New project -- Berlin Chiptune -- journal and audio samples

[Ben Asaro]

Closing the book on my first exploration into immersive audio, putting a bookmark onto my experimental wind/environmental project (I will continue to pick at it over time but won't go full-bore until this one is resolved), and starting the new book: Berlin Chiptune!

What is Berlin Chiptune? Well, HOPEFULLY, it will be a successfully completed project that combines Chiptune with Berlin School compositions.

What will that look like? What will be my process? What equipment will I use to achieve this? NO CLUE!!!

This thread will be my next big discovery/release, unless it trainwrecks and I return to my wind and weather project.

I am pretty sure that I have the modular side completed. I will begin with doing a breakdown of what modules are in there and why. I am certain that this will morph and change as my needs/desires change, but I have to start someplace.

I started with confining myself to a modular core of 6u/104hp. Power is provided via two Tiptop uZeus power supplies with upgraded power bricks. Plenty of juice!

https://photos.app.goo.gl/abo79vXh2AS9nER59

I will likely be using four primary sequencers for this project: two trackers, one step sequencer, and one MIDI/polyphonic sequencer. The trackers will be NerdSeq and LSDJ; the step sequencer will be the Oct-Tone; and the MIDI/poly sequencer? Not sure yet. May be the MC-500 if I want to go vintage, or may be the KeyStep Pro.

I am dividing the voices between 'chiptune' voices via the NerdSeq and LSDJ and 'Berlin School' voices via the ONA VCOs and low pass filters.

All modulation will be from the NerdSeq's prodigious outputs.

In some ways this project will close the loop between my recent LSDJ experience and my reticence to really USE the NerdSeq.

Not much more to report right now, this is still early days. The modular case is set, next step is to fire it up and start playing round with the NerdSeq!

[Ben Asaro]

First round of testing has been very promising!

My first order of business was figuring out how the audio outputs on NerdSeq work. Once you get the hang of it, it's pretty easy!

The audio channels on the NerdSeq work like a combination of LSDJ's WAV, PW, and Synth channels all rolled into one. Each audio track can have two voices and can switch between several waveforms, noise (more on that in a bit), or up to 12 samples on a per-step basis.

Setting one audio track to the same waveform an octave apart and slightly detuning one of them creates a FAT synth sound!

https://photos.app.goo.gl/DqAfkGYjPhHkhUHu5

Each track can be modulated in a bunch of ways, but the easiest for me was to assign an envelope to each voice. This eats up your possible envelopes with a quickness, and I am wondering if I can use the modulation matrix to assign a single envelope to both voices (the next test!). The envelope can then work as an ADSR-shapeable VCA for each voice.

Of course, if you use samples and have an envelope assigned, the sample will be shaped by that modulator as well. I don't see myself using samples, but it's something to keep in mind.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/kUzm9AEqMrkLv45Z8

Regarding the noise output from NerdSeq -- I don't like it.

Now to test the modulation matrix and see if I can get a single envelope to work on both voices at once ... and it works!

https://photos.app.goo.gl/ScGEQNdZowudrvwEA

Wow, powerful machine, the NerdSeq!

[Ben Asaro]

A very simple voice test; two tracks of NerdSeq VCO, one track of ONA VCO, Wiretap and Pet Rock into 808 drum modules.

https://audio.com/don-music/audio/berli ... une-test-1

[Martin Walker]

Ooh this is an exciting new project Ben!

By the way, what is it about the NerdSeq's noise output that you don't like?

[Ben Asaro]

Ooh this is an exciting new project Ben!

By the way, what is it about the NerdSeq's noise output that you don't like?

Thanks, Martin!

The noise sounds quite grungey and unusable for me.
I really do need to just bite the bullet and get the Doepfer noise generator!

For chiptune, I quite like the quasi random noise from LSDJ.

[Martin Walker]

Not sure why your noise would sound grungy.

In days of yore you could buy a Semitron noise diode (a specially selected noisy zener diode) to generate white noise, which you then amplified up to suitable levels for synth use. I still have an unused one here somewhere.

[Ben Asaro]

Not sure why your noise would sound grungy.

