*VIDEO* NEW MODULE - AJH Synth Ring SM

[ben_hex]

Just a patches video with no talking from me to predate a full overview coming in the future. Full patch notes from me then some points from Allan at AJH Synth he said I could share with everyone too.



[video][/video]

PATCH NOTES - DUAL MELODIES

This patch is two triangle wave melodies sequenced by the Audio Damage Sequencer 1. Both oscillators are AJH Synth MiniMod VCOs. You first here both sequences are the Ring Mod’s X & Y can be sent through to the mixer. You then hear the Ring Mod output, then back to X input and the sub oscillators which create sine like (slightly skewed and imperfect - perfect for low end thickness but no muddiness). Final part of the patch is a mix of the various stages into a VCA which is the AJH Synth MiniMod VCA.

PATCH NOTES - SATURATED XYZ

This patch shows the saturated and X, Y and Z inputs of the Ring Modulator. The saturated is based on the Moog CP3 Mixer circuit. You can saturate any channel or build up saturation with multiple channels clipping. You have a sine wave and a triangle wave (one pitch modulated) going into the X and Y inputs on the Ring Modulator which come from the Sputnik Modular Dual Oscillator. The Z input is the Noise Engineering Loquelic Iteritas which has it’s pitch swept manually in part of the video.

PATCH NOTES - SAWMANIA

This patch uses three AJH Synth MiniMod VCOs all with the saw outputs going into the X, Y and Z input. You hear the X and X inputs and then both together before hearing the Ring Mod output with just the X and Y inputs to the Ring Mod. Then the X input and Z inputs mixed into the Ring Mod output as well (which is great for adding in weight back to the signal). Then the sub generators which you can hear are very clean compared to your standard square wave sub generators. The third saw wave is mixed into the Ring Mod circuit on the Z input before taking the final output into the AJH Synth MiniMod Transistor Ladder Filter which has it’s cut off modulated by a modulated envelope (attack and decay CV is modulated on the envelope for movement).

PATCH NOTES - WAVETABLES

You first hear the X input which is a modulated wavetable from Mutable Instruments Braids. Adding in the -1 octave sub you can hear that move around with the varying harmonics in the wavetable changing. Note no pitch changes happen through this patch. The changing sub is awesome for create moving low end that changes with the wavetables. Mixing in the -2 octave sub you can hear the thick imperfect sine tone of the subs. You then hear the Y input which is the Noise Engineering Loquelic Iteritas which has it’s morph and fold modulated before hearing the X and Y sent into the Ring Modulator. The moving subs and Ring Mod works great for added movement and extra grit in the sound. Taking out the subs and the Y input I then use the Z input which is an LFO from Mutable Instruments Tides. Tides has it’s frequency and shape modulated for evolving flutters and gestural LFOs. The patches plays out with various levels going into the Ring Mod and mixing in the subs and original X and Y inputs.

NOTES FROM AJH SYNTH

1) All ring modulators work (mathematically) most correctly with sine wave inputs,  however triangles work pretty well too. The output of a Ring Modulator is the sum and difference of the frequencies applied to the X (Carrier) and Y (Modulator) inputs. Other waveforms can of course be used, but with mathematically less predictable results, which is why we like them too :-)

2) The double switch simply connects the X input to the Y input, so you get an output from the ring modulator with a single input. The RM output will be twice the X input frequency (sum plus difference - in this case the sum is 2 times the input frequency and the difference is zero as both signals are the same.

3) The Z input is very similar in function to an extra Y input (so still gives the regular sum + difference against x input) HOWEVER, it is more resonant - to illustrate this apply (for example) a 300hz triangle wave to the X input. Then connect an LFO with (around) a 1Hz square wave (pwm) with a 10 to 30% duty cycle to the Y input. You will hear just short clicks - then patch this LFO into the Z input instead, you will hear that the click is now longer in duration and more resonant - this gets more interesting if fed through a BP filter. The X,Y and Z inputs can all be used simultaneously.  

4) Input 5 on the mixer is marked as 5+, this is to show that it is "hotter" than the other four inputs and so more readily distorted / clipped. The output of sub -2 is lower to compensate for this, so levels of the two subs are the same at the mixer output for the same setting on their level controls.

5) Unity gain on a single mixer stage occurs with the output knob set to 10 and the channel input knob set to 9, (or 8 on channel 5) turning the input knob round to 10 takes the CP3 mixer into clipping even with a single input - so obviously adding in more inputs requires either the channel knobs to be turned down or lots of clipping (which we quite like!) It won't break with everything set to 10, it just gets a bit angry :-)

6) As the CP3 mixer is DC coupled then applying a positive or negative DC bias voltage to any of the mixer channels will shift the waveform up or down from zero by the corresponding voltage, so positive or negative asymmetric clipping can be achieved as the signal tries to swing above the headroom threshold of the mixer.

7) The sub bass waveforms change with frequency - at higher frequencies they are near to a sine wave and as they get lower they square up a little but still have much lower harmonics than a square wave - this is deliberate as at lower frequencies they are a little fuller and fatter than a perfect sine wave, whereas at say 150Hz and above they gradually morph into much more of a sine wave so they don't muddy up the mix in what tends to be a busier part of the spectrum. They do fall off in level at higher frequencies, but are still working at 1kHz, which is quite high for a sub bass!!

[Blingley]

... Wow.

Do want. Definitely the most exciting AJH Synth product so far, at least in my humble opinion.

[ben_hex]

... Wow.

Do want. Definitely the most exciting AJH Synth product so far, at least in my humble opinion.

Well I don't know about that, hearing the full mini do system in person is super exciting! But I think once people hear these they'll be impressed. I don't know of other sub generators that are sine like.

[maltemark]

Radical stuff. The first AJH module that really caught my attention.

[Dogma]

... Wow.

Do want. Definitely the most exciting AJH Synth product so far, at least in my humble opinion.

Well I don't know about that, hearing the full mini do system in person is super exciting! But I think once people hear these they'll be impressed. I don't know of other sub generators that are sine like.

Ben your vids are looking fantastic mate
Thats a lot of work on display there...

[kipervarg]

This module sounds absolutely amazing. It hit that special place for me, my Eurorack G-spot.

Any reviews of the new AJH diode ladder filter coming from you?

[ben_hex]

maltemark ah nice one! This is really impressive, still really enjoying using it.

Thanks Dogma appreciate it!

haha your euro-G spot kipervarg I'll know doubt be doing something on the new filter with Allan. Still need to do the proper video for this and some more for the MiniMod series as well. Allan is very supportive and great to work with so we'll definitely have more coming for existing and future stuff.

[Zodanga]

I just purchased one of these and needed to draw out the flow in order to understand it better. After all, it's a ring modulator with three inputs and lots of normalization for a small panel... if you just start plugging things in without reading the manual, confusion can ensue.

To any of you other users of this module, does this look accurate to you? Any idea what makes the Z input "resonant"? A static bandpass filter perhaps?

[oinkbanana]

Can anyone compare the multiplex ringmod section of this module to other ringmods?

[mdoudoroff]

DivKid has done a second, really nice video on the RING SM for FutureMusic.

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[ben_hex]

thank you for sharing mdoudoroff