Synchronizing it altogether

[Glenouille]

I received a Boss PH-3 today and decided to test it sync'ed to some other stuff:



Timefactor sets the clock for the Roland DB90 [MIDI] and the Roland sync the Goatkeeper [Audio]. LFO from Goatkeeper goes to both the Tremolessence and the PH-3 [CV] .
I probably could spend hours just playing with this, but thought I would quickly try to record a trace of that test with my micro BR.

[soundcloud]https://soundcloud.com/laglenouille/synctest1[/soundcloud]
laglenouille/synctest1

Next step: MIDI to Audio without the Roland and MIDI to CV...

[kosta]

That sounds great man! I had no idea that the PH-3 and Tremolessence were sync'able like that. Very cool.

[Glenouille]

I do not want to bore you with all my shitty experiments but I never really stopped exploring and buying syncable gear, I just forgot to update the thread!

So I have been keeping a track record of my sync attempts like this:

A quick drawing:


A pic:


A quick soundclip to illustrate the idea (moved this one online to share, one layer of bass guitar even if it barely sounds like one anymore and one quick overdub of pocket piano):
[soundcloud]https://soundcloud.com/laglenouille/synctest2[/soundcloud]
https://soundcloud.com/laglenouille/synctest2

And I move on to another idea, etc.

Anyway, let’s fast-forward to today, I still need to buy 3 or 4 pedz, build or mod a few, and some are also being built as we speak but the below plan should soon be a reality:


If you click on the image you should be able to view the crappy PowerPoint drawing better so that you can actually see what's going on...

All the modulation pedz are synced together. This was the main objective.

Nearly half of the sync connections are MIDI, a third is CV and the rest is tap tempo (using Molten Voltage PedalSync CTRL-Sync to convert MIDI to tap tempo) and audio clock (using Touchprone MIDI to clock device). To find my way through the chaos, the cables are color coded on the drawings and in real life, sync cables are yellow (MIDI, CV, Tap Tempo & Audio Clock), signal cables are green and expression/presets is in blue (yellow colored cables arrive tomorrow!)

The idea is not to build a standard pedalboard, it’s more a platform to generate drones, arpeggios, layers behind whatever I decide to play using my main board. It uses multiple splits of the signal (and yes I’m also building small phase inverter circuits in a box, just in case something goes tits up when I put the lot back together). A volca beats goes on the last free input on the bottom Thru-5 and I still need to think about the integration of electronic bagpipes (I know, I know, it never ends…)

The top line (see below, though you will have probably seen it recently in the 'Show your PB' thread amidst Uncle Grandfather's flood of goodies! ) will sit on its own detachable shelf/pedalboard (as narrow as the length of the pedz) so that I can put an entirely different pedalboard in front of it should I want to.



I’m hoping to finish the full thing by end of Q1 2014 (Hopefully Atarimatt will have finished my sequencer by then). I clearly went over the top with the concept but it's so much fun that I did not see it coming!

I will do some vids over the holiday season of what I already have (90%). It's a bitch to explain all this stuff, it's much more straightforward to demo it.

[univalve]

I dig

[Uncle Grandfather]

I do not want to bore you with all my shitty experiments

shitty experiments is all this place is

[MeSoFuzzy]

I had the Moog MP201. I could not get it to work properly for analog sync. I dove into the manual and talked to Amos about it. It was great for everything else though. The analog sync was a major reason I bought it. I ended up tossing her like an old piece of fruit.

[Glenouille]

The MP201 is still on my GAS list though, I have seen peeps getting good results...

Some of my new cables have turned up today so I quickly put something together now that the kids are in bed...

Night shot with shitty camera (it's a bomb site because I tried some other ideas too):



Sync (yellow):
Koma RH301 (Clock Subdivision)>Lightfoot Labs Goatkeeper v3
Koma RH301 (MIDI)>PedalSync CTL-Sync>Boss PH-3
Koma RH301 (Clock)>Dr Scientist Cosmichorus v3

Signal (all green): Critter & Guitari Pocket Piano GR>PH-3>Goatkeeper>Cosmichorus>Eterna>Mackie>Micro BR

Quick droning sample to check the results, nothing spectacular but I particularly like the interesting harmonics the PH-3 started doing:
[soundcloud]https://soundcloud.com/laglenouille/synctest3[/soundcloud]

https://soundcloud.com/laglenouille/synctest3

Progress again, but I'm struggling with the Jupiter III. The RH301 can sync it but if I plug anything else in the patch bay, it does not work anymore. Odd. Looks like a grounding issue. Not Sure. off to mail Jamie a Chamber of Sounds and the good folks at Koma to explore solutions.

[Deltaphoenix]

I like your style, nice results

[univalve]

I like your style

[Uncle Grandfather]

wOw

Nice...don't you just love Chamber of Sounds' gear, i want their newish blue touch sensitive one too. you're making me gas on that rh301

[tjlong]

The MP201 is still on my GAS list though, I have seen peeps getting good results...

