Patching Cold Mac

mdoudoroff · Post by **mdoudoroff** » Sun Sep 20, 2015 2:27 pm

Frustrated with the demo video, documentation and panel graphics, I’ve begun writing my own documentation with patch diagrams as an exercise to learn Cold Mac:

http://doudoroff.com/cold-mac

I’m starting this thread as a place to focus on the module and I’ll continue to update my documentation as further clarity emerges.

Daisuk · Post by **Daisuk** » Sun Sep 20, 2015 2:33 pm

Nice, thanks! I started doing something similar myself, but this is way better.

mdoudoroff · Post by **mdoudoroff** » Sun Sep 20, 2015 2:38 pm

Thanks! It’s a start. There are a few topics in the official documentation I haven’t covered yet, and I’m sure some of the topics I have covered could be made more accurate and useful. I’m all ears.

Dogma · Post by **Dogma** » Sun Sep 20, 2015 3:13 pm

how can we contribute? im super interested in this - love the sound of the VCA on this and of fluked some great patches and used t as a modulation source wth CV into survey and then the slopes on the RHS column.....

mdoudoroff · Post by **mdoudoroff** » Sun Sep 20, 2015 3:24 pm

I don't know, but let’s figure it out.

Tell me more about what you've done with the RHS column? I know *what* they do, but I’m currently having a failure of imagination about how to make use of them.

Dogma · Post by **Dogma** » Sun Sep 20, 2015 3:31 pm

mdoudoroff wrote:I don't know, but let’s figure it out.

Tell me more about what you've done with the RHS column? I know *what* they do, but I’m currently having a failure of imagination about how to make use of them.

Try it as an FM source

if youve got the 3 sisters try plugging any of them into FM, quality or span and then survey or CV slope and see what happens....

Or ts great at AM effects - ive also been using on the VCAM VCAs

Most certainly n exploratory mode

Daisuk · Post by **Daisuk** » Sun Sep 20, 2015 4:26 pm

It would be cool to add patch examples on how to self patch the module. I've experimented a bit with it and have gotten some really interesting results at times, but haven't documented the patches in any way yet. I'll experiment some more and write down any findings in here.

mqtthiqs · Post by **mqtthiqs** » Sun Sep 20, 2015 4:52 pm

Really helpful, thanks!
Mine is in the mail, your document clarifies a couple of things.

myecholalia · Post by **myecholalia** » Sun Sep 20, 2015 5:58 pm

Thanks for starting this. My Cold Mac will see more use now.

stinkfist · Post by **stinkfist** » Sun Sep 20, 2015 7:54 pm

I'll be getting mine next week - not sure what to expect yet.. i'll keep my eye on this thread and if i figure anything tasty out i'll chime in.

bobbcorr · Post by **bobbcorr** » Sun Sep 20, 2015 8:14 pm

I owe you multiple beers now.

Dogma · Post by **Dogma** » Sun Sep 20, 2015 8:34 pm

This thread made me go back to the manual

Seriously grab the manual - i should have had it by my side the whole time!

dan_k · Post by **dan_k** » Sun Sep 20, 2015 9:08 pm

The Cold Mac had piqued my interest for a while now. You guys just pushed me over the edge

thelizard · Post by **thelizard** » Sun Sep 20, 2015 10:39 pm

A really, really simple patch that should be tried out first is to plug a signal into the AND and OR inputs. Monitor OR's output on one channel, and AND's output on another (Literally, just panned hard left and hard right, don't sum them together).

Already, you should have a very wide sounding signal. This signal isn't the best signal for mixing... you should definitely filter it to remove DC offset if you plan on using this in a full mix. Regardless, it sounds cool.

Next, move the Survey knob back and forth slowly. You should get interesting mutations on both channels.

After that, instead of using the same waveform for both inputs, try using a different waveform from the same oscillator for each input. Then, plug a third waveform into the Survey input.

Plug a different oscillator into each input and adjust the frequencies.

Plug a different oscillator into the Survey input and adjust the frequencies.

And so on... I love this technique for creating really wide, sonically complex signals from the simplest waveforms.

onthelees · Post by **onthelees** » Mon Sep 21, 2015 12:15 am

Wasn't really sure what this was, or how useful it might be until this nice documentation. How information is presented can make such a difference sometimes. Moving onto my Wish List.

Nofrenchtests · Post by **Nofrenchtests** » Mon Sep 21, 2015 1:06 am

dan_k wrote:The Cold Mac had piqued my interest for a while now. You guys just pushed me over the edge

Yeah I've definitely crossed off a few other modules and moved this up the list.

Scatterfold · Post by **Scatterfold** » Mon Sep 21, 2015 7:14 am

Very helpful indeed. I've had my CM for a while now and, while I try and use it in every patch (somehow, for practice) I've always found it a bit baffling.

mdoudoroff · Post by **mdoudoroff** » Mon Sep 21, 2015 8:44 am

thelizard wrote:A really, really simple patch that should be tried out first is to plug a signal into the AND and OR inputs. Monitor OR's output on one channel, and AND's output on another (Literally, just panned hard left and hard right, don't sum them together).

Already, you should have a very wide sounding signal. This signal isn't the best signal for mixing... you should definitely filter it to remove DC offset if you plan on using this in a full mix. Regardless, it sounds cool.

Next, move the Survey knob back and forth slowly. You should get interesting mutations on both channels.

...

And so on... I love this technique for creating really wide, sonically complex signals from the simplest waveforms.