In days of yore you could buy a Semitron noise diode (a specially selected noisy zener diode) to generate white noise, which you then amplified up to suitable levels for synth use. I still have an unused one here somewhere.

I don't think this is true noise but is a sample of noise, so when you apply pitch, it kinda falls apart.

[Ben Asaro]

A piece that I've been waiting for arrived today -- an After Later Audio Brooks VCO. Nothing fancy, just a VCO to use with the Oct-Tone ... and to be honest I'm not exactly sure why I thought I needed it.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/dwQnpcGphiyiYSzw7

I guess it will come in handy for bass lines? Time will tell!

[Ben Asaro]

Inspired by something I heard from Warrington-Runcorn New Town Development Plan, I went way deep into a rabbit hole last night trying to see if I could get a MIDI step sequencer to play a one shot.

The answer is *yes*, and I will provide more details and photos when I get a chance.

However, this also creates its own wrinkle, which always seems to be the way when you're working DAWless.

Hoping to run some tests over the next few days.

[Ben Asaro]

Small update as I only had a few minutes after work to vet out this proof of concept.

Goal: play a step sequence as a one-shot

Solution: The FX lane in NerdSeq has a series of SFX commands, one of which stops a track at a specified step

Dilemma: Converting analogue clock to MIDI means that I cannot have the MC-500 receiving continuous MIDI because the NerdSeq stops after providing clock for the one shot

Solution 2: After RTFM, I set the KSP for clock input with a resolution of 1 PPQ. This syncs it perfectly with the NerdSeq

Of course, this means that I have to burn two tracks on the NerdSeq for clocking purposes, but I think this will at least achieve the effect I'm looking for.

Now, whether this exercise will translate into a usable performace/actual music is another discussion altogether, but as a mental exercise, it looks like I can have my cake and eat it as well -- though at the cost of losing an additional NerdSeq track.

So this is looking like:
Track 1 - modular output to ONA 1/lfp 1
Track 2 - modular output to ONA 2/lpf 2
Track 3 - mod out for voices 1&2 from NerdSeq
Track 4 - mod out for voices 3&4 from NerdSeq
Track 5 - analogue clock out for the one shot sequencer
Track 6 - analogue clock out to MIDI - CLK/MC-500

This is going to be a VERY elaborate setup for the first test; I hope it works! D

[Arpangel]

Out of all the noise generators I've got Doepfer are the cleanest and smoothest, unlike Buchla for instance, but that’s "character noise"

[Ben Asaro]

Today's quick test was to see if I could start and stop chains of sequences simultaneously without losing sync, LSDJ-style. And it worked a treat!

https://photos.app.goo.gl/AEPPoYR47RbPSRpw8

[Ben Asaro]

Weekend is coming up, so that means testing.

The tests I hope to conduct this weekend:

- Test sync between NerdSeq and the KeyStep Pro and MC-500
- Test starting/stopping chains across multiple tracks
- Test external CV from Oct-Tone to see if I can map the CV input to a modulation output on NerSeq. I believe this is possible, just have a lot of RTFMing to get to the bottom of it. This would be very helpful for using the Oct-tone with the After Later Brooks vco.

[Folderol]

Speaking of noise, Yoshimi has three types; white, pink, spot.
White and pink are pretty standard implementations but spot noise can be quite interesting. It's basically white noise randomly chopped up, giving it a gritty sound.

[Ben Asaro]

I'll make a recording of the noise in NerdSeq. I find it possibly the ONLY disappointing aspect of the unit bc it would have been relatively easy to just use the same type of pseudo-random noise that LSDJ/Game Boy uses for chiptune.

For me ultimately it doesn't matter bc I will be using LSDJ for pitched noise instruments, I just found this to be an odd failing on the the NerdSeq's part.

[Ben Asaro]

Update: I've not used the NerdSeq in anger in a while and I'm really impressed with the current firmware!

It was so intuitive to get the gate output from Oct-Tone into one of the cv inputs on NerdSeq and then assign an envelope with that gate as it's input, routed to a MOD output to the vca. It just worked -- brilliant!

https://photos.app.goo.gl/TLEoAw4S4JtTiixFA

[Ben Asaro]

Not a good jam, but definitely a good experiment today:



The MC-500 sync'd beautifully with the modular and I was able to get a useable pad using the Volca FM once I recorded a sequence onto the MC-500. I then copy/pasted the sequence into a loop.

