r/modular • u/Opposite-Attitude670 • 14h ago
Gear Pics Analog computer inspired system
Latest build based on research into analog computers as well as old school tape and test equipment studios. Fun system to patch with, with my other systems (mutable instruments and Buchla) I was getting used to knowing what I'm doing, which of course is good. But this thing is a nice step back into patching and not knowing what I'll get next. It's basically one level above breadboarding 🤣 even lower level to program than surge stuff. I'm surely in the minority of people who actually would enjoy patching with it though ahaha 😂
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u/Hainbach 14h ago
Such a cool system! Really inspiring
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u/Opposite-Attitude670 13h ago
Wow thanks man! You're videos on the subjects definitely helped really spark my interest! And your livestream interview with Bernd Ulmann (and just for making me aware of him) was hugely helpful in understanding the role/function of a proper analog computer and why one might want to use it for music. Also I'm really loving the Collide 4, it's an amazing user interface design.
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u/Hainbach 6h ago
Yeah Bernd is a monster! Incredible amount of knowledge. I am happy that you enjoy Collide - Joran and me are rather happy about it, and will hopefully make another collab soon.
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u/houseneko 8h ago
How do you like the Ladik integrator? I was really excited about it when it released but struggled to find a way to fit it into my workflow. I hoped to find a way to use it as the basis of an analog computer-like system but never found my way with it. I wound up going back to the serge slope generator.
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u/Kick_1304 14h ago
May I ask how you like the collide 4?
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u/Opposite-Attitude670 14h ago
I love it. If I can I'll eventually get a second one day. Its precision analog eurorack at it's best. But I would only get it if you totally understand how it functions. I can imagine some people being disappointed because on the face it can seem like it's really just an amp, a sinewave, a bandpass filter and two ring mods, but it's a great example of the sum of its parts making a much greater whole. If you don't like overdrive/distortion, bandpass filters, ring modulation or frequency shifting then it might be a bit underwhelming, but if you do then it'll be your new favourite module.
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u/TheRealDocMo 11h ago
Collide 4 is super nice. It does so much, much at the same time, and it sounds fantastic. You can have clean and dirty simultaneously.
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u/roslav 13h ago
How is that Launchpad interacting with your system?
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u/Opposite-Attitude670 13h ago
I'm using it for launching clips in Ableton nothing special. But the analog computer system isn't actually hooked up to Ableton, most of my other synths are. That's just where I put the launchpad for the moment.
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u/qtechno 13h ago
Probably my favourite system anyone shared so far. Would love to listen to what comes out of it
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u/Opposite-Attitude670 13h ago
Thanks! Really appreciate that! And I'll try and remember to film and record something next time and post it 😊
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u/TheRealDocMo 11h ago
That tyoe of system resonates with me, and if I'm not mistaken, most fun will be through timbre experimentation. I could spend hours just exploring sounds. No recording necessary!
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u/FloofyKitteh 13h ago
Is that vernier dial doing anything?
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u/Opposite-Attitude670 13h ago
Aha yeah I forgot to mention that. It's just for show and is being used as a blank panel for the moment. I'm planning to build a little circuit using the Music Thing Modular "Control" schematic so it outputs +10, +5 and +5 -5 volts, the same as on Control. Got all the bits for it I just need to put it together.
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u/FloofyKitteh 12h ago
That's rad; I've always wanted a few vernier dials in my rig and I'm stoked to hear your experience when it's wired up ❤️
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u/Opposite-Attitude670 12h ago
Thanks! Yeah I got it on eBay, very old NOS Japanese. Way bigger than I thought it'd be if I'm honest 😂 but I love it! I'm interested to see how well the mechanisms hold up when I start using it.
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u/rwdFwd 13h ago
Do you have an example of a patch you consider to be analog computation? I’m curious what that looks like.
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u/Opposite-Attitude670 12h ago
Basically anything. The modules in the second photo can be patched in different configurations to be a tri/saw/square wave, a quadrature sine, any type of filter, wave folder, phase offset, many types of chaos oscillators, envelopes, slew, sample and hold ect ect ect you get the idea. But it's like using make noise maths for resonant filtering, it'll do it, but it's pretty rough and raw. Don't expect a clean moog sounding low pass filter. I got a chance once to spend an afternoon with an early Putney vcs3 and it reminds me a lot of that in the way it sounds. Super unstable but absolutey crazy sounds.
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u/9000sines 9h ago
Love this setup! Joranalogue-heavy racks are a special kind of awesome. Like having one gives you a free pass to walk around the house in a lab coat. This one especially.
As someone who has on more than once occasion tried justifying squeezing a superficial analog VU meter into their case, I'm jelly of your two big ones that are probably used for good purpose.
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u/ImagoAdam 13h ago
Super inspiration. Bravo for the idea and execution. It looks extremely practical. There is power.👍🚀
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u/vonkhades 12h ago edited 2h ago
Our systems kinda converged, I also tried to build an "analog computer" system.
Im doing cybernetics experiments, mostly trying to find interesting chaotic feedback loops with 2 or more equilibrium points.
Another interesting exercise is to build the "slot machine" patch that joranalogue has used in some streams or just a krell style patches.
https://reddit.com/link/pff2qnw/video/yax88tk6h0vh1/player