I have been investigating pseudopolyphony. I’m space-constrained and want to try to get the most musicality out of a single sequencer. I just wanted to run a use case past everyone to see if anyone has any ideas how to accomplish it.
What I was attempting to do this afternoon is derive a bassline from a single main sequence. The main sequence is eighth or sixteenth notes, but I effectively want a bass voice to play a single whole note at the start of every bar.
Right now the main sequence is multed through a precision adder, Beast’s Chalkboard, sent an octave up to the lead voice and also dropped an octave and sent to the bass voice. A gate is firing the bass voice’s envelope at the start of every bar. I’ve shortened the envelope to the shortest I can and I can kind of get a bass that plays one note per bar, but some of the next note’s CV always gets through—and anyway, my intention is a warm, slow bassline underneath a busier lead…
It occurred to me that a sample and hold might be what I need. I simply need to “capture” whatever the CV value is at the moment the gate is fired and not allow any of the rest of the sequence’s notes through unless I fire another gate.
Check out this video at about 4:52: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKykHwdntxA
He is using MI Stages, but the same idea should work with any S&H module (like Noise Tools).
It’s not clear to me if a quantizer is required in this scenario. In most of the S&H examples it’s a noise source being sampled, but in my case the source is an already quantized value.
I would probably need a digital S&H in this scenario to ensure the pitch is as stable as possible, but does anyone know if buffering the signal either before an analog S&H or after have an effect on droop?
If your CV source is already quantized, then an additional quantizer is not necessary. However, a buffered multiple should be used to duplicate the melody so that there is no drop in voltage. Digital vs analog makes no difference in this scenario.
Some modules that function as a S&H have a noise source “normalled” to the input - meaning if no input is patched, the noise acts as the sample source.
Right! Just installed Shifty. Pairs extremely well with these modules: Pamela’s (euclidian), Varigate 4+, Beast’s Chalkboard. There’s nothing like a precision adder like Beast before or after Shifty to create a bassline out of nowhere.
My small 7U 84hp system sounds much bigger and richer today. Couldn’t have done it without Shifty. It’s not the module that’s at the centre of the camera, but it’s the module that completely changed the patch. Great module and it’s really interesting to play!
