Erica Synths DB-01 tutorial - Part 3: MIDI & CV

Part 3 of a tutorial series for the Erica Synths DB-01 Bassline synth. The tutorial covers such things as MIDI control, CV in, CV clock and pattern chaining. A short jam toward the end shows a small sample of the range of sounds when paired with a Moog DFAM.
0:00 Playing from an external keyboard
1:08 Keyboard mode
1:35 Setting the MIDI input channel
2:20 Portamento
2:45 External control of the arpeggiator
3:08 External control of step roll mode
4:03 Chaining patterns
5:05 Sync to external clock
5:46 CV inputs
6:10 Pitch CV in
7:05 Fixing knob lag
8:00 A Throbbing Gristle moment
9:50 DFAM pitch input
15:02 Filter CV input and jam
/ richarddehove
Part 1: • Erica Synths DB-01 tut...
Part 2: • Erica Synths DB-01 tut...
Part 3: • Erica Synths DB-01 tut...

[@etbonz3499]

Big thanks on these tutorials Richard! Some of the best i've come across, been a huge help! Love this Machine!

[@RichardDeHove]

A pleasure, thanks for the kind comment :)

[@outdatedgear5036]

Thanks Richard for these videos. I just got the bassline and learned a lot from you. Much appreciated.

[@RichardDeHove]

Thanks OG

[@AlPlatino]

Richard thanks for the 3 tutorials. I'm taking out more from this incredible machine. Cheers from Madrid.

[@RichardDeHove]

Thanks Al, a pleasure :)

[@marcinlacfik8813]

Throbbing Gristle mentioned! I’m sold🤘

[@RichardDeHove]

The drone from Hamburger Lady is one of the all-time jazz-funk highlights :)

[@vulvaether5169]

thanks!

[@Hellseeker1]

Can’t wait till I get mine, just ordered yesterday. Those detention knobs sound nice

[@RichardDeHove]

Built like a T-34 and a great feel to the knobs. Really satisfying to tweak.

[@Hellseeker1]

@@RichardDeHove I got it finally after a month man and ohh boy it was worth every penny!

[@roostermilkjones7897]

I came for a look at the CV but stayed for the jam... thanks!

[@taylorfaulkner1899]

You are a master. Thank you very much.

[@Bollinja]

Really appreciating these tutorials- thank you! I need to get my Mother-32/ DFAM/ Subharmonicon into their 3 tier rack and then patch this in for some fun :)

[@dietervoser4425]

A TG Moment @ 8:00. Grossartige Ueberraschung !

[@RichardDeHove]

20 Jazz Funk Greats :)

[@dietervoser4425]

@@RichardDeHove Best ! As all your DB01 tutorials. !

[@hf328]

Thanks for these videos, they're very useful! Can you tell me how easy it is to only use analogue clock in to sync the DB-01? After a long time of battling with keeping DAW drums synced tightly with hardware (already tried an ERM!) I've settled on a way that just works - using the Analogue Solutions Generator which receives MIDI note data to sync the sequencer rather than MIDI clock... this means that you can record in Ableton using their auto latency compensation as though you were sending MIDI to a hardware synth. So far this works well for keeping one other euro sequencer tightly synced but I haven't tried it with standalone boxes like this which have clock in. I'm a bit confused how easy it is to have it reset when it's supposed to when there's no reset input? Any advice on how easy it is to solely use the analogue clock input is much appreciated :) If it works well then I'll most likely get the LXR-02 as well! Thanks again!

[@RichardDeHove]

Hi HF. I've used the analog clock for basic sync but your question about reset is more tricky. AFAIK analog clock just keeps ticking without reset. The only way I've used it with reset is by feeding the clock a MIDI signal and having that converted to clock. Then when the MIDI clock is reset the analog clock 'jumps' to resync with the MIDI reset. What I donlt know is what then triggers an LFO reset when powered by analog clock. I'd have to set up something to give that a test....

[@MrIbidule]

Thanks for your staff, it's fantastic. A little question... I play a lot with my Erica and my dfam but I don't know if I can sequence the dfam with the Erica DB-01? Thanks

[@RichardDeHove]

Thanks Dav duq! The DB-01 plays very nicely with all the Euro gear I've tried. Either gate out or clock out into the DFAM's trigger in should work. Also the DB-01 CV out to one (or mult it to both) VCO-CV-in will drive the pitch. Or for weird stuff, the DFAM CV out to DB-01 CV in. Lots of fun with these two.

[@MrIbidule]

@@RichardDeHove Thanks Richard. .

