Phazerville
Behringer Crave + SamplerBox (part 2) | DAWless Live Loop Jam | Phazerville
updated
If you missed the v1.9.1 update, we also have a new BitBeat applet - two channels of Byte Beats algorithms - and a DivSeq10 applet - single-channel variant of DivSeq with 10 steps.
What should I work on next?
GitHub project - github.com/djphazer/O_C-Phazerville
Firmware Docs - firmware.phazerville.com
Buy me a Ko-Fi - ko-fi.com/djphazer
★ PEW PEW PEW! ★
Welcome to Phazerville! I'm your host, Nick, aka DJ Phazer! I'm a music nerd from Michigan who makes weird noizes and overthinks everything! I grew up with Nintendo and Nickelodeon. I'm known in some circles for my beatbox skillz. I like to spin Drum & Bass and occasionally get lost in sound design and synthesis. You can expect a lot of DIY music tech here ;)
► Dig it? - LIKE it!
► Thoughts? - COMMENT!
► Want more? - SUBSCRIBE!
Link up -- phazerville.com
(And my voice still cracks like an adolescent! XD)
Performed live as Phazerville (with the modular synth rig) on June 4, 2025 at the Pyramid Scheme in Grand Rapids, MI, as direct support for Button Masher on his Level Up Tour.
★ PEW PEW PEW! ★
Welcome to Phazerville! I'm your host, Nick, aka DJ Phazer! I'm a music nerd from Michigan who makes weird noizes and overthinks everything! I grew up with Nintendo and Nickelodeon. I'm known in some circles for my beatbox skillz. I like to spin Drum & Bass and occasionally get lost in sound design and synthesis. You can expect a lot of DIY music tech here ;)
► Dig it? - LIKE it!
► Thoughts? - COMMENT!
► Want more? - SUBSCRIBE!
Link up -- phazerville.com
djphazer.com
Behind The Scenes: youtu.be/51cchuLNIDU
How much can I do with 3 modules and a Kaoss Pad?
Here's a live loop jam with a Small Eurorack System and a KP3.
(I didn't even add a bassline... a goal for the next iteration)
I'll never get tired of the Plaits Model hocketing trick. Here, it provides drums and a psychedelic speech synthesis voice, sequenced with the Westlicht Performer. FX Aid as a crossfader/panner to combine the Main and Aux outputs. The legendary Kaoss Pad lets me easily layer the sounds and juggle loops!
★ PEW PEW PEW! ★
Welcome to Phazerville! I'm your host, Nick, aka DJ Phazer! I'm a music nerd from Michigan who makes weird noizes and overthinks everything! I grew up with Nintendo and Nickelodeon. I'm known in some circles for my beatbox skillz. I like to spin Drum & Bass and occasionally get lost in sound design and synthesis. You can expect a lot of DIY music tech here ;)
► Dig it? - LIKE it!
► Thoughts? - COMMENT!
► Want more? - SUBSCRIBE!
Link up -- phazerville.com
Silly tribute to Mr @weebl
Live modular synth + vocals
Secret sauce emerges at 01:30
Original: youtu.be/BBoLA_BQ4tU
I tracked the vocals separately... but the modular backing track is all mixed in the rack to one stereo pair. A few careful stages of compression and clipping are involved.
★ PEW PEW PEW! ★
Welcome to Phazerville! I'm your host, Nick, aka DJ Phazer! I'm a music nerd from Michigan who makes weird noizes and overthinks everything! I grew up with Nintendo and Nickelodeon. I'm known in some circles for my beatbox skillz. I like to spin Drum & Bass and occasionally get lost in sound design and synthesis. You can expect a lot of DIY music tech here ;)
► Dig it? - LIKE it!
► Thoughts? - COMMENT!
► Want more? - SUBSCRIBE!
Link up -- phazerville.com
I can't keep it a secret: it's TB-3PO on the bassline. 8-step pattern played twice, then a gate into Density creates a variation - another 8-step pattern, repeat, then it returns back to the first pattern. Call and Response, with just enough repetition. It's catchy every single time!
Also, I have a Westlicht Performer now, and apparently I only need it for sequencing a single voice. Don't worry, we'll get deeper...
★ PEW PEW PEW! ★
Welcome to Phazerville! I'm your host, Nick, aka DJ Phazer! I'm a music nerd from Michigan who makes weird noizes and overthinks everything! I grew up with Nintendo and Nickelodeon. I'm known in some circles for my beatbox skillz. I like to spin Drum & Bass and occasionally get lost in sound design and synthesis. You can expect a lot of DIY music tech here ;)
► Dig it? - LIKE it!
