Omsonic/dBs Stochastic Inspiration Generator

[tiny333]

You’re going to say with judicious use of the looper aren't you ...

[Umcorps]

Also can a set a root note for the bar ?

Not sure if this is what you mean but one thing I’m planning to explore next is - assuming you have the expander - using one track to transpose another.

So if track A is your melody you then set track B to play 1 note only per bar and combine the CV out from A and B using a precision adder.

That works in my head. Need to find out if it works in reality.


Is that the sort of thing you mean?

[phinland]

So am I right if setting the forced bar line it’s the 12 notes and 4 octaves are the amount of clicks before it resets on the one ?
So if I have all 12 notes lit and 4 octaves thats 16 counts ?

Ah, not quite. Notes and octave lights display the top number of the time signature. The right column of durations show the bottom number. Because all click counts are in 1/16s you have to think in terms of "how many 1/16s fit into the time sig". See page 10 and 19 of the manual.

For example...

4/4 would be 4 notes + 1/4 duration lit = 16 clocks before reset
3/4 would be 3 notes + 1/4 duration lit = 12 clocks before reset
7/8 would be 7 notes + 1/8 duration lit = 14 clocks before reset
5/16 would be 5 notes + 1/16 duration lit = 5 clocks before reset

Does that make sense?

[phinland]

Also can a set a root note for the bar ?

I'm not quite sure what you mean here but if I understand you correctly, then yes––our ear will hear the 'harmonic context' of a phrase based on the lowest note present and it's harmonic relation with all the others. If you initialise SIG and raise all the white notes you're "in" C Ionian simply by virtue of C being the lowest present note. However, the same random riffing will sound in D Dorian if you dropped just the D (or E Phrygian if you dropped the E, F Lydian by dropping the F and so on). Thus, all you need to do is use the Individual Note Octave function (Loop+note sliders) to drop the note you want to have as the harmonic root. :-)

[phinland]

Also can a set a root note for the bar ?

one thing I’m planning to explore next is - assuming you have the expander - using one track to transpose another.

Excellent: and that will indeed work! The idea is actually mentioned in the 'Advanced Stochastic Cookbook' on page 16 of the manual

[Umcorps]

There you go. That will teach me to read ALL the manual.

[phinland]

There you go. That will teach me to read ALL the manual.

Hahaha! To be fair, it is quite long (but I hope useful).

[tiny333]

The manual is to be Frank a trifle confusing at times ...

[tiny333]

Also can a set a root note for the bar ?

one thing I’m planning to explore next is - assuming you have the expander - using one track to transpose another.

Excellent: and that will indeed work! The idea is actually mentioned in the 'Advanced Stochastic Cookbook' on page 16 of the manual

How will one track transpose another ?

[tiny333]

I had quite good results throwing it through a OnC and transposing that with pp ...

[tiny333]

Setting a faster stochastic melody and/or Loop on track 1, long drones on track 2 and then unity summing these lets SIG stochastically transpose itself across phrases of (repeating?) melody.

So what you’re saying is by adding the second voltage it will transpose ?

Interesting ...

[phinland]

The manual is to be Frank a trifle confusing at times ...

Ah, very sorry to hear that. To be honest, that's the first bit of negative feedback I've had about the manual, but I totally accept that and of course, developmental feedback is always incredibly useful! Which bit/s didn't make sense and how do you think they could be better explained? I'm more than happy to amend any confusing sections...? Cheers! :-)

[phinland]

Setting a faster stochastic melody and/or Loop on track 1, long drones on track 2 and then unity summing these lets SIG stochastically transpose itself across phrases of (repeating?) melody.
So what you’re saying is by adding the second voltage it will transpose ?
Interesting ...

Exactly! As in the whole of Eurorack, the additive nature of V/oct wrt pitch makes transposition incredibly easy, so just think of one track and the to-be-transposed material and another as the 'transposition amount' and sum them!

The only point of course is that this won't apply any diatonic correction––that is, if Track 1 is riffing away 'in C Major' and Track 2 transposes up a P5th, it won't put you in G Major (i.e. it won't correct the F to an F#), you'd be in G Mixolydian (i.e. you'd need a quantiser to put you in G Major).

[Naenyn]

The manual is to be Frank a trifle confusing at times ...

Ah, very sorry to hear that. To be honest, that's the first bit of negative feedback I've had about the manual, but I totally accept that and of course, developmental feedback is always incredibly useful! Which bit/s didn't make sense and how do you think they could be better explained? I'm more than happy to amend any confusing sections...? Cheers! :-)

I felt the same as I was going through it today. I plan to reread it tomorrow and will try to provide some constructive feedback.

[phinland]

The manual is to be Frank a trifle confusing at times
...
I felt the same as I was going through it today. I plan to reread it tomorrow and will try to provide some constructive feedback.

OK, great, many thanks––is this a general feeling among users?

As I say, the only feedback I've had on it so far as been extremely positive (but of course, that's always the easier to give and take!). It is a long manual, but I hope everything is clearly explained. If it's length (rather than clarity or prose) that is the issue, maybe a QuickStart is the answer?

[tiny333]

Phin

Most of it is very clear I was/am still unclear on the bar lengths/timing signatures and the use of duration loop

The rest was very clear thank you

[phinland]

Phin
Most of it is very clear I was/am still unclear on the bar lengths/timing signatures and the use of duration loop
The rest was very clear thank you

Ah, thanks, good to hear! Yes, those are probably the two most complex bits to explain, particularly Barlines. Let me have another crack for you.


