BUILDING BETTER BASSLINES (In Live Eurorack Modular M8)

Today we mess with a very simple patch concept I've been using to squeak out funkier basslines from my modular (eg: not just the same pattern repeating over and over, able to self-evolve). HANDY INFO BELOW:
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Further Reading:
▶ Illustration of the patch:
editor.patchand...
▶ Stoichea (Euclidean Sequencers Explained) Video I mention: • Euclidean Drum Sequenc...
▶ Attack Mag article about bass patterns: www.attackmaga...
▶ This modular on ModularGrid: www.modulargri...
Modules I'm using:
▶ 2HP Euclid: www.twohp.com/m...
▶ Music Thing Turing machine: musicthing.co....
(But the principles can apply to many other modules of course!)
▶ VMPE Euclidean Circles: vpme.de/euclid... (Now in V2)
▶ LS1 Lightstrip: www.sound-mach...
Other good stuff mentioned:
▶ Thonk Prok Drums: www.thonk.co.u...
▶ ALM MCO: busycircuits.c...
▶ Tiptop One Samplers: tiptopaudio.com...
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▶ Support on Patreon: / mylarmelodies
▶ Buy Mylarmusic on Bandcamp: mylarmelodies....
▶ Follow on Twitter: / mylarmelodies
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[@Finnnicus]

Please mr. Mylar keep making this style of video, you kinda came off it for a while.

[@thomastoews7850]

love the format of this video. in depth showcasing a modular while taking us on a techno journey

[@therealajahn]

"I already had the things I needed to do what I wanted to do. Just think the problem through" BARS.

[@moralboundaries1]

nice jam, my friend. I love this format - mixing a session with a lesson. Great stuff.

[@wishbonebrewery]

I'm appreciating more and more the destructive nature of modular, better tape that moment or it'll only be you that hears it! Very Bill Drummond.

[@jwhtn]

Every patch is a sand mandala, existing only in that moment, before I wipe it away. Or at least, before I bump my turing machine and the whole jam just collapses.

[@fakshen1973]

It never gives you what you exactly what you want... then comes the moment: "hey that's not bad... actually it's f'ing terrific... I love you Machine-That-Goes-Ping!!!" You've got a pet name for your Eurorack too... don't judge me.

[@ednasdiscomachine6049]

I love this! It amazes me that I can do a very similar thing to this, but with a completely different process/module set-up (and mean completely different). This is why I got into modular. The creative possibilities are so inspiring. You're inspiring. I need more Turing in my life though.

[@Fedor_Tkachev_Music]

I feel like pitch changes are more important than gate patterns, because the same repeated pool of notes in the bassline will get boring after a while, regardless of how you play it out rhythmically.

[@fakshen1973]

Love it. My secret sauce is a Temps Utile Mode, a Noise Engineering Mimetic Digitalis, and a source for clocks and resets. The Temps Utile allows for up to six Euclidean generators. My clock source provides clock and reset to the Mimetic and Temps. I use one Euclidean to advance the Mimetic (N input) and another to alter either the X, Y, or R at specific intervals. The thing I like most about using the Temps for Euclidean is the built in clock multiplier/divider function for each generator. If I'm using the random input (R), I'll let a few notes play linearly before sending a pulse to it. So that way there's always some commonality between each go-round. You can mix and match Euclideans with other pattern generation techniques within the temps, so you can get all kinds of variation. Just fill the Mimetic with notes that work with each other. It's a total of 18HP of goodness and the cost of the two modules isn't too pricey.

[@myowelt]

Genius. Man, you have no idea how much I adore your videos. Your videos are the most charming, knowledgeable, and accessible modular vids on youtube. I’ve learned so much from you. Thank you.

[@mylarmelodies]

Thanks Bertolt!!! 😘

[@rednax3333]

@ 4:50 😎👌 good on you mate! That’s one of the facets of what makes your vids so fantastic- your willingness to be open to learning on the fly and sharing it. Aces!

[@tankboy77]

I love that you put a lot of care in your video descriptios too. You list a lot of good links and show us patches and your setup. Seriously helpful! Love it!

[@iamseeingdots]

Brilliant vid. Great advice re thinking it through rather than going out and buying a module. Thought as I was watching that I needed the 2hp Euclidean but then thought it through and realised I could do something similar with Pam’s :)

[@espenstoro]

Came for the bass, stayed for the conducting hands.

[@ethermod307]

I'm following you from the beginning, and this is just straight up next level mate! It's just goes to show how much we can achieve when we dive in our modular system and not lose our time searching for THAT module that will make everything happen. And just like a friend used to say "you gotta put the time and make the miles". There's no other way.

