> maybe we can create a thread for this module like the oneWe must be on some incredible wavelength as I was messing with this module just last night and thinking the exact same thing!
> on the SSG that is now posted on the Serge-Fans site.
> I can't tell what the red STEP OUT jack does - it seems toThis is actually what provoked me to focus on the /N-COMP Monday, because I realized I'd never used the STEP OUT jack before! After reviewing the Serge catalog and tweaking for a while I found that when plugged into a 1v/oct input of a VCO the STEP OUT produces a series of rising pitches from the VCO. Each "step" up is a whole tone, with the number of steps determined by the upper pot and the speed of the staircase progression determined by the rate of the pulse generated from the comparator in the lower section. Through most of my experimentation Monday and tonight, I used 1/2 a DTG as voltage source into the IN+. Both voltage and gate outs of the DTG worked well. Note that if the lower section pot is set so that no pulse is generated at the lower red OUT, then you won't get output from the STEP OUT either.
> not only provide a divided signal out (in the audio range)
> that is less "thin" (though still pulse sounding), but it
> also seems to have a volume change associated with each step; volume getting softer the higher the pitch.
I was able to generate from 0 (constant pitch) to 31 rising steps, and with at least 2 pitches the cycle repeats itself. I also tried patching the STEP OUT to other destinations, such as filter cutoff, VCA amplitude, Phasers, Wave Multipliers, etc, and the results are just as pleasing! Patching the STEP OUT into the bottom section of an ACPR let me invert the staircase to generate falling-step series, which sounded particularly good controlling VCAs, and this effect produced even more "natural" decays when the ACPR out was lagged slightly on its way to the VCA.
> Speed up the LFO to audio range and you get some really strangeI found that changing the audio-rate "LFO" waveshape produced very interesting klang tones. Try using an NTO variable waveform out as the "LFO" and modulate the pitch and waveshape with sequencer rows or other CV sources. (If you have a Miniwave, this is another great source for this purpose.)
> ringmod/heterodyne timbres. Tres' cool. Noticed that changing the
> audio input to Tri or Saw does not affect the basic sound too much: still a pulse wave.
One patch I liked a lot:
* Patch a VCO SAW OUT to one input of an audio mixer.
* Patch the /N-COMP top red OUT / to the mixer's second input.
* Patch STEP OUT to the VCO's 1V/OCT IN.
* Patch a DTG/DSG to oscillate in the audio range with its OUT or GATE OUT patched to the IN+ on the bottom section of the /N-COMP.
* Set /N-COMP top pot far left ("1") and use the DTG/DSG rise/fall pots to tune the /N-COMP OUT to some harmonic of the VCO's pitch.
You should then be able to turn the top /N-COMP pot left and get some nice timbres. I found these to be much richer tones than I could achieve simply by running the same VCO SAW into one of the bottom inputs (IN+/IN-) of the /N-COMP and taking the top OUT. I later expanded on this by running one sequence row to control the VCO's pitch and a second sequence row to the /N-COMP's VC IN.
> VC PULSE DIVIDER: I think this is always some odd as opposed to even number in regards to the division between 1 and 31.Hmm... I was able to achieve odd AND even divisions of 2,3,4,5,6, and so on.
A couple of general observations:
1) The /N-COMP's upper VC In "subtracts" from the pot setting, so for instance to vary the number of N from a TKB you should set the /N-COMP's upper pot to the far right (-31) and the TKB's pot settings should allow you to dial in a range from 0 steps at far left to 31 steps at far right.
2) I found the Quadrature Osc to be a great PWM source for the COMP section since its built-in VCA lets you easily dial in the maximum modulation range without exceeding the 0% or 100% duty cycle.
Hope this answers a question or two and spurs further exploration.
Chris
Thanks Chris - this is the kind of info I was hoping to generate. It's a really versatile CV/Audio processor and now will be evn more so for me; look ofrward to trying some of your suggestions. Hope others on the list found this useful. Will try to collate and see if it can be posted on Serge-Fans for reference. Appreciated!