Spines of the Wasteland AtticP 2025-10-05 | My submission for the Hardware Jams “Desert Club” Weekend Challenge.I thought I’d try something a bit different this week and attempted to make some synth metal all about cacti. Inspired by the story, I imagined the character getting more desperate waiting for the taxi and wondering if they would survive in the desert. Looking at the cacti and wondering how they survive in the desert heat. Lyrics:Needles claw the barren skyThey survive, while mortals dieDesert screams, the silence loudCacti rise, eternal, proudSpines of the wastelandTearing flesh from boneSpines of the wastelandThe kingdom, their throneThis week’s challenge prompt:Story time! Here’s a story to inspire your jam this weekend.Under the scorching sun you wait. The desert landscape around you is unfamiliar and beautiful. You look at your watch - the taxi should be here already. You count the cracks in the concrete to pass the time, the asphalt shimmering in the heat. The taxi finally arrives, rushing towards you, then stopping abruptly right in front of you. As you crash down in the back seat, the driver greets you with an exclamation that could be harsh or enthusiastic, you never learned to distinguish the tones of this foreign language. ”To the city,” you ask as clearly as you can. The taxi jumps to speed and the driver switches to broken English, barely making sense. The conversation runs around in circles, skirting the language barrier. ”You want party?” he keeps asking. You’re intrigued by the idea, and wary at the same time. As the taxi approaches the outskirts of the city, you finally say: ”yes, take me to the party.”The taxi screeches to a halt when you reach your destination. This is not what you expected. It’s not a club, it’s barely a building. Among the derelict concrete buildings there’s a small entrance, clearly leading to a bunker underground. There’s a bouncer standing at the door. This guy is huge. Without a smile, he opens the door to a steep, worn out stairwell leading down, down, down. You already hear the bass thumping as you cautiously start your descent.You were not prepared for what you find downstairs in the club.Always Learning════════════This week I tried to add a bit more structure to my jam and came up with a more traditional verse/chorus structure for it. It was fun to push myself in this way and learn more about song structure before trying to implement that in the jam. My DIY Eurorack Synth Rules ══════════════I aim to meet the following criteria when adding modules to my synth:◦ I must have constructed it. This can be a kit or from scratch but I must have soldered it◦ The audio signal path should be analog. I'm trying to avoid digital modules so I can learn more about analog electronics◦ Learn something new Try to learn something while constructing the module. Learn about the circuits, experiment with different signal processing options. Be creative.◦ Have fun
AtticP - Inkyfest 2025 AtticP 2025-09-22 | Industrial Techno set for Inkyfest 2025. Which, of course, had to be at 142 bpm 💜My DIY Synth Rules ════════════I aim to meet the following criteria when adding modules to my synth:◦ I must have constructed it. This can be a kit or from scratch but I must have soldered it◦ The audio signal path should be analog. I'm trying to avoid digital modules so I can learn more about analog electronics◦ Learn something new Try to learn something while constructing the module. Learn about the circuits, experiment with different signal processing options. Be creative.◦ Have fun
Per Aspera Ad Astra AtticP 2025-08-15 | My submission for the Hardware Jams “Per Aspera Ad Astra” Weekend Challenge.Through difficulties to the stars or in the case of this jam, in distortion there is beauty. I used a couple of my small synths for this jam, the FreaqFM and the Elmyra 2. I set up 2 patterns on the FreaqFM with different lengths so they are rotating round each other and then patched the output into the Elmyra 2. I found a nice spot in the distortion that mangled the pretty sounds from the FreaqFM and then blasted it with the other Elmyra channels. I had a lot of fun finding some grove in the saturated sound and found the stars in the difficulties, the beauty in the distortion.This week’s challenge prompt:Per aspera ad astra - through difficulties to the stars. Your challenge this weekend is to make a jam using this old motto of encouragement. There are several ways of doing this. You might make a jam slowly building from chaos into something structured and uplifting. Or you can challenge yourself to tackle something really difficult musically and be prepared to struggle through the weekend for a stellar jam. Or make a jam focusing on encouraging and uplifting themes - what kind of jam would you make to encourage someone going through a difficult time in life?The painting in the challenge is by Karl Wilhelm Diefenbach (1851-1913) and is titled Per Aspera Ad Astra. Diefenbach also made a wonderful series of silhouette friezes with the same title. I’ll link these both in a comment. You can also choose to use these as inspiration for your jam.Always Learning════════════I'm a strong believer in continuous improvement and always trying to learn something new. I spent more time this week exploring the Elmyra’s secret menus so that I could sync the delay and LFO’s to the FreaqFM to keep everything in time with each other.
Patch It Quick AtticP 2025-08-09 | My submission for the Hardware Jams “Jam from Scratch” Weekend Challenge.I do enjoy a patch from scratch challenge. It’s great practice to see how fast you can get sounds patched and something simple and danceable as quickly as possible. I started off with a drone from the Elmyra 2 as the base of the jam, which I sidechained with the kick drum. I used the divskip as a quick way of patching some drum patterns. I then set about patching a quick acid lead and had fun jamming for the last couple of minutes. There was a moment in the middle where I managed to accidentally put one of the channels of the Elmyra into drone mode, which added to the panic and mayhem, I realised what was going on eventually though. This week’s challenge prompt:Greetings Jammers! And Happy Friday! This weekend, we’re asking you to do a Jam from Scratch or ‘Against the clock’ challenge. This was one of Inky’s favourite challenges, and as it’s almost been a year since she passed, we thought it would be a good time to roll out the jams from scratch!You have five minutes total to press start, and start programming. This isn’t a challenge where you prep for five minutes and then bash out a jam, this is one where your jam IS the programming from scratch. You might want to start by programming a bassline or drum track, then add additional things to it as you go. Or you might use your synth’s functions to get it to generate a random pattern, and use that as the basis.Whatever happens, whatever approach you take, at the five minute mark you’re done! So let’s see who can build something with structure from the off, who has the fastest fingers, or who has the best ‘randomised patch’ sounds.As always we will stream through all the entries on Monday’s streamthrough, and those that eclipse 5 mins will be stopped at that point.Always Learning════════════To patch as fast as possible I mostly kept to techniques I know, but I did end up with an unusual patch to trigger the note change on the elmyra. I used 2 channels on the elmyra with different notes and patched the gate to a switch which was toggling 5v between them every few bars. It was the quickest thing I could think of doing that would automate the note changes, as I couldn’t remember how to record note patterns, so came up with a different solution. Definitely a case of the time constraints leading to creative solutions. My DIY Eurorack Synth Rules ══════════════I aim to meet the following criteria when adding modules to my synth:◦ I must have constructed it. This can be a kit or from scratch but I must have soldered it◦ The audio signal path should be analog. I'm trying to avoid digital modules so I can learn more about analog electronics◦ Learn something new Try to learn something while constructing the module. Learn about the circuits, experiment with different signal processing options. Be creative.◦ Have fun
Reverse AtticP 2025-08-04 | My submission for the Hardware Jams “Reverse” Weekend Challenge.What a fun sound design challenge! My idea for this challenge was to record a couple of minutes jam that could be reversed for the second half of the jam. This involved designing half the sounds backwards so that I would get the sound I wanted when it was reversed. For example, setting up sounds with long attack and very short decay would result in percussive noises when reversed. I sequenced a lot of this jam with a new module I’ve been designing for making wonky beats and ended up with a chilled out beat. Finally I wrote a poem, about regrets and missing someone when they are gone which can be read line-by-line forwards and backwards. So this is read over the top of the jam and reverses at the half way point with the reverse of the music.This week’s challenge prompt:We would like to hear a 5 minutes or under jam displaying some fun use of this idea! (It's okay those who don't have any samplers, we would suggest you use pad sounds with long attacks and short decays). Would you use an obscure Vocal sample? Maybe some pads like they used to use in jungle tracks? the skys the limit with this oneUse anything in your arsenal, please keep jams under 5 minutes, please no copyright material and the challenge ends on the streamthrough start so get them jams in!Don't forget, the main aim of this all is to jam so i'm implimenting one small rule change... HAVE FUN!Lyrics════════════I see your starAs I look up at the night skyI remember all the good times we hadThe smile on your faceEndless summers, Dancing till you droppedI wish you wereHereBut, you areGoneThose days areMemoriesLike Dust in the windGetting completely lost, along with youI still cling on to the thoughts ofWhen I met youEndless happinessTurned in toDespairthe moment my world changed foreverToday, I am hereWith no motivationLying aroundNo more time to spendPlanning our future,Walking together on the beach,Thinking how lucky I am to have found youInstead, I’m justHowling at the moon like a dogNo more time To say the words I should have saidNow you’re not here And I wish I could reverse timeAlways Learning════════════This week it was great to deep dive into some sound design and trying to make sounds that would sound how I wanted when they were reversed. My DIY Eurorack Synth Rules ══════════════I aim to meet the following criteria when adding modules to my synth:◦ I must have constructed it. This can be a kit or from scratch but I must have soldered it◦ The audio signal path should be analog. I'm trying to avoid digital modules so I can learn more about analog electronics◦ Learn something new Try to learn something while constructing the module. Learn about the circuits, experiment with different signal processing options. Be creative.◦ Have fun
Hot Signals AtticP 2025-07-13 | My submission for the Hardware Jams “One Box on Fire” Weekend Challenge.With how hot the signals are in a no input mixer jam, I always have a slight concern that the mixer will catch fire. So, I felt a no input jam was right for this challenge. I hope you enjoy this exploration of feedback loops.This week’s challenge prompt:Make the hottest jam you can with just one box! No exceptions. ONE BOX TO RULE THEM ALL..Always Learning════════════I'm a strong believer in continuous improvement and always trying to learn something new. In this jam I enjoyed exploring no input techniques again and trying to creating interesting and evolving sounds with feedback.
