#Vitamin Lead 8
Vitamin Lead is a polyphonic synth for Organelle S/M with a subtractive synthesis engine inspired by classic virtual analogue synths like the Nord Lead and others.
*Important* This patch will only run on Organelle S or M models, not the original Organelle hardware. It was designed to run on OS 4.2. (Older OS versions have not been tested.)
This patch for Organelle features over a dozen presets with readily accessible “morph” controls that map to multiple parameters in the synth engine.
More detailed control is available by editing patches in Pure Data, in Organelle’s “desktop” mode.
##Change Log
###version 2.0
* Patch folder renamed to `VL8-v2`.
* New ADSR envelope code.
* Added ‘Current’ option to preset menu so you can go back to the current patch settings without selecting a preset.
* Changed MIDI CCs for Morphs (knobs 1-4): now cc 60-63.
* Experimental: the Organelle ‘save’ and ‘save new’ commands (Organelle system menu -> Storage) are handled now and will save the current morphs / sound as the launch setting for the patch.
Note: some of the presets have multiple morphs that map to overlapping synth parameters, which makes them dependent on the order of turning the knobs. This means that when a saved version of the patch is opened from the Orgnalle menu, it may not sound exactly as expected (but it should be pretty close).
###version 1.1
*Important: if you use an external MIDI controller read below.*
* The original version of this patch received notes directly from PD’s [notein] object, as well as Organelle’s [notes] object, which would result in duplicated notes if “MIDI In” is enabled in the Organelle’s MIDI settings menu. In this version [notein] has been disconnected by default. Make sure to enable “MIDI In” on the Organelle menu if you want to use an external device to control VL8. You can return to the original behaviour if you enable the “MIDI Direct” toggle switch in the VL8 patch in Pd. (Make sure to restart VL8 if you make any changes to your MIDI setup.)
* Added velocity sensitivity setting for amplitude and filter cutoff.
* Added channel aftertouch for amplitude and filter cutoff.
* Added a new “velocity” morph that can be used to map parameters to incoming velocity, and reacts on a per-voice basis.
The preset list below indicates – with (v) – which presets respond to velocity and aftertouch from an external controller.
* Implemented MIDI CC messages for all patch parameters. See list below for details.
* Added the Cookie Factory (v) preset.
##Main Features
* 8-voice regular polyphony, or 4 unison voices
* Per-voice velocity (Amp, Filter Cutoff, Velocity Morph)
* Channel Pressure (Aftertouch)
* Two oscillators per voice
* Triangle/Saw/Pulse/Sin/Noise Waveforms
* FM modulation of OSC 1 by OSC 2
* Hard sync of OSC 2 by OSC 1
* One filter per voice (LP1/LP2/HP/BP)
* ADSR amp envelope
* ADSR filter envelope
* AD modulation envelope (FM Amount/OSC 2 Pitch)
* LFO modulation per voice (OSC 1&2 Pitch/OSC 2 Pitch/Filter Cutoff/Pulse width)
* Four mappable “morph” controls
* Midi CC In
##Operation
* Launch the Vitamin Lead patch. The initial screen is the *Preset Menu*.
###Preset Menu
* Turn the encoder knob to highlight a preset on the menu. Press the encoder knob to activate the selected preset.
* The patch will be activated and the current *Patch Settings* page will be displayed.
* Start playing the patch using the Organelle keyboard.
* Select *Home* and press the encoder to return to that Organelle system menu.
* Select *Current* to go to the Patch Settings / Patch Mode screen for the currently programmed sound.
###Patch Settings
* Turn the encoder knob to switch pages between the *Patch Mode* page and the *Morphs* page.
* Press the encoder knob to return to the *Preset Menu*.
###Patch Mode Page
* **Knob 1**: Enable or disable *Unison Mode*
* **Knob 2**: Determine voice detuning that applies to voices in *Unison Mode*
* **Knob 3**: Determine stereo voice separation that applies to voices in *Unison Mode*
* **Knob 4**: Select the active Organelle keyboard octave
###Morph Page
* Knobs 1 – 4 affect various synth engine parameters depending on the preset.
These knobs can completely alter the character of the sound!
They are not mapped to the same synth parameter between presets, and each morph knob may be mapped to multiple parameters. Tweak generously and explore.
