Just figured out that by using one of the tricks i learned doing the John Cage 4’ 33" challenge up thread, that i can make arpeggiator sequences with more rhythmic interest, by having some of the sequence too low to sound. It works well.
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now this I like!..someone you isn’t complaining about the lack of a given feature, and coming up with an innovative werkaround to get what they want. 
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I just tried the glide in theremin mode. I gave a kind of “glissando” effect when “key lock” is enabled. Kind of fun to play with.
Looking forward to playing more with the ribbon. With keylock it kan be kind of cool to just slide up and down. Remember doing something similar with a quantizer on my modular. Just playing melodies with a knob sending cv into the quantizer. Playing the knob like a keyboard.
Do you know if there is a way to turn off the ribbon for the internal sound when in theremin mode? So it would work as a separate controller for external gear?
On the Ribbon quantized “glide”, the Glide number sets how fast the run happens. I wish the slowest was just a little slower though.
You mean having all the Theremin controls, just not making a sound. I think the only way is using “Mod Only” and using the Mod Matrix. So you could output the Ribbon data as CV or MIDI that way, and have no control on the HS sound if you choose. But no quantize or glide control internally as far as i know.
But i’m willing to be surprised, if someone has ways to do stuff internal to the HS. I’m always getting surprised by the HS !
How about using an LFO to add vibrato, to an output only Ribbon signal ? What else could be done using the Mod Matrix along with the Ribbon output ?
Yeah, it is very flexible. Will have a look “under the hood” and see if i find some cool ways to use the ribbon.
But if it can be set to send cv, i think i can patch up a comparator to make a gate signal, and run that through a quantizer. If i then send a delayed and inverted signal mixed in, i can get an initial quantize, and the posibility to glide freely after that. Hmmm, sounds like i’ll be patching again tonight! 
Tested sending gate signals from my modular to trigger envelopes during my “lunch break” today. Works like a charm. And i can get some more randomness to some “dub chords” im playing with.
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… all sorts of creative possibilities there. Sounds good.
OK, so i’m scratching my head a little. I notice in the manual in System Setup page 7, #4 there is a parameter Control Voltage Source that can be specified as either Keyboard or Theremin. The manual gives this detail on that:
CV Source: Keyboard, Theremin
This setting allows you to specify whether the keyboard or the ribbon will be the CV/Gate source. For best results, set the ribbon to Theremin Mode (p. 69) and enable the Quantize parameter so its output will conform to the selected Scale.
So this probably does not apply using the Ribbon in Mod Only mode, which i think is the only way to turn off the Ribbon generating audio. Using this the Ribbon generates data that can be used in the Mod-Matrix.
I think this CV Source parameter governs the operation of the PITCH, and GATE CV output signals, though the manual doesn’t say that explicitly. Probably.
So that’s another way to output from the Theremin, with an optional quantization with Key and Scale values set. But (as currently thought) being in Theremin mode there is also internal audio generated. The nice part of this is that it includes a Gate signal.
ADDED: What happens if CV Source is set to Theremin, but the Ribbon is set to Mod Only ? Is there data still sent to PITCH and GATE CV outputs ? If so what is that data ?
ADDED: ALSO — you have a choice of RbnAbs, RbnAbs+, and RbnRel for input values to the Mod-Matrix. I guess you could use all three simultaneously, each for a separate purpose and separate output from the Mod-Matrix.
Just tested, and when you set the Ribbon to mod only, it doesnt send gate anymore. But it does disconnect it form the internal sound engine. But if i set up the mod wheel to ouput cv via the mod out, i can use that to control a vca. That gives me a theremin like experience and it is disconnected from the internal sounds.
This is not the kind of distractions i need when working from home. hehe.
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It does work using mod for controlling an vca, and ribbon in modulation mode for pitch via the mod 1 and 2 outputs. But it needs some scaling to “track” according to the keyboard. Will see if this is something i can have some fun with.
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Your enthusiasm is inspiration thomaso !