Music for Oscilloscopes AtticP 2025-06-29 | My submission for the Hardware Jams “Living Stereo” Weekend Challenge.I’ve been wanting to try some oscilloscope music for a while and with my main rig still under construction this weeks challenge seemed like the perfect opportunity to try it. Oscilloscope music works by connecting the left audio channel to the X axis and the right channel to the Y axis of the oscilloscope. It is then possible (with some pretty hardcore maths) to draw shapes and animations on the oscilloscope using the audio signal. You get the music video built in to the music! I had a huge amount of fun jamming with this technique. I set up a few animations in oscistudio and mapped a load of the controls to my beatstep pro and nano kontrol. Connected the audio out to my vintage HP CRT oscilloscope and set about jamming with the HWJ logo. This week’s challenge prompt:Time to experiment with stereo field! This weekend your challenge is to make a jam that makes good use of stereo space. You may do this in whatever way suits your style. Try panning instruments in different positions, or moving them around. Experiment with eq and reverb to enhance the sense of space. Or go wild and try unorthodox solutions. We invite you to try out new things and play around with these experiments.Always Learning════════════This week I experimented with oscilloscope music. This is such a fun technique and definitely something I want to explore further in the future.
No Input Drone AtticP 2025-05-25 | My submission for the Hardware Jams “Drone” Weekend Challenge.I’m currently rebuilding my modular case, so with the modular out of action it was a great opportunity to revisit no input mixing. This involves patching various feedback loops on a mixer and using that as your sound source. I love exploring the sounds in feedback and this time set up a fairly simple patch so that the drone was a bit more predictable and could be modulated slowly. I really enjoy seeing how close you can get before the patch breaks down into screaming feedback as often the most interesting sounds can be found where there is a pull in various directions from different parts of the feedback patch.I hope you enjoy this feedbacktastic jam.This week’s challenge prompt:dr(((((((((((o)))))))))))neSaturday, May 24th is International Drone Day. For this weekend’s challenge we take a dive into drones - not the flying kinds, but musical drones, sustained notes or sounds. The challenge is to make a jam with some droning elements. You can go full experimental and make a minimalist jam with just drones. Or you can take a melodic approach and think of melodies contrasting movement and static elements (maybe research pedal points in music theory?). Or you could look at folk music for inspiration: bagpipes are a good example of a melodic instrument with drones.Always Learning════════════I'm a strong believer in continuous improvement and always trying to learn something new. It was great to experiment with no input mixing again and applying some effects to the output from the mixer this time.
Was zum Teufel ist gerade passiert? AtticP 2025-05-18 | My submission for the Hardware Jams “HWJVision 2025” Weekend Challenge.This weeks jam was an adventure. I started trying to make some euro dance but stumbled across a cool electronic guitar like sound and so ran with that and made some sort of techno instead!! This got me thinking about the UK Eurovision entries title and what that might sound like if it was German minimal techno instead… so…. I present… Was zum Teufel ist gerade passiert? (What the hell just happened?)This week’s challenge prompt:Hello jammers!It’s the HWJVISON weekend! Inspired by the Eurovision song contest, I want you to make a cheesy, tacky jam, with extra glitter!Always Learning════════════This week I wanted to try using the bass progression to modify the lead chords too so set that up on the Kausatronics quantiser and it worked really well as a technique and adds so much more complexity to the lead riffs while only needing to program the bass line. I think I’ll be using this technique a lot more in the future.My DIY Eurorack Synth Rules ══════════════I aim to meet the following criteria when adding modules to my synth:◦ I must have constructed it. This can be a kit or from scratch but I must have soldered it◦ The audio signal path should be analog. I'm trying to avoid digital modules so I can learn more about analog electronics◦ Learn something new Try to learn something while constructing the module. Learn about the circuits, experiment with different signal processing options. Be creative.◦ Have fun
Tree Sprites AtticP 2025-04-26 | My submission for the Hardware Jams “Disaster Story” Weekend Challenge.It’s been a while since I’ve had time to jam, so it was great to come back to a story challenge. I always enjoy the different interpretations of these. My interpretation was to communicate with the tree sprites who are the only ones who can soothe the plants back to their more docile state. This starts chaotic and slowly moves to more structure as the jams goes on. Hopefully the jammers can do enough to save the world!!This week’s challenge prompt:Story time! For this weekend’s challenge, here’s a story to inspire your jam. We’re taking inspiration from disaster movies like 2012 or The Day After Tomorrow.You’re a scientist who has made a horrible discovery. From the deepest jungles of South America you have discovered plantlife with disturbing mutations that cause the plants to grow aggressively, even attacking people. What’s even stranger is your botanist colleagues bring similar reports from all over the world. The same thing is happening in the forests of Canada, the swamps of Louisiana, moors of Scotland… everywhere plants are changing into killers. You discover that the microplastics that have contaminated nature have somehow fused themself with the genetic code of the plants causing wild and unpredictable mutations. If your calculations are correct, the whole human civilization runs the risk of being run over.You rush to meet the president and military advisers. But they ignore your warnings. They only mock your ideas. Meanwhile there are terrifying news reports from all over the world. In Rio de Janeiro a whole neighbourhood is taken over by vines, covering everything. In Japan the scent of cherry blossoms has become toxic, causing hundreds of thousands of people to be hospitalized. In New York, Central Park has started to swallow visitors and officials are advising people to avoid going there. You return to your laboratory to find a solution before it’s too late. There must be a way to reconcile Nature and Humankind.Your challenge is to make a jam inspired by this story. Your studio is your laboratory. And the survival of mankind depends on your success. Will you be able to make peace between the forces of nature and humankind? Maybe, if you use some organic elements or nature sounds in your jam to make peace. Will your jam be convincing enough to turn the heads of the callous politicians? Maybe epic cinematic sounds and melodies will convince them?Always Learning════════════This week I spent some time exploring the built in drum patterns mode of the Div Skip I built recently. I also had fun jamming with the Wirehead Freaq FM which is used in this jam to generate the lead patterns.My DIY Eurorack Synth Rules ══════════════I aim to meet the following criteria when adding modules to my synth:◦ I must have constructed it. This can be a kit or from scratch but I must have soldered it◦ The audio signal path should be analog. I'm trying to avoid digital modules so I can learn more about analog electronics◦ Learn something new Try to learn something while constructing the module. Learn about the circuits, experiment with different signal processing options. Be creative.◦ Have fun
Steam AtticP 2025-02-15 | My submission for the Hardware Jams “Elements” Weekend Challenge.If you combine fire and water you make steam. So I based my jam this week around steam trains. There may have been a double agenda as my nephew had organised a family “bring your own train art” exhibition for this weekend. So I used this jam for that also. We had great fun enjoying everyones train art and this jam was also used as the music for a game of musical bumps :-) The train noises are constructed from various coloured noise sources with different envelopes and filters applied on top, all sequenced from the beat step pro. The arp was created using the freaq fm and I used a vibraphone patch on my keyboard for a station announcement chime improvisation part.Enjoy the journey as the train travels between stations on this musical adventure.This week’s challenge prompt:For this week I want you to pick an element and make a jam that vibes with it. Will it be a dub with liquid flow, an earth shaking beat, a fiery arpeggiation, a light as the wind pad? Express yourselves freely but keep your jams around five minutes longAlways Learning════════════I'm a strong believer in continuous improvement and always trying to learn something new. I spent time this week exploring sound design for a train whistle.My DIY Eurorack Synth Rules ══════════════I aim to meet the following criteria when adding modules to my synth:◦ I must have constructed it. This can be a kit or from scratch but I must have soldered it◦ The audio signal path should be analog. I'm trying to avoid digital modules so I can learn more about analog electronics◦ Learn something new Try to learn something while constructing the module. Learn about the circuits, experiment with different signal processing options. Be creative.◦ Have fun
The Garden of Earthly Delights AtticP 2025-02-10 | My submission for the Hardware Jams “Picture Challenge 2025” Weekend Challenge.This week we used a wonderfully weird medieval painting as inspiration for our jams. I picked a few elements from the picture for this jam: two giant ears carrying a knife; a body with music tattooed on its butt; and, a procession round a musical hat.I started by creating a heavy kick using my new Blast module from Patching Panda and used the envelope out of this to sidechain almost all the other sounds in this jam. I then created some weird screamy textures using the contact mic in the Microphonie module. This, passed though overdrive and distortion resulted in some cool screams when running my hands along the patch cables in the rig. I also added a drone from the elmyra 2 and an formanty bandpassed arp which starts by following the pattern of music tattooed on a butt in the image.A weird jam for a wonderfully weird painting.This week’s challenge prompt:Here we go!! One of my favourite challenges of all time! PICTURE CHALLENGE 2025 it’s here!!!!Today I would love us to embark on a musical journey inspired by Hieronymus Bosch (1450-1516) Dutch painter (Wikipedia page - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hieronymus_Bosch)Every time I look at one of his paintings (the more chaotic ones) I see jazz for some bizarre reason, but this is just my interpretation of it. What do you see in this pic? Can you translate it into a jam? Take a look at the painting below and enjoy the journey. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Garden_of_Earthly_Delights#/media/File:Hieronymus_Bosch_-_The_Garden_of_Earthly_Delights_-_Hell.jpgAlways Learning════════════I'm a strong believer in continuous improvement and always trying to learn something new. I’ve been building some new modules recently, so spent some time learning how to use them this week. These include the DivSkip, Turing Machine, Crush Delay, and Blast.My DIY Eurorack Synth Rules ══════════════I aim to meet the following criteria when adding modules to my synth:◦ I must have constructed it. This can be a kit or from scratch but I must have soldered it◦ The audio signal path should be analog. I'm trying to avoid digital modules so I can learn more about analog electronics◦ Learn something new Try to learn something while constructing the module. Learn about the circuits, experiment with different signal processing options. Be creative.◦ Have fun
