Wiardgroup

i've been working a lot on the following patch this evening, the heart
of which is the wiard borg2:

after about 5 unsuccessful attempts over the last few years, i finally
managed to actually patch up something similar to a compressor on my
modular.

the patch goes like this:

10v p/p sound source to be compressed into a multiple

multiple out to a) borg2 audio input b) serge/bananalogue vcs input

vcs out to inverter (i use a serge 3p)

inverter out to borg2 cv input

borg out to amp/mixer/speaker

notes:

1) the sound source needs to be 10v p/p or it won't "kick" the
compressor enough, so you will need a preamp after the sound source if
it is low level (i first used a bass guitar into the blacet i/o module)

2) the borg2 needs to be set to vca/low pass gate mode, freq. at max
and cv in at max (the inverted envelope pulls DOWN the low pass gate)

3) the vcs is acting as an envelope follower, but the beauty of this
module is that you have seperate control of the attack and release
time (which go from microseconds to minutes!), and they are both
voltage controllable Wink i set the attack at minimum first, the decay
at maximum, then slowly bring the decay down until i hear the
pumping/breathing/obvious compression characteristic i want, then
slowly increase the attack until i get the right mix of naturalness
and compressed sound. the second beautiful thing is that you can
individually set the attack and decay to be linear, logarithmic or
exponential for a very wide variety of compression characteristics.

interesting variation: turn the borg2 filter repsonse pot from lp to
hp for crazy high pass frequency compression!

i have come across some AMAZING sounds with this patch this evening. i
could get great bass guitar compression and heavenly acid lines. i
will try it on drums at a later stage.

other things to try:
1) use a wiard boogie or another type of low pass gate for a different
sound
2) incorpoate some kind of voltage controlled feedback or feedforward
(would need more mults and mixers)

final note:
i first attempted it with a "normal" linear vca instead of the borg 2,
and the blacet i/o envelope follower instead of the vcs, but it wasn't
nearly as versatile or nice sounding!

i can possibly upload some .mp3's if people are interested.

it ain't gonna beat an 1176, but it sure is fun!

>
> i've been working a lot on the following patch this evening, the heart
> of which is the wiard borg2:
> 
> after about 5 unsuccessful attempts over the last few years, i finally
> managed to actually patch up something similar to a compressor on my
> modular.
> 
> the patch goes like this:
> 
> 10v p/p sound source to be compressed into a multiple
> 
> multiple out to a) borg2 audio input b) serge/bananalogue vcs input
> 
> vcs out to inverter (i use a serge 3p)
> 
> inverter out to borg2 cv input
> 
> borg out to amp/mixer/speaker
> 
> notes:
> 
> 1) the sound source needs to be 10v p/p or it won't "kick" the
> compressor enough, so you will need a preamp after the sound source if
> it is low level (i first used a bass guitar into the blacet i/o module)
> 
> 2) the borg2 needs to be set to vca/low pass gate mode, freq. at max
> and cv in at max (the inverted envelope pulls DOWN the low pass gate)
> 
> 3) the vcs is acting as an envelope follower, but the beauty of this
> module is that you have seperate control of the attack and release
> time (which go from microseconds to minutes!), and they are both
> voltage controllable Wink i set the attack at minimum first, the decay
> at maximum, then slowly bring the decay down until i hear the
> pumping/breathing/obvious compression characteristic i want, then
> slowly increase the attack until i get the right mix of naturalness
> and compressed sound. the second beautiful thing is that you can
> individually set the attack and decay to be linear, logarithmic or
> exponential for a very wide variety of compression characteristics.
> 
> interesting variation: turn the borg2 filter repsonse pot from lp to
> hp for crazy high pass frequency compression!
> 
> i have come across some AMAZING sounds with this patch this evening. i
> could get great bass guitar compression and heavenly acid lines. i
> will try it on drums at a later stage.
> 
> other things to try:
> 1) use a wiard boogie or another type of low pass gate for a different
> sound
> 2) incorpoate some kind of voltage controlled feedback or feedforward
> (would need more mults and mixers)
> 
> final note:
> i first attempted it with a "normal" linear vca instead of the borg 2,
> and the blacet i/o envelope follower instead of the vcs, but it wasn't
> nearly as versatile or nice sounding!
> 
> i can possibly upload some .mp3's if people are interested.
> 
> it ain't gonna beat an 1176, but it sure is fun!
>

>
> That is super smart and clever! Thanks for sharing that. It's  
> something I never would have thought of - I can't wait to try it! It  
> opens up a whole world of possibilities that an 1176 could never touch.

>
> Hi Gregg
> This is a very cool and unusual use for the borg, and it makes a lot
> of sense that it would impart a richer sound than more 'hi-fi'
> full-range VCA. 
>  (there's a very nice article on 'classic'-period compressors here:)
> http://www.cranesong.com/compressorarticle.html
>   Everybody knows how golden-eared, real-deal, engineers treasure
> those some of those old tube compressors, from UA or Fairchild. i'm
> convinced the venerable designers of those gadgets were trying their
> level best to create a full-range VCA but there's only so much you can
>   do with a production budget, pricey ,complex, transformers and
> vacuum tubes...fortunately!...as it turned out!
>   The tube gain-cell element in those designs does not 'open' the gain
> at all frequencies at the same rate across the spectrum. Those curves
> have been analyzed to the gnat's ass by the plug-in developers in the
> frantic effort to emulate them in software and the results are
> maddeningly (for the tweakheads trying to map them anyway), NON-linear
> not only across the frequency spectrum but across the range of input
> levels the device will tolerate... (Good luck with that, folks!)
> 
> My point is that these hallowed compressors act way more like Buchla's
> 'gate' circuits than they do like a nice, wide-spectrum, modern
> gain-cells. It was those selfsame Buchla LP-gates that underpinned
> Grant's thinking when he set out to design the Borg.
> 
>   The modern Joe Meek compressors do this trick well too, but without
> all the fun flexible control 'perversions' to which you allude. i do
> know via the studio grapevine that certain well-known industrial music
> practitioners have been known to use an MS-20's filter (set to NO-res)
> and Env. Follower as a 'compressor' on heavily distorted guitars and
> that they regard this patch as a 'trade secret' (oops!)
> ;'>
> ...yet-again, creating a missing link between the 'colorful'
> compressor and the low-pass gate.
> 
>  Congrats on a particularly flexible range of flavors in this already
> exotic category, and thanks for sharing it.
> 
> -doc