Low Pass Gates Reimagined! // Steady State Gate from Steady State Fate

[@likesunshineafterrain2298]

At 9:09, Charlie Brown says: "Oh boy! Acid House!" I thought I imagined it!

[@DivKid]

I'm often throwing it little silly bits for my own amusement, was happy to find Charlie Brown for this one.

[@bluenautilus]

One can never have too many Low Pass Gates.... and this one looks special

[@fentanyljones6956]

6db lowpass filters deserve a little more love in the modular world.

[@DivKid]

Yeah a more subtle 1 pole / 6dB per octave is a nice thing.

[@orangedogmusic]

Wow...Cool i love the DATA module and how it's visualizing your input. Sometimes it's the simple things like that that can inspire creativity. I learned some cool things about modular today. Appreciate it...

[@DivKid]

thank you I appreciate that. DATA is great and having it visualise things definitely really helps. We all learn and feel inspired for different things so it's great to hear it was good for you.

[@analog_]

Just picked up a Steady State Gate on the back of this cool review. Cheers mate!

[@DivKid]

ah cool hope you're enjoying it.

[@Waldemar_la_Tendresse]

Most interesting LPG I have seen so far. The only downside for my stereo setup I can see right now is that I would need 2 of them.

[@DivKid]

that's often the case with stereo patching in Eurorack, which is still largely a mono format. However ... you could use mid side techniques to bring it mono processors into your stereo environment.

[@Waldemar_la_Tendresse]

​@@DivKid TRUE, but the popularity of stereo modules is getting bigger and bigger. The endless possibilities are growing, so to speak. ^^

[@DivKid]

Yeah definitely, we're not going to see less stereo in the future that's for sure.

[@Waldemar_la_Tendresse]

@@DivKid Why do you think that?

[@DivKid]

@@Waldemar_la_Tendresse why do I think we won't see less? Maybe that's a bit of a weird double negative won't and less. But I'm saying we will see MORE stereo in the future. More people are patching that way, more companies are exploring it etc.

[@SCHLAPPIENGINEERING]

That kick patch was 👌. Great video all the way through, killer module!

[@marcuspearson6214]

ooooh...drums thru the wavefolder. Thats one I haven't tried before. Great Video, and the unit sounds mint!

[@DivKid]

Hi Marcus, yeah drums and folders are great. Turns to mush quickly though for 'normal' use. But a kick drum through a folder that's _just_ bring down a single fold on the peak hit of the kick is a really nice thing. That's a trick I've had for a long time.

[@RubiconRecordings]

@@DivKid awesomeness, I will give that a go

[@DivKid]

feel free to come back and let us know how you get on.

[@CinematicLaboratory]

Amazing module, can't wait for it to be in stock in the EU.

[@DivKid]

Direct orders only at the minute - bit.ly/SSF-SSG - it says pre orders but the video went up Sunday and Monday and Tuesday the initial wave orders were shipped. This should also be pretty much global now and not just USA. But it is coming to store globally in a coming weeks.

[@bonesetter]

Oh god, that chopped kick patch raised my heart beat. Amazing demo, great module, thanks.

[@DivKid]

thanks! I really like taking drums (already percussive of course) then chopping them up weirdly. It can make for a killer alternative layer. If you try it add some distortion and a high pass filter to the chopped up layer and try blending that into the existing drum mix. That's a fun one.

[@RabRabNZ]

Most interesting lpg since Natural Gate

[@nectariosm]

Even more interesting than NG for me

[@finnclarkson7244]

I recently replaced NG in my case with SSG, as amazing as the NG envelopes are, SSG is way more flexible

[@joeymc5272]

@@finnclarkson7244is ssg snappier and more percussive than NG or other way around?

[@finnclarkson7244]

⁠@@joeymc5272 both very percussive sounding. SSG is snappier if you dial it in, has a bigger range but is more picky about how it’s triggered so it takes some care to get good sounds. Natural gate pretty much always sounds really good and ‘natural at any settings, but is less flexible. Both are wicked

[@budwardman]

New modules are always a treat, but not for my bank account

[@DivKid]

hopefully the video is a treat of patch ideas you can use for your own system. Giving that bank account some rest!