Cables AtticP 2025-01-19 | My submission for the Hardware Jams “David Lynch” Weekend Challenge.Eraserhead was one of the first surreal movies I ever watched, it opened my mind to alternative ways of telling stories in film and began a wonderful journey of exploration of non-mainstream films. This jam is my attempt at a soundtrack to a very short surreal film about cables. I hope you enjoy exploring what it might mean.This week’s challenge prompt:This weekend we would like you to take inspiration from a great film producer, musician, poet, author and general visionary, David Lynch who died this week. He has left many works to take inspiration from, be that ‘Twin Peaks’, ‘The elephant man’, ‘Eraserhead’ and others. Or you may choose to draw on one of the other areas he was known for.So your challenge this week is to compose a David Lynch-inspired jam. Any genre, you can make it as odd and bizarre as you like, as dreamlike and idealistic as you like.I leave you with this quotation:“Mankind was not meant to suffer -- bliss is our nature. The individual is cosmic. Let's rock.”Always Learning════════════I'm a strong believer in continuous improvement and always trying to learn something new. This week’s jam was based around the Jolin Tabor, and I tried a technique with the state 700 filter of taking the low pass output panned left, the high pass panned right and the bandpass through some effects in the centre. Then when changing the filter cut-off frequency, the frequencies shift left and right resulting in an interesting stereo effect.My DIY Synth Rules ════════════I aim to meet the following criteria when adding modules to my synth:◦ I must have constructed it. This can be a kit or from scratch but I must have soldered it◦ The audio signal path should be analog. I'm trying to avoid digital modules so I can learn more about analog electronics◦ Learn something new Try to learn something while constructing the module. Learn about the circuits, experiment with different signal processing options. Be creative.◦ Have fun
Of Ents and Elves AtticP 2025-01-05 | My submission for the Hardware Jams “Tolkien” Weekend Challenge.This is my imagining of what a forest full of ents and woodland elves might sound like. As the wind rushes through the leaves of the trees, the groans of the ents can be heard. Later some woodland elves add their song to the melody to help the forest to grow and flourish.I made the creaks and groans of the trees and ents on my modular synth and used the roll trigger on the drumbs combined with randomness on the beat step to trigger clicks and groans. I’ve also recently build a DivSkip and used a couple of channels in ratchet mode and a Bernoulli gate to add more layers of random triggers. The elves were made with a patch on my Yamaha YS100 keyboard and multiple of layers of reverb.This week’s challenge prompt:Greetings Jammers!And happy Friday. As the third of January is also National JRR Tolkien day, this weekend we want you to explore your inner middle earth. I would like you to get fantastical with your imaginations.Tolkien was known for writing long, lengthy tomes and for having created an entire universe, timeline, and history in his mind. I would like you to transport yourself into one of Tolkien’s lands, the time and place of elves, orcs, dwarves and Hobbits and magic.You could create a soundtrack for embarking on a great journey, an electronic theme for a dragon, an elven song, a dwarfish drinking song, think about what sort of dark techno music the Nazgûl might like to listen to, a wizard’s battle theme, a solitary lilt for Gollum, a nocturne for Mirkwood, a mighty song for Ents, or worry a Hobbit with some banging techno. Take your inspiration from the worlds, characters, places and ideas of JRR Tolkien, then smash it together into a fantastic jam.Always Learning════════════I'm a strong believer in continuous improvement and always trying to learn something new. I got to experiment with a couple of the modes on the DivSkip I built recently. This module has a lot to it and I’m looking forward to leaning more in the next few weeks.My DIY Synth Rules ════════════I aim to meet the following criteria when adding modules to my synth:◦ I must have constructed it. This can be a kit or from scratch but I must have soldered it◦ The audio signal path should be analog. I'm trying to avoid digital modules so I can learn more about analog electronics◦ Learn something new Try to learn something while constructing the module. Learn about the circuits, experiment with different signal processing options. Be creative.◦ Have fun
HWJ Secret Santa 2024 (for Oki) AtticP 2025-01-01 | My submission for the Hardware Jams Secret Santa 2024.In the HWJ Secret Santa we each get given the name of another jammer who has also entered and the festive challenge is to make a jam in the style of that Jammer and / or as a tribute to them. This year I got to make a jam for Oki youtube.com/@oki_musicIt was a huge honour to jam a present for one of my favourite jammers. I love the variety of sounds and styles Oki can get out of his 303 and so had to include some acid flavour in this jam.One of Oki’s jams that has been stuck in my head since it was made, was his track “I feel nananana”(youtube.com/watch?v=i5PRMERUUR4) So I decided to jam a remix of this as my gift.I tried to replicate a 303 acid sound on my modular synth, grabbed a vocal sample from the original track and then used one of my favourite techniques to do some vocal chopping on the MTM Radio Music. My new Frequency Central Gnat Filter is great for making acid sounds and that was the other key module in this jam.So here is my gift for Oki“I feel nananana (AtticP bootleg)” Thank you Oki for your inspirational jams in 2024.Keep on Jamming!I look forward to hearing many more of your jams in 2025 and beyond.
Hairy Scary Goblin Fairy AtticP 2024-11-09 | My submission for the Hardware Jams “Noise” Weekend Challenge.It’s been a few weeks since my last jam, so it was really good to get back to jamming. I based this patch around my zlob S&H module which also has various colours of noise available. I patched these around various places in the synth and used them as the basis for drums, lead sounds, bass… basically as many parts of this track as possible. I also patched in various distortion and chaos modules and a couple of feedback loops to add extra layers of noisy crunchiness, and used the Elmyra 2 with feedback and a harsh distortion to add even more noisiness.This week’s challenge prompt:Greetings Jammers!It's November and that can mean only one thing- it's NoisevemberWe are surrounded by noise, this weekend let's incorporate some of this into our jams.How you interpret this is up to you - you could use field recordings, use white noise for high hats or create a full Harsh Noise Wall drone.Always Learning════════════I'm a strong believer in continuous improvement and always trying to learn something new. This week I experimented with using coloured noise as the basis for creating various sounds.My DIY Synth Rules ════════════I aim to meet the following criteria when adding modules to my synth:◦ I must have constructed it. This can be a kit or from scratch but I must have soldered it◦ The audio signal path should be analog. I'm trying to avoid digital modules so I can learn more about analog electronics◦ Learn something new Try to learn something while constructing the module. Learn about the circuits, experiment with different signal processing options. Be creative.◦ Have fun
LDRise (Short HWJ Version) AtticP 2024-10-06 | My submission for the Hardware Jams “Jams at Dawn” Weekend Challenge.I am not a morning person! But this week’s challenge prompt inspired me to get up at silly o’clock in the morning, head down to the beach and jam while the sun rose.I wanted to make the sunrise part of the music so I connected a light dependent resistor to the Elmyra 2’s distortion customisation port. As the sun rose the amount of light increased and so more light fell on the LDR. This changed the harshness of the distortion over the course of the jam with the sound becoming less dark as the jam went on. This video is a shortened version of the full jam to fit the HWJ challenge 5 minute time limit. You can view the full jam here: youtu.be/fqeewQAQVlw This week’s challenge prompt:Goooooood Morning Jamfam!The HWJ admin team were greeted this morning by two wonderful photographs, of the sunrise today. This week’s challenge is a “picture-to-jam” challenge: we would like you to make a jam inspired by one, or both of these pictures.Will you pick a side? Will you balance the two? Which sunrise suits your mood better and what music does it inspire?Always Learning════════════I'm a strong believer in continuous improvement and always trying to learn something new. This week I set up a portable rig and jammed outside in the wild!!
LDRise AtticP 2024-10-06 | I am not a morning person! But I was inspired by the Hardware Jams weekend challenge prompt “Jams at Dawn” to get up at silly o’clock in the morning, head down to the beach and jam while the sun rose.I wanted to make the sunrise part of the music so I connected a light dependent resistor to the Elmyra 2’s distortion customisation port. As the sun rose the amount of light increased and so more light fell on the LDR. This changed the harshness of the distortion over the course of the jam with the sound becoming less dark as the jam went on. I hope you enjoy this noisy drone to welcome in the new day.Always Learning════════════I'm a strong believer in continuous improvement and always trying to learn something new. This week I set up a portable rig and jammed outside in the wild!!
La Vida es Hermosa AtticP 2024-09-29 | My submission for the Hardware Jams “Iberian Nights” Weekend Challenge.Chilling out on the beach as the sun rises. Listening to fantastic music with friends. What could be better? Life is beautiful.Those are the thoughts and feelings behind this jam. It lead to a chilled out vibe, but I couldn’t help include a bit of an acid lead line too. I’ve been having too much fun with the Gnatophilidae Oxfordii filter. It’s able to create some wonderfully squelchy acid sounds when you have the resonance turned up and I really enjoyed playing it in this jam.LyricsEsta playa es hermosa. Esta música es hermosa. La vida es hermosa.(This beach is beautiful. This music is beautiful. Life is beautiful)My apologies if the Spanish translation is poor, I used automated translation as my Spanish is terrible.This week’s challenge prompt:This weekends Challenge! Iberian Nights - Sangrias at the ready, Castanet clackers controlled, Flamenco dancers standby and Ibiza partygoers hold onto your bucket hats! It's a chance to celebrate spanish style music! (I'm not biased, I promise!)We want to hear your salsa dipped jams for this weekends challenge, all BPMs and all genres welcome as long as it's got a Spanish twist!Always Learning════════════I'm a strong believer in continuous improvement and always trying to learn something new. This week I spent time familiarising myself with my new filter some more and experimenting with what sounds it could create.