###Unison Mode
When unison mode is disabled, Vitamin Lead 8 has eight voice polyphony.
When it is enabled, the voices are paired up, and you get four voices of polyphone.
## Pure Data Patch Editing
### Quick Tips
If you would like to edit patches in more detail, you will find more parameters exposed in the Pure Data interface. You are invited to attach a monitor/keyboard/mouse to your Orgnalle (or use VNC) to access these parameters.
##Factory Patches
0. Vitamin C
1. See Saw
2. Stringtime
3. Octotyping
4. Nine Volt
5. Bassted
6. Personal Jexus (v)
7. Half Glassed (v)
8. Notepad
9. Chip Challenge
10. Sweetie (v)
11. Tipster (v)
12. micromodular
13. It’s a sin
14. Vol
15. No Mouth
16. Rondio
17. Cookie Factory (v)
18. Pool Snare
19. Trip Rep
##MIDI CC Received
| Parameter | CC \# | Values |
|————————–|——-|—————————————————|
| Morph 1 | 60 | 0\-127 |
| Morph 2 | 61 | 0\-127 |
| Morph 3 | 62 | 0\-127 |
| Morph 4 | 63 | 0\-127 |
| Patch Level | 7 | 0\-127 |
| Organelle Octave Shift | 17 | 0\-127 \(maps to a range of \-3 to \+3 octaves\) |
| Unison | 16 | 0\-1 \(off/on\) |
| Unison Detune | 86 | 0\-127 |
| Unison Spread | 87 | 0\-127 |
| LFO 1 Freq | 19 | 0\-127 |
| LFO 1 Shape | 20 | 0\-127 \(triangle = 64\) |
| LFO 1 Destination | 51 | “0\-4 \(nil, osc12 freq, osc2 freq, cutoff, pw\)” |
| LFO 1 Amount | 52 | 0\-127 |
| LFO Note Reset | 82 | 0\-1 \(off/on\) |
| Mod Envelope Attack | 56 | 0\-127 |
| Mod Envelope Decay | 27 | 0\-127 |
| Mod Envelope Dest | 28 | 0\-127 |
| Mod Envelope Amount | 29 | 0\-127 \(\+/\- 0 = 64\) |
| Mod Envelope Loop | 89 | 0\-1 \(off/on\) |
| Osc 1 Type | 30 | “0\-5 \(nil, tri, saw, pulse, nil, sin\)” |
| Osc 2 Type | 31 | “0\-5 \(nil, tri, saw, pulse, noise, sin\)” |
| Osc 2 Tune \(Semitones\) | 78 | 0\-127 \(\+/\-0 = 64\) |
| Osc 2 Fine Tune | 33 | 0\-127 \(\+/\- 0 = 64\) |
| Osc FM | 70 | 0\-127 |
| Osc Pulse Width | 79 | 0\-127 |
| Osc Sync | 35 | 0\-1 \(off/on\) |
| Osc Mix | 8 | 0\-127 \(64 = equal\) |
| Amp Envelope Attack | 73 | 0\-127 |
| Amp Envelope Decay | 36 | 0\-127 |
| Amp Envelope Sustain | 37 | 0\-127 |
| Amp Envelope Release | 72 | 0\-127 |
| Amp Envelope Peak | 83 | 0\-127 |
| Amp Velocity Mod | 85 | 0\-127 |
| Filter Envelope Attack | 38 | 0\-127 |
| Filter Envelope Decay | 39 | 0\-127 |
| Filter Envelope Sustain | 40 | 0\-127 |
| Filter Envelope Release | 41 | 0\-127 |
| Filter Envelope Peak | 88 | 0\-127 |
| Filter Velocity Mod | 45 | 0\-127 |
| Filter Type | 44 | “0\-4 \(LP1, LP2, HP, BP\)” |
| Filter Cutoff | 74 | 0\-127 |
| Filter Resonance | 42 | 0\-127 |
| Filter Envelope Amount | 43 | 0\-127 |
– @samesimilar October 2023, Toronto Canada.
Nice but impossible to load it on an Organelle v3 (2019). It’s super laggy and I can’t even exit the patch. I’ve had to force quit by unplugging the unit. ;(
Hey @nicolasbulb – ouch, sorry to hear you had some trouble with the patch. The patch will not run on the original Organelle hardware, only -M or -S. I developed the patch on the latest OS (v4.2). I’ll add a note to the documentation to clarify the requirements. Thank you for pointing it out.
