Incredibly useful, thank you so much! Until now, the diode was one of the only things I never really used, and now after your video I wish there was more than one of them on the Pulsar! :D
Hell ya bro. I’ve always wondered what to do with the diode, and you have shown us the way. I haven’t played mine for a while but I’m going to fire it up and try out your patches. Thanks for making this tutorial
Happy to hear you liked it! I really couldn’t make sense of that thing until I took some time to experiment and found this 🖤 It went from being the least used part to being my favourite part of this machine! Go make some nice beats now you 😎
@@ConatusModulari what is shocking is how Soma Labs did not ever really explain this . I feel they did a terrible job of explaining the entire machine. maybe they just wanted us to explore and figure it out, but it would be great to know about a few things more.
I kind of agree and disagree at the same time.. soma does a great job at making their characteristic and mystical machines that invite you to explore, on the other hand my knowledge of electronics and circuit bending are next to non existent. Having said that, the experimenting on itself is part of the joy now as well for me 🖤
Agreed! Autonomous and self patched it can do great things, so happy to have found the magic of that diode 🙏 Just made some cables with a diode soldered in, that way I hope to modulate it even more 🖤
@@antonellosgnaolin Haha, same for me, I literally decided to figure out how it works and put a camera on it. I was actually more talking to myself like notes but I liked the sound of the iPhone better 😅
One thing is stopping me from buying Pulsar 23 is that it's too big for my room. An my personal space is already crowded with some synths. Also AFAIK it's not very friendly with MIDI. Do I miss something? Otherwise I really like this partial freedom about components that can be inserted between modules! This makes this Soma unit really cool and DIY friendly.
I get that, though they’re having a great offer at the moment! Regarding midi, it’s rudimentary .. Setting it up is a breeze, but it doesn’t listen to any start or stop commands I think. Perhaps with a bit of creativity you can even work around that but I don’t think it’ll be easy. But then again, having the Pulsar and finding ways around these things are the things that might bring nice surprises 😎
Thanks! I think it’s a matter of tweaking and dialling in the setting that are just right. This machine has an awesome character, having the different modules affect each other if you change individual volume settings or envelopes, sort of a compression like effect. And, this recording has the ambient sound in stead of the directly recorded sound!
Thank you! As far as I know, there’s magic involved.. But then again, I’m far from an electric engineer 😅 What I understand is that the diode let’s current pass when it reaches a certain level, and at that point it influences the flow of current at the other end of it too. After that it gets too complicated for me, I think the components receiving the current have an impedance which sort of influences the flow as well. But I could be wrong here eh 😬🖤
chatGPT A diode is a semiconductor device that primarily functions to allow current to flow through it in one direction while blocking current flow in the opposite direction. The basic operation of a diode can be understood through its structure and the principle of semiconductor physics. Here's a simplified explanation: Structure A diode is made from a semiconductor material, typically silicon, doped with impurities to create two distinct regions: P-Type Material: This region is created by doping the semiconductor with an element that provides additional holes (positive charge carriers). N-Type Material: This region is doped with an element that provides extra electrons (negative charge carriers). The interface between these two regions is called the PN junction. How It Works Forward Bias (Allowing Current to Flow): When the P-type side (anode) is connected to the positive terminal of a power supply and the N-type side (cathode) to the negative terminal, the diode is said to be in forward bias. In this condition, the electric field at the PN junction decreases, allowing current to flow through the diode. Electrons are able to cross the junction from the N-type region to the P-type region where they recombine with holes, allowing electrical current to flow. Reverse Bias (Blocking Current): When the P-type side is connected to the negative terminal of a power supply and the N-type side to the positive terminal, the diode is in reverse bias. In this state, the electric field at the PN junction is strengthened, which prevents electrons in the N-type region from moving across to the P-type region, effectively blocking the current flow. A very small leakage current might flow due to minority carriers, but for practical purposes, this current is negligible. Breakdown Voltage: If the reverse voltage applied across the diode is increased beyond a certain point, the diode can enter a breakdown region where it starts conducting in the reverse direction. This is a non-ideal behavior and can damage the diode if the current is not limited. Diodes have numerous applications, including rectification (conversion of AC to DC), signal modulation, voltage regulation, over-voltage protection, and as switches in many types of electronic circuits. Their ability to control the direction of current flow makes them fundamental components in electronic devices.@@ConatusModulari
Thanks! And yea, never thought of that but since it’s a fairly new machine it should have the updated module. This will probably sound a lot different with the old one 🤔
great video. I'm getting some interesting results, but not quite like this. I'm finding the envelope on the kick is affected as soon as the diode is connected, and I can't get it snappy enough to be a kick, more like a bass movement with fluctuating attack speed. Some more experimentation needed I think.
I’ve been experimenting a bit myself too, try integrating on of the condensers in the signal. To shorten certain signals, it could help tighten things up a bit. There are some sweet spots, dialling in combinations of pitch, tune, envelop attack and release, even overdrive 👌
@@ConatusModulari thanks for the reply, appreciate it. I spent a couple more hours with it last night, definitely all about finding that sweet spot. I managed to get some really nice ghost notes in on a 4 to the floor using the square lfo instead.
@@zhivagoddOh that's something I hadn't even thought of, but I'll def have to try that. Thanks! And good to hear it's working for you, I have noticed patches on the Pulsar are tricky to recreate.
