Happy Halloween!
(Unsurprisingly, it’s an apocryphal quote, but I still like it.)
That’s not a typo in the post title. I bought a used u-he CVilization module, the one that looks like a Lite Brite. Yes, I had it before, then decided about a year later that I didn’t need it because dead-simple mixing was enough for my purposes.
But this year in particular, I’ve been wanting more ways to mix multiple related sources, placing them in different spots in the stereo field and moving them (typically circling around each other). Silhouette is almost made for this, but its movement has a lopsided lurch which I think suits feedback patching nicely, but not smooth, slow swirling. I’ve tried a number of other things, finally breaking it down to the simplest thing a couple of nights ago:
- To make something circle in the stereo field requires a sine LFO over its panning. Panning requires left and right VCAs, with one opening as the other closes. (In other words, a 180 degree offset.)
- To make two or more point sources circle each other in stereo, offset the phase of that LFO an appropriate amount. A quadrature LFO conveniently provides 4 outputs with 90 degree relative offsets from each other. Again, two VCAs per voice, then mix the L and R channels together.
- My Doepfer A-150-1 provides the 8 VCAs with mix outputs for groups of 4, which is perfect. And Multimod, or Bitwig Grid and 4 outputs of OptX, can provide the quadrature LFO. (It may not be exactly 90 degree offsets, but close enough.)
But patching both sides of 8 Stackables in the front of that 6HP Doepfer module is pretty messy. I started checking ModularGrid both for quadrature LFOs, and a better mixing solution… and found CVilization.
CVz’s mode 4 is a quad panner — specifically designed to rotate 1-4 inputs to 1-4 outputs quadraphonically. You can rotate each one with an encoder, orbit automatically, rotate with CV, or have it “hop” to a random position when a transient is detected. And they can all rotate at their own rates and directions if you don’t want to keep them all synchronized.
I’m not doing quadraphonic, I’m doing stereo. But if you take the two rear outputs, filter them a little and mix them with the front outputs, you get a simple “fake quad” effect. I could also use it with Nearness… or run the “back” outputs through other effects for additional fun. Options are good. And when I had CVz the first time, I also found several other alternative uses for mode 4.
CVz’s mode 1 is a matrix mixer, which is really intuitive to use if you stay away from its options pages for quantization. (Quantizing in a matrix mixer is a pretty niche thing anyway.) And there’s an option to be able to rotate the inputs and/or outputs relative to the matrix settings using CV, which would also create the opportunity for more movement and morphing. Good stuff.
Mode 2 and 3 are very cheat-sheet dependent, and they don’t do anything I particularly need that MD2 or other things can’t do better. But some work is happening on new firmware for CVz, including a quad oscillator, which might be fun when I’m not using the other modes.
The other module I found in my search is Root Locus from Nekyia Circuits. It’s a similar design to the Serge VCFQ filter, but people seem to find it more characterful, and the extra features handy — dual inputs with a crossfader, and an alternate output with CVable mode. It turned up in my search because when self-oscillating it becomes a quadrature VCO/LFO. I could make space for it, and use it both for modulation purposes as well as using the bandpass and notch outputs to treat with different effects (as recently suggested in a MW thread). But I’ll hold off a while and see how things fare; it’s more of a fun alternate way of doing some stuff I can already do than a new function.
To help myself calm down and get to sleep, there’s this routine I have started going through. It merges a meditation technique, a breathing exercise, and a “body scan” technique that I read about at random in Prevention magazine probably in the 80s or 90s.
Lie on your back if possible, or on your side if necessary. Make sure it’s a relaxed and sustainable position. (I had to go through physical therapy once after a long habit of tucking one arm under my pillow and tilting my head down to rest on it. Not recommended.)
Cycle through parts of your body, starting at the toes. Inhale slowly and deeply (through your nose if at all possible), thinking to yourself “My toes are relaxed and comfortable.” Make sure they really are and wiggle around, shift positions, tense and release if necessary. Even more slowly, exhale deeply (also through your nose), while thinking/subvocalizing “haa.” Imagine that your exhalations carry away your worries with them, and empty those lungs. (I don’t personally like to hold in between inhale/exhale or exhale/inhale, but do what is comfortable and relaxing for you.)
The specific parts you name don’t matter — the point is to (A) check on and relax your whole body, and (B) make it specific enough that you’re getting plenty of these deep, slow breaths. At the end I usually go with “I am relaxed and comfortable” to bring it all together.
I like to cycle through different vowel sounds on the exhale — again, the specific sounds don’t matter, but I find this keeps things a little more engaging so my mind is less likely to wander.
I’ve found that by the time I go through the whole body, I’m pretty close to sleep. Or at least, my mind is calmer and my body is more relaxed.