#modular synth pedal

[bruitmoderniste]

napalm jazz set-up at le diamant d'or, strasbourg

[cyberneurotism]

I wish I understood electronics so I could build guitar pedals and modular synth effects.

[taperwolf]

This clip uses my Little Bits adapter to run two i36 Micro Sequencer bits in series. Each only has four steps, but by running them at different speeds, they synchronize in different ways to produce a longer sequence of notes.

Those notes modulate the VCO, whose pulse wave is ringmodded together with an audio-rate triangle-ish wave from one of the Sigma function generators. That output goes through the low-pass filter, then a cheap little phaser pedal. That's fed back into the VCA, which is being modulated by an ASR envelope from the second Sigma, triggered by the gate output of the second Micro Sequencer, and things then go into the echo and output mix.

[vampirecatprince]

Thinking of a musician/music AU concept and...

While my first immediate instinct was to make Robotnik a modular synth guy.... For some reason, I see him being an more of an electric guitar guy. Specifically, one of those guys who gets really into guitar tone and pedals and amps and pick-ups and the nuances with the accessories and components. Has built guitars and designed a few pedals. I feel like he'd be pretty experimental, but leaning towards an 80's classic rock sound in general. (Remember, with the current movie timeline, he would've been a teenager in the late 80s. I feel like he would've been a rock fan as a teen, especially given the rebellious image rock had back then)

Now Stone....

What kind of instrument would Stone play? That's a harder question for me. I almost feel like Stone would be a vocalist? His body is his instrument and I see him as someone who would enjoy the physicality of being a vocalist. I see him with a very clean vocal tone, not much of any vibrato, and a large range- a Tenor-Baratone more suited to more acoustic, sentimental genres that need cleaner, light vocals. (Though I can see him being very fascinated by the vocal techniques that of extreme metal vocalists use and he has played with False Chord singing a bit. He enjoys the texture that it can add when he uses the technique, but is typically not working of projects where people want that from him as a performer.)

[thekingofgear]

Sam Petts-Davies's Setup for Thom's 'Everything' Tour

A photo of the setup, shared by Sam on his instagram account with the caption "tour begins tonight. i’ll be parked at front of house with this box of esoterics for the duration. it’s going to be something really special."

Thom's solo tour has just begun with a show in Christchurch, New Zealand, and Sam Petts-Davies is along for the ride!

Since Radiohead's earliest shows, there's always been at least a few effects added by an engineer at the FOH (front of house) mixing desk to keep the band's sound clear and coherent. With Radiohead, that role was filed by Jim Warren. Even after Thom started bringing pedalboard full of vocal effects on tour, Jim continued to apply additional effects including plugins such as the Waves C4 multiband compressor for vocals. You can find more info on Jim's work in these posts.

For The Smile, even fewer hardware effects were needed at the FOH desk, in part due to Thom's expanded vocal pedalboard. In 2022, the Smile's mix engineer mainly relied on plugins from an Avid VENUE S6L-32D digital desk, supplemented only by a TUBE-TECH CL 1B Tube Optical compressor (presumably for Thom's vocals).

It's clear that when Thom is performing totally solo, a different approach is needed. But it's hard to imagine that any past FOH setup has been so full of hardware effects! And not just effects, but also modulators and an usual mixer, as we'll see....

For those who don't know, Sam initially served as a engineer under Nigel during the recording of Junun in 2015. He subsequently did engineering work on Spectre, A Moon Shaped Pool, and on the strings for the OKNOTOK singles. In 2018, he co-produced the soundtrack to Suspiria with Thom, and apparently Thom was a fan because Sam received a full production credit for Thom's soundtrack to Confidenza. He also produced both of the Smile albums released this year: Wall of Eyes and Cutouts.

For comprehensibility, we've divided the setup into four sections: the core, the modular, the pedals, and the rack. We'll start with the core setup.

Core Setup

This section is the nexus: receiving input from Thom's stage setup, sending it through various effects, and mixing it all together. The Matrix Mixer is using to both mix together and feedback the various effects in Thom's eurorack setup. The Yamaha DM3-D appears to be the central mixing console for the entire setup. Despite its small size, the Yamaha boasts 22 channels and a huge range of built-in effects, and on top of that it can also run VST plugins.

Death By Audio Echo Master delay

? Electro-Harmonix 45000 looper

Roland RE-201 Space Echo tape delay

?

Erica Synths Matrix Mixer

Yamaha DM3-D Digital Mixing Console

Modular Setup

In the decade since Thom first used a Make Noise Shared System Plus to process his voice and piano, his eurorack effects setup has expanded quite a bit! The Shared System is designed to be both a sound generator and an effects processor, and since then Thom has created dedicated setups for each of those applications. This setup is the effects processor, with lots of delays, filters, and reverbs, plus some LFOs and CV sources to modulate those effects. The additional Doepfer case that Thom has on stage, might have some of his sound generators, but knowing Thom it could just as easily be even more Make Noise Echophon delays.