Sorry if I’m being dense. If I run signals into OR(1) and AND(1) and take their respective outputs to left and right headphone channels, what I get is something very close to a stereo cross fade between the two signals controlled by Survey. That’s fine, but what am I overlooking?

mdoudoroff · Post by **mdoudoroff** » Mon Sep 21, 2015 9:30 am

Dogma wrote:
mdoudoroff wrote:I don't know, but let’s figure it out.

Tell me more about what you've done with the RHS column? I know *what* they do, but I’m currently having a failure of imagination about how to make use of them.
Try it as an FM source if youve got the 3 sisters try plugging any of them into FM, quality or span and then survey or CV slope and see what happens....

Or ts great at AM effects - ive also been using on the VCAM VCAs

Most certainly n exploratory mode

Simply taking the internal CV out of Cold Mac and into Mangrove or Sisters doesn’t seem to accomplish much that I can’t accomplish by twiddling the dials or using some other modulation source. I think I need a more precise scenario to try… I just haven’t had that a-HA moment, yet.

However, I do get that taking multiple CV outs from Cold Mac into Mangrove and Sisters allows me to change lots of parameters at once through Survey, and even achieve some modest animation with the LOCATION out.

burnn_out! · Post by **burnn_out!** » Mon Sep 21, 2015 10:19 am

The more I read about this, the more I want it

mdoudoroff · Post by **mdoudoroff** » Mon Sep 21, 2015 10:22 am

burnn_out! wrote:The more I read about this, the more I want it

Honest question: why? I’ve got it, but I’m not yet quite convinced I need to keep it.

bobbcorr · Post by **bobbcorr** » Mon Sep 21, 2015 10:40 am

Wouldn't it be nice if the manufacturer offered a patch guide that incorporated Mangrove, Three Sisters and Cold Mac as a way to dispel some degree of this confusion.

glia · Post by **glia** » Mon Sep 21, 2015 11:11 am

your patch guide is pretty useful (I learned a few tips I hadn't stumbled across yet)

I have two of these and will add anything I figure out to this thread

thelizard · Post by **thelizard** » Mon Sep 21, 2015 11:56 am

mdoudoroff wrote:
thelizard wrote:A really, really simple patch that should be tried out first is to plug a signal into the AND and OR inputs. Monitor OR's output on one channel, and AND's output on another (Literally, just panned hard left and hard right, don't sum them together).

Already, you should have a very wide sounding signal. This signal isn't the best signal for mixing... you should definitely filter it to remove DC offset if you plan on using this in a full mix. Regardless, it sounds cool.

Next, move the Survey knob back and forth slowly. You should get interesting mutations on both channels.

...

And so on... I love this technique for creating really wide, sonically complex signals from the simplest waveforms.
Sorry if I’m being dense. If I run signals into OR(1) and AND(1) and take their respective outputs to left and right headphone channels, what I get is something very close to a stereo cross fade between the two signals controlled by Survey. That’s fine, but what am I overlooking?

No density. It's essentially a replication of the "Dirty Panning" technique from 4ms's SISM manual. Without modulation, you're sending all positive portions of the signal out of one channel, and all negative out the other. It gets a lot more fun, though, when you put audio-rate modulation through the Survey CV input.

whimsical · Post by **whimsical** » Mon Sep 21, 2015 1:09 pm

Firstly a big thanks for throwing this together. As you're probably realizing the module isn't exactly the easiest to explain. It's not 'a filter with differences' or a 'weird oscillator', but rather a number of utility functions that interact and modulate each other somewhat. The difficulty for me seems to be in expressing how these interactions (with the Survey control) can be creatively used in a patch.

While the documentation might seem a little thin on our end, I'm very conscious of not being overly proscriptive about how the module should be used. On a personal level I've always found documentation that is too hand-holdy restricts my imagination regarding how I might choose to use something in practice. As such the documentation focusses on how the module works internally / how the different sections interact, and leaves the creative applications of those functions to the user.

Of course this is my personal predilection and is not necessarily in tune with the rest of the audience of these modules. Unfortunately we're a super tiny company and have had to prioritize other projects and new developments over expanding the existing documentation.

///

I have 2 points for your additional documentation that you might wish to consider:

1. The opening paragraph suggests the linear VCA regulates the rest of the circuit, however this is not the case. The 'MAC' VCA only controls the volume of the left most column of inputs mixed together. This is a mix of the INPUTs not of the OUTPUTs. Of course this mixed output can be used simultaneously to the other 8 outputs, but it is quite separate and isolated.

2. One of the most interesting uses of the Slope / Crease pair is self-patched to the Survey input. By attaching some kind of modulation LFO / oscillator to Slope then feeding the 4 outputs back into the above inputs (Survey / Offset / Left / Right etc) you can get some really interesting and complex self-modulating systems. This is particularly effective if you then use the above outputs to further modulate the LFO to create a generative structure.

I just had the following patched up making some weird and wonderful sounds:
Mangrove (modulation source) with PITCH, FINE, FORMANT & BARREL all at full CCW. Formant output to Slope.

Self patch CM:
- Location to Offset
- Crease to Survey
- Follow to Right
- Slope to Left

Send a modulation back to the first Mangrove:
- Right output to Formant. This affects the pitch division of the modulation source jumping through harmonics of the oscillator causing stepped shifts in modulation rate.

Finally the Left output from Cold Mac is used to control the pitch of an oscillator (I used another Mangrove) into the 1v/8ve input. The result is some kind of stepped / sweeping pitch sequence. I found it particularly useful using this output Mangrove in 'constant formant' mode where it effectively locks the pitch sequence to a certain range creating some wiggly pitch results.

MUFF WIGGLER

MUFF WIGGLER

Patching Cold Mac

Patching Cold Mac