Some of my new cables have turned up today so I quickly put something together now that the kids are in bed...

Night shot with shitty camera (it's a bomb site because I tried some other ideas too):



Sync (yellow):
Koma RH301 (Clock Subdivision)>Lightfoot Labs Goatkeeper v3
Koma RH301 (MIDI)>PedalSync CTL-Sync>Boss PH-3
Koma RH301 (Clock)>Dr Scientist Cosmichorus v3

Signal (all green): Critter & Guitari Pocket Piano GR>PH-3>Goatkeeper>Cosmichorus>Eterna>Mackie>Micro BR

Quick droning sample to check the results, nothing spectacular but I particularly like the interesting harmonics the PH-3 started doing:
[soundcloud]https://soundcloud.com/laglenouille/synctest3[/soundcloud]

https://soundcloud.com/laglenouille/synctest3

Progress again, but I'm struggling with the Jupiter III. The RH301 can sync it but if I plug anything else in the patch bay, it does not work anymore. Odd. Looks like a grounding issue. Not Sure. off to mail Jamie a Chamber of Sounds and the good folks at Koma to explore solutions.

cool drone experiment! i like pictures of gear but id much rather hear the sounds they are capable of. do share more when u can!

[01010111]

THIS KIND OF THING IS WHAT MADE ME LOVE ILF TO BEGIN WITH! AN OCEAN OF POSSIBILITIES IN A TANGLE OF WIRES

[D.o.S.]

This page made my head explode.

[Glenouille]

I'm stuck!
I have been exchanging emails with Jamie at Chamber of Sounds and the good folks from Koma. But so far we have not identified where the problem is. it's annoying because not much is plugged in at this stage, therefore the entire project is on hold whilst I'm trying to identify what causes the issue.

The instruments and pedals used are:

• The Goatkeeper which sync onto an audio signal
• Jupiter III which sync onto an audio signal
• Pocket Piano GR: Does not sync but is used as a VCO
• RH301: used as Master Clock
• A small Mackie console

A. Signal:

• Pocket piano>goatkeeper>Mackie
• Jupiter III>Mackie

B. Sync:

• RH301 [CLOCK output 1]>Jupiter III [main input]
• RH301 [CLOCK output 2]>Goatkeeper [ Audio Sync input]

If I plug all the signal cables, everything is fine. If I make the first sync connection, I'm still good.
But as soon as I plug the second sync cable (RH301>goatkeeper), I loose the Jupiter III. No sound from this end anymore! I can hear the pocket piano>goatkeeper side no problem, but not the Jupiter III.

If I unplug the last connected cable (RH301>Goatkeeper), I can hear the jupiter III again.
If I leave it plugged in but unplug the signal cable (Goatkeeper>mackie) instead, I can also hear the Jupiter again (but not the pocket piano>goatkeeper evidently)

When I first contacted Jamie, he told me that I should not feed CV into the Jupiter III. That I knew, but the clock signal from the RH301 was quite loud and clear and when i tried it, it worked. But anyway, I then contacted Koma who confirmed that both clock outputsare isolated with their respective buffers.
They suggested to build cables that would help feed an audio signal to these two devices. I built these cables over the WE (added 2 components in a NYS225L on one side) and it tracks much better thanks to that. So that's cool BUT the problem is still there!!!

it looks like a ground issue of some kind, but I have not identified it yet. I have mailed Koma again, (these guys are super helpful) and even suggested that I could shove the lot in a box and mail it accross if it helps. I need to be able to plug the lot and there is much more to plug and sync than just 2 synths and 1 effect ped!

Any ideas?

[Glenouille]

Spent a big part of the night on it. The conclusion is bitter sweet: the only way I have been able to accurately sync the Jupiter III (a clone of the insolite synare Sensor with added input jack and photocell which add extra ways of triggering it on top of the piezo mic) is with the Roland DB90 sync'ed via MIDI with the RH301 and the Jupiter gets the metronome beat via the headphone input.

I was after something less DIYish, but sod it, I'll leave it at that. I have spent too much time (and money) trying to sync it in a better way in vain. it's inherently due to the way it is built, and I'm not going to waste any more time trying to mod it.

In the words of its builder it's just an "improvised instrument"; therefore I might be expecting too much from it... Love the vwarm analog sound but always thought it was limited in many ways... So fuck it, I'm hunting down this one to take its place in my grand master plan:



lesson learnt: don't waste time trying to sync shit you have, buy shit that is designed to be sync'ed instead with MIDI or CV and no other crap.

Before I pull the trigger on the Mochika, do you know of any other cool synth/drone standalone boxes (no eurorack) with a min of VCO/VCF with LFO sync possibilities (MIDI or CV)?