Dual VCO / DVCO

Thanks man, I appreciate it!

To add to this, after making some really nice acid sounding basslines with the Rytm, I decided to sell my TB-03 and MS-50G. I’ve found the 303 and clones too thin in comparison and need to be put through a pedal to thicken them up, vs the Rytm’s acid being heavy straight out of the box (the built-in overdrive helps).

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Could explain in more detail how you’re doing this? I’m still new to the AR and would like to get deeper into sound design with it :wink:

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Here’s a nice sounding starting point:

Synth (Dual VCO):
0 0 0 20
10 0 63 100

Sample:
x x x x
x x x 0

Filter:
0 10 127 80
10 40 LP2 30

Amp:
0 auto 80 0
off off cen 127

From there, you can tweak the filter cutoff and resonance to taste.

Hopefully that helps.

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Read about single cycle waves here: AR- Working with single cycle samples, this should give you a good idea of how to handle the sample section (it’s basically a very short looping sample that acts as a sampled oscillator, there are many free banks around the web you can find, and you can basically make your own from whatever samples you fancy experimenting with)

Then you will simply mix this 3rd sound source with the two oscillators from DVCO. Hope this gives you a starter to play with :slight_smile:

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There’s also @Ess’s Software & Hardcore apps for synthesising single cycle wave forms. They both have dedicated output configurations for a few different samplers.

Setup on macOS is a bit fiddly, but all the notes are in the package / in the thread. I’ve personally not got Hardcore working, but others have. The waves I got from Softcore are great. Nice, scrunchy harmonics.

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wish the AR had the same function as DT where you can control all sample settings at the same time

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You can set all tracks to the same midi channel and control all from a midi controller, Digitakt, Octatrack etc.

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This might be GAS talk but:

I love the sound quality of dual vco on my AR for synths (bass, lead, pads, chords). Simple but so good (don’t know how to describe it, juicy? Analog? electric?). The added distortion after the mixer is also great.

The problem is I don’t enjoy using AR’s interface, clearly designed for drums - even with a midi keyboard, it’s just not so fun to use.

The only other analog synth I have is the A4 - which is very cool but it’s a different thing (maybe because of its digitally controlled oscillators)… DVCO sounds great without the need for complexity. Just simple waveforms and filter and it’s great and musical in a less too-perfect way (please don’t tell me it’s because it’s out of tune :smile: sometimes I make sure I tune them with a static LFO and it sounds great)

Does any of you feel the same?
Do you know of another synth that has a nice interface and sounds Gigantic like these VCOs?

(From sound demos online minilogue XD looks like it could fill that place, the interface seems great, but demos can sound misleading IMO)
A distortion unit after A4 could add new ‘harmonics’ (unsure about the term here). Maybe I should try the Heat? (It seems a bit of an expensive experiment for me)

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Have a look at the Pro 3. For an apples-to-apples comparison to the A4, it’s essentially one voice of the A4 but only has four patterns of 64 steps that can be p-locked per sound, but sadly, changing sounds is not instant.

But boy does it sound like the sound you’re looking for, plus more!

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I used a faderfox ec4 to control all the params on vco, a little bit of work to set up but the web interface is easy enough, makes it a lot easier to drive once its done.

The dreadbox synths always seemed good for a raw characterful sound. The minilogues seem like a good choice too, everyone seemed to like them.

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I definitely feel the same way about the dual VCO. It’s pretty raw and wild sounding. I feel like there’s a lot going on in that first mysterious parameter that is hard to replicate- (some fm but something else too) definitely a totally different sound to the other monosynths I’ve had (sh101 and odyssey). Could you (I mean we) perhaps sequence it with the a4 somehow? (And sequence the A4 as a drum machine with retrigs from the rytm?)

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I recently bought a XD to pair it with my ARmk2.
I really like it but I have to admit that the ARs DVCO is in another league soundwise. Nonetheless it‘s a great couple as they have a very different character and therfore the seem to naturally seperate from each other in a mix.

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Yes, absolutely.

Unfortunately I don’t. You might be able to find something equally raw and juicy sounding in the modular world, I guess (?)

I kinda wish Elektron would just take the DVCO circuits and put them it into an A4 successor. Although they’d probaply have to change it here and there as the tracking is not 100% accurate, which isn’t s big deal for a drum machine, but would pose a problem for a mono/poly synthesizer.

The config parameter basically changes waveforms and also changes how the two oscs interact.
Osc 1 offers sine and sinesaw, osc 2 offers sine, skewed sine, triangle, sinesaw and saw.
When you start at 0 changing the config, the two oscs are mixed, indicated by the little “+” symbol and as you turn the knob, you cycle through all available osc waveforms and their combinations.

After osc mix ("+") you get to ring modulation, indicated by the little “R” and again the cfg parameter cycles through all the different possible waveforms for both oscs.

Next is FM (indicated by an “F”), osc 1 is the carrier, modulated by osc 2.

Last configuration is FM with ringmod (“FR”).

The different comfigurationd are also available with osc reset, the “_” that appears under config indicates oscillator reset, so with each trig, the osc phases on this cfgs are reset.

If you check the DVCO waveforms on an oscilloscope, you’ll notice that they are pretty unsusual looking. Also the filter and filter drive are just lovely, so it all adds up to this very special, raw sound.

A4 and AR offer only very basic midi sequencing, it’s basically just notes (note on/off and velocity).

I like to sequence my AR and also my AK from my OT. OT can do retrig over midi, p-locking midi cc and of course has three lfos per track. So lots of possibilities there. You can even control and sequence AR scenes and performance macros as well as A4/AK macros.

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You can set up a track of the rytm to play the multi map channel of the A4 fyi.

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I really dislike the VCO of the Rytm actually i don’t like the analog synthesis of the rytm at all

Can I ask, what about the DCVO don’t you like?

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The sound is not convincing

Maybe because I have other analog mono synth that i like more

It does take a bit of coaxing, but I find the ocillator, filter and overdrive incredible sounding.
A trick I just discovered is using two to make a stereo voice and the third for character layering. Awesome.

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i love using aftertouch with DVCO. setting AT to some of the synth parameters and filters achieves one of the most expressive monosynths out there!

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