The past day, on and off, i’ve been doing a thought experiment on ways to split off parts of my HSK so that they could be used for controlling external devices while having the rest of the controls for playing the HSK independent of them.
The Mod-Matrix is one central piece of this — that you can take inputs and send them off to outputs without affecting other parts in the Mod-Matrix having to do with the synth’s operation.
So for inputs to the Mod-Matrix there are the Envelopes and LFOs (as many as you can spare), the Ribbon, the Wheels, the Expression Pedal (the electronic interface, it doesn’t have to an “expression pedal” per se). Also available are the Macro knobs which on their own can be set to make independent output, as well as control independent actions by Envelopes and LFOs that may be running independently.
This “independence” also applies to other Mod-Matrix inputs that don’t have direct sound making functions, those being the external sources from CV, MPE and MIDI. But these are less interesting to me, why feed them into the HSK, just so they can come out the other side ?
There is control of Rate and Level for LFOs and the AHDSRs of the Envelopes. Envelopes can be set to Freerun with infinite loops, or can be triggered by note presses for independent external actions — how about for instance to control an FX box processing notes created by the HSK.
For the outputs to the Mod-Matrix there are the two CV outputs — Mod1 and Mod2, and the 128 values for all the MIDI CCs.
But wait there’s more — if a little cheat is allowed. The cheat being i have a Blokas Midihub. Other MIDI processors would work equivalently. This would be in the same category with the CV processing you are working on, thomaso.
One thing a device like the Midihub can do is split off the MIDI CCs to various MIDI connections, and change the data around.
But another thing could be to split the poly-aftertouch keyboard. You first put the HSK in Local OFF mode. There would be no 49 key limit, as you can use the octave shift to move around and change the number of keys displayed for each use. The Midihub can split and shift the note values.
I noticed something else interesting about Local OFF — it also turns off the Theremin audio. The Theremin though will still send NRPN code in response to Ribbon actions. (Unfortunately the Midihub doesn’t have NRPN processing built in.)
I tried a MIDI loopback cable with Local OFF and that allows me to play sounds from the keyboard, but interestingly the HSK doesn’t play the Ribbon NRPN code. (Or at least not for me so far.) I’m guessing that it is limited to an internal path.
Just some ideas.
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I tried integrating the modular yesterday. I set up an oscillator sending its output via an vca back to the mod1 input. Mod out 1 and 2 where pathced to the ocillators FM input and vca. So i could bring the level of the oscillator up and down with the mod wheel. I also sent pitch cv to the oscillator so it tracked according to the keyboard.
Sent the modular osc into the ringmod, and mutant 1 in fm-lin mode. Ribbon was set to mod only, and worked as an pitch offset. Didnt get anything super usefull, but it was fun to play around with. There is a lot of potensial with the cv in and out to do stuff.
I did notice that the ribbon didnt work when i had it in local off mode. Will try to see if this can be used for disconnecting the Ribbon fully when in theremin mode. I just thought that my Akai Force didnt send NRPN’s back to the keyboard.
I also tried filter FM with an external oscillator. It gave a different kind of sound than when doing this in the analog domain. But it worked. Gave a bit of crunchy lofi sound. Can be usefull!
There are so many posibilities in this synth.
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Good stuff again thomaso ! I’m glad we went off on this jag, it helps me open up my thinking on ways to use my gear … together.
Worth mentioning here something about the HS not in the manual. This has been talked about here before way up thread, long ago. The System Setting of Local OFF only lasts while the power is up. The HS always powers up with Local ON. This is not a bug, but intentional behavior, decided upon by ASM. Good, bad, or otherwise, that is just the way it is.
So a take away for me with this all: always think about ways to expand control from and too the HS. In the same way that i leave an expression pedal plugged in and add it to patches like a 9th Macro control, i now will think about the CVs and MIDI in and out the same way.
Using BPM rates on externally expressed LFOs and Envelopes, is an easy ways for me to extend the HS. The HS is bigger than i’ve imagined it.