[@Hannibaul]

Wow You really are diving in deep to patching You really know your stuff

[@DivKid]

thanks Paul, that's always my approach to find and explore a wider range of patches. Hoping that people get to take those ideas and try them out. Thanks.

[@Hannibaul]

@@DivKid You look like You have some serious knowledge of this hardware. A Vst and a interface would do the job for me. You look like a hardware expert. 👍🏻 Very inspired to create 🙂

[@DivKid]

thanks, software works for me too. For a long time that's all I had and used and still enjoy. Nice to have the opportunity to use and get good results from both hard/software.

[@jaygregory8219]

This was great! Super cool module and great patches! Cheers form Oakland, CA!

[@psychicsidekicks]

Hey Jay!

[@damianpinto3497]

wow SSf always so diabolical

[@RedMeansRecording]

Hype

[@fentanyljones6956]

Just received mine and taking in the DivKid rundown as always before patching. Great vid, amazing design!

[@DivKid]

Thanks, hope you get some great patches with it.

[@boydw1]

Damn, what an awesome little module!

[@walrtbstudios5430]

I’ve got another nod from Elevator that they have stock of these again- and this video has tipped me from merely interested to full-on GAS. I can justify it because I have two separate set-ups, and the Natural Gate cannot be in two places at once- and if this reads like special pleading, so be it!

[@DivKid]

The Natural Gate and the SSG sound pretty different, so you'll find a place for each that suits different goals or module pairings. Have fun with it.

[@LukeKillen]

SSF is back! Thanks.

[@michaelgerdau5418]

Nice one...not the first DivKid live premiere video resulting in a purchase... 😃

[@fentanyljones6956]

Dude sells the sh1t outta some modules lol.

[@LowGainElectronics]

Great video as usual. Awesome module! Well done Andrew! 🤘🏼🤘🏼🤘🏼

[@LowGainElectronics]

You too Ben!! :-D

[@DivKid]

Thanks Logan, great work from Andrew, he's nailed that ring and envelope. It affects the VCA and VCF differently too. Appreciate it as always. We gotta get some Serge going here soon!

[@SteadyStateFate]

You called the name early, remember Logan?

[@DanieleGiannattasio]

Ooph, beautiful sounding stuff!

[@DivKid]

thanks

[@GoGoGoRunRunRun]

@22:05 it starts to remind me of modal synthesis, but a little different. Maybe smt like a cross between a very plucky VCO-VCF-VCA patch and plucked strings modal synthesis.

[@DivKid]

Yeah it's not the same thing, but it definitely hints at similar sounds to say things in Mutable's Rings or Elements.

[@A-Grat-A]

(written before release of the video, but after checking modulargrid description of the module) With Ultra-Kick, Triptych and Entity Percussion in my case for me there is no question of buying SSG, just the "when".😅 Hopefully Schneiderladen will get enough of stock sooner than later.

[@Bananskuden]

SSF makes the best modules

[@babalmighty6789]

When in kick configuration, copying the out back into the unit gives you acces to the timbre section! Cheers

[@DivKid]

Yeah the feedback loop can be handy. You can also patch the out back into the CV inputs then for audio rate self patching too.

[@mikegeary8056]

I like the fizzy Qaos

[@chetplease]

this is great Ben thank you

[@DivKid]

A pleasure thank you

[@RichardQuirkmusic]

great vid, going to have to get one of these

[@WRXcellent]

Great video per the usual! Something I tried when making the kick drum that sounded great is multing the output and feeding the output to the input. I was able to get some huge kick sounds with this method.

[@DivKid]

Hi Joshua, good tip, feedback is nice and will emphasise the resonance of the whole thing well. Nice to go back through the fold/saturation too. Try patching it back into the frequency or resonance too (attenuator before is usual) as that can give some good results.

[@WRXcellent]

@@DivKid Thanks for the tip! I appreciate you!

