Of all the challenges and labs on the forum lately, this one is maybe the most approachable for me. I do a lot of droning at home. I’m gonna spend a week or two deciding how I want to set it up and play - but I definitely want to submit something here next month 
hope I can get it done.
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Just tried the Vhikk X again - this thing should be banned it’s damn insane what comes out!! Just messed for 20 mins with it - crazy cinematic stuff
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I was at first wary of the Vhikk X, then went so far as to have it in my cart at a retailer only to have them sell out. Now I am wary again. I see the same problem as I had with the Lyra-8, which is that the best parts aren’t reproducible (quite deliberately in the case of Vhikk X, which does some randomization on power-up) and I can see having it alongside other gear but not really integrated, more doing its own thing. Plus, I cannot escape the feeling that, since it is fully digital, I can get pretty close on my iPad, using something like Drambo.
I see posts on social media about people being pulled into modular by it, and there is definitely some immediate gratification, but it feels very anti-modular to me. There are a lot of jacks, but I’m not convinced (from either official or in-the-field demos, the latter being mostly really miserable) that putting modulation into it is any improvement over just turning knobs by hard, slowly, not knowing what the result will be. Since I am more of a “work out what is needed to achieve this end” guy, this module just isn’t for me. Which is not to rule out my buying it, as I am as irrational as anyone else.
It’s a great module but I fully agree it is not really what I would call real modular either. It’s kind of an amazing VST in a module - I think if it was a desktop synth in some kind of 0-Coast type box it would prob be an even bigger hit
I think there is some logic to the controls but it’s confusing as hell as I believe some knobs change function for each algorithm (possibly!). I have a cheat sheet somewhere I need to find and print
I have had three goes with it - the first time I was sending random patch cables into the inputs trying to trigger stuff with no clear idea what was going on and I managed to get some insane Industrial drum sounds that I imagine will never be able to find again.
Anyhow - I hit record in Live 30 mins ago (just reverb added) with no proper idea what I was doing. Some parts sounded pretty cool (some high spikes mind)
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Randomization on power-up sounds like a terrible design choice.
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Yeah I will have to read up on that! When I got it I found the website not the best for a guide / instructions. Not sure if it’s improved since.
I am not sure why it is a Eurorack module. You are right that it would make a bigger splash as a standalone desktop box, and I understand that the creator had no prior experience with Eurorack (did not even own any Eurorack when he started to design the module!). I will hopefully chat with him at Superbooth and get some insights.
You are absolutely right that some of the knobs change function for each algorithm. This is not unprecedented (happens with many Mutable Instruments modules, and devices which use their code, such as Microfreak) but it takes some getting used to. There is a small amount of information on the website but not much.
It’s absolutely the opposite of what I want, but it it is a legitimate choice, and I can understand it while opposing it. There is no randomization in Lyra-8, but it’s also just about impossible to recreate some of the most compelling sounds it can make, because there are no presets and a tiny nudge of some knobs completely changes the sound under certain circumstances. What has replaced Vhikk X in my GAS list is something that offers diversity but also reproducibility, I think (hard to tell without using it).
Legitimately a terrible choice. Naturally that’s just my opinion.
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Okay, I’m on board with that!
For those tuning in who think this a digression: the Vhikk X Eurorack module, which puts a wavetable oscillator into a pitch shifter and reverb, with nine algorithms (more to come, says the designer, though he’s been saying that for a couple of years), is probably the most compelling drone synth in recent memory. If you want to experience a little of what Odysseus might have felt when he had his crew (ears plugged) tie him to the mast so he could experience the music of the Sirens, you could do worse than to listen to @jayhosking’s video.
If I had this module, I would definitely pile it into a Pod64x with a couple of support modules, and take along a powerpack, and use it out in my nearby churchyard on Drone Day.
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Tempted to also put mine into its own Pod to some extent and treat it as a desktop synth as I don’t really have room for it in my main Euro case
I’ve seen that video. Some seriously cool sounds no doubt about that.
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I would put it in a Pod also, because, like you, I don’t have space in my cases, and even if I did, what would I integrate it with? Most of what I see in field recordings from YT is awful. I don’t think anyone has yet figured out how to integrate it with other devices (this is largely true of Lyra-8 as well, but when restrained, it is still an interesting analog synth, whereas Vhikk X is an entirely ordinary wavetable oscillator whose wavetables are a complete mystery).
new web based system for additive drones. with a convolution reverb. i’ll share the project on the 30th May. linking to the visual system so you can play your own version (indefinitely) without my added performance from the synths interface, or my processing from outboard chain.
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Just quickly experimenting this morning.
On power up it retains the same sound / algorithm from when I powered it off. Can’t get it to randomize - unless I did not quite understand.
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I’ll try to find the place in the lengthy MW thread where the designer talks about randomization. It’s possible the firmware has changed since then, or just that I misunderstood.
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Love this idea and love drones! I’ll get something going. Great thread-thanks!
I need to make some drone with my Perkons the ultimate drone and drum machine.
Yeah it did sound familiar when you mentioned it so I also think I have read or seen a video. Will have a hunt also
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Okay, I think I understand why I misunderstood. The original Vhikk (v1) would rerandomize on algorithm switch. Vhikk X (the current version) does not do this. But some people liked to switch away and back again on the original to randomize while maintaining the same algorithm. So the designer added a feature to do this: pressing both buttons at once will randomize. Now, I don’t think it’s true randomization. There are a bunch of tables of random numbers built into the firmware, and the Seed and Scan knobs move over those, so while it sounds random, what they are doing, you can turn a knob back and regain the same state. I suspect the two-button gesture just jumps to different spots in the table. Anyway, it’s not as obnoxious as I thought. But it still feels like auditioning presets rather than doing actual sound design.
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