Amen Omen AtticP 2024-09-22 | My submission for the Hardware Jams “Heavenly Beats and Hellish Pads” Weekend Challenge.Surely there is only one beat that can be counted as “heavenly”… The Amen break!So that is the drum pattern this jam is built around. I also tried to created a “heavenly beat” by also triggering an Angelic Choir patch also using the Amen pattern. Each drum sound is mapped to a different note of the angel choir, which is how the jam starts.Hellish pads were curtesy of the Elmyra 2 and the arp line was from my analog modular synth. I have recently built a Gnatophilidae Oxfordii filter from Frequency Central and had a lot of fun learning what sounds this filter can create.It's been a while since I've been able to jam, so it was good to get back to creating some music again.This week’s challenge prompt:Well Jamfam, it is the Equinox this weekend - a time of balance in the changing seasons of our planet wherever you are. So this weekend's challenge is to balance some heavenly beats with some hellish pads. If you squeeze a cheeky reference to JMJ in there without sampling or ripping him off, then more power to you but no extra points!Always Learning════════════I'm a strong believer in continuous improvement and always trying to learn something new. This week I experimented with a technique using the beatstep’s drum channel midi output to polyphonically trigger the choir patch on my Yamaha YS100. This worked quite well and gives you 16 semitones to play with which limits it’s usefulness a bit, but can be a useful way of getting an extra voice sequenced from the beatstep.My DIY Synth Rules ════════════I aim to meet the following criteria when adding modules to my synth:◦ I must have constructed it. This can be a kit or from scratch but I must have soldered it◦ The audio signal path should be analog. I'm trying to avoid digital modules so I can learn more about analog electronics◦ Learn something new Try to learn something while constructing the module. Learn about the circuits, experiment with different signal processing options. Be creative.◦ Have fun
Pulsars AtticP 2024-08-23 | An ambient jam on my Elmyra 2. Patch Notes════════════For this jam I investigated softening the sound of the Elmyra 2. I turned off the saturation of the voices and chose one of the cleaner wave tables for each voice. I set LFO 2 to a short pulse and then copied it to LFO 1. I set the two lfos at different frequencies and used them to trigger two of the voices. Finally I used the 9-TET tuning and added a big reverb for a spacey feel. Always Learning════════════I'm a strong believer in continuous improvement and always trying to learn something new. In this jam I experimented with the microtuning on the Elmyra 2 and with using a less saturated sound palette.
Rhythmic Elmyra AtticP 2024-08-18 | Sometimes you just want to scream! So I put together this screamy rhythmic patch on my Neutral Labs Elmyra 2. All the sounds are created on the Elmyra and there are a couple of key parts of this patch. Firstly setting the Mod to low pass filter (pink) allows you to filter out the audio of the voices by turning the mod knob fully counter clockwise. I set voice 2 to the shorted envelope and then filtered out the audio with the mod lpf. I then patched the envelope through the attenuator into the tone of voice 1, which allowed me to shape a drum sound. Voice 1 and 2 were both triggered by lfo 2 patched into the gate input.I am also using a custom vactrol expansion card in the distortion which allowed me to use another copy of voice 2’s envelope to shape the distortion in a rhythmic way.I set up the filter to scream with resonance and started jamming.Always Learning════════════I'm a strong believer in continuous improvement and always trying to learn something new. In this jam I experimented with patching the Elmyra to create rhythms.
AtticP - Hardware Jams Fest 2024 AtticP 2024-08-10 | My Industrial Techno set for the Hardware Jams Fest 2024.My DIY Synth Rules ════════════I aim to meet the following criteria when adding modules to my synth:◦ I must have constructed it. This can be a kit or from scratch but I must have soldered it◦ The audio signal path should be analog. I'm trying to avoid digital modules so I can learn more about analog electronics◦ Learn something new Try to learn something while constructing the module. Learn about the circuits, experiment with different signal processing options. Be creative.◦ Have fun
Angels and Gargoyles AtticP 2024-08-04 | My submission for the Hardware Jams “Architecture” Weekend Challenge.The inspiration for my jam this week is the stone gargoyles and angel figures that you find on many old churches. I love that the gargoyles were where the stone workers got to have a bit of fun and created all sorts of characters to protect the building, some fierce, some funny, some downright wacky.It was also new module time again this week as I’ve added the Kassutronics Quantizer to my system. I patched in a couple of lfos at different frequencies and then set the A cv to rotate the scale, which was connected to the beatstep. This allowed me to change the key of the arps at points in the jam. I’ve also recently repaired my YS100 keyboard so set up some 4op FM bells to represent the bells on the churches many gargoyles are found on.I hope you enjoy this jam!This week’s challenge prompt:The idea this week is to create a jam, inspired by your favourite buildings around the world. Take an architectural masterpiece, or even a small architect work that inspires you and make the perfect jam for that building, something that can really be put inside of it and be played through the hi-fi system! The building can be a cathedral, a monument building like the Empire State building, the only requirement is that it needs to be a building.Always Learning════════════I'm a strong believer in continuous improvement and always trying to learn something new. I’ve built a few modules recently so spent time learning the basic functionality of the quantizer module. I also learnt how to use the record/playback functionality on the Elmyra 2 which is providing the bass in this jam.My DIY Synth Rules ════════════I aim to meet the following criteria when adding modules to my synth:◦ I must have constructed it. This can be a kit or from scratch but I must have soldered it◦ The audio signal path should be analog. I'm trying to avoid digital modules so I can learn more about analog electronics◦ Learn something new Try to learn something while constructing the module. Learn about the circuits, experiment with different signal processing options. Be creative.◦ Have fun
Claustrophobia AtticP 2024-07-27 | My submission for the Hardware Jams “Claustrophobic” Weekend Challenge.It’s new synth time! I recently finished building a Neural Labs Elmyra 2 kit which is a really interesting digital / analog hybrid synth which is really good at drones and noisy textures. I enjoyed experimenting with the Elmyra and finding sounds for this jam. I also used my Wirehead FreqFm in drone mode and patched it in to the audio input of the Elmyra. I added a spacious reverb and then applied a low pass filter which slowly closes throughout the jam to create a claustrophobic atmosphere, by making it feel like the surroundings are slowly closing in. This week’s challenge prompt:Long winding tunnnels, caves where the walls are too close for comfort, a cramped lift. This week we are looking for jams that make you feel like you are in a tight, cramped space. Focus on tension and dynamics to convey the feeling of being trapped, searching for the light at the end of the tunnel.
Sea and Sky AtticP 2024-07-07 | My submission for the Hardware Jams “That’s the Wrong Patch” Weekend Challenge.This week was a lot of fun, patching sounds in unusual ways. Patch/Sound breakdown is as follows:Bass/Bed - I used pink noise for the basis of this sound which was passed through a bandpass filter and phaser both of which had their cutoff frequencies controlled by the bass pitch from the beatstep. I set the resonance of both filters quite high to emphasise the note frequencies which resulted in the wind-like sounds.Kick Drum - This was made using a feedback loop through overdrive which was then fed through a low pass filter and vca. Both filter and vca were controlled by the same snappy envelope to make the kick.Arp - I used my drumbs modules for the arp as you can tune the main pulse of the drum sounds quite high so tuned three modules to different pitches which are then triggered from the beatstep to sound like an arp.Glitchy Birds - The default soundbank for the MTM radio music is a birdsong sample. This is usually my “Oh no” moment when I’ve switched to the wrong station by holding the reset button for too long. So it was only fitting to use that sample as the lead in this jam. I used a sample and hold to randomly pick start positions in the sample and then triggered it rhythmically. What a great opportunity for trying new techniques and finding happy accidents.This week’s challenge prompt:That’s the Wrong Patch! Oh no, you seem to have picked the wrong sounds for your jam. These are not the patches you were looking for! But maybe you can make it work? Play a jam with some ridiculously out of place sounds: plucks where pads should be, melodies played with drum sounds, a hihat made from a bass patch, chords made with a subbass, a 303 line made from duck samples… Look for strange and unusual choices in sound design and in choosing samples and sounds. Make these work in your jam.Always Learning════════════I'm a strong believer in continuous improvement and always trying to learn something new. This week was full of trying new things (see patch notes above).My DIY Eurorack Synth Rules ══════════════I aim to meet the following criteria when adding modules to my synth:◦ I must have constructed it. This can be a kit or from scratch but I must have soldered it◦ The audio signal path should be analog. I'm trying to avoid digital modules so I can learn more about analog electronics◦ Learn something new Try to learn something while constructing the module. Learn about the circuits, experiment with different signal processing options. Be creative.◦ Have fun
Fire AtticP 2024-06-23 | My submission for the Hardware Jams “Techno” Weekend Challenge.I’ve always leaned towards the harder techno sounds. Pounding kick drums, industrial sounds and weird and wonderful vocal samples. So that’s what I’ve tried to create this week. Although I’m still getting used to my new headphones and my mix is a bit bass heavy at the moment.This week’s challenge prompt:This week, we’re getting focused on genres. And one that is close to my heart, Techno. What constitutes “Techno” typically depends a lot on the time period you are thinking about. Be it from the early days, the pre-daw days, the Detroit days, the acid days, there are all kinds of sub-genres and closely matched styles. And nowadays what the folks on TikTok classify as ‘techno’ might not match with what we understand it to mean.Originally, Techno was not even based around a specific sound, it was created as a nod to Technology, and music that had a Sound that was more linked with the ideas of Technology, futurism and wanting to distance itself from other electronic music types of the time such as House. And the Detroit techno pioneers took the new technology, made a sound their own, and the sound of techno developed, it also started to spread, creating new styles, Berlin Techno, Birmingham Sound Techno and so many more.So your challenge is to create a jam which sounds like what Techno means to you. Make a track that answers the question, ‘When someone says ‘Techno’ what does that sound like or mean to you?’ Make a track that you could give to somebody who asks, ‘What does Techno sound like?’Always Learning════════════I'm a strong believer in continuous improvement and always trying to learn something new. This week I patched some sidechaining to create the pulsating sounds so often found in techno and to allow the kick to come through load and clear. My DIY Eurorack Synth Rules ══════════════I aim to meet the following criteria when adding modules to my synth:◦ I must have constructed it. This can be a kit or from scratch but I must have soldered it◦ The audio signal path should be analog. I'm trying to avoid digital modules so I can learn more about analog electronics◦ Learn something new Try to learn something while constructing the module. Learn about the circuits, experiment with different signal processing options. Be creative.◦ Have fun