[@ryanpalma5947]

Yay! New Mylar! Imagine cutting up with Mylar irl and having a lesson from him - that would be so awesome!

[@praveensharmanyc]

The jam in this is so damn good. Also - the patch ideas are exactly what I needed. Picked up a Euclidean circles for my bass voices but now trying to find space in the patterns…

[@benasaro1043]

I had to revisit the comments here because this video is great and led me down quite the rabbit hole of exploring. I have Euclidean Circles and 2hp TM, but I ended up doing something slightly different. Clock > Mutable Instruments Branches > Euclidean Circles > trigger in on Pluck. Turning the probability knob on Branches changes the speed of the clock going into EC which changes the pattern going into Pluck. Sounds amazing!

[@mylarmelodies]

Ooh, using Branches to control the clock is a good shout. Need to try that.

[@pdm67]

Great video. I'd been doing similar things with the Stoichea and a Disting mk4 set in quantised Turing mode but I have to be a whole lot more hands-on to get the variation so your setup works better because of the modulation input on the 2hp module. Nice.

[@benasaro1043]

Another Creative Solution to Common Problems. :D Liked the use of the Patch & Tweak symbology as well.

[@ReFractalus]

So enlightening, it hurts. Thanks Alex!

[@iqnill]

Been using a similar (in concept) setup with o_C Turing machines and Plonk. Nice!

[@NimrodScott]

This is extraordinarily creative! I'm going to tickle my Turing Machine on Tuesday.

[@coreyriddell1759]

ACE!!! Thanks for pointing this out, think I can get Pam's to modulate itself to do the same!!! Love that you're live jamming rhythms while so clearly explaining what you're doing and why.

[@jdavis.fw303]

Damn this video took it to the next level with deep synth knowledge!!!!

[@slyhawk57]

Could also achieve that using the output of the Turing as the modifier for the Euclidian Rhythm's on Pamela's New Workout for anyone without the 2hp Euclid :) Lush tunage btw!

[@mrsulcus674]

Was just wondering that, in the spirit of "patch it from what you've got" rather than "further empty the wallet" school of synthesis, so I'm glad to have it confirmed!

[@etchasketch01]

Great video m8, inspired me to try something similar with my pico logic module sending a random gate from the octocontroller and a pattern from Euclidean circles. Worked a treat 🙂

[@The_Invisible_Hand_Of_CV]

@4:23 I feel like you're talkin about me. I am very handy.

[@mylarmelodies]

🙌

[@PnPModular]

Cracking video taught me more about the Turing machine in seconds than months of owning lol

[@nihilgeist666]

Getting some tasty acid there! Looks like it's way more rewarding than checking my emails in Ableton Live...

[@redirishmanxlt]

Ha Ha, brilliant!

[@kalubandali2241]

this was inspirational, thanks mate

[@MysticCircuits]

I really dig the chords all being in tune with the bassline, not easy to do in a modular situation.

[@tomjansen3432]

ACE!!! such an amazing trick, thx Alex

[@Starshine777]

This is fucking awesome. Also you have barely any space devoted to modulation and yet you're still killing it (e.g. the *visible* hands are doing some great work here too)!

[@mylarmelodies]

Find the Surgeon - at - schneidersbuero video and watch it all the way through, he actually says something I’ve come to do as well which is that it’s sometimes better to just use your actual hands to modulate - a brain beats an LFO

[@Starshine777]

I realized that Pamela's Workout has the same Euclidean parameters and you can hit two of them (or once each on two channels) with CV! Might need to get the Turing Machine back in to the rig; looks like I've got just enough space!

[@mylarmelodies]

Yeah and I totally forgot that when I made the vid!!

[@User173]

Dope! This is really, REALLY useful information! Thank you.

[@BenGaudi]

Very nice bass job dude! Thanks for this great explainations :)

[@bebop7]

I recommend Monome Teletype for all of your generative sequencing needs! I (coincidentally) scripted a quad Turing Machine with Euclidean rhythms for drum sequencing this weekend. Took less than an hour to write.

[@mylarmelodies]

I am really interested in that thing, but I have precious little programming experience (read: none whatsoever) - how easy would it be to learn from scratch?

[@DiscoticUK]

I would absolutely love to see you do a video on the Teletype

[@bebop7]

@@mylarmelodies hard to give a trustworthy answer to that Q since I approached it with coding experience. Simple scripts (clock dividers, sequencers, etc.) are about as tough as using a pocket calculator. More involved scripts can get messy, especially when trying to cram as much code as possible onto one line. Come over to llllllll.co if you're interested! Just picture it as "patching with words instead of wires" and you'll take to it quick :)

[@markmccarthy3304]

Great idea, I have Marbles and a Disting so I'm going to give it a go, thank you.

