VCV Rack 2 patches
While we use a symbol language for patches in the PATCH & TWEAK book, we also recommend trying out the different patches in the free...
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Free-to-use Patch Symbols
In PATCH & TWEAK, we present an updated system to describe patches by use of symbols and colored connections. We've made the symbols free of...
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Basic concepts of modular synthesis
In this free series of ten videos, we explore the basic concepts of modular synthesis.
PATCH & TWEAK Basic Concept 1: Pitch and Volume
It’s easy to set the pitch of the sound you are creating with a synthesizer, as well as how loud it is. These...
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PATCH & TWEAK Basic Concept 2: Waveforms
“Oscillators” – the most common audio source in a modular synth – usually have several different “waveform” outputs, each with a different sound. In this...
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PATCH & TWEAK Basic Concept 3: Noise
Some sounds we use in synthesis don’t have a distinct pitch. These are useful for creating natural sounds like wind and surf, breath...
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PATCH & TWEAK Basic Concept 4: Filter Modes
“Filters” are one of the audio modifier tools in a modular synthesizer that helps shape the tone of a sound. There are several...
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PATCH & TWEAK Basic Concept 5: Filter Slopes
Filter modules shape the sound going through them by removing or reducing the strength of some the “harmonic” components in the original sound....
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PATCH & TWEAK Basic Concept 6: Filter Resonance
When someone mentions “feedback”, you might imagine the squeal of placing a microphone too close to a speaker. However, adding small amounts of...
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PATCH & TWEAK Basic Concept 7: Waveshaping
An alternate approach for changing the character of a sound is to change the shape of its underlying waveform. This can range from...
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PATCH & TWEAK Basic Concept 8: Envelopes
Most notes and other sound events start from silence, get louder until they reach a maximum volume, and then “decay” back into silence....
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PATCH & TWEAK Basic Concept 9: LFOs
It’s fun to twist the knobs on the front panel of a synthesizer back and forth to directly change its sound. However, sometimes...
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PATCH & TWEAK Basic Concept 10: Random
Just like “noise” provides an unpitched alternative sound source compared to a normal oscillator, a “random source” provides an unpredictable “modulation” source to...
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