One Beat AtticP 2024-06-16 | My submission for the Hardware Jams “Sub 100/Over 200” Weekend Challenge.This jam is made entirely from one beat. I put together a feedback patch that needed some initial audio to start the feedback cycle. That input was one big kick drum. The main part of the feedback cycle is based around my spring reverb with various branches going through a couple of filters a phaser and a delay. There is lots of subtle (and not so subtle) modulation being provided by some standard lfos and a chaotic lfo these all add to the interesting textures and frequencies in this soundscape. It’s amazing what you can get from one kick drum :-)To make sure I was definitely within the challenge rules the delay/echo was set at around 60bpm which gives a lot of the rhythm to the drone. This week’s challenge prompt:This week's challenge, we want to hear your jams with your kit set to under 100bpm or over 200bpm. Simple.Always Learning════════════I'm a strong believer in continuous improvement and always trying to learn something new. This week I experimented more with patching feedback on the modular.My DIY Eurorack Synth Rules ══════════════I aim to meet the following criteria when adding modules to my synth:◦ I must have constructed it. This can be a kit or from scratch but I must have soldered it◦ The audio signal path should be analog. I'm trying to avoid digital modules so I can learn more about analog electronics◦ Learn something new Try to learn something while constructing the module. Learn about the circuits, experiment with different signal processing options. Be creative.◦ Have fun
The Elephants Journey AtticP 2024-06-02 | My submission for the Hardware Jams “Bring on the Heat” Weekend Challenge.This jam was a journey! I started trying to make some summery uk garage, but couldn’t get it to sound right. It’s quite hard to do syncopation in my current setup which is so vital to getting the bouncy feeling in garage. I gave up and tried halving the tempo added some reverb and this more chilled jam was born. Imagine sitting in the shade of a tree watching the elephants go by.This week’s challenge prompt:As summer season approaches in the northern hemisphere of the world.Bring on the HEAT!!!Give us your belters, your blaster, your eardrum destroyers of jams!No BPM limitations, no genres limitations.Always Learning════════════I'm a strong believer in continuous improvement and always trying to learn something new. This week I spent time studying uk garage drum patterns to then end up using a really simplified one slowed down. Sometimes we don’t end up using the knowledge we have learnt straight away, but I’m sure this will come in use later in my music journey.My DIY Eurorack Synth Rules ══════════════I aim to meet the following criteria when adding modules to my synth:◦ I must have constructed it. This can be a kit or from scratch but I must have soldered it◦ The audio signal path should be analog. I'm trying to avoid digital modules so I can learn more about analog electronics◦ Learn something new Try to learn something while constructing the module. Learn about the circuits, experiment with different signal processing options. Be creative.◦ Have fun
Chaotic Feedback AtticP 2024-05-05 | My submission for the Hardware Jams “3 Body Problem” Weekend Challenge.A chaotic system of interconnected feedback loops. Sounds like time for a no input mixer jam to me.All the sounds in this jam were produced by patching feedback loops on my analogue mixing desk.Channel 1 & 2 were set as low frequency feedback pulses at slightly different rates. Setting them both to output to group 1/2 and then patching the output of group 1/2 to the channel inputs. Cutting highs and mids, boosting lows and setting the gain really high results in the low frequency pulses.I the set up feedback loops on Aux 1/2 to channels 3/4 that were just below the point of self oscillation and then pinged them with a mixture of the pulses from 1 & 2.Channel 5 was set as feedback from the left control room output of the mixer and channel 6 was patched as a feedback loop through a spring reverb from the right control room output of the mixer.The various channels were interacting with each other through small adjustments to Aux 1/2 or the main outputs of the desk.Then it’s a case of trying to tame the chaos and find some atmospheric moments.This week’s challenge prompt:Dear fellow jammers,We would love to kick off our 6th birthday with a sci-fi themed series of challenges inspired by the book, and TV-series 3 Body Problems.There are many scientific themes in the series that can be easily applied to our music and I would love to start with the main topic: 3 Body problems, a mathematical dilemma that is really difficult to solve, or even impossible. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-body_problem for an explanation.As the main issue, is gravity, this can be applied to our music by creating variations. For example, you can choose to use different LFO’s to control a single parameter, using various ENV’s or anything that you see fit, to create a little bit of chaos and variation to your jams.Always Learning════════════I'm a strong believer in continuous improvement and always trying to learn something new. While creating this video I tried a new no-input mixing pinging technique I came across recently.
Music for Synthesisers AtticP 2024-04-27 | My submission for the Hardware Jams “Polywotsits” Weekend Challenge.The main part of this jam was inspired by a technique Steve Reich uses in a lot of his music where you take two similar parts and change the tempo of one of them until they are offset from each other and then change tempo back to matching again. I did this by patching 2 clock signals one at 128bpm the other at 130bpm to a switch which triggered every 8 bars to change to the other tempo. This changing clock signal was sent to the swt16, but the beatstep pro stayed at 128bpm throughout the jam. I set up 2 simple arps with the same pattern and triggered one from the swt16 and the other from the beatstep. Then every 8 bars they would start to phase out of sync with each other resulting in a really interesting movement of patterns throughout the jam.Other polywotsits in this jam were then added by setting different step lengths to all the other percussion parts in the jam (I think nearly every part has a different length). This again resulted in shifting textures and patterns of the sounds.This week’s challenge prompt:Greetings jammers!And for your jamming challenge this weekend, we would like you to experiment with Polyrhythms, and/or polymeter - we can discuss at length what the difference between these is… (I’ll share some images below this comment), but basically Poly rhythm relates to conflicting rhythms within the same bar (e.g. playing triplet crotchets over four crotchets - a crotchet is also known as a quarter note in the US).You can choose to have many polyrhythmic/metric (hereby known as… Polywotsits!) elements in your jam, or just one. You can go with any genre you like…Always Learning════════════I'm a strong believer in continuous improvement and always trying to learn something new. This week I experimented with switching tempos of certain parts to phase the patterns between parts of the music.My DIY Eurorack Synth Rules ══════════════I aim to meet the following criteria when adding modules to my synth:◦ I must have constructed it. This can be a kit or from scratch but I must have soldered it◦ The audio signal path should be analog. I'm trying to avoid digital modules so I can learn more about analog electronics◦ Learn something new Try to learn something while constructing the module. Learn about the circuits, experiment with different signal processing options. Be creative.◦ Have fun
A Slow Amen AtticP 2024-04-20 | My submission for the Hardware Jams “4 Elements” Weekend Challenge.As I thought about this challenge I wondered, what would the Amen Break pattern sound like if you played it really slowly and swapped all the drums around? So that’s what I did. To give you an idea of how slow the amen pattern is, the bass drum is playing the ride symbol pattern. This completely changes the vibe of the pattern as we perceive a lot from the kick drum in music.I was going full space ambient at this point with a couple of arps (from the freqfm and modular) and a string pad on my Yamaha YS100 keyboard.I patched in some stereo movement with an lfo panning one arp and a sample & hold with long glide randomly panning the other and some other sounds.All played through a huge reverb and you have this jam. I hope you enjoy it.This week’s challenge prompt:Hello Jammers and Happy Friday!For this weekend I want you to make a jam with these four elements.• Arps• Amen style breaks• Big reverbs• Playful stereo imagingYou’re free to pick any genre, any style, any tempo!Always Learning════════════I'm a strong believer in continuous improvement and always trying to learn something new. This week I tried layering multiple drums together to make a huge bass drum sound.My DIY Eurorack Synth Rules ══════════════I aim to meet the following criteria when adding modules to my synth:◦ I must have constructed it. This can be a kit or from scratch but I must have soldered it◦ The audio signal path should be analog. I'm trying to avoid digital modules so I can learn more about analog electronics◦ Learn something new Try to learn something while constructing the module. Learn about the circuits, experiment with different signal processing options. Be creative.◦ Have fun
Space AtticP 2024-04-07 | My submission for the Hardware Jams “Devils Comet” Weekend Challenge.I decided to go the soundscape route with this one. I’ve been investigating the Soma lyra-8 recently and was inspired by a talk by Vlad about his approach to synth design. This got me thinking about what could I make with the fewest components possible. Embracing the flaws in the simplistic designs of these circuits and using feedback to increase the complexity of sound that could be produced. And so I built this.Four saw-core oscillators based on the 40106 Schmitt-trigger inverter, each with a vactrol vca with an AR envelope provided from a buffered RC low pass filter. Then frequency modulated oscillators 1 & 2 with feedback from 3+4 and 3&4 with feedback from 1+2.I fed the output through some echo and reverb and had a lot of fun playing this new instrument.This week’s challenge prompt:There are events afoot in the skies above us... There is a major solar eclipse on Monday: total in North Amereica, partial in Europe. Also, the comet Pons-Brooks is at its closest to the Sun at the moment. This comet is also known as The Devil Comet! What could it all mean? Do these celestial happenings herald the end of the world? Do you find spiritual rebirth and joy in the re-emergence of the sun from the darkness of an eclipse? Why does a comet have horns like a devil? There are so may different ways in which you can take inspiration from the solar shenanigans; make us a jam which might be full of ominous foreboding, or joyful excitement, or cosmic wonder. Or a tune to pacify the devil as he gets off the comet for a look around your studio? Most importantly, have fun making your music!Always Learning════════════I'm a strong believer in continuous improvement and always trying to learn something new. This week I was back to breadboarding new circuits. I wanted to see what I could make with a few components as possible. I was really pleased with how the circuit came out and will continue to develop this concept.My DIY Eurorack Synth Rules ══════════════I aim to meet the following criteria when adding modules to my synth:◦ I must have constructed it. This can be a kit or from scratch but I must have soldered it◦ The audio signal path should be analog. I'm trying to avoid digital modules so I can learn more about analog electronics◦ Learn something new Try to learn something while constructing the module. Learn about the circuits, experiment with different signal processing options. Be creative.◦ Have fun