[@jreynoldsish]

Mark McCarthy how did the marbles+disting setup go? I’m just getting into marbles and a brief description of your patch would be rad!

[@kirkegodfrey414]

LOVE this Cant have Hardware, but built a very VERY similar thing in Reaktor for basses and beats… (sans turing)so watching this was a nice reinforcement of the ideas ive been playing in. Love ya Squoinks!

[@originalfallinggirl]

Love this. Thanks so much. I think you could also cv both cv parameters on the Metropolis too for some interesting variation. AWESOME JOB!

[@gooneybird808]

So fucking dope. Love your beefy jams dude

[@Goratek]

brilliant tunes and technique

[@felipebravomusic]

But, the begining of all. Where is that square wave bassline sound come from? Which one is the vco??? Please.

[@MordioMusic]

Thanks Mate for this great little Tipp!

[@jericho2x2]

interesting approach. I might try it with one of Pamela's New Workout channels and modulate E-trig, E-step with an offset.

[@josiethompson5739]

This is sick man!

[@sauce_aux]

Easy way to cheat with bass - Pam’s New + WMD Arpitecht Great vid as usual man!

[@ShanghaiRooster]

Great vid. Informative and entertaining too.

[@victor-emmanuel7485]

So glad I discovered your channel 👌

[@brokenscart7989]

I understand the Turing modulating the Euclid, and the Euclid giving gates for the bass line, but how is the bass line getting its pitch? Just metropolis pitch to Osc, osc to vca, vca opening with envelope triggered by Euclid?

[@fabiancortes6255]

Pure wtf Major Tom communicating with ground control computer delight.

[@boydw1]

Do you recall which modules were producing the kinda acid wobbly part that comes in around 14:00 and what was sequencing it?

[@praveensharmanyc]

Back to this video again. Honestly such a game changer. I’ve been able to reproduce his with an ALA Alan and either Pam Pro (Turing to Euclidean Triggers) or a 2hp Euclid. I’ve had to Sample and Hold the incoming pitches against the triggers to avoid pitch slew. Is this what you are doin here @mylarmelodies ?

[@mylarmelodies]

Yes, though you can try without sample and holding too - the trick with S&Hing is finding one with reasonably stable pitch when held, Disting is 10/10, as is DivKid’s RND Step

[@nealohara782]

+1 for turing machine. so much fun. Waiting for you or Ben to dissect the sinfonion :p

[@Goratek]

Can you explain how the signal path is exactly please! Like which module is first and second and so on ! Huge thanks for this inspiration

[@Dogboy73]

Nice set-up for this kind of jamming & tweaking. Looks like a lot of fun & sounds very nice. I think the challenge is to have plenty of control without being able to lose control to easily. Quite often with complex patches / set-ups & end up in the 'WTAF is going on here now' kind of place! :-/

[@mylarmelodies]

Yeah this is the key balance, what I’m trying to strike - hence using euclidean circles which I can really precisely control and voltage controlled systems for other things!

[@juliancheal]

Nice video m8. Banging chune.

[@Ldj8395jebr4]

Is the 2hp being triggered by a clock from somewhere other than the Turing? This gets at a point of confusion I’ve often had, when trying to trigger gates from some thing like grids, but melody from another module like Rene or Pam‘s new workout that might be operating at different clock speeds.

[@yosotattoo]

Awesome!!!

[@Digiphex]

DECOUPLE the gate from CV - holy shit man.

[@oreliomacchiavelli6703]

Hey! Nice video, I really appreciate the time you take to explain everything in your patch then the little demo of it ;) BTW I have a question. How do you manage to have your LS1 in perfect sync with everything else ? Got one a few years ago and I had hard times trying to sync it up in rec. mode, even with the jumper set to gate in...

[@EnviroDouglas]

thank you!! you are helping this old dawg learn new trix. Is that V2 and are you using the 6 switch expander?

[@torviification]

Hello Mr.Mylar! Moog Mavis could be a better substitute for the MCO in this case?

[@ryanpalma5947]

These rhythms are so dancy!

[@dev31337]

Great idea. Instead of buyin g yet more gear, I tried your idea out using one of the channels of PNW in euclidian mode with Marbles modulating the step count, brilliant.

[@dev31337]

One other nice thing that you can do with PNW is modulate the gate length to add a little bit more variety / human feel to your patterns.

[@allmyoscillators938]

Stellar as usual.

[@ibenzal]

Thanks for the video. Super useful! How is Stages used on this patch? Do you have 2 LFOs and 2 AD envelopes?