► Thoughts? - COMMENT!
► Want more? - SUBSCRIBE!
Link up -- phazerville.com
00:00 - warm up
00:49 - kick it
11:11 - stutter mode
12:52 - Like & Subscribe!
I hadn't touched the rack in several days, so I spontaneously filmed this jam to show off new O_C stuff. DivSeq has multipliers now for ratcheting trigger patterns. WAV file player is usable for tempo-synced track cueing. No EQ or filtering yet for the file players, so the bass gets a little mushy at times. Everything is a work-in-progress!
Patch Notes:
I start out with some live-sequenced drums (Bitbox Micro) and bass (Neutron) to set the rhythm. Then, I start playing tracks from the SD card in the Teensy 4.1, sometimes looping intro sections for extra drum layers. The Neutron voice is also running through the O_C audio DSP, being mixed with the WAV file players and glued together with the same compressor/limiter. The extra Bitbox drums are separate. Livestock MIR as final clipping stage. Minimal post-processing on the video edit.
Near the end, I map the "FileVCA" parameters to the same TB-3PO gate output that's driving the bassline. This results in a synchronized stutter effect on the playing tracks!
🎶 Featured music:
"Lysergia" - unreleased Studio Boyfriend (RIP Pete "Skillet")
"Funk'd" & "Deep Dive" - djphazer.bandcamp.com/album/boxed-beatz-vol-3
"Breakphast" - djphazer.bandcamp.com/album/breakphast-beatz-ep
"back to the box" - soundcloud.com/djphazer/back-to-the-box
"Extravibrational Residue" - unreleased
⚡ Phazerville Suite firmware v1.8.1 - firmware.phazerville.com
This demo utilizes the teensy-variable-playback library - github.com/newdigate/teensy-variable-playback
★ PEW PEW PEW! ★
Welcome to Phazerville! I'm your host, Nick, aka DJ Phazer! I'm a music nerd from Michigan who makes weird noizes and overthinks everything! I grew up with Nintendo and Nickelodeon. I'm known in some circles for my beatbox skillz. I like to spin Drum & Bass and occasionally get lost in sound design and synthesis. You can expect a lot of DIY music tech here ;)
► Dig it? - LIKE it!
► Thoughts? - COMMENT!
► Want more? - SUBSCRIBE!
Link up -- phazerville.com
Testing things, trying to calibrate and tune all my voices... why not record a drone jam? Two Plaits, a Monsoon, and two wine glass samples on the Bitbox collectively sing chords, sequenced by several DualTM using Aeolian D# scale, washed in Delay/Shimmer in the FX Aid. The video is a little stutter-y because reasons (it's not you, it's me).
Every patch session is literally a maze I'm trying to navigate. Watch as I take a whole minute to finally start the sequence clock, and then fumble around with settings and mix balance. Lucky the reverb is there to soften things, right? Eventually, we make it out the other side...
★ PEW PEW PEW! ★
Welcome to Phazerville! I'm your host, Nick, aka DJ Phazer! I'm a music nerd from Michigan who makes weird noizes and overthinks everything! I grew up with Nintendo and Nickelodeon. I'm known in some circles for my beatbox skillz. I like to spin Drum & Bass and occasionally get lost in sound design and synthesis. You can expect a lot of DIY music tech here ;)
► Dig it? - LIKE it!
► Thoughts? - COMMENT!
► Want more? - SUBSCRIBE!
Link up -- phazerville.com
A very limited run of new T4.1-based units from Paul have been distributed to early beta testers and other developers. Check the links below for the BOM and other design files as they become available for DIY.
⚡ Hardware Info - github.com/PaulStoffregen/O_C_T41
⚡ Firmware Info - firmware.phazerville.com
🎶 "Actions Will Speak" & all my other music - djphazer.com
☕ Buy Me a Ko-Fi - ko-fi.com/djphazer
(THANK YOU to everyone who has already contributed!)
Special shoutout to Plum Audio, Calsynth, and PJRC for fueling my curiosity with free hardware!
🎛️ OCP X - plum-audio.com/product-page/ocp-x
🎛️ T4.0-based uO_C - calsynth.com/products/uoc_b
Wiki doc for DualTM - github.com/djphazer/O_C-Phazerville/wiki/DualTM
Chapters:
00:00 - Intro
00:56 - I stole these things!