I need to keep this perspective, particularly this Spring when my Osmose will be landing.
I really want to blur the lines between the HS and the O.
Yeah, i noticed that the local off doesnt save. I scratched my head when i got this strange pwm like effect when i initialised a patch. But i had just restarted the hydrasynth. So it was a midi loop.
A little bit annoying. Especially since it is a few menus down in the system settings.
Osmose keyboard looks nice. Curious how it will work when you get one. I did consider it when the first preorder price was pretty good. Now it is too expensive for me. But the HS keyboard makes up for it. Poly aftertouch is a big step from channel aftertouch.
I hope i’ll get some more time to really dig into this synth soon. I only get some time here and there. Sound is good, and the posibilities almost endless.
Only issue i really have now is the latency. But hopefully i can live with it.
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My arp doesn’t seem to work? Or does the arp just not work with the touch pads on the HSD?
Do I have some weird settings I need to change? I turn arp on, press a pad and no sound happens. Turn arp off, press a pad and sound happens. I’ve checked the envelopes of course, and I’ve gone to patches I’ve made specifically for arps and get no sound.
What is your clock sync set to? (System Setup Page 4, #1) ADDED: You want it set to INT RUN.
Aside from that had it been working and stop, or has it never worked ?
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Or Auto
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Set CLOCK SYNC for whatever you need, all four settings have a use.
AUTO is nice in that, it scans all the possible clock sources looking for a clock signal, and uses that source, or switches to another when that clock source is interrupted, with a priority of USB > DIN MIDI > Internal.
AUTO is NOT nice for the same reason, it scans all the possible clock sources looking for a clock signal, and that can cause unintended surprises.
Personally i always use INT RUN unless i have a specific reason to do something else.
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Yeah you should make sure there is only one device sending clock at the same time
Just got the HSK and glad I read this. Although it’s not that uncommon either. Just something to remember. I was pleased that the Save State function they added kept basically everything else I did from my last session besides the Local off.
including Clock Sync, upon whose rocks one can crash, if you remove an external clock source, and fail to change the setting. (Or set it to AUTO and get surprised when it changes the source on its own.)
Congratulations BassesAndPads, on your acquisition. Enjoy the HSK !
I’ve just been messing with Tap Trig set to ON. That’s on Arpeggiator page 2 and sticks with the patch. There’s another example, where you might switch to a patch, and all of a sudden, the arpegiator “is not working.”
Neat feature !
I posted about it over in the Tips and Tricks thread:
ADDED: Adding to the Tap Trig and Theremin combination i described in the Tips and Tricks thread, i now have a variation.
Get an arpeggiator pattern going with a fairly wide sample of notes. Set it to Phrase and pick one you like, let’s say 41. Set the Voice to a Key and Scale of your preference — that controls the chord sounds. Set Tap Trig to ON.
Then set the Ribbon into Theremin mode. Your option how much glide you select. Hold set to OFF. You may choose to Octave Shift the Theremin up a couple of octaves. Then go to Theremin page 2 and select a different Key/Scale combination for the Theremin. That’s right we’re going BIMODAL !
So far, i like using the same Key as the voice, but taking a different Scale. Better to use a Scale with fewer notes, like any labeled “Pentatonic”, or the “In”, or “Insen”. You may get ideas from the Scale Table in the Manual.
Then go back to Ribbon page 1. Stretch your left hand so, your pinky plays the Tap Trig, and your thumb, can control the Theremin Quantize knob to turn it ON and OFF. (It is the same stretch as playing octaves on a standard keyboard, doable.) That allows you to more fluently play the Theremin, moving in and out of harmonies. Reinforcing some chordal notes on the Theremin sounds so good.
Unfortunately the Theremin commands are not in the Mod-Matrix Destinations, so you either play the Quantize knob as described, or work out the NRPN, for external control. You can’t just move it to the expression pedal, or a MIDI CC input.
This technique is something you can pretty quickly learn to be expressive with, with a little practice. Just another piece of alternative technique.