Row 1 (left to right):

Make Noise Maths (unused)

Intellijel Planar² joystick

Xaoc Devices Belgrad dual filter (unused)

4ms Dual Looping Delay

4ms SISM: Shifting Inverting Signal Mingler

blank panel (4hp)

Row 2 (left to right):

4ms QCD: Quad Clock Distributor (unused)

Soma Lyra8-FX (unused)

Make Noise Echophon delay

Make Noise Erbe-Verbe reverb

Vermona TAI-4 transformer-isolated I/O

Row 3 (left to right):

Intellijel µMIDI interface

Make Noise Richter Wogglebug random generator

Make Noise MULT

Make Noise QPAS dual filter

Rossum Electro-Music Panharmonium spectral resynthesizer

? Make Noise Memophon delay

Vermona TAI-4 transformer-isolated I/O

Row 4 (left to right):

Make Noise Morphagene sampler

Mannequins Three Sisters filter

Mannequins Just Friends

Qu-Bit Aurora reverb

Earthquaker Devices Afterneath reverb

unknown module (2hp)

Xaoc Devices Kamieniec phaser

It appears that these are Thom's Rows 1 and 2 are kept in a Doepfer A-100P6 Suitcase 6U case. Rows 3 and 4 are kept in a Doepfer A-100PB Suitcase Base case. The modules on row 4 are impossible to identify at this angle, but Make Noise style knobs are clearly visible on the left-most module.

Pedal Setup

Furman M-8Lx power supply

? Radial Engineering EXTC-Stereo reamp

Eventide Pitchfactor

? Hologram Chroma Console

Empress Effects Reverb

Rack Setup

We'll double back on this one once we have a better photo...

Edit (Feb 27, 2025): added missing bits of gear to the lists.

[cow-wife]

late night hardware synth jam // it’s a drone modular synth running thru a rainbow machine pedal running into the SP404MK2 & also a digitakt running into the SP // tried combining synth drones with a break and thought it was a fun and colder sounding doodle ❣🧊

[pheere]

The L’Rain sax player Ben helped me up stage tonight after the show when I asked questions about his setup.

- there’s a mic hooked up to the kick drum into the modular synth that triggers effects when the patch receives signal

- Ben unscrewed the mouthpiece on his sax to reveal a tiny little mic, produced by a single french guy (who doesn’t ship to the US, go figure) because an external mic would produce too much muddiness

- an effect he set up but wasn’t ready for the show yet was triggering horn samples when certain notes on the sax are played

- the ambient washes of sound are achieved by a 40-second delay (!) and multiple patches working independently of one another to create the sensation of constant shifting

- Taja’s pedalboard is made from a projector stand with a female mic mount attached so she can travel with it. It’s then hooked up to autotune and effects pedals with two channels that can be controlled by foot between effects. One of the pedals includes pitch variance, so she can change pitch while she’s singing.

- Justin uses the Roland SP-404 for sampling and looping. There were some pretty crazy sounds - amongst them were Taja’s laughs (though that was achieved thru her looper) and electronic drums underneath the live drums.

[trevlad-sounds]

Invisible Waves 33.

18.08.2024

Intro 00:00 Moray Newlands-The meal was cooked before the bell rang 00:24 The Harvard sentences Projection wave machines BeepStreet Sunrizer (software synth)

Chapter 1 02:24

Oberu-Debris 06:33 Cartas de Japón-Faune I 11:05 Cartas de Japón – Live session (La Siesta del Fauno) Sequential Circuits Pro-One (synth) Sequential Circuits Prophet-5 (synth) EMS Synthi AKS (synth) ARP Odyssey (synth) ARP Solina string synthesizer (synth) Yamaha CP-70 (synth) Moog Minimoog Model D (synth) Roland VP-330 (synth) Moog Moogerfooger MF-103 (FX pedal) Moog Modular (synth) ARP 2600 (synth) Roland Juno-60 (synth) Arturia Beatstep Pro (controller) La Siesta del Fauno (studio)

Chapter 2 21:16

Bolbec-Vengeance Tropicale 28:14 Piero Piccioni (composer) Michel Legrand (composer) Nostalgia 77 (band) Aldemaro Romero (composer) Piero Umiliani (composer) cavaquinho (instrument) Mabreuch (band) Fish Factory (Studio)

TOKEE-Альбатрос (Abdicant’s Diomedea Mix) 31:03

Chapter 3 34:42

Ghost Funk Orchestra-Helios 37:30 Eddie Palmieri Esquivel The Lively Ones Dusty Springfield War

Space Dimension Controller-Beyond2 40:43

Chapter 4 44:58

Slow Reels-Heartshaped 50:32 Home Normal Slowcraft Records Morr Music Fluid Audio

[trash-slvt]

this is such a vibe. l love how much care was put into drawing all of this iconic gear too. i wanted to list all of the gear here but i ran out of steam maybe someone else could do it. here are my quick notes monitors - krk rokit piano - fender rhodes (mk2?)

on top of rhodes: rack - looks like dual audio interfaces. i swear ive seen thse before but i cant remember. maybe old presonus firewire interfaces? not sure whats above from the left Modular synth with macbook on top - i think i could make our some of the modules with a bit of work not sure whats under it synth with red cheek - i cant place this and its killing me some blue pedals - idk by foot - roland sp404 mk2 some kind of field recorder - looks like a zoom but it doesnt have the crossed mics so not sure akai mpc 2000xl - the classic the blue one - cant place this off top of head either but i should be able to korg volca (beats or fm maybe?) turntable mixer amp and mic (with Shure SM57 on the amp)

[guitarbomb]

Meris unveils Enzo X, a revolutionary polyphonic synthesizer pedal. Explore 5 synth modes, 6 voices, and a modular system. No special pickup needed!