War Face AtticP 2024-03-30 | My submission for the Hardware Jams “Bass Face” Weekend Challenge.My bass face is definitely triggered by dirty dubstep, so for this challenge it was time to go dark and heavy. I patched up a dirty and distorted bass using the Tabor and went from there. Pairing this with some distorted samples and another overdriven bass resulted in this jam. I may have gone a bit bass heavy, but hey that was the challenge.This week’s challenge prompt:Hello Jammers! This weekend’s challenge will be a challenge for your neighbors too! I want you to make a jam that will trigger our BASSFACES on! Blast those low ends and make the walls move.Always Learning════════════I'm a strong believer in continuous improvement and always trying to learn something new. This week I experimented with rhythmically gating the Tabor and also sending the trigger output to the envelope of a separate sub oscillator. Overall I was pleased with the dirty bass sound this created.My DIY Eurorack Synth Rules ══════════════I aim to meet the following criteria when adding modules to my synth:◦ I must have constructed it. This can be a kit or from scratch but I must have soldered it◦ The audio signal path should be analog. I'm trying to avoid digital modules so I can learn more about analog electronics◦ Learn something new Try to learn something while constructing the module. Learn about the circuits, experiment with different signal processing options. Be creative.◦ Have fun
Be Like Water AtticP 2024-03-24 | My submission for the Hardware Jams “Water” Weekend Challenge.I used some samples from an interview with Bruce Lee as the inspiration for this jam. I then set up some brown noise waves and played with my newly built Freaq Fm to find some fun sounds. It has a generative sequencer in it and so is a case of taming the randomness, which is a really fun way of improvising. It was great to get back to a jam after a few weeks and to wear my new JamFam t-shirt too. “Be like water my friend” - Bruce LeeThis week’s challenge prompt:Greetings Jammers! Happy Friday! Today is ‘World Water day’ so what better way to celebrate than by creating some water-inspired jams. How you choose to interpret this is up to you. You might use the sounds of a dripping tap, or a waterfall, or rainfall to add some ambience. Or you might choose to be inspired by a body of water you love, or a Watersport you enjoy. Or you might create something that sounds like it was recorded underwater. It’s up to you! How will you choose to celebrate this precious resource we have?Always Learning════════════I'm a strong believer in continuous improvement and always trying to learn something new. This week I explored the Freaq FM and had a lot of fun jamming with it.My DIY Eurorack Synth Rules ══════════════I aim to meet the following criteria when adding modules to my synth:◦ I must have constructed it. This can be a kit or from scratch but I must have soldered it◦ The audio signal path should be analog. I'm trying to avoid digital modules so I can learn more about analog electronics◦ Learn something new Try to learn something while constructing the module. Learn about the circuits, experiment with different signal processing options. Be creative.◦ Have fun
An Hour in Space AtticP 2024-02-25 | My submission for the Hardware Jams “Moon Landing Challenge” Weekend Challenge.One hour to make a spacey jam with 2 instruments. I set the timer and patched from scratch. I spent the first 10 minutes messing about with the delay and reverb as for some reason the delay was misbehaving, got there in the end though. I created a swirling noise bed to set the atmosphere and then used the Jolin Tabor through a low pass filter to add more texture. Finally I added some randomly triggered pings and then was ready to jam. I slowly moved filter cutoffs and volumes of the various elements throughout the jam to keep the textures and atmosphere evolving throughout.As for the aliens, they were soothed by the calming alien messages sent from the Tabor and went into a hibernation cycle, thus postponing earth’s doom for another day!This week’s challenge prompt:You have just landed on the moon again....and find you are not alone!Due to the small area in the space craft, you were only allowed 2 instruments... (Or 2 rows of modular😝)You are also restricted by oxygen meaning that your jam can not take longer than an hour to make and film!It's important to make friends with the aliens because you have noticed they have already have collected junk that the earth has sent their way n are constructing a weapon for earths doom!5 mins you have to impress them we are worth saving!Always Learning════════════I'm a strong believer in continuous improvement and always trying to learn something new. This week was a great opportunity to practice patching quickly and putting voices together on the fly.My DIY Eurorack Synth Rules ══════════════I aim to meet the following criteria when adding modules to my synth:◦ I must have constructed it. This can be a kit or from scratch but I must have soldered it◦ The audio signal path should be analog. I'm trying to avoid digital modules so I can learn more about analog electronics◦ Learn something new Try to learn something while constructing the module. Learn about the circuits, experiment with different signal processing options. Be creative.◦ Have fun
Seven Cable AtticP 2024-02-18 | My submission for the Hardware Jams “Seven Cables” Weekend Challenge.Wow this one was tough! It normally takes me more than 7 cables to patch a single voice, so I had to get creative for this one.Using filter pinging, meant that I could get a playable note without using a VCA or Oscillator and thus reduce the number of cables required down to 3. One for CV to the filter cutoff, One for a trigger to the audio input of the filter, and one for output. By sending the gate to the audio input of a filter that is set very close to self resonance you can trigger it to resonate for a short time and select notes using the filter cutoff. This left me with 4 cables to use. The output from the pinged filter is a pure sine wave so I used an additional cable route this through an overdrive to give the sound a bit more character and then used this 4 cable patch as my bass sound.3 cables to go..I used 2 of them for an effects send/return from the mixer to a distortion module so I could add varying amount of distortion to the instruments.And the final cable was used to connect to my kallimba which has a contact microphone in it. This was multipurposed as a kalimba, a microphone and a kick drum (by tapping the back of the kalimba)And then this rather silly jam was born…This week’s challenge prompt:Greetings Jammers. It is definitely about time for a technical Weekend Challenge. So, in homage to our Anthem we would like you to give yourself an earworm and hum "wiring audio MIDI and power" to yourself all weekend.Just kidding.The Challenge is as follows: We want to see you use EXACTLY SEVEN audio, MIDI, CV or Gate cables - any combination of these will do, creative solutions encouraged.We don't care about the power cables. We also don't care about any cables that are involved once the sound reaches your mixing desk or recording system or whatever. We are only interested in the cables you use to connect your instruments together to make this jam.Lyrics════════════I’m gonna patch it upA seven cable challenge couldn’t stop me nowI’m trying to figure outWhat to use or more importantly howA kalimba with a contact micThat will see me throughAnd I’m looking at this big red knob Wondering what to doAnd the message coming from on high says leave it alone———Don’t want to hear excuses Grab your seven cables and give them hellGrace wants to hear about itWhere did you plug them, oh please do tellAnd when it comes to evening on MondayWe’re gonna stream it to youThat might not be what you want to hearBut it’s what we do And a feeling coming from my bones says this is homeAlways Learning════════════I'm a strong believer in continuous improvement and always trying to learn something new. This week I was able to revisit pinging the Frequency Central State 700 filter and make a couple of improvements to get the cv tracking a bit better.My DIY Eurorack Synth Rules ══════════════I aim to meet the following criteria when adding modules to my synth:◦ I must have constructed it. This can be a kit or from scratch but I must have soldered it◦ The audio signal path should be analog. I'm trying to avoid digital modules so I can learn more about analog electronics◦ Learn something new Try to learn something while constructing the module. Learn about the circuits, experiment with different signal processing options. Be creative.◦ Have fun
Roaches AtticP 2024-02-11 | My submission for the Hardware Jams “Cockroaches” Weekend Challenge.For this jam I tried to create the clicking of cockroaches using the roll functionality on my drumbs modules. I set the 3 modules to slightly different roll speed for the clicks and then set different polyrhythmic patterns on the beatstep pro for each module. This combined with some randomness on the beatstep created a wonderfully creepy set of clicks noises.I then built a detuned drone with all my oscillators and added some more percussive textures with the Tabor.I envision the clicks sounds being walking cockroaches in the cell and the buzzy drone being flying cockroaches, adding to the nightmare fuel. This week’s challenge prompt:This week our story from the past two weeks comes to its epic and ridiculous end. So you decided to steal that kebab after a night of partying. Despite your best efforts of running away, you’re caught by the police and find yourself in jail. What’s worse, your cell is crawling with COCKROACHES! What happens next is up to you. Maybe you make a jam that makes the cockroaches dance, even tames them to be your friends. Maybe your jam is the jingle of the exterminator company that comes to your rescue. Maybe you start stomping them dead with a powerful kick laying down the beat. Maybe you’re still hungry and you decide to eat the bugs, which takes your mind (and jam) to some exotic locations. Or maybe make the creepiest jam exploring the unsettling vibes of your cockroach infested cell. (Watch or read Naked Lunch for some creepy cockroach psychedelia). This challenge is wide open to interpretations, so play around with it and have fun!Always Learning════════════I'm a strong believer in continuous improvement and always trying to learn something new. This week I revisited the roll functionality on the drumbs and also tried using the rampage as a slew rate limiter.My DIY Eurorack Synth Rules ══════════════I aim to meet the following criteria when adding modules to my synth:◦ I must have constructed it. This can be a kit or from scratch but I must have soldered it◦ The audio signal path should be analog. I'm trying to avoid digital modules so I can learn more about analog electronics◦ Learn something new Try to learn something while constructing the module. Learn about the circuits, experiment with different signal processing options. Be creative.◦ Have fun
