A gritty, distorted MIDI controlled mono-synth with noisy feedback.

This is a nice one, a brutal monophonic synth built around voice (two sawtooth oscillators + LPF) that’s fed through a short full wet reverb and then into a distortion module. Having the distortion AFTER the verb gives things a unique character, but if that’s not gritty enough there’s PWM on the oscillators, and the whole thing is also be fed into a short, self-oscillating delay line which has another distortion module in the feedback loop (which can give some nasty, screaming overtones).

Since it’s only monophonic I made sure to make it nice and expressive, so there’s glide (only if you keep notes pressed), and PWM speed can be controlled via MIDI pressure (= aftertouch) going into almost ring-mod territory, and the main low-pass filter cut-off is controlled via mod wheel.

It’s a very aggressive sounding synth, capable of rumbling bass, or screaming soaring leads (that could be straight from any Cult Of Luna album), or even just total chaotic industrial noises. It’s one of my favourite synth patches currently!

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[OVERVIEW]
-Input/Output: Stereo input (goes straight dry through), Stereo out
-CPU load: Around 102%
-Build: Initial version built on ZOIA with firmware 2.8
-MIDI: All MIDI related modules (in PEACH colour) are on the 3rd page marked MIDI. I use channel 10 and if controls are set to CC’s I use CC 21/36 (see CONTROLS section for details).
-CV Inputs: Unused.
-CV Inputs: Unused.

[REVISIONS]
1.0: Initial patch.

[PATCH STRUCTURE]
Been too long ago, so the brief description at the top is all you’re getting, sorry.

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[CONTROLS]
All the main controls are on PAGE0 and are labeled and starred (see below for a “Picture Manual” in the comments). The Stereo Output module with gain parameter is on PAGE1. The mod wheel (MIDI CC 1) is set to the main filter cut-off (there’s no other control for that on the main page).

ATTACK/DECAY/SUSTAIN/RELEASE (speaks for itself)

LEVEL (sets the level of the synth)
PWM (sets the depth of PWM)
GRIT FREQ (sets the cut-off of LPF before distortion)
GRIT REZ (sets resonance of LPF before distortion)
NOISE (sets amount of noise modulation)

FBCK ON (toggles the oscillating delay line feedback)
FBCK MIX (sets the level of the feedback oscillation)
FBCK TUNE (can be used to tune the delay line to specific frequency; there’s a keyboard track toggle on 2nd page)

PRESSURE MOD ON (toggles routing of MIDI pressure to MOD RATE)
PRESSURE MOD DEPTH (sets amount of pressure modulation of MOD RATE)
MOD RATE (sets the rate of PWM)

ZOIA stompswitches = Unused.
ZEBU LEFT / RIGHT buttons = Unused.

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[TIPS/TRICKS]
>>> Default settings should get you well on your way with this one, but you can try turning GRIT and PWM down for a cleaner sound.
>>> Or toggle that FBCK on, crank the FBCK mix, max the PWM depth and let it rip through the fabric of reality!
>>> Don’t forget; the main filter opens ONLY via Mod Wheel. So there’s no Filter Envelope, that intentional and suits my playing style for this patch really well (but would be easy to add that).

[THOUGHTS/IDEAS/PLANS]
If I can find some CPU savings I’d love to add a Stereo Spread, but right now it’s too close to clipping. But maybe I might get away with just ONE distortion module, which could free up space…
Also, while writing this text it occurred to me that it might make a lot of sense to have a main filter cut-off Value module on the UI page somewhere… Oh well!

If there’s any bugs/questions/remarks/requests or suggestions for improvement, please let me know!
Enjoy!

(Image: Nicolas Rivals)

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P.S. Yes, I know there’s already a patch called “The Monolith”, but this is MONOLITH… and I’ve been using it for over a year before uploading here so not gonna change the name now, sorry :P