[@out_of_band]

Instant buy. This is one hell of a way to use 8hp.

[@soniklink-WKD4496]

I love every feature! 🙂Thank you 👍

[@UncleJimima]

LPGs are cool VCAs

[@NoiseToMost]

this thing is pretty sweet, you always make it looks so easy too! another great vid!

[@johnnyjay8551]

thanks Ben, always the best modular reviews.

[@OlivierSarfati]

Hey :) Quite new to modular but nicely making my way through the learning curve... Have been following the SSF SSG (and your other videos) for a while now and I am wondering how I can send dynamic triggers. Is the following way the "correct way"? 1. Send a series of triggers to a VCA IN 2. Send a CV sequence to the CV IN of the VCA 3. OUT of the VCA = dynamic triggers? Thanks for any hint 🙏

[@nectariosm]

Sounds brilliant. Will replace my LxD

[@DivKid]

more LPGs is never a bad thing. Try it alongside the LxD ... in fact first patch for 3 LPGs ... make a left, mid, right trio. Use the SSG in mono and modulate decay, filter and timbre (fold!) to get some animated interesting patching happening. Patch the same sound that's the input to the SSG into both channels of the LxD. Patch the LxD channel 1 as hard left, channel 2 as hard right in the mix. Then trigger the LxD channels with different rhythmic triggers to the SSG. You'll have a highly animated fantastic stereo image going on. Instead of the same input audio you could try a triangle to the SSG and then a saw to one LxD channel and a square to the other. All from the same oscillator. This is where modular starts to shine, my mind is now racing for patching and I wish the next job was making that video!

[@rampageExtremeGamer]

It does sound fantastic!

[@unitedsouls11]

You're the best! Please do an album with funky-ish and dark experimental stuff.

[@soundunitz]

This one is cool as hell.

[@DivKid]

Yeah it sounds and performs great.

[@iamsushi1056]

I just need it in stereo. That’s all I ask for it to be perfect

[@DivKid]

... buy two? Typical answer I know and not the one you want, which would be an actual stereo unit. The thing with two units that I really like in modular is the options to really animate each side (that I then pan hard left and right) differently. I made a PDF on making stereo images from mono sources with a couple of ideas recently for Patreon supporters. It went through a method I really like which is a mono source but then separate left and right modules. Because in that scenario the input is mono I'm not so precious about matching the sides so different filters or LPGs can create a really nice image. But with the same modules (say 2 of these) you could use different rhythms to the excite. Different LFOs or sequences to the Timbre and Filter too and really get some cool stuff going. Long answer you didn't ask for but just sharing those thoughts.

[@iamsushi1056]

Yeah, I’ve learned a lot once I figured out the trick of LCR mixing. But I still have a soft spot for stereo filters. I wonder if I could get a similar behavior with just a Bastl Ikarie, seeing as it has the built-in vca and envelope follower… _Edit: stupid duplicating comments bug. Removed all the extras, sorry!_

[@DivKid]

I didn't see the duplicates but thanks for tidying those up. Ikarie is a very different character (it's fantastic though). The envelope follower won't be much help for this purpose but you could get some similar LPG like sounds sending the same envelope to VCA and also to the filter cut off. Playing around with the manual filter level and how much filter mode the envelope has. you could mimic some of the responding to dynamics but sending your envelope to a VCA input and use a velocity / sequence to adjust the VCA CV. So the VCA output is now an envelope who's peak level is changing. That's how I work with velocities a lot of the time anyway as I can make sure module respond that way.

[@lockyp204]

@@DivKid Hey Ben, your RNDSTP module has been unavailable for some time. Component issues I suppose. Anytime frame on a next batch?

[@vaaalsongs4867]

YUMMY

[@sammadden5540]

See I could buy a cool new gate OR do I wait for the buchla LPG from tiptop?