The Chase AtticP 2024-02-04 | My submission for the Hardware Jams “The Kebab Chase” Weekend Challenge.This jam took its own journey as I was struggling to get the sound design to match what I had in my head. But came up with some fun sounds anyway which took me in a different direction. I embraced this and came up with this unusual jam that uses rhythmic silence to add some tension into our chase scene. I had fun making it, I hope you have fun listening.This jam also features a new addition to my studio. I recently bought a Yamaha YS100 synth (which is a 4op digital fm synth), it needs the internal battery changed before I can save custom patches, so I’ll be repairing that soon. But, I used one of the built-in patches to add another texture to this jam and try it out.This week’s challenge prompt:Hello Jammers and happy Friday!So…at the end you didn’t manage to resist and you grabbed that Kebab!!! You tried to sneak out but you got spotted!! Now a big chase is going on and you must RUN!!! Will you escape and taste the spoils or you gonna be busted? Make a jam that describes that chase and let the jam fam decide if you made it! Always Learning════════════I'm a strong believer in continuous improvement and always trying to learn something new. This week I continued experimenting with the Jolin Tabor using it to modulate the main bass sound in this jam.My DIY Eurorack Synth Rules ══════════════I aim to meet the following criteria when adding modules to my synth:◦ I must have constructed it. This can be a kit or from scratch but I must have soldered it◦ The audio signal path should be analog. I'm trying to avoid digital modules so I can learn more about analog electronics◦ Learn something new Try to learn something while constructing the module. Learn about the circuits, experiment with different signal processing options. Be creative.◦ Have fun
Four Spoonfuls AtticP 2024-01-28 | My submission for the Hardware Jams “Kebob” Weekend Challenge.It’s new module time!!! I’ve just finished building a Jolin Tabor, which is a chaotic oscillator, perfect for making dirty noises for a dirty kebob challenge. All the melodic sounds (if you can call them that) in this jam were made with the Tabor. It was great fun experimenting with this module and trying to control the chaos.I also decided to take Sam up on the offer of a falafel option for this challenge and used samples from one of my favourite poets, Harry Baker (youtube.com/@harrybakerpoetry) who has written a poem about falafel spoons (Falafellöffel). I loaded the samples into the MTM Radio Music and triggered them sequentially from the arp unit I built last week. I connected the clock of the arp to a drum trigger on the beatstep so I could manually select the samples I wanted to be played and trigger them from the beatstep.So in this heavy, dirty jam, we attempt to answer the question “How much falafel is too much falafel?”This week’s challenge prompt:Good night out, just got back from that your favourite music gig. You're in the kebaby drooling over that spit of Donner meat (chicken or falafel options available), contemplating if you're pissed/stupid/both enough to steal that spit of meat/falafel and run it home and a song comes on the radio that stops you. Make that song!Always Learning════════════I'm a strong believer in continuous improvement and always trying to learn something new. This week I got to grips with the MTM Radio Music module and the new ARP module I built this week.My DIY Synth Rules ════════════I aim to meet the following criteria when adding modules to my synth:◦ I must have constructed it. This can be a kit or from scratch but I must have soldered it◦ The audio signal path should be analog. I'm trying to avoid digital modules so I can learn more about analog electronics◦ Learn something new Try to learn something while constructing the module. Learn about the circuits, experiment with different signal processing options. Be creative.◦ Have fun
Techno Lilt AtticP 2024-01-22 | My submission for the Hardware Jams “EMOM” Weekend Challenge.Having just build a new mini case out of some old warped skirting board it was funny to have a challenge about only using what you could carry. My main case is a flight case so I recon I could carry both to the gig. This was also a great challenge for me this year as I am making some changes to my setup to help with live playing. A couple of which made their way into the system for this challenge.The first is a new module I’ve built an ARP designed by Hagiwo (youtube.com/channel/UCxErrnnVNEAAXPZvQFwobQw) who has a great diy eurorack channel. I tried a point-to-point (dead bug) construction for this and was pleased that it worked first time! It’s a very useful tool to have in the case and gives me another sequencing option other than the beatstep.The second change is that I reprogrammed my MTM Chord Organ back to being a Radio Music. I built the module as a Chord Organ, but it didn’t quite do what I wanted. So time to have some fun chopping up samples with the Radio Music instead. For this piece I sampled some of the wonderful Absolute Lilt (youtube.com/@ABSOLUTELILT) and then chopped it up roughly in audacity and loaded the samples on to the Radio Music. I used the velocity on the beatstep to find the points in the samples I wanted and had a lot of fun making funky chopped up grooves.This week’s challenge prompt:EMOMs (Electronic Music Open Mic) events are spreading over the UK and the world! Created by Martin Christie , they are the perfect excuse for us jammers to get out of our synth dungeons. This week we're all going to an EMOM, usually 15 mins, we want your first 5 minutes of a set!However.....the man who was going to take you and you're entire studio just called to say the van has broken down! Therefore you are only allowed to use what you can physically carry!Remember you're representing HWJs😁 and have fun!!!Always Learning════════════I'm a strong believer in continuous improvement and always trying to learn something new. This week I got to grips with the MTM Radio Music module and the new ARP module I built this week.My DIY Synth Rules ════════════I aim to meet the following criteria when adding modules to my synth:◦ I must have constructed it. This can be a kit or from scratch but I must have soldered it◦ The audio signal path should be analog. I'm trying to avoid digital modules so I can learn more about analog electronics◦ Learn something new Try to learn something while constructing the module. Learn about the circuits, experiment with different signal processing options. Be creative.◦ Have fun
Faces in Places AtticP 2024-01-07 | My submission for the Hardware Jams “Picture Challenge 2024 - Harmony” Weekend Challenge.It would appear that really cool surrealist paintings inspire me to create… creepy dubstep :-)At the back of the picture the two windows and bed look like a face, this reminded me of a fun photography challenge to find faces in places. Car headlights, handbag clasps, we humans find patterns that remind us of faces in all sorts of places. This concept also inspired me to write some poetry which I included as whispered lyrics on the track. This week’s challenge prompt:Happy new Year fellow Jammers,First challenge of the year will be one of my favourite PICTURE CHALLENGE whoooop hoop.This is a picture from the artist Remedios Varo titled Harmony – 1956 (surrealism I’m inclined to think) (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remedios_Varo)The challenge is to draw inspiration from the picture, interpret it and translate it into your music. Many elements spark my attention looking at the picture, for instance the “objects” on the pentagram (are they actually a melody?), the muses (????) in the walls, the tiles on the floor lifted as if they were organ (or wah-wah) pedals. Get inspired by it.Lyrics════════════I see faces in places there should not be facesThe shapes and the spaces all turn in to facesThey whisper and offer their lies and delusionsThe clamour and noise it all adds to confusionThey twist and distort.They divide and distract.They pollute and destroy before you can react.But in all of the questions, in all of the choices,the faces that hauntare the ones without voices.Always Learning════════════I'm a strong believer in continuous improvement and always trying to learn something new. In this jam I experimented with doubling vocals. I recorded two separate takes of the vocals and panned them left and right. This adds to the movement and creepy textures in the vocal tracks and I’m really happy with how it turned out.My DIY Synth Rules ════════════I aim to meet the following criteria when adding modules to my synth:◦ I must have constructed it. This can be a kit or from scratch but I must have soldered it◦ The audio signal path should be analog. I'm trying to avoid digital modules so I can learn more about analog electronics◦ Learn something new Try to learn something while constructing the module. Learn about the circuits, experiment with different signal processing options. Be creative.◦ Have fun
HWJ Secret Santa 2023 (for InHindsightAus) AtticP 2024-01-02 | My submission for the Hardware Jams Secret Santa 2023.In the HWJ Secret Santa we each get given the name of another jammer who has also entered and the festive challenge is to make a jam in the style of that Jammer and / or as a tribute to them. This year I got to make a jam for InHindsightAus. instagram.com/inhindsightausThey are a very talented guitarist and their jams usually involve setting up a groove on the MC303 and then shredding along with it.I am not a guitarist (I don’t even own a guitar) and I don’t have an MC303… but I used this as inspiration for the approach to this jam, set up a groove on the modular and then jam along. I have an electric ukulele so I plugged that into the modular, fed it through some overdrive and distortion and jammed as best I could. Which reinforced how good a guitarist InHindsight is!Part way through the jam I’ve added a little bit of a twist, by patching the Befaco rampage as an envelope follower and then using the ukulele’s envelope as the envelope for the bass. Thus creating a synth bass ukulele. The existence of this weird fusion synth bass ukulele is my Christmas gift to you and the world :-)Thank you InHindsightAus for your inspirational jams in 2023.Keep on Jamming!I look forward to hearing many more of your jams in 2024 and beyond.Always Learning════════════I'm a strong believer in continuous improvement and always trying to learn something new. While creating this video I experimented with setting up the rampage as an envelope follower and then used the envelope from a ukulele as the envelope for the bass patch. My DIY Synth Rules ════════════I aim to meet the following criteria when adding modules to my synth:◦ I must have constructed it. This can be a kit or from scratch but I must have soldered it◦ The audio signal path should be analog. I'm trying to avoid digital modules so I can learn more about analog electronics◦ Learn something new Try to learn something while constructing the module. Learn about the circuits, experiment with different signal processing options. Be creative.◦ Have fun