04:40 - Sincere Gratitude
05:18 - O_CT4.1 Hardware Details
08:55 - Hacking the Code
10:24 - DualTM
12:20 - Building a Song
14:25 - Teensy Audio DSP patch demo
18:22 - Quadrants, Adding Drums
19:15 - Final Jam
★ PEW PEW PEW! ★
Welcome to Phazerville! I'm your host, Nick, aka DJ Phazer! I'm a music nerd from Michigan who makes weird noizes and overthinks everything! I grew up with Nintendo and Nickelodeon. I'm known in some circles for my beatbox skillz. I like to spin Drum & Bass and occasionally get lost in sound design and synthesis. You can expect a lot of DIY music tech here ;)
► Dig it? - LIKE it!
► Thoughts? - COMMENT!
► Want more? - SUBSCRIBE!
Link up -- phazerville.com
(i did not know my hair looks like that, i'm so sorry, but not really, lol look at my silly meatsuit)
anyway, I like using the Forbidden Planet filter as a performance crossfader, and Plaits is always an excellent super-saw! Behind the scenes, I'm actually testing new O_C MIDI output functionality, playing a voice on the Bitbox Micro in unison with Plaits.
★ PEW PEW PEW! ★
Welcome to Phazerville! I'm your host, Nick, aka DJ Phazer! I'm a music nerd from Michigan who makes weird noizes and overthinks everything! I grew up with Nintendo and Nickelodeon. I'm known in some circles for my beatbox skillz. I like to spin Drum & Bass and occasionally get lost in sound design and synthesis. You can expect a lot of DIY music tech here ;)
► Dig it? - LIKE it!
► Thoughts? - COMMENT!
► Want more? - SUBSCRIBE!
Link up -- phazerville.com
This one goes in depth about using Fibonacci number sequences as melodies, and combinations of clock dividers for rhythms - with several new tools for generating polyrhythmic trigger patterns.
Chapters:
00:00 - Intro
02:02 - Pigeons
05:05 - PolyDiv
05:57 - DivSeq
07:35 - Drum sequencing
09:00 - Linking Applets
11:51 - Sequencing Presets with MIDI
Intellectual property shamelessly pilfered from:
► Marc Evanstein / music.py - youtube.com/watch?v=_aIf4WUCNZU
-- the Fibonacci Music Box - marcthespark.github.io/FibonacciMusicBox
-- (thanks to Mendel for the suggestion!)
► Moog Subharmonicon sequencer
Pigeons is currently available in v1.6.999 of my firmware for the Ornament & Crime DIY Eurorack module.
PolyDiv and DivSeq will be in v1.7, also now merged in for the custom built firmwares.
► Check out the firmware project on GitHub - github.com/djphazer/O_C-Phazerville
► Buy Me a Ko-Fi! - ko-fi.com/djphazer
★ PEW PEW PEW! ★
Welcome to Phazerville! I'm your host, Nick, aka DJ Phazer! I'm a music nerd from Michigan who makes weird noizes and overthinks everything! I grew up with Nintendo and Nickelodeon. I'm known in some circles for my beatbox skillz. I like to spin Drum & Bass and occasionally get lost in sound design and synthesis. You can expect a lot of DIY music tech here ;)
► Dig it? - LIKE it!
► Thoughts? - COMMENT!
► Want more? - SUBSCRIBE!
Link up -- phazerville.com
Here, I'm using "ResetClk" by Oktagon (aka Peter Kyme) - a clocking tool for the DFAM sequencer, and similar sequencers that only advance in one direction. I don't own a DFAM, but I do have some other use cases for it, including the Bitbox Micro slice sequence mode. Thank you, kind stranger!
Which O_C applet should I cover next time?
► Grab my latest firmware: github.com/djphazer/O_C-Phazerville/releases
► Original ResetClk demo: youtube.com/watch?v=JrT1hraTqbk
► Code source: github.com/pkyme/O_C-HemisphereSuite/tree/reset-additions
"If you want it / You can get it / Let me know and you can have it"
★ PEW PEW PEW! ★
Welcome to Phazerville! I'm your host, Nick, aka DJ Phazer! I'm a music nerd from Michigan who makes weird noizes and overthinks everything! I grew up with Nintendo and Nickelodeon. I'm known in some circles for my beatbox skillz. I like to spin Drum & Bass and occasionally get lost in sound design and synthesis. You can expect a lot of DIY music tech here ;)
► Dig it? - LIKE it!
► Thoughts? - COMMENT!