[@usaroman]

Hi Ben, I'm currently studying the SSF line and was wondering if you had an opportunity to checkout the ssf vortices mixer there's a hifi model and the other features a saturator. Thanks 😊

[@DivKid]

Hello, I have both and use them loads. I really like the original with the tape based saturation and colour. I use the HiFi more, purely as when I'm demoing other things I want a clean sound to pass through truly for the listener. I've no plans to make a video for them currently but I'm happy to answer any questions you might have.

[@VEM24]

Likely liky like! :) ))

[@dualtrx]

i think i need this :D

[@freddiefranklin1]

Man looks like a helluva module!! Quick question though - in a small system would you consider this for all filtering and waveshaping duties over a dedicated filter and wavefolder? Is it versatile enough or would I back you into a bit of a west coast corner (love the west coast sound btw but not sure I would want to dedicate my system to it). For context, if I wanted to get this it would likely mean selling some modules and my filter would likely be first choice (Steve's MS-22)

[@fentanyljones6956]

I’d want a filter as well. Maybe a shaper as well, depends on the type of synthesis you’re most focused on

[@JayPrev]

Love it! SSF never misses. Quick question, does the frequency track volt/oct when self oscillating?

[@SteadyStateFate]

Thanks, Jay. It does not track V/Oct. The Frequency CV is tuned for LPG sounds in lieu of tracking pitch.

[@JayPrev]

@@SteadyStateFate Makes sense, thanks for the reply!

[@i_never_asked_for_an_alias]

Noice.

[@benjaminbenson1909]

Need it! When will it be available in Germany? PreOrder only USA :(

[@DivKid]

Direct orders only at the minute - bit.ly/SSF-SSG - it says pre orders but the video went up Sunday and Monday and Tuesday the initial wave orders were shipped. This should also be pretty much global now and not just USA. It should be in stores globally though in the coming weeks.

[@A-Grat-A]

Germany and ROW has been added, but shipping costs arm and leg (27$, ugh!) + 19% VAT/Zoll will happen on the border, what pushes price to 298€. I personally will just wait for Schneiderladen or ElevatorSounds stock, both of them are good dealers. Likely gonna be a Christmas present for myself.

[@AlfredoEsqueda]

want one

[@sCealt]

Really interesting module. Is it available in DIY? BTW just a quick FYI :) Modal synthesis doesn't involve any feedbacks. It's essentialy using additive synthesis (multiple sines with their own envelope). With their frequencies in relation to the fundamental set as real numbers (as opposed to integers for harmonics). Karplus-Strong string synthesis does however uses feedback loops. Anyway, enough nerdism from me haha thanks for the informative video as always!

[@DivKid]

Hello, no DIY for SSF as a brand so we won't see this as a kit. I didn't say Modal synthesis had any feedback, I said exciter and resonator. Although is that additive under the hood to make the resonator part of that pairing? All about the nerd chat, every days a school day so feel free to hit me with it, it's appreciated. Thanks!

[@martintaylor9205]

BEN has this Module any similarity’s to Rabid Elephants Natural Gate module which is unobtainable, so SSG as an alternative?????

[@DivKid]

Hi Martin, very similar in that both are vactrol free takes on a low pass gate. The Natural Gate is a dual channel unit, this is one channel. This however deconstructs the VCA (level) and VCF (tone) elements and while it will do the classic LPG sounds lets you tailor this much further. The addition of the Timbre section on this heavily expands the tonal palette and potential uses too. I use and enjoy both of those modules, hope that's helpful.

[@AlfredoEsqueda]

store don't have it yet, I think the only way to get it is straight from Steady state fate

[@DivKid]

Direct orders only at the minute - bit.ly/SSF-SSG - it says pre orders but the video went up Sunday and Monday and Tuesday the initial wave orders were shipped. This should also be pretty much global now and not just USA.

[@Mokmans]

Its already out of stock... Is there gonna be a restock soon?

[@DivKid]

Andrew at SSF is/was preparing stock to go out to stores globally with the weeks following the release. It was just a pre order (although he was shipping them next day) direct with SSF to get this launched and out there. Best to send a message to SSF to ask, or I know Andrew is active in the Mod Wiggler forum thread about it.