Circuit Gas - The Gamelan Resonator AtticP 2023-12-10 | My submission for the Hardware Jams “GAS” Weekend Challenge.As a DIY enthusiast my GAS is often over a particular circuit I want to build. In this case I’ve been wanting to make a Gamelan Resonator circuit for quite a while. Developed by Paul DeMarinis for his Pygmy Gamelan the original circuit can be found here: pauldemarinis.org/images/ImagesMiscellaneous/pygmy%20gamelan%20circuit%201973.jpg.This seemed like the perfect weekend to get this circuit built on some breadboard and connected to the synth. I have taken 4 of the resonators and am triggering them from the beatstep pro drum channels. This allows me to be able to control the melody or use the beatstep pro’s random functionality if I want.It seems I’ve used up my stocks of op amps at the moment and only had a few TL084 chips left, so I used them in the circuit and they still sounded great. I want to switch back to TL074s when I’ve ordered some more… and so the circuit GAS continues!!This week’s challenge prompt:GAS GAS GAS! Greetings jammers! It’s GAS time, (or Gear Acquisition Syndrome for those of you who have not yet been afflicted by this). The constant desire to buy a new machine, synth, pedal, mixer, stand, cable. All those shiny boxes and twinkly lights, so very tempting. Your challenge this weekend is to create a jam which features the latest piece of music making equipment you have bought, whatever it is, doesn’t need to be a synth, could be a pedal or anything. Let’s see and hear what the last thing to entice you to spend your synth tokens on. Any genre, any style, as many or as few boxes/synths as you need. Just show of your new gear and see if you can incite GAS in the other jammers!Always Learning════════════I'm a strong believer in continuous improvement and always trying to learn something new. This week I built a Gamelan Resonator circuit and spent some time experimenting with different component values to find the sounds I wanted.My DIY Synth Rules ════════════I aim to meet the following criteria when adding modules to my synth:◦ I must have constructed it. This can be a kit or from scratch but I must have soldered it◦ The audio signal path should be analog. I'm trying to avoid digital modules so I can learn more about analog electronics◦ Learn something new Try to learn something while constructing the module. Learn about the circuits, experiment with different signal processing options. Be creative.◦ Have fun
Hardware Will Never Die AtticP 2023-12-03 | My submission for the Hardware Jams “Full Speed” Weekend Challenge.Time for some speedcore then! Mostly at 222bpm with a heavy kick to rattle your brain. I tried to put together a supersaw style lead, but with very few oscillators this involved a few tricks, such as mixing in a PWM pulse wave to add more movement in the sound, and adding slight frequency modulation to simulate the way your ears pick out different frequencies in a supersaw as the waves overlap. Overall I was quite happy with how much I managed to thicken the sound from 2 oscillators by using lots of these tricks.This week’s challenge prompt:Hello Jammers!!! For this week’s challenge I want you to raise your BPM! Go FULL SPEED. Your lower limit is 180bpm, there is no roof, go as fast as you like. No cheating half-speeds or time gimmicks’ 😊 you need to go fast!Always Learning════════════I'm a strong believer in continuous improvement and always trying to learn something new. This week I learnt a new technique of mixing a square wave with a saw wave to emphasise a lower harmonic in the saw and then using PWM on the square to add a pseudo detune effect.My DIY Synth Rules ════════════I aim to meet the following criteria when adding modules to my synth:◦ I must have constructed it. This can be a kit or from scratch but I must have soldered it◦ The audio signal path should be analog. I'm trying to avoid digital modules so I can learn more about analog electronics◦ Learn something new Try to learn something while constructing the module. Learn about the circuits, experiment with different signal processing options. Be creative.◦ Have fun
Le Nouveau Onde AtticP 2023-11-26 | --- WARNING: CONTAINS FLASHING IMAGES ---My submission for the Hardware Jams “Classic Banger” Weekend Challenge.For this challenge I used some phrases from Le Onde by Ludovico Einaudi and set them over a glitchy trap beat. “Le Onde” translates to “The Way” and so I’ve titled this jam “The New Way”. I hope you enjoy my attempt at a classic banger!This week’s challenge prompt:Andy and Grace challenge you to take a motif, a rhythm, a theme, a passage from any piece of classical music that inspires you and make it your own in any way you like.Always Learning════════════I'm a strong believer in continuous improvement and always trying to learn something new. I enjoy the structures and repeating phrases in Einaudi’s music and this was a great opportunity to learn some of the progressions he uses.My DIY Synth Rules ════════════I aim to meet the following criteria when adding modules to my synth:◦ I must have constructed it. This can be a kit or from scratch but I must have soldered it◦ The audio signal path should be analog. I'm trying to avoid digital modules so I can learn more about analog electronics◦ Learn something new Try to learn something while constructing the module. Learn about the circuits, experiment with different signal processing options. Be creative.◦ Have fun
Heroes March AtticP 2023-11-17 | My submission for the Hardware Jams “Heroes” Weekend Challenge.I decided to go for a cinematic approach to this challenge and this is my soundtrack as the heroes of our story march to battle.This week’s challenge prompt:Time for some heroic jams! You can interpret this in a couple ways. Make an epic track that feels like a heroic scene in a movie. Or maybe you have a musical hero and you could make a tribute track to them in their style? (Maybe not cover songs this time.) Or is there someone else you deeply admire, a personal hero for you? It could be a historical figure, a writer or artist, athelete or activist, even a friend or family member. Make a jam honoring them. (And let’s keep political and religious debate out of this.) Let us know who your hero is, in your title or description.Always Learning════════════I'm a strong believer in continuous improvement and always trying to learn something new. While creating this video I learnt about synthesis of brass instruments which I had not tried before. There’s a fantastic series of articles on Sound on Sound about synthesis theory and I tried various techniques in soundonsound.com/techniques/synthesizing-brass-instruments on the brass patch in this track.My DIY Synth Rules ════════════I aim to meet the following criteria when adding modules to my synth:◦ I must have constructed it. This can be a kit or from scratch but I must have soldered it◦ The audio signal path should be analog. I'm trying to avoid digital modules so I can learn more about analog electronics◦ Learn something new Try to learn something while constructing the module. Learn about the circuits, experiment with different signal processing options. Be creative.◦ Have fun
Pads and Beats AtticP 2023-11-04 | My submission for the Hardware Jams “Heavenly Pads and Hellish Drums” Weekend Challenge.Pads have been something I have struggled to put together for a while so I really appreciated the chance to focus on patching a couple of pad sounds for this jam. Now I have more modulation sources in my case I was much happier with the results. For the beats, I ran the drums through an overdrive and then a distortion. Cranked them both up nice and high which resulted in these crunchy beats which were a fun contrast to the pads.This week’s challenge prompt: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.Any genre or tempo, as long as there’s pads that are heavenly, with beats that would make your grandma blush.Always Learning════════════I'm a strong believer in continuous improvement and always trying to learn something new. While creating this video I spent some time learning how to make pads more effectively.My DIY Synth Rules ════════════I aim to meet the following criteria when adding modules to my synth:◦ I must have constructed it. This can be a kit or from scratch but I must have soldered it◦ The audio signal path should be analog. I'm trying to avoid digital modules so I can learn more about analog electronics◦ Learn something new Try to learn something while constructing the module. Learn about the circuits, experiment with different signal processing options. Be creative.◦ Have fun
Descent to Madness AtticP 2023-10-21 | My submission for the Hardware Jams “Fusion” Weekend Challenge.What happens if you mash together some ambient sounds, some drones, and some Drum & Bass?This is my exploration of what that could sound like. Starting off light and slowly descending into darkness and madness, gradually getting more detuned and weird along the way. I had a lot of fun making this. I’ve recently build a Befaco Rampage module to add to the synth and intended to use it for all sorts of cv manipulation, but ended up just using it as a slew limiter on the lead sound :-) plenty more potential for future exploration of this module is up ahead though. This week’s challenge prompt:Hello fellow jammers! This weekend’s challenge has to do with genre fusion!Yeap, pick a genre, pick a second one, even a third one and FUSE them!!!Will it be a country – goth – core? A d&b sonnet? A ballad – acid - break beat? A noise – core?It’s up to you. Be creative and out of your comfort zone.Always Learning════════════I'm a strong believer in continuous improvement and always trying to learn something new. While creating this video I spent some time experimenting with the Befaco Rampage and also experimented with the note slide features on the Beatstep Pro.My DIY Synth Rules ════════════I aim to meet the following criteria when adding modules to my synth:◦ I must have constructed it. This can be a kit or from scratch but I must have soldered it◦ The audio signal path should be analog. I'm trying to avoid digital modules so I can learn more about analog electronics◦ Learn something new Try to learn something while constructing the module. Learn about the circuits, experiment with different signal processing options. Be creative.◦ Have fun
Doom Basil AtticP 2023-10-07 | My submission for the Hardware Jams “Naturally Occurring Rhythms” Weekend Challenge.Plants generate a small amount of voltage. In this jam I tried to utilise this by connecting a Basil plant, a potato and a lemon tree sapling to my synth. I used the small voltages to adjust many parameters in interesting ways. The lemon sapling is fed into a sample and hold which is triggered when a white noise source goes above a threshold. The sample and hold has a slew limiter applied and is used for the pitch of the laser sound. Which is also randomly triggered (rhythms of the universe). By touching the plant I could apply my own body voltage to alter the levels with interesting effects.The basil plant is used as the pitch signal to a bass patch, which shifts about as an amount of the voltage is also applied to filter cutoff. The potato is used as the envelope trigger for this sound. I found placing the potato in the basil pot meant that I could trigger the bass by touching the basil plant. Beware of the doom basil!This week’s challenge prompt:Rhythms are all around us, rhythms shape our life and some of those internal rhythms keep us healthy. This weekend I would love to experiment with naturally occurring rhythms. What do I mean by naturally occurring rhythms? Something that happens in nature, whether in space (thinking about the flashing of the light of a distance star) or on Earth (think of those cute little birdies making those dubstep patterns). Draw your inspiration from naturally occurring rhythms for this weekend. You can achieve this by sampling some weird stuff or try to recreate those with your awesome skills. Feel free to experiment as much as you wish as this challenge has no BPM or genre limitations.Always Learning════════════I'm a strong believer in continuous improvement and always trying to learn something new. While creating this video I experimented with using plants as a voltage source for the modular synthesiser.My DIY Synth Rules ════════════I aim to meet the following criteria when adding modules to my synth:◦ I must have constructed it. This can be a kit or from scratch but I must have soldered it◦ The audio signal path should be analog. I'm trying to avoid digital modules so I can learn more about analog electronics◦ Learn something new Try to learn something while constructing the module. Learn about the circuits, experiment with different signal processing options. Be creative.◦ Have fun
