Your Oscillators New Best Friend! // VCO's Little Helper (VLH) by Takaab (SIAM Modular)

Рет қаралды 9,193

Күн бұрын

Here we're checking out VCO's Little Helper (the VLH) by Takaab (who are SIAM Modular too). It's a small 2hp module that can work like an expander for any oscillator you want to use it with. There's two inputs giving you two octaves of sub oscillators (-1 and -2), ring modulation, a noise source and thru outputs to save multiples or stacking cables to keep patching with your inputs.
Here's what Takaab have to say "VCO’s Little Helper is a eurorack module that supercharges your existing oscillators by adding a ring mod, sub and noise. The VLH was designed in collaboration with journalist and musician Steve O'Hear following a conversation asking how we could squeeze the features found in the VCO section of many vintage synthesizers into a eurorack system."
VLH is also a affordable addition to a Eurorack system priced around £/€/$100 (it's 4040 Thai Baht). It's available direct here // www.siammodular.com/takaab-vl...
Here's the mini documentary on how the VLH came to life // • Takaab VLH : VCO's Lit...
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*TIMING INDEX // CHAPTERS*
00:00 Hello & patch previews
00:48 What is the VLH? Features & back story
02:16 Creating big thick rich waves from any oscillator
04:27 Single VCO stereo mega sub swarm
06:48 Ring modulation - musical overtones with added clang!
08:42 Subs & noise as modulators - unique PWM FX
10:39 Sub processors as clock dividers
11:48 Ring mod for modulation - new waves to make your patches wobble
THIS VIDEO IS SPONSORED BY TAKAAB / SIAM MODULAR* they have funded the creation of this demo video, any questions just ask.
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Пікірлер: 91

@bsbazzman 5 ай бұрын

Takaab is so underrated. Quality stuff for very affordable prices. Looking forward to to checking this out and great deep dive as always 🎉

@DivKid 5 ай бұрын

I really like their 2LPG, that gets used loads. Thanks, appreciate the comment.

@bsbazzman 5 ай бұрын

@@DivKid yeah 2LPG is a staple for me as well. Dunno how you can beat it!

@JakeWorrell 5 ай бұрын

another big fan of the 2LPG here. When I bought it I thought I was getting something cheap that would do the job until I bought something better but years later it's still one of my most used modules.

@DivKid 5 ай бұрын

likewise, I have other options and enjoy them but I still use the 2LPG too.

@tmmtommy 5 ай бұрын

Hello from Thailand! Thanks for shining some light on this one Ben. One of my personal favorites. Great use of 2hp and a fantastic way to spice up small racks and simple oscillators.

@DivKid 5 ай бұрын

Hello! They packed a lot in that then adds a lot to other things. Which is great!

@Reyescult 5 ай бұрын

It sounds great and pairs so well with their VCO-3340 in this demo. I think I'll have to get both!

@siammodular 4 ай бұрын

Thanks for all the comments and feedback folks. Glad to hear people are digging the VLH! Incidentally, for anyone wanting to know more about the VLH project, there's a great interview with Steve on The Gaz Williams Show. They talk all things music and modular, and do some patching with the VLH: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/idR3bK1hyp7bl2g.html

@DivKid 4 ай бұрын

Thanks for sharing that one too

@mikegeary8056 4 ай бұрын

This is very handy and small. I like.

@turbotambourine 5 ай бұрын

Goodness! This module seems like so much fun! I gotta get one and another mixer while I’m at it!

@DivKid 5 ай бұрын

utility mixers are like the lifeblood of my system. Always worth having them around.

@siammodular 4 ай бұрын

The VLH works so well with the Takaab Mix and expander.