► Want more? - SUBSCRIBE!
Link up -- phazerville.com
This one happened later, with most of the original patch torn out...
Part 1: youtu.be/v_mAdPJ66rA
Part 2: youtu.be/v2Isbn92llU
★ PEW PEW PEW! ★
Welcome to Phazerville! I'm your host, Nick, aka DJ Phazer! I'm a music nerd from Michigan who makes weird noizes and overthinks everything! I grew up with Nintendo and Nickelodeon. I'm known in some circles for my beatbox skillz. I like to spin Drum & Bass and occasionally get lost in sound design and synthesis. You can expect a lot of DIY music tech here ;)
► Dig it? - LIKE it!
► Thoughts? - COMMENT!
► Want more? - SUBSCRIBE!
Link up -- phazerville.com
A curious patch that plays with sparse rhythms and a resonator voice.
Part 1: youtu.be/v_mAdPJ66rA
Part 3: youtu.be/9kwzGyu-FOA
► Patch Notes:
(on the uO_C) TB-3PO is sequencing Beehive, while Pigeons provides stepped modulation.
Using two instances of SequenceX on the OCP X for filter modulation, occasionally randomizing them by turning up the CV2/CV4 input.
I've blended FX Aid in about halfway, using the "Generation Lost" algo, causing a phaser effect to intensify the voice. Very big reverb from Monsoon occasionally sweeps in at the end of the phrase, thanks to a skewed triangle from Pam's.
★ PEW PEW PEW! ★
Welcome to Phazerville! I'm your host, Nick, aka DJ Phazer! I'm a music nerd from Michigan who makes weird noizes and overthinks everything! I grew up with Nintendo and Nickelodeon. I'm known in some circles for my beatbox skillz. I like to spin Drum & Bass and occasionally get lost in sound design and synthesis. You can expect a lot of DIY music tech here ;)
► Dig it? - LIKE it!
► Thoughts? - COMMENT!
► Want more? - SUBSCRIBE!
Link up -- phazerville.com
Part 2: youtu.be/v2Isbn92llU
Part 3: youtu.be/9kwzGyu-FOA
► Patch Notes:
(on the uO_C) TB-3PO is sequencing Beehive, while Pigeons provides stepped modulation.
Using two instances of SequenceX on the OCP X for filter modulation, occasionally randomizing them by turning up the CV2/CV4 input.
I've blended FX Aid in about halfway, using the "Generation Lost" algo, causing a phaser effect to intensify the voice. Very big reverb from Monsoon occasionally sweeps in at the end of the phrase, thanks to a skewed triangle from Pam's.
★ PEW PEW PEW! ★
Welcome to Phazerville! I'm your host, Nick, aka DJ Phazer! I'm a music nerd from Michigan who makes weird noizes and overthinks everything! I grew up with Nintendo and Nickelodeon. I'm known in some circles for my beatbox skillz. I like to spin Drum & Bass and occasionally get lost in sound design and synthesis. You can expect a lot of DIY music tech here ;)
► Dig it? - LIKE it!
► Thoughts? - COMMENT!
► Want more? - SUBSCRIBE!
Link up -- phazerville.com
All the original firmware apps + Hemisphere are now running natively on Teensy 4.0 and 4.1, which are readily available. The CV inputs are noisy, but I think it's usable! Big thanks to Paul Stoffregen for his contributions to the project! New hardware designs should be released very soon, with improved ADC precision, more I/O, and potential for expansion.
► Grab the latest Phazerville Suite beta: github.com/djphazer/O_C-BenisphereSuite/releases
► Teensy microcontroller from PJRC: pjrc.com/teensy
► Support my music: djphazer.bandcamp.com/album/everything-is-broken
(background music is "novemBOH" and "it's not so bad")
(also, sorry for eating the mic lol)
★ PEW PEW PEW! ★
Welcome to Phazerville! I'm your host, Nick, aka DJ Phazer! I'm a music nerd from Michigan who makes weird noizes and overthinks everything! I grew up with Nintendo and Nickelodeon. I'm known in some circles for my beatbox skillz. I like to spin Drum & Bass and occasionally get lost in sound design and synthesis. You can expect a lot of DIY music tech here ;)
► Dig it? - LIKE it!
► Thoughts? - COMMENT!
► Want more? - SUBSCRIBE!
Link up -- phazerville.com
"An old classic challenge from the Hardware Jams vault this week:
Pads from Heaven, Beats from Hell. I want to hear the lushest-sounding pads or chords, juxtaposed against the most spiky and hellish beats you can conjure up."