[@wishbonebrewery]

Nice :) In my mini Modular journey so far I can trig the 2hp Euclid from Roland TR08 and use Pitch CV for notes from the Roland SH01 and have 2hp Pluck play along in the gaps/fills. The 2hp TM just waiting for Tune to turn up so I/it can pluck away to my/itself!!!

[@emilyschmanks]

this is sick, subbed. what module is producing your snare/drums?

[@mylarmelodies]

Ta! These tinkers: www.thonk.co.uk/product-category/manufacturer/prok-modular/prok-drums/

[@256k_]

this is precisely the kindof sequencing mentality that got me into modular. i got so tired of having to write very intentional basslines and melodies that almost always end up being boring or repetitive and modular seemed like the best place to break out of that "loop" flow. the only issue for me is acquiring the gear when you're just doing music for fun as a hobby. it's hard to justify the money spent. Mylar, you should take this one step further and run 2 different euclidean rhythm patterns into an and gate or other types of logic gates to get even more variations without doing more work. this is a plan i've had for a while now but i haven't had the chance to test it out since i've only started building my rack. and it takes me months to afford 1 module.

[@256k_]

i'm thinking also a way to bypass the need to have something like a metropolis, would be to just run an arpeggiated sequence (from something like a keystep or similar) and then the varying gate pattern generated will pick up different notes from the arp each time, especially if the arp steps aren't whole bar numbers like 4 8 16...etc. you can pretty much make a bassline that never loops with this.

[@hoppy303]

The best part of this video is from 0:00 to 19:37 When are you going to get Tony Surgeon on your podcast?

[@mylarmelodies]

I have feelers out right this moment!!

[@hoppy303]

@@mylarmelodies marvelous stuff. I'm excited!

[@benki._]

this is great! I think you should really look into Qubit Pulsar. I love it for generating random patterns (random mode) which you can change and move around on the fly. My kick channel is usually in Euclidean mode and the rest are just random so I can get very interesting patterns very fast! Its a pain to modulate but I never need to. Once you get used to it its so fast and so powerful for live performances, especially if you like improvising. Unfortunately the videos on youtube don't show its potential. I could make one if you want :)

[@nexgen91]

Awesome sounding jam, whats the voice for the lead that kicked in around 14:03 (is that the MCO or another voice)??

[@ChuckLeone]

Great idea on using the Touring Machine with the Euclid. I've been developing a patch for sequencing drums and a bassline using a Pico RND(for random triggers) into the dual euclidean pattern generator on the Disting Mk4. The concept is use one euclidean generator for drums, the other for bass, modulating the pulse length with an LFO. I've been struggling with getting things to work the way i want but I think I can apply aspects of your patch to mine to get it all sorted.

[@VictorSteiner]

I guess with the Disting as soon as you found a function that you really want to use that needs more than 1 knob you have to get the "real" module. I loved the disting at the start but with more and more modules to learn and know I nearly never use it anymore. Such a shame, but it's the one thing about the Disting that is not perfect (the rest is :P)

[@ednasdiscomachine6049]

@@VictorSteiner Disting for a pseudo side-chain is awesome though. I use it a lot! Also, clock delay is great for humanising a drum beat. I actually use mine quite a bit and change the functions too...

[@ChuckLeone]

@@VictorSteiner Every module has its limitations, even the Disting. I suppose you could get (2) 2hp Euclids for about the same price and size as a single Disting but then you are missing out so many other algorithms and also possibly drawing more current. Having a really small system, I can not fathom replacing mine with another module - except maybe a Mk5 :)

[@VictorSteiner]

@@ednasdiscomachine6049 How do you do the sidechaining?`I never got into that because I don't use mixers but my Quattro Figaro can also do it .. since I'm not into techno I never got to use it .... Disting alone would still be used a lot but I got too much stuff that has too many functions ... PEAKS other mores are something I always have to look up again and again ... Emilie was right about that.

[@khaledabujaber8171]

Hi Mr. Mylar! Silly question, whats triggering the main gate in euclids? From Metropolis? Thanks again for all the amazing videos and extra content!

[@juliomontes5525]

did you figure this out bro? lol

[@thestinkyweasel6297]

I use Qu-Bit's Pulsar. it's too deep, it just simply is, but you can get immediate and near immediate shifting of patterns, which is nice

[@rdean150]

I think I must have missed it, but if the 2hp Euclid is controlling the gates (i.e. rhythm), how are you modulating the pitch of the bassline? It kinda sounds like a quantized, very slow LFO or something?