[@lauferx5944]

Hi and thank you for another great tutorial. Could you expplain what difference does it make if you set midi in chanel to 10 or any other? What is the purpose of so many midi in chanels?

[@RichardDeHove]

Thanks Lauferx! The channel number isn't significant beyond just making sure they were both on the same channel to talk to each other.

[@lauferx5944]

@@RichardDeHove Thank you for reply! Does it mean that Sub 37 or whatever you're using is also internally set on chanel 10?

[@RichardDeHove]

@@lauferx5944 Yes. The Sub37 is set to send MIDI information on Channel 10. The DB-01 is set to receive information on Channel 10.

[@lauferx5944]

@@RichardDeHove I really appriciate it! 🙏

[@Fog-kq4pv]

I am new in the world of synths. Could you please advise which settings a need to choose, if I want to play from Elektron Model Samples thru Erica Bassline? I want to make a kick, drums on Elektron and the bassline on Erica. And also change parameters of sound from Erica. Sorry for my English as well.

[@AMar4enko]

The only parameter (except note on/off, also known as gate, and pitch), you can change via MIDI, is filter cutoff. Besides that you're good to go - Model:Samples can send clock, notes and filter cutoff DB-01 via MIDI PM me if you need further help, i speak Russian

[@theoliviaarchives4794]

Great video, and thanks again for the help. Do you know if I can run an audio signal into the CV and get an effect? For instance, I have a theremin, could the audio signal from that be used as the CV in of the DB-01?

[@RichardDeHove]

Yes, the DB-01 will happily take audio into the CV. I did a video on that very thing! kzbin.info/www/bejne/jHzYpWuimdKal7c Feeding a theremin in would be really interesting to hear ! Maybe you could report back :)

[@theoliviaarchives4794]

Hey, so I gave it a shot and it worked. The theremin has two antennas, on for volume, one for pitch. Both antennas had an effect. I went into keyboard mode on the DB-01 and noticed a light was off. The button still responds, just no light effect. I unplugged the theremin and the light came back on. I’m guess maybe this is an indication of what parameter the CV signal is changing. I’ll check the manual. And it did sound cool with the theremin!

[@RichardDeHove]

@@theoliviaarchives4794 NIce! Maybe try going into pitch and filter?

[@theoliviaarchives4794]

Okay, I’ll give it a shot!

[@mattburke7256]

Great video . Richard how can I get my erica synth bass working in ableton ? I'm not sure if the bassline has a predetermined midi channel that it's been fixed to , and if so how can I access and get everything working. Help would be much appreciated. Thanks :)

[@RichardDeHove]

You can set the MIDI receive channel on the DB-01 by going into the config section (hold Shift+OctaveUP) then the second button from the left is "MOT" which is MIDI out. Press and hold the Select knob then rotate the data knob to select a channel. I'm not an Ableton user but the DB-01 plays well with any MIDI device or sequencer I've tried so far.

[@mattburke7256]

@@RichardDeHove Thank you so much appreciate it 👍😀

[@the_bluescreen]

Thanks a lot for these tutorials, Richard! I’m wondering that does it make sense to use CV instead of midi on this machine? Because midi doesnt support glide cutoff so I have oxi one and I was thinking maybe I can use CV with oxi one to control bassline db-01, what do you think? I’m super noob on CV topics so maybe this is super silly question 😄

[@RichardDeHove]

Interesting question. The DB-01's MIDI spec is poor so not much joy there. Far more control is available with CV since you have gate, pitch and filter. I've fed weird pitch info into the DB-01 and that can be very interesting especially for dronish sliding things. The main issue imo is that so much functionality is connected with the DB-01s sequencer - pitch envelopes, slides, accents, filter modulation etc. So of you decide against using the sequencer altogether you need to be gaining a lot of capability to make up for that loss. OTOH combining some external pitch or filter CV with DB-01 sequences can get into weird new territory. In this video I feed in CV and might be a help: kzbin.info/www/bejne/j6m1qKx-qM9keJY

[@tacticalgrooveorbit2379]

thanks a lot, is it possible to trig the sequencer via midi keyboard so when we push the keaybord note it seq plays until we release the midi note. midi note control pitch of sequence and run/stop sequence?