@turbotambourine 4 ай бұрын

@@DivKid I agree and am often trying to figure out where best to fit one. Right now I think I need another on squeezed into my 1u, might get a duatt and then an ALA 3:1. I have a question you may or may not be able to answer. I’m short a stereo mixer so I’ve been multing a mono signal to put into each of the precision summers and then taking left and right from ghost into the other input of each. Essentially making those case utilities into a stereo mixer. The downside is there isn’t any light to indicate clipping. Will that workflow adversely affect my signal to the point I should just sort out a stereo mixer or should that be fine? I almost considered getting a separate 2hp module to monitor level a bit better.

@turbotambourine 4 ай бұрын

@@siammodular agreed! Seemed to work so well here! I’m definitely trying to sort out some more mixing. Right now trying to fill up a 4u case so it may be before or after that’s full realistically. Just 1u space free atm. This video reminded me of how I had wanted to at some point get that 1u 2lpg.

@DivKid 4 ай бұрын

If you can't hear clipping and it sounds good, go with it. If you (or you can see clipping on audio files that you record) then seek to sort it out. Does your whole sound run through Ghost? Or is Ghost a separate send that needs blending externally with the dry? Ghost has a volume control, maybe your other sounds could have some level control before the summers if needs be? What summer modules do you use? Is it precision adding or average summing? (The Joranalogue Add2 has jumpers to set up either behaviour).

@damianmorillas7189 5 ай бұрын

I visited his workshop in Chiang Mai, Thailand last year while I was on holiday. I got a module and some patch cables. Super nice and friendly guy.

@DivKid 5 ай бұрын

Glad to hear it, Pete has been great when I've spoke to him but we haven't met in person.

@ArtFluids 5 ай бұрын

I would like one or two of these because I have the Doepfer Quad VCO, which is four Rev G 3340 VCOs, but there's no sub octave generators. And if you want that "SH-101" sound you really need the sub. The noise is a nice extra as well.

@b10b0b 5 ай бұрын

Every time I set up a new rack this one always finds its way in. So incredibly useful.

@DivKid 5 ай бұрын

luckily it's a small one to creep in :)

@aaronbridgeman5634 5 ай бұрын

I love the sound of the ring mod output when fed a pwm signal into the A input and using the default /2 routing

@DivKid 5 ай бұрын

Nice idea, I'll give that a go. I had a huge list of patches for this one that could have easily turned this into "50 ways to ring mod" - "10 things that love subs" etc. But that would have got big and silly fast.

@monkey_breath 5 ай бұрын

damn, if this ain't just the most perfect little companion for the vcos in my rig....

@robertmcmurry5489 5 ай бұрын

HARD SYNC! thanks Ben, looks like great utility out of 2hp

@DivKid 5 ай бұрын

Thanks and it absolutely it, great use of the space.

@FursAndMasksMusic 5 ай бұрын

HARD SYNC! Lovely little module. I've got my eye on a Nearness as well.

@DivKid 5 ай бұрын

I have a Nearness from someone else, a nice way to make a sprawling stereo image out of things in little space.

@boriscat1999 5 ай бұрын

HARD SYNC! Takaab has a bunch of really clever stuff, I'm a long time customer. VLH is very feature packed. And I find myself using 2LPG v3 quite often especially as an envelope/VCA for simple voices. OCD/ECD (odd and even clock dividers) are really great for working out some interesting rhythms. Takaab has logic modules like SOR and 4NOT, which can be quite powerful when you put them together with clock dividers or fed into a slew. I've used VLH for CV and clocks too. The ring mod works a bit like an exclusive-OR logic, allowing you to skip/zero when two different clock pulses overlap. If you feed it into something that looks for a rising edge trigger, it creates a syncopated beat but it can drop or delay the mathematically related multiples of the beat. You can recover that missing beat with AND logic or a VCA and trigger something else.

@DivKid 5 ай бұрын

Glad to hear you're getting good results and enjoying the other Takaab modules too.

@eddraper 5 ай бұрын

What a clever idea! One of the reasons that eurorack is so cool and special.

@DivKid 5 ай бұрын

Yeah a nice simple addition to lots of other modules. Thanks Edd.

