This patch began with a sound. I was messing around and trying to figure out a good LPG (low-pass gate) sound, and I happened upon this, which uses a VCA followed by a low-pass SV filter, set to instant. It’s obviously not a perfect emulation, but it gets into that sort of pluck/percussion territory pretty well, especially when an exponential decay (provided by a multiplied sawtooth LFO) is applied to the gain and filter frequency simultaneously. The intensity is modulated both by LFO and by random module.
The sound source for the LPG is an FM synth; there are three voices, and each uses different FM ratios (for the most part). The FM amount is also modulated by unique LFOs per voice. Combined with the varying intensity of the LPG, this can result in tones from really metallic to really organic.
Notes are selected using a six-option proportionate mixer; the mixer chooses between various triads made from a major scale. The root note is E.
Everything passes through a delay, which has a ratio of ~7/8th the time of the clock — I really liked the echo/repeat pattern this created (this is why you gotta get off those straight synced delays people!). Then there’s a reverb lite with its decay and mix modulated by more LFOs.
The patch occasionally changes time, because I could never decide if I liked it faster or slower. Probably a weak point, because it’s a bit jarring (just pick a tempo for a performance!) when it changes, but… there it is.
Also, I restarted my Patreon, since people have asked a lot about that, if you want to support the stuff I do (overly long livestreams, videos of trees, etc.):