For the modular I used the NerdSeq to sequence the ONA vco's and the Oct-Tone with the Brooks vco.

Unfortunately, I really don't like how the NerdSeq envelopes interact with the Intellijel Quad VCA, so I was forced to jettison the AV2, sequential switch, and one of the mults to make room for the Quadra. Things got much better after that!

Unfortunately, that was 90 minutes additional time and by the time I was back to working on the test I was pretty burnt out.

The result isn't unusable, but I wouldn't classify it as music.

https://audio.com/don-music/audio/berli ... une-test-2

[Ben Asaro]

Further experimentation yielded something closer to the mark for me.

https://audio.com/don-music/audio/berli ... une-test-3

This is both ONA vco's, one NerdSeq voice, BOSS RV-500 delay, Wiretap, and Pet Rock.

[Martin Walker]

Another strangely hypnotic sonic journey

[Ben Asaro]

Another strangely hypnotic sonic journey

Thanks, Martin! Will take a few trips to the chemist to get the new machine under my fingers!

[Ben Asaro]

After I spent an hour and a half redoing the bottom row in the case because I didn't like the sound of NerdSeq's envelopes into the Quad VCA (so I added Quadra back in) ... I really liked the sound I got last night not using EGs into the VCA at all, just the gates from NerdSeq.

On the Plus side, I needed to reorg the bottom row regardless, the workflow wasn't ideal.

I am going to keep Quadra in for now, but there's something very chiptune-esque about having that staccato gate on the vca and using EGs on the filter that bridges both sounds I am after, a chiptune/Berlin School mesh.

I also discovered that if you whack the PW all the way up on the ONA vco's and then apply some voltage from the MOD out on the NerdSeq, you get a MASSIVE pwm sound! Not that you can tell from my experiment last night, it's a rather subtle pluck.

[Ben Asaro]

First experiment for today was to see if I could get LSDJ-style panning. I achieved this by taking the output from the cva and putting it through the Doepfer VC Panner. I then took two gate outputs from Oct-Tone and fed them into the VC Panner as well. I multed the output and ran one copy through the aa.1/RV-500.



https://audio.com/don-music/audio/berli ... une-test-4

It's pretty trippy sounding!

[Ben Asaro]

This project is now entering Act II. This is the point where self-doubt and second-guessing starts to creep in and I try lots of different things to see what works and what doesn't. This is the part of slow progress and dead ends, it is the Dead Marshes on my journey to musical Mt Doom.

Proof of concept works and I am starting to get some very nice sounds, but I'm wondering what I actually need to start writing music, which is always the end goal for these ideas.

For example, can I get this down to a single 3u skiff instead of 6u? The short answer is probably yes, if I eliminate quadraphony and perhaps even the Berlin School side of things. If that's the case (no pun intended), then how does that affect the project?

In other words, if I go all in on the tracker/chiptune side of things, will I have enough variety and control to do what I'm hoping to achieve? If I eliminate the low pass filters I can also eliminate the envelope generators, but by the same token I'm going to end up one vca short, as I have 5 voices but only 4 vca's.

I would want to keep MIDI for sync purposes, and at least one aa.1. If I leave out the drum modules, I could use sampled noise for percussion. Or, I can use LSDJ's amazing noise and PWM tracks for percussion.

hmmm ...

I'm not going to commit to anything just yet, this is just a record of where my head is at. As I keep moving I have no doubt that the way ahead will make itself known.

[Ben Asaro]

I solved the issue with the the Intellijel Quad VCA not playing well with the envelopes from the NerdSeq! The key is to have the Quad VCA set to full linear curves; then it works like a charm! Lots of expression now! And perhaps being able to remove the Quadra? HMMMMMMM ...

[Ben Asaro]

Progress!



Sorted out both the Wiretap AND the envelope issue that was plaguing me!

The envelope issue is resolved by setting the VCAs for full linear operation; the NerdSeq doesn't play nice with exponential VCAs.

The Wiretap just needed to have the gate length adjusted. Once I set the gate length to 9 o'oclock, rhythms started happening.



Will record today's experimentation shortly ...