[@HiItsCal]

Metropolis was sending pitch cv

[@mylarmelodies]

Ryan Dean With the Metropolis! More info in this one: kzbin.info/www/bejne/h5-8dYVsZsZriqM

[@freiksenet]

This is awesome.

[@evanjones2974]

I keep coming back to this video. I do not own any modular gear but I want more natural and evolving basslines like this. Is there anyway to do this without modular (or a computer). I own a digitakt and have been thinking of using that to randomly sequence my monologue. Is there a better/ easier way to go about it?

[@jgchodakowski]

The f'ing Turing Machine!

[@brianobush]

Wouldn't you want the Turing machine to be clocked at a much slower rate? The Euclid module from 2hp most likely won't update the pattern until its EOC.

[@john9291]

great video, will have to try Pam's Euclidian feature

[@mylarmelodies]

Plus you can CV modulate it. Wish I’d mentioned that

[@OffLicenceStella]

No Plaits Tuner Knob? I inevitably reach for that knob in the heat of the moment and ruin what I am working on. I cannot help it.

[@mylarmelodies]

Hah, yep I pulled it off for that very reason...

[@pilkinsc]

Which oscilator / filter combo is making the bass sound?

[@NeonEleven]

You da man! Love this shit 👌🏼👆🏼

[@gullyman777]

Amazing work and sick basslines! How would you get the euclidean triggers into external gear like a midi synth e.g moog sub37 etc do you have any ideas? :)

[@mylarmelodies]

Thanks! Yeah Befaco VCMC would be good for that!

[@gullyman777]

Seeing so many potential possibilities for this *new rabbit hole 😂

[@MausLab]

excellent!

[@madmac66]

Brilliant. Now, stupid n00b question incoming. What’s the smallest skif I can get if I wanted to just get a Euclidean thing and a Turing thing to get this same shit in my Neutron?

[@mylarmelodies]

A 4ms pod case, or an Intellijel Pallette case! But probably just a tiptop Happy Ending Kit

[@madmac66]

mylarmelodies excellent thanks

[@Goratek]

Could I use those 3 modules with my Behringer crave? To get same rythmic results?

[@hudu]

Definitely calling the knobs on 2hp modules "lil dinkers" from now on.

[@Eimost]

Think the phrase is 'little tinkers' :)

[@mikethemachian6542]

I feel a little dense, but what do your length knob set at in this patch ( i know steps is cranked all the way CCW)

[@mylarmelodies]

I think full CW for 16 step. But you can vary that for busier patterns

[@timnordberg7204]

that photo of Grant Richter sure looks a whole lot like Tom Whitwell

[@ADHDev1234]

I recommend Marbles - it's like Turing Machine on steroids

[@calder-d]

You should check out Marbles. It does a lot of this by itself. Paired with something like an Event Boss it can do everything you're showing here.

[@mylarmelodies]

Yep I have both (!) 😂

[@tjelios]

Great video! I have a question though. What's the function of the sawtooth wave between the Euclidian out and the VCA?

[@mylarmelodies]

Which one?

[@tjelios]

@@mylarmelodies on the patch editor screen (@8:26) the Euclidian out is going to a sawtooth wave before going into the VCA. Can't quite wrap my head around its function.

[@mylarmelodies]

Marika Tjelios Ahh, that’s not a saw wave - it’s an envelope generator!! I can see why you were confused, but yeah that’s the EG icon in the Patch&Tweak graphics collection.

[@mylarmelodies]

Spot the URL at the bottom and you can go and poke around

[@tjelios]

@@mylarmelodies Ah ha! That makes sense now. Guess I have to review that Patch & Tweak chapter! Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge with us.

[@L33HUM3]

Trying to recreate this in Reaktor Blocks. Cant seem to find a Euclid block that has a step mod input. Can anyone help?!

[@reason2910]

Can we get a rack rundown

[@mylarmelodies]

BLVCKPOND Here’s one from earlier, made a few changes since but not totally crazy different: kzbin.info/www/bejne/h5-8dYVsZsZriqM

[@stevenstavropoulos8858]

brillllliant

[@remuted8656]

I’d like to be asked to achieve this someday

[@beathaven303]

Morning dawg. What do you think about using a tool like Grids for basslines?

[@mylarmelodies]

I’ve actually tried it - see earlier vids - and while its good, the patterns are designed for more drummy type things - you need to offset the phase really. I should speak to Emilie about getting different patterns in there

[@beathaven303]

@@mylarmelodies Interesting, thanks for the reply. Do you know of any modules that allow you to enter patterns or triggers (effectively 0's and 1's over x number of time) that could be stored in a similar way to Grids? Think that would sell quite nicely!

[@beathaven303]

Guess I could use an Octatrack/Analog 4 or something similar.