Modular Synth Basics #05: Attenuators, Polarizers & Offsets 

Thank you! That's great to hear :)

Update: 9 years later and still super helpful. Really digging this entire series.

Thanks! Glad you enjoy it :)

+Sam Dunstall awesome! That's great to hear :) enjoy!!!

That's great to hear! Thanks :)

Thank you! There are always people who don’t like stuff, but I’m really happy that the majority find the videos useful 😊

​@@tuesdaynightmachines Yes you're right! And I should have focus on, and mentioned this point! Thank you for the remind!

That's great! The Modular iPad App is a good way to practice for the real thing :) I also recorded a little jam session with it some time ago: iPad Ambient Drone Music (Modular iOS App)

That's great :) I'm sure you'll have a lot of fun with those modules!

Great to hear that it was a useful video! Thanks for the sub =)

Thanks! :)

Thanks for watching! :)

Thank you :)

Thank you =)

I don't exactly understand what you mean, but using a *2 amp and a -5V offset will make a 0 to +5V signal become -5 to +5V.

I think the Moog iOS modular looks awesome. There is also an App simply called "Modular", which I like too. The workflow really is the same as on a real hardware modular synth. Sound and haptics/feeling are of course different with real knobs and cables, but hardware is also a lot more expensive.

Thanks!

+alternatingbitmusic thanks for watching :)

Hmm, okay. But usually this kind of stuff explains itself when you wiggle around. Offset won't do anything to audio, and Amps make it louder and Attenuators more quiet.

@@tuesdaynightmachines IMHO it's perfect like that, without annoying background music. Thanks for sharing!

@@tuesdaynightmachines Mby a little late, but i don't have anything to wiggle around on. im watching this video to learn how to use it, so i don't buy one and don't know how to.

That’s cool :) You can also practice with VCV Rack or other virtual modular synths nowadays.

@@tuesdaynightmachines Thanks, didnt know about that. Just installed it, but is there a way this can replace buying one?

It's fascinating indeed! I started in 2010 and just learned by reading articles and forums on the internet, watching tons of videos and reading synth manuals thoroughly. And of course I kept programming sounds from scratch to learn how synths "work". Once you get how VCOs, VCAs, ADSRs, etc can be combined (in a modular or non-modular) it's not that difficult anymore.

+Rienk Speelman it shouldn't mess with audio mixing, however with DC coupled signals, you might mix yourself a voltage offset in your audio output which you usually want to avoid due to possible distortion.

but thats only when you mix it with cv right?

Hi :) Offset generators are like mixers, mixing the input signal voltage with another constant voltage (the offset). And just like mixers, they will clip at a certain level, usually around +/-10V. This can distort the input signal, which might not be desirable for your patch, but which is generally safe. I demonstrate this in the following video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-FCr5xn4cHfo.html

A lot of modules have attenuATORS in front of their inputs, yes. In your LFO example, offset will shift the midpoint of the modulation effect. Let’s take a filter instead of the MI module though. If you offset the LFO modulation positively, the filter might never fully close. Watch the video again and look at the graphs (maybe pause it too). And then of course try it out yourself.

​@@tuesdaynightmachines Thanks for you reply. So no attenuverters but attenuators?!?! But sometimes there is + on the right and - on the left of the cv input: Would that make it a attenuverter?

@@_jurk ah sorry, maybe I'm out of the loop :D In that case they are actually attenuverters. In my memory modules used to have mostly just attenuators, but I guess times are changing, which is nice.

There are a ton and it really depends on what you want to do with the synth. Check out the muffwiggler.com forums! :)

No, Buchla is not Eurorack, so they won't fit in the same case. Although there are Buchla-inspired Eurorack modules from Verbos and Sputnik for example.

What format can Buchla be used on?

+Rodrigo Guzman Only on Buchla as far as I know (Buchla is a "format" itself).

ahh okay.. makes much more sense now.. thank you :)

You’re missing offset, which would be addition/subtraction ;-) What you describe is exactly what a polarizing amplifier does though. The question here is how much maximum amplification do you want? 2x, 3x ... 10x? The wider the value range, the less precise the control with just one potentiometer will be. The more components and features (amplification, inversion, etc.) the more complex and expensive the module might be. Also, a problem with attenuverters is often that the zero point is in the middle of the range and difficult to dial in quickly/precisely. So sometimes you just want an attenuator to turn down a signal. Sometimes you just need a precise -1x inverter. Analog amplification might also introduce noise or other artifacts. So having those features spread across several modules which can be combined to one’s individual needs is what the modular experience is all about, but you will also find all-in-one modules too. Another thing to take into account is module size. You might fit two attenuators into the same module space as just one attenuverter+offset. Rack space is always limited, so it’s good to have modular module choices :)

Don't worry :) just experiment and have fun for now and slowly read up on new stuff once you feel comfortable. Modulars are so deep that you won't learn everything in one day (or a lifetime) anyway.

To invert and scale signals. Take an ADSR for example. It's usually only positive, "adding" its effect to something like a VCA or filter. If you use a polarizer to invert it, you could actually subtract it, closing a filter or VCA instead of opening it.

Okay! Thx

+최하경 2:34 "Attenuation and inversion will still work though, as those leave the center of the waveform where it is ..." Gotta work on my pronunciation :D Now that you mentioned it, I can't unhear myself saying "the scent of the waveform" ... it's always a good scent though. Haha :-P

+The Tuesday Night Machines haha.. my listening is very suck ;) thank you for replying!