[@apeirogonmusic]

It sounds like bongo While being played with wet hands

[@DivKid]

can't say I've played bongos in the rain

[@b_r_i_z_z_y]

@@DivKid 🤣💀

[@joeymc5272]

Hey ben what do you like better Natural Gate or SSG?

[@DivKid]

Hi Joey, I genuinely don't have a favourite and what's better would change fairly regularly as I move through using lots of things. The trad. filter stuff and shaping on the SSG is really nice, impressive work by Andrew and the work in shaping the envelope and response gives a nice percussion smack I really like. The NG as two channels is great of course and there's a sort of roundness in the envelopes and tone the SSG doesn't have.

[@joeymc5272]

@@DivKid awesome man thanks so much for the explanation. Still a hard choice between the 2 because they both sound so good!

[@gladlawson61]

Arent gates for fences?

[@jedgould5531]

Especially steady ones.

[@GizzyDillespee]

Steady State Fences would be a quad gate

[@orangenotviolet]

Only if you are a sheep.

[@bubblekeiki7395]

wonder if it closes completely 🤔

[@SteadyStateFate]

Bubble, it does indeed close all the way.

[@bubblekeiki7395]

@@SteadyStateFate Noice!!

[@jedgould5531]

Let me guess. SSG won’t be available for three months. Not even available for pre-order! When I was in radio, they would never give me product for airplay until it was a week away from retail. There is no point in getting people excited too early, in fact it does damage. It is a lovely demo Ben. Should have stayed in the can until the module was headed for retail. When will these manufacturers learn?

[@GizzyDillespee]

I'm not into FOMO preorders either... but if a company can sell out its production runs as preorders only, then why wouldn't they? With the Great Chip Shortage, and the Great Synth Binge, still ongoing, some products are rarely, if ever, generally available anymore. Even worse... if they manufacturer is always backordered, then technically it means they could be charging more, and yet they'd still sell just as many. Then, once demand levels out, and production ramps up (IF the developer wants to grow in that way, and the supply chain and finance allow it), then they can offer "discounts". Luckily, we're not as far along, in the synth marketplace, that we encourage instantaneous demand-based microp-pricing, yet.

[@SteadyStateFate]

Hey, thank you for the comment. Pre-orders began at the time of this video premiere.

[@DivKid]

Hi Jed, this one (and many videos recently) was timed specifically for the release of the module. The module was released at 8pm UK (well 7.55pm so ready for the video at 8pm) as was the video. This is a pre order direct with SSF, so it can be ordered and it'll ship VERY soon. This will be in stores globally in a few weeks but Andrew has stock built and boxed for the pre orders to start going out. Hope that adds some clarity here. I know generally it's frustrating, so many show things very early and people promote very early. But that's not how I'm trying to work with people.

[@charlesbronson2806]

Is it vactrol based?

[@jammystraub488]

No. It uses a VCA and filter circuit to emulate a vactrol.

[@GizzyDillespee]

Emulation... at 3:15 in the video, for the next half a minute or so, Divkid describes in a little better detail what Jammy said above

[@DivKid]

Hi Charles as Jammy and Adam mentioned no vactrols here. However the shaping and modelling on the envelope (all analog) has really been tailored to nail that strike and "ring" of a vactrol.

[@gladlawson61]

It sounds modal ya

[@DivKid]

thanks! I think it goes a long way to evoke those sounds, a great patch from Andrew.

[@parristaylor]

Watching this video just cost me..

[@florafunk4515]

Let ME guess!?!?!?!?!?!? Is it bigger than breadbox? Is it a breadbox?

[@DivKid]

it's not bigger than a standard breadbox, it's a small breadbox. Good for Pitta and a bit of Soreen. Disclaimer ... it won't hold a loaf of bread.

[@allhandsmusic]

So a muffin box, yes?

[@DivKid]

are we talking English Muffins you might toast? Or Muffins that are more like small cakes?

[@spiralmoment]

Nice module. I would personally much have preferred 3 rogans instead of the small faders, since I just hate those.

[@DivKid]

interesting, usually people get excited for sliders.