Loops

The point is that you are not pre-composing the events—SIG is—so you can't 'design' a loop as you would in a traditional sequencer. Instead, you wait for SIG to come up with something you like and then grab it. If you consider what that 'something' is it's a complete musical phrase: it only comes together at the end. Therefore, it's like a sentence that only makes sense when you include the final...

...

...

...word.

So, the idea is that when you grab the Loop, you're grabbing a whole phrase that stuck your ear, and it was started by SIG a few events ago. That's why I conceptualise it 'backwards' in the manual. Suppose the phrase were C > Eb > G > Bb. The last note you hear is the Bb and that's where you grab the Loop. If you call the Bb the 'nth' event SIG has generated then the Loop is (was) n-3, n-2, n-1, n so you set the Loop as 4 notes long.


Barlines

We hear barlines in 'normal' (through-composed) music really based on regularity: sitting underneath music "theory" is the statistical regularity of some notes over others (that gives a sense of 'key') and some time durations between events (that gives us the time signature via the downbeat). e.g. If we always hear an event every 16 x 1/16s then that cues the ear we're 'in' 4/4.

Because SIG produces events one after the other with whatever durations it stochastically selects, under normal operation there is nothing that forces any regularity in these. In the example in the manual, it might generate a 1/16 followed by a bunch of whole notes. In that case, if that very first event corresponded with a downbeat then it would then be 1/16 'out' of sync, right?

This is where the Force Barline or TimeSig function comes in: SIG counts up the number of clocks based on what you set and forces a new event after that number of counts, overriding the current duration length if it goes over the barline. That way, we guarantee a new event regularly after the correct number of 1/16s which in turn gives our ear the regularity it needs to extract a feeling of time signature.

In our example, if we then forced SIG into 4/4/, that first 1/16 would be counted (as 1 out of 16) and then the whole note event would add to that and of course it would get to 16 one 1/16 before the whole note sounded its entire duration. SIG would then cut the whole note (=16/16) short by 1/16 so the bar added up properly (i.e. 1/16 + 15/16 = 16/16). It would then pick another stochastic duration to be the downbeat of bar 2 and so on.

Does that all make more sense now?

Cheers,
Phin

[tiny333]

Thank you for taking the time to explain all that but it does not answer what confuses me

If I’m setting forced bars there are 12 notes and 5 octaves
So if I set 12 notes and 4 octaves that’s 16 clock ticks right ?
Ie each light is a clock tick. I have just re read your answer above re the duration knobs in this as well so will have another play around)

The looping is clear in the manual and works a treat

I don’t understand what happens if I press loop and turn a duration knob

Thank you for your time

[phinland]

Thank you for taking the time to explain all that but it does not answer what confuses me

Ah, no problem, I see what you're asking now...

If I’m setting forced bars there are 12 notes and 5 octaves
So if I set 12 notes and 4 octaves that’s 16 clock ticks right ?
Ie each light is a clock tick.

Ish. In a musical time signature, the top number is the number of beats, and the bottom number is the kind of beats you're talking about.

4/4 means "4x 1/4 notes in a bar"
3/4 means "3x 1/4 notes in a bar"
12/8 means "12x 1/8 notes in a bar"
7/16 means "7x 1/16 notes in a bar"

...and so on. In SIG, those 12 note and 5 octave lights tell you the top number. However, you also need to set the bottom number, and you do that with the durations by turning the 1/16 knob while holding Run. So, in your example, lighting 12 notes and 4 octaves is definitely 16/something but you have to turn the 1/16 knob to tell SIG 16/what.

If you light the 1/16 duration, that would indeed be 16/16 = 16 clocks
If you light the 1/8 duration, that would be 16/8 = 32 clocks
If you light the 1/4 duration, that would be 16/8 = 64 clocks

and so on. See p19 paying particular attention to the vertical column of red LEDs

The looping is clear in the manual and works a treat

Great!

I don’t understand what happens if I press loop and turn a duration knob

You get secondary durations: they are in small gold writing under each knob. See p9 & 13

[tiny333]

Got the time signatures now awesome !

Ah secondary durations !!

Thanks Phin I think I’ve got it all now

Can’t wait to get home from work now

[phinland]

Got the time signatures now awesome !

Excellent! :-)

Ah secondary durations !!

Yes, and don't forget you have 3ry durations too with Run+Durations (they're more irregular, for janky/irregular/non-aligned ambient stuff)

Thanks Phin I think I’ve got it all now
Can’t wait to get home from work now

Great to hear! That's what I'm here for! Don't forget to post anything you do with SIG online so we can all see! :-)

If you've any suggestions on how to make that more obvious in the manual, please do say, but I've more or less just paraphrased the manual prose here.

[phinland]

Got the time signatures now awesome !

p.s. Don't forget you can externally force the barline too with SIG's unique TRS ClkIn (Tip is standard ClkIn but if you use a Y-splitter, a trig on the Ring will force the barline!)

[auxpin]

Ahhhh, all this deep discussion is making me so hungry for my SIG

[nrg242]

A plug-in version of this would be an insta-buy for me right now. Definitely watching with interest.

If you use Ableton and M4L, take a look at K-devices TATAT. only 4 notes, but similar idea:
https://k-devices.com/products/tatat/

[Dragonaut]

A plug-in version of this would be an insta-buy for me right now. Definitely watching with interest.

If you use Ableton and M4L, take a look at K-devices TATAT. only 4 notes, but similar idea:
https://k-devices.com/products/tatat/

Nice! Thanks.