Grant Middleton master class - Aeons

 

This patch is one of the more complex ones which I employed on the day. It provides 4 simultaneous sound sources to enable me to play the first and last sequences from the track The Aeon's Day.

Mixer 2 allows you to set the appropriate output levels for each signal chain, channel 1 actually carrying a mix of 2 signal chains, set by mixer 1. Knobs 11, 14 and 17 are assigned to Mixer 2, and Knob 6 varies the relative amount of triangle wave oscillator going into the channel 1 of mixer 2 input.

Right, the 4 sounds are:
An octave bass. This is provided by NoteSeqA1, MasterOsc3, OscSlvC1 and C2, Mixer5, FilterE3 and AD-Env3. This is a fairly straightforward percussive bass sound. It combines two oscillators to make a thicker sound. These enter Filter E3, which is the nicest sounding filter to my ears. One trick to note is that I sweep resonance with filter cutoff by the envelope. This simulates the effect of e.g. Moog filters which can't resonate at very low cutoff frequencies. The cutoff freq sweep depth is changed by Knob 10. Output level by Knob 11.
A simple 4-step sequencer. This is provided by Bass4Notes, BassMaster, BassRoot, BassOctave, Mixer 1, Filter E1, LFOSlvC1 and AD-Env1. This plays the notes C, C', Bb, G in a repeated cycle. Filter sweep depth is controlled by Knob 16, and output level is controlled by Knob 17.
An SFX channel. There are several abstract sounds which appear on the original track. I could recreate most of these using the block of components in the top-right corner; LFOSlvC3 Constant2, PortamentoA1, Mixer4, MasterOsc1 and OscSlvD1. The value of Constant2 is slewed by the Portamento module to prevent zipper noise as the pitch goes from sub-sonic to ultra-sonic. Knob 3 brings in an LFO with quite a slow rate (about 5 sec / cycle), which lets me take my hands off the knobs, yet still keep a bit of variation going. Knob 5 changes the nature of the sound from a wood-block/chime to a laser-gun zap by introducing a pitch sweep from AD-Env1. Knob 6 simply changes the amount of triangle wave going into FilterE1's audio in.
The complementary sequences. This is provided by Melody1, Melody2, Counterpoint, Seq Note Select, Seq Gate Select, MasterOsc2, OscSlv3, OscSlv4, LFOSlvC2, Mixer 3, Filter E2 and AD-Env2. The key to understanding this channel is to look at what Knob 15 does. It controls Morph Group 4, which in turn selects between two different note sequencers and two different event sequencers. For the first and last quarters of its travel, this knob selects neither, so this channel is silent. However if the second or third quarter of travel are selected, you will get one or other of the secondary sequences which appear on the last part of The Aeon's Day. The reason for LogicDelay1 is that control signals are at a lower sample rate than audio signals, and the sample-and-hold circuit sometimes held on to interpolated values rather than final values. Trust me on this one - it has to be there. Knob 13 controls filter sweep and Knob 14 controls output level.
Finally, Knobs 1 and 4 are concerned with resetting all sequencers and starting the clock respectively.

I had my audio outputs assigned as: Channel 1 - Dry signal, panned centre and Channel 2 - wet signal going into stereo delay panned hard left and hard right. The tempo of the piece is 120 BPM, so I set delay times of 250 ms and 375 ms.

Happy tweaking !