@isotv 5 ай бұрын

Thanks!

@papastratman218 5 ай бұрын

So glad I already have one of these, otherwise GAS would get the better of me. Awesome video. Hard sync. ♥

@DivKid 5 ай бұрын

Hope you're getting good stuff out of it.

@jaredpreston3815 5 ай бұрын

Hard sync for the algo. Another nice video. Going to patch up some sequenced lfo’s and run them through a ring mod when I get home to see what kind of wild bass wobbles come out.

@DivKid 5 ай бұрын

I do also like the idea of someone watching 30 seconds and wondered why everyone is saying hard sync. Hope the ring mod experiments go well.

@markgolland5717 5 ай бұрын

Love Takaab's stuff. Their lpg is amazing value. Also, this is a very similar module to the excellent AntiMatter Sub Ring. A super useful utility module.

@DivKid 5 ай бұрын

Similar ideas yeah, before the Sub Ring came out, or right around the same release time if I remember rightly (but I had a prototype of the latter) the Ring SM came out from AJH Synth too.

@siammodular 4 ай бұрын

Yeah the AJH one came out about a year after the VLH I think. One of our ideas that got thrown out had a mixer like that, on fact I have an early VLH prototype in my 5U rack that looks a lot like the SM Ring. I wasn't aware of the Antimatter sub ring at the timr, think it was already discontinued.

@markgolland5717 4 ай бұрын

The big difference with this module is that, although you lose the input attenuation and mixing, you do get separate outs rather than a mix out of the subs/ring mod. So depending on use cases this module may be more practical.

@DivKid 4 ай бұрын

Both the Sub Ring and the Ring SM were very close in 2016. But it doesn't matter, ideas come in waves as is evident by lots of makers focusing their efforts and ideas in similar places each year. Lots of "performance mixer" ideas going on at the minute for example. As pointed out this looses the mixing but you gain the individual outs and thrus. Plus this is as small as possible and very affordable.

@chitlun 5 ай бұрын

Gets a big HARD SYNC from me! What a fabulous thing… I have the Takaab LPG and couldn’t believe how little it cost and it’s anything but cheap. I reckon I could squeeze one of these into the case though… Cheers for the GAS Ben!

@DivKid 5 ай бұрын

Yeah the 2LPG absolutely doesn't feel cheap, I use that one a lot too.

@darksparklermusic 5 ай бұрын

Great ring mod patch at 6:48🔥

@DivKid 5 ай бұрын

thank you

@matthsmatthsmatths 5 ай бұрын

Great handy little module! Saves me having to use my clock divider for creating sub-octaves of my oscillators! Nice work!

@DivKid 5 ай бұрын

Perfect replacement for that one, cheers mate!

@handoverthegroj 5 ай бұрын

that ring mod patch is seriously groovy

@DivKid 5 ай бұрын

Thanks, I really enjoy sequencing only one waveform going into a ring mod (or AM/FM etc). Making the other a wavetable adds some harmonic shifts that are fun.

@handoverthegroj 5 ай бұрын

@@DivKidwill have to give this a try myself later today:))

@DivKid 4 ай бұрын

hope you got some good results.

@canterburyaudio5836 4 ай бұрын

Really cool!!

@DivKid 4 ай бұрын

Yeah smart little use of space.

@Solersoler 5 ай бұрын

this is amazing. I want more than one!

@DivKid 5 ай бұрын

4 subs and stereo ring mod! You could chain them all.

@unfamiliarenvironments 5 ай бұрын

So handy!

@DivKid 5 ай бұрын

indeed

@synkrotron 5 ай бұрын

some really handy tips here, even not using the VLH maybe I need to look closer at my little used Doepfer ring mod and audio divider... H A R D S Y N C

@DivKid 5 ай бұрын

Yeah worth giving those Doepfer modules a go. You can create a mega spread octave organ thing out of the Doepfer Audio Divider. Is it 8 subs generated on that one? Tune a VCO really high and then go through for loads of octaves. That one acts out with more complex waves as an input, which can be fun.