[baglsasha]

now. i'm a nerd for modular things. I looooove modular synths, VCVrack, Max/MSP. That kind of workflow is really intuitive and fun to me.

I just found out about the Empress FX Zoia. it's like fucking MSP in a guitar pedal. that's so fucking cool. I am going to get one of these.

[tkdunning]

(50)

Did some light research into effect pedals/pedalboards. Would be a nice to have in the future, but the summation of a full effect chain is way to expensive right now to justify considering I could simply get a combo amp with effect on it or even just plug it into my interface and use an effect chain in any DAW. I think the only reason why I'd even want this right now is just so I can get some reverb in an analog signal chain so I can enjoy amped practice more instead of headphone practice.

It's interesting coming from a synth/mixing background and looking at guitar pedal effect chains from that perspective; It's a bit like live mixing your guitar, and also has some interesting possibilities if you start thinking about it more like a modular synth. In theory, the guitar could just act as the waveform and run through the same chain, right? Could be a really unique union between the traditional and electronic music worlds.

Now, let's say I do plan to get analog pedals at some point. The first essential chain that I know I need from a mixing standpoint would be: (tuner) > compressor > (drives) > reverb > EQ > compressor. The more complex the compressor/EQ, the better (I forget what the official terminology for the different types of each are. Knowledge that I did NOT retain from mixing/mastering classes lol). The reason why delay effects (chorus/flange/phaser) aren't part of this is because they are not ubiquitous in usage; These are more staples from a guitarist's perspective, which is valid, but I don't care as much about them at a base level.

Having some sort of EQ8 instead of dialing in on the amp would be interesting, although one could argue that it's unnecessary outside of a recording/production environment. So if that's true, then the more streamlined chain is: (tuner) > compressor > (drives) > reverb. For a budget setup that uses digital, this could be condensed further into: (tuner) > compressor (?) > multi-effect pedal; Not sure if multi-effect pedals have compressors & tuners, but if they do then the entire thing could be contained in one single pedal (although without analog sound, which purists fucking hate lol).

Improv practice today. Minor keys are definitely my strength - they're the easier for me to "feel out" and express over. I need to start getting used to working in the neglected modes more (2, 4, 5). I keep putting off diving into triads and chords. One can only do so much with single note lines.

[estoniacobaltpayne]

Lmaoooo yes I’m a musician and producer and anytime someone brings up whatever special interest character I have atm + music I’m like 👀😮 visibly excited lol

Anyways so for Tech- not only could he pick up any instrument and figure it out, but he’d also be a great recording, mixing, and mastering engineer, and would be o b s e s s e d with synthesis lol. Like not only would he be a great piano player with those fingers (oh god those yummy fingers 😩🤪), he’d have a full rack for on stage with like a nord grand, at least 2 different synths, and probably the biggest pedal board for one of the synths that you could possibly imagine, PLUS a room full of synths at home in his home studio. Modular, semi modular, patch cables fucking EVERYWHERE, you name it. Tech would be a mf GOD at finding the best possible sounds those oscillators could make (lmao Tech would for SURE have a tiny ASDR tattoo on his wrist too lol). He’s also definitely a guy that could use any DAW but prefers Logic Pro (because lets face it, it’s the best DAW all around production wise lmao), and also refuses to buy new MIDI or XLR cables because he’s a fucking whiz at repairing them. He probably also collects every bit of pro audio gear he can find, and at some point you KNOW dawg’s gonna come home with ANOTHER mf interface or analog compressor or some other type of space eating analog gear and Hunter’s gonna lose his gODDAMN mind 💀

Instruments I imagine the Bad Batch would play

(basing this entirely off the instruments that come to mind when I think of each Bad Batch member, no real rhyme or reason to this)

Omega: violin

Hunter: guitar, though I also think he has a really good tenor voice

Tech: we all know he's the kind of person who knows enough about music theory and how each instrument works that he can pick up just about any instrument and play it well; but his favorite to play is the piano (and maybe the organ)

Echo: vocals - I strongly headcanon that he's a fantastic singer, but for some reason I can't stop thinking about him also playing the trumpet

Wrecker: drums, though I also imagine he'd have a ton of fun with the accordion

Crosshair: why, why, WHY do I keep picturing him trying to play the bagpipes??!? (he must be trying to annoy Hunter when he does so...) But when he's serious, he plays the clarinet.

Feel free to share what instruments you think they'd play!!!

[3d6-space-blog]

Modular & Delay Pedals - SoundScape 4 - Recorded Live - October 17, 2024

- Produced with Teo’s Wall of Synths - Office Setup - Teodor Octavio Graca(c)