very inspiring. I was so intrigued by the sound of the Harmonic Oscillator that permeates Patterns of Consciousness. It was something really appealing that I thought would work well in my own music but also couldn’t afford it. Eventually I came across a second hand one for a good price, and was pretty blown away by its sound and minimalist elegance! Similar deal for my other Verbos modules, most of which I got for good prices second hand, and sold off other things to accommodate.

Verbos is expensive, but because they’re generally quite large, the space they take up is the size of two to three smaller modules which works out to be around the same value. Shifting my preferences and keeping an eye on second hand items allowed for modules that seemed otherwise beyond my budget. The HO is so very worthwhile :slight_smile:

I didn’t actually realize that Kali Malone used Verbos until more recently, and was surprised that she seems to have similar tastes in modules as me, without monome and Mannequins haha.

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#6

Agreed, although I will always use monome for sequencing! I think I’d find the Multi Stage and Sequencer Selector really frustrating to use on their own (for the type of music I make anyway), though it would be interesting to try them with a good quantizer.

Bark Filter is a great module, I only got mine recently. Analoguey goodness. It has a beautiful tone and while it doesn’t have nearly as many features as the Frap Tools Fumana, I love working within the limitations that Verbos modules embody. I do really wish that the Multi Delay had a clock input and CV control over levels though!

#7

Really cool, do you know who the musicians were? Wish that I understood French though, hahaha

#8

Thomas Poli. He also works with several french singers as a guitar player.
Here is a video from the verbos site.

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#9

Oh cool, I had seen that video in the past on their site. Great demonstration of what you can get out of a full Verbos system outside the techno idiom! Some excellent texture and timbre.

#10

it’s taken a while, but I’m now reaching the point of having a complete Verbos system. the last module I bought was Random Sampling, which has really opened up my system. I highly recommend that module!
like most Verbos modules, and modular in general, I struggle to understand exactly what I am doing, but that doesn’t stop me from having fun and using modular in my production. I’m a slow learner. Verbos modules appear to be deceptively simple; there’s still many aspects of each module that I have yet to explore or understand fully.
the lack of manuals leads to more mysteriousness lol

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#11

I was very close to getting a Random Sample but decided I wanted to try a NLC Let’s Splosh instead, combined with a RND STEP for random duties. How are you using yours? I’m really interested in the shift register.

#12

Ok can I call this one ambient techno ?
It’s was one of my 1st complete patch with the HO.
A really great VCO that I still need to explore.
Ah the first connection, I was really impressed by all this low end…

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#13

I’ve only had it for a few weeks, still have a lot to learn. Had my first go the other night and was getting tons of ace results feeding the fluctuating and quantised random outputs into all of the VCO’s modulators. also, using it to generate random gates is useful for percussion duty. the module is based on Buchla’s SOU module, so studying this video has been really helpful. https://vimeo.com/137830765

and here’s the man himself, a whole show dedicated to the topic of random!!!

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#14

got a few verbos modules (multi delay and harmonic oscillator) lately and I really couldn’t be more impressed. sounds great and is super playable with tons of sweet spots that I haven’t found so much in other modules.

I took a gamble on the multi delay after not being super impressed with magneto and I couldn’t be happier. the reverb and pitch shifting/feedback paths have a cool drama to them and it’s kind of the ultimate rhythm machine. in manual mix out, you can ‘tune’ the dry signal with the 4th delay tap to unisons/8th notes/first two notes of a triplet, etc to get some really cool, in sync rhythms and then break those rhythms into macro/micro variations with the sliders. super great workflow opposed to the usual clock in, set and forget clocked delay taps.

would really recommend this video to anyone curious about verbos - I’ve found everything to be just as immediate (with my two
modules) as he demonstrates here

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#15

Great tip for syncing the multi tap delay times

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#16

still working out using teletype as a voltage bank to get instant 5-let, 7-let, 9-let tuplet partials on a dime for cool rhythmic modulation effects on top of more basic rhythms.

would love to hear more experiences with these modules! voltage multistage and bark filter look like they would pair really well with the mannequins stuff as well but rack space is always an issue.

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#17

YeH I’ve used tt similarly to get tempo/pitch jumps with w/ but didn’t think about it with the multi tap. I think because one of the things that’s great about it is exploring those rhythms by dialing in and getting happy accidents. I’ve definitely had an eye on the bark filter but size for me is issue. I wouldn’t rule it out but it’s the kind of thing I would need to build a system around and I’m not ready to redo everything right now. Plus $$$$ it’s all getting really costly here in Australia

#18

I’ve recently came into a Scan & Pan and it’s quite nice to add some dynamism into mixing. On drums it can offer some interesting rhythmic changes almost like mutes / mute groups. But it really comes alive mixing multiple oscillators together. Pairs quite nicely with Stages in harmonic oscillator mode & makes me ponder the other Verbos options (especially the scanning ones)

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#19

Lately I’ve been obsessing over woodwind tones from Verbos Harmonic and Foundation oscillators through Amp & Tone and Bark Filter. Something about the harmonics that you can get from saturation at different parts of the signal chain that is really great at bringing out these tones.

In this video I got some great oboe, flute, clarinet and bassoon type sounds:

This is another where I was exploring above sounds, but also managing to get some lovely piano-esque timbres out of them too, and some interesting wavefolding and octave division from the Joranalogue Compare 2:

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#20

These are really lovely, nice job. It’s so funny you posted this because I was coming here to say the same thing - verbos stuff (and Mangrove) is so good for pseudo-physical modeling patches. Mixing some noise with Harmonic Oscillator, I got some cool horn swells / e-piano sounds here:

I also have a song coming out soon with some flutey/oboe sounds from harmonic oscillator. Can’t wait to find myself a voltage multistage :slight_smile:

H.O. pairs extremely well with Just Friends to modulate the VCAs in various ways. I highly recommend experimenting with that

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