[@RichardDeHove]

Yes you can do that but it's a bit different in the way it's controlled, better I think in terms of flexability. Go into the arp settings and choose STP mode. (PIA mode is the usual arp control). In STP mode the arp will play whatever notes you've programmed in your sequence. So for example you have a riff on steps 1 3 567, then you hold down the first eight notes in that range and it'll play back your riff as an 8-step loop. But then you could also just hold down notes 4567 and have a 4-step loop. You can end up holding down a lot of keys but you gain the ability to slice your sequence on the fly. Instead of holding down all the keys you can put the arp into latch mode, hold down the first note then press down all the steps you want to play - all 16/32 if you want. If your controller has some sort of "chord memory" you could possibly programmed it with 8 or 16-step "chords" and activate your entire sequence lie that.

[@totontotonius7291]

Great tutorials, I learned the DB01 from you before I even got it. One thing that I can't figure out though is syncing it via MIDI to a drum machine (in my case Perkons) clock works fine for sync but not the MIDI. I think I am doing everything right yet DB01 doesn't respond. Btw I have the latest firmware installed.

[@RichardDeHove]

It's a great little machine :) As for the clock issue: In the first config option "CLK" it needs to be on MID. No other settings need to be adjusted. To be sure it's ready you can put it into this mode, take out the MIDI cable then power cycle. When it comes on again the tempo should display "0". That means it's waiting for a clock signal. Then plug in the MIDI cable and the tempo display should jump to whatever the incoming MIDI clock speed is. If that's not happening then the problem is with whatever is sending the clock.

[@totontotonius7291]

@@RichardDeHove Thank you, I did manage to figure it out eventually...and now back to your new video on DB01 👌

[@dinofiori]

hi! the cv out and gate out can i use them to send click and notes to a pico system iii? thzz

[@RichardDeHove]

Yes. The DB-01 pairs up beautifully with Euro gear. Clock, gate and CV all work flawlessly.

[@dinofiori]

@@RichardDeHove ;)

[@etbonz3499]

Yoyo Richard, do you know if there is a way to change the pitch bend amount? Specifically for when using an external keyboards pitch wheel.

[@RichardDeHove]

You're entirely at the mercy of whatever the external controller commands.

[@roave_music]

Can I record directly from the synth into fl studio?

[@RichardDeHove]

There's no USB if that's what you mean, but otherwise direct in is fine.

[@roave_music]

@@RichardDeHove thanks

[@amartine01]

carbon copy analog delay VS ZEN delay? any thoughts? 🤔

[@RichardDeHove]

I loved the original Carbon Copy I had in this video - and so sold it to get the Deluxe version. Funny, but I didn't like that as much. It seemed to have far fewer sweet spots although the circuitry is probably exactly the same. Maybe it was being forced to manually dial in the time on the original? The Zen delay was a real beast but I eventually sold that as well. The main reason was that the filter comes after the delay. That means that it's like throwing a blanket over the whole thing whenever you use it. I like filters before the delay so you get the whooshing and squelches. Am currently pretty happy with the NUX DuoTime and D-Seed II. As must be obvious I have a serious problem with buying and selling delays trying to find the perfect machine!

[@amartine01]

@@RichardDeHove Cool! Thanks for the reply, appreciate it! Love these vids btw. Got to my Db finally since watching these vids. Good stuff. Will check out those delay pedals you mentioned. Thanks again!

[@randydarklight]

The DB-01 does not have a very good filter, so the part has gone under. The functions are definitely very good, but it loses its fun because of the VCF.

[@RichardDeHove]

The DB-01 has a Polivoks filter which has a very different character to most other synths. It doesn't self-oscillate and isn't so smooth. For me it's a vital part of the aggressive DB-01 sound. But it's not for everyone of course.

[@randydarklight]

@@RichardDeHove Let's put it this way, it sounds similar with a lot of good will. I have a Polivoks and can compare the two. Polivoks is my absolute dream synth. That's why I wanted to have a Polivoks module in my Eurorack. I once bought the Black Polivoks VCF v2 blind and was also disappointed. It has the characteristics (at least on paper) but it doesn't really give me Polivoks fever.

[@RichardDeHove]

@@randydarklight Now I understand - you have an original Polivoks! It is interesting how much difference there is between various versions. The DB-01 version is very different to the AcidBoxIII Polivoks even though they are both by Erica Synths. And they are both different again to the EF-3 stereo Polivoks filter by Elta which I thought was far too nice. But perhaps none of these are like the real original? Yet when Moog says "ladder filter" they are all much the same.

[@randydarklight]

@@RichardDeHove The Acidbox is strange. Worst VCF at all. I never talk about it. The Acidbox was discontinued due to unsuccessful application so I remember.

[@RichardDeHove]

@@randydarklight Acidbox is up to version 3 now. I've tried various filter pedals and the Acidbox is the clear winner for me. But then I'm not comparing its filter to an OG. Which Polivoks do you have?