@wrenchposting9097 5 ай бұрын

@@DivKidthe A-115 produces four subharmonics, 1/2 1/4 1/8 and 1/16 of the original frequency. I use it for an organ/cello-like sound with the ribbon controller, and also as a complex clock because each of the suboctaves can be mixed in and out easily.

@effiksmusic 5 ай бұрын

Great. I have the model hard already and got new sync ideas to integrate in different ways.

@DivKid 5 ай бұрын

haha

@PatternRecognitionMusic 5 ай бұрын

Instructions unclear; I gave studio cat a bath in the kitchen sink, it was hard and now she's mad.

@DivKid 5 ай бұрын

is your cat named VCO and is the help it needs a bath? Maybe another modular format is good for kitty kitchen bathing but I don't think Eurorack clean or soothe the cat.

@alexandermontagnet3361 4 ай бұрын

Awesome! what drum module were you using here? Also, if you order directly from them, do they come fully assembled or are they DIY kits?

@DivKid 4 ай бұрын

They're assembled, I don't think they do any DIY options. Drums for the Ring Mod patch were the SSF Ultra Kick and the SoundForce Samples.

@alexandermontagnet3361 4 ай бұрын

@@DivKid Thanks, I saw. Ended up grabbing the VLH and their dual LPG you were using. Are you a big fan of the SSF drum module options?

@DivKid 4 ай бұрын

Yeah the SSF modules are fantastic. The SoundForce samples is a nice simple sampled based set of 4HP modules for fleshing out more drum sounds for more simple hits in the background against the bigger kick/snare stuff. For example some extra 808 hats, rimshot and maraca for extra depth and spice in the drum mix.

@johngarcia1887 5 ай бұрын

Question: can the last 2 patches work simultaneously? In other words, if an LFO (or 2 LFOs) go into the inputs, would the VLH produce a "ring modulated" waveform + square-shaped subdivisions? That would be 3 novel cv sources, plus the noise output, and the thru-outputs of the original waveforms? Fantastic if that would work!

@isotv 5 ай бұрын

Good question. I need to try this.

@DivKid 5 ай бұрын

I'm not sure of the edge detection on the inputs for the subs. But it should be like a combination of those two patches (clock divider and CV). Some relative waveshape and divisions plus all you're saying. Let me go test ... so yes, a triangle LFO into input A gives the exact shapes you see in the triggered clock division patch in the video. Squares with ramping tops and bottoms.

@johngarcia1887 4 ай бұрын

@@DivKidthat sounds promising. I actually have a VLH in my box of older modules not in the rack. Now you've confinced me to give it a 2nd try--as expander for Instruo Ts-L AND Ochd for other applications! Thanks for looking into this!

@bankhead9285 3 ай бұрын

hard sync. twas awesome.

@DivKid 3 ай бұрын

thanks!

@Kojoohar 5 ай бұрын

Looks like a lighter version of Antimatter Sub Ring

@DivKid 5 ай бұрын

which we could say was a light version of the AJH Synth Ring SM. All similar ideas from the same sort of time period.

@SomeOne-pd6vm 21 күн бұрын

better to be hard in the sink than to sink in the hard

@DivKid 21 күн бұрын

party time in the kitchen

@decapitateallcops3214 5 ай бұрын

He took my module idea!1111 but it this have 2 left hahahahaaaa

@DivKid 5 ай бұрын

This has been out for years now and other similar (though much larger) things came out prior. I also had similar ideas based around some things I'd seen birdkids do. Anyway the nice thing is you now get to try your ideas out.

@gatorgoforth3097 5 ай бұрын

Just put your face on a module with some blinking lights. You’ll make millions!

@DivKid 4 ай бұрын

hahaha