Featured in the livestream: youtube.com/watch?v=o2W4IoF1IN0
I'm not sure if you'd call these pads heavenly, but I think the drums are quite hellish!
• Pad: Beehive droning chords into Monsoon in regular Clouds mode. Modulated by DualTM applet.
• Drums: Bitbox Micro parallel processed by LoFi Echo on O_C + Forbidden Planet. Sequenced by DrumMap + EuclidX.
Pam's keeps everything in sync, of course.
Only minimal post-processing (light multi-band dynamics). The sound is still raw and crunchy like the real thing!
★ PEW PEW PEW! ★
Welcome to Phazerville! I'm your host, Nick, aka DJ Phazer! I'm a music nerd from Michigan who makes weird noizes and overthinks everything! I grew up with Nintendo and Nickelodeon. I'm known in some circles for my beatbox skillz. I like to spin Drum & Bass and occasionally get lost in sound design and synthesis. You can expect a lot of DIY music tech here ;)
► Dig it? - LIKE it!
► Thoughts? - COMMENT!
► Want more? - SUBSCRIBE!
Link up -- phazerville.com
Check my firmware suite for the Ornament & Crime module - github.com/djphazer/O_C-BenisphereSuite
Available in Phazerville Suite v1.6.5
Since Teensy 3.2 is permanently out of stock, I've acquired a Teensy 4.0 to explore as a drop-in replacement for my uO_C. I briefly check out the Squares & Circles firmware from eh2k, but my ultimate goal is to port the Hemispheres framework to T4... stay tuned!
Overview:
00:00 - Intro & Soldering Pins
01:11 - "Let's Reflash It"
01:57 - Squares & Circles Demo
02:47 - Basic Drivers from pld
04:00 - A Great Ambition
Teensy 4.0 - pjrc.com/store/teensy40.html
Squares & Circles firmware - github.com/eh2k/squares-and-circles
T4 drivers for O_C - github.com/patrickdowling/oCt4drv
Phazerville Suite firmware (currently only for Teensy 3.2) - github.com/djphazer/O_C-BenisphereSuite
The original Ornament & Crime Eurorack module - ornament-and-cri.me
★ PEW PEW PEW! ★
Welcome to Phazerville! I'm your host, Nick, aka DJ Phazer! I'm a music nerd from Michigan who makes weird noizes and overthinks everything! I grew up with Nintendo and Nickelodeon. I'm known in some circles for my beatbox skillz. I like to spin Drum & Bass and occasionally get lost in sound design and synthesis. You can expect a lot of DIY music tech here ;)
► Dig it? - LIKE it!
► Thoughts? - COMMENT!
► Want more? - SUBSCRIBE!
Link up -- phazerville.com
The action starts at 03:00
Catch me live at twitch.tv/phazerville
Drums + sub bass on Bitbox Micro, sequenced with Akai MPKmini (note repeat mode)
Voice is Plaits, sequenced by o_C
idk if 7-minute vertical videos are a sin, but I filmed and edited it so here you go
Consider this Soldering 101 for those in need of a lesson, or are just curious about what it takes to assemble a DIY Eurorack module. However, I disclaim that I'm not the brightest light in the void, so feel free to criticize my work... but also rest assured that you can clumsily stumble your way through life just fine ;)
phazerville.com
Big news... I'm launching a Patreon!
Exclusive goodies: patreon.com/phazerville
Listen to "finished" pieces from this month: soundcloud.com/djphazer
Official releases: djphazer.com
I also worked on some music production on stream.
Listen to the "finished" pieces: soundcloud.com/djphazer
Check out my official releases: djphazer.com
I might also work on some music production on stream.
Listen to the "finished" pieces: soundcloud.com/djphazer
Check out my official releases: djphazer.com
github.com/djphazer/O_C-BenisphereSuite
Peep the new album - djphazer.bandcamp.com/album/boxed-beatz-vol-3
Jamming on the modular, with the Kaoss Pad for live-looping!
Keystep 37 + sustain pedal for expressive performance of randomly generated arp patterns.
I'm mainly trying out mega synth tones made from combining Neutron + Plaits oscillators via the TipTop Forbidden Planet filter. Basic drums in Bitbox Micro, triggered by Pam's. Clocked grains from Clouds.
TC-Helicon VoiceLive Play processor pedal for vocal FX.
Oh yeah, and my mixer + KP3 reside in an old briefcase, a proof-of-concept for portability.