Thank you for this!! These sounds are amazing <3
I'm having a small issue: when controlling my organelle with my midi keyboard, my polyphony is cut in half (2 voices with unison on, 4 voices with unison off), but playing it with the organelle's keys works just fine. Do you know how I can fix this?
@orca – Thank YOU for downloading and trying it, and sharing your feedback! I’m glad you like the sounds.
Please try the following to address the midi issue: In the Organelle’s MIDI Setup menu, set “Midi In” to “Disabled”.
This may seem counter-intuitive if you want to use an external keyboard. But the VL patch reads MIDI notes directly from the PD [notein] object as well as the Organelle’s [r notes] messages. If Midi In is enabled on the Organelle, it will also pass a separate copy of the notes to the patch (via [r notes]). This would result in half the polyphony.
(My original thinking behind this design decision was that in a previous version of the patch it was possible to split the polyphony between two different VL presets, and play one with the Organelle keyboard, and the other with an external controller. I should either document this behaviour or maybe simplify things.)
No problem! I’ll be definitely checking out your other patches too.
I will try this out and report back tomorrow with the results!
just changed the midi in setting to disabled and it worked like a charm! thank you so much
@orca Thank you for reporting back. Glad to know it’s working.
@orca I’ve changed the MIDI behaviour (in v1.1, just uploaded) so that it works as expected on Organelle, i.e. it now needs Midi In to be “enabled”. You can revert back to the behaviour we talked about in the Pd patch if you enable the “midi direct” toggle switch and save (main.pd). Sorry for any confusion!
Awesome sounding patch. One of my favorite sounding synths for the Organelle. Glad to see you were putting the gen~ wrapper to great use :)
@t8r – Thank you so much! Making a patch like this one was my ultimate goal for the gen~ wrapper and indeed it’s used all over here. These externals are the “vitamins” ;)
Could someone upload a video of the settings and sounds of this patch, please? I can’t test it because of my hardware limitation but I’m curious… ;)
@nicolasbulb I haven’t been able to create a comprehensive video demo yet – my synthfluencer starter pack is still in the mail ;) – but here is a quick appetizer:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CrLyLYAADyM/?igshid=MmJiY2I4NDBkZg%3D%3D
Great job! This sounds great and love the morphs.
@donnerbono Thank you! The morphs are inspired by the Nord Modular and its morph knob capabilities. You can make custom morphs against most of the actual synth parameters if you look at the patch on the Organelle with a display/vnc.
@samesimilar thanks for this beast of a synth! Is there a way to make it react monophonic? I can’t seem to find the function but i might be overlooking it. I want to build mono bass and lead patches where monophony would make certin effects pop more :).Thanks again for sharing your hard work!
Hey @bubberfrog, thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment. It’s very encouraging, and otherwise it’s hard to know how/if people are using / liking VL8!
I don’t think I can give you a simple answer on how to use VL8 as a mono synth. It’s not a functionality that I have programmed into it.
If you want to go into the VL8 patch and tweak things, the simplest thing you could try would be to go into main.pd, then click on the ‘pd synth’ subpatcher to open it. You can change the ‘poly 8’ object to either ‘poly 1’, or ‘poly 1 1’ to try the different voice stealing modes. And … see what happens. (I can’t try it this week myself unfortunately. ) Maybe it will work how you want… or not :) One downside is that only one voice is going to be used.
(The [poly 8] object is used for non-unison mode, the two [poly 4] objects are used for unison mode to distribute the notes to two voices at once.)
I thought originally about actually including a simple monophonic setting as a feature, but then there are questions about how to do voice stealing / ADSR envelopes correctly, and glide, etc. It’s a different philosophy. So my thinking is it would be better to create an entirely different patch.
Lastly, if you want to do a deep dive, there are a number of custom externals in VL8 that you can hook up however you want in your own patch, and I encourage you to explore how they work:
(for example)
osxmix_solo~
vitamin_lfo~
vitamin_adsr3~
vitamin_ladder~
vitamin_svf_cascade_lp~
vitamin_svf_cascade_hp~
vitamin_svf_cascade_bp~
(see voicer.pd to see how they are used)