Let's Learn Eurorack (ft. VCV Rack): 03 - Modulation

Let's learn modular synthesis! In this video, we'll dive into modulation: what it is and how to use it.
Subscribe to these makers on VCV rack to follow along:
library.vcvrack.com/AlrightDe...
library.vcvrack.com/CountModula
library.vcvrack.com/Hora-Mixers
library.vcvrack.com/Impromptu...
library.vcvrack.com/Valley
library.vcvrack.com/voxglitch
Get the VCV rack patch files here: patchstorage.com/author/redme...
00:00 intro
01:32 quick patch walkthrough
03:07 how does voltage?
04:57 first modulation
08:08 function generators as lfos
09:32 envelope generators
12:29 exploring tides
13:59 wavetable lfo
15:55 modulating with the wavetable lfo
20:12 attenuation and attenuversion
23:54 clocked modulation (hihat)
28:10 clocked modulation (synth)
30:46 sidechain pump with lfos
32:00 stepped random voltage
36:18 modulate your modulators
40:26 audio rate modulation
42:12 recap and outro
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[@xTheOxx]

The quote at 27:40 is basically modular synthesis in a nutshell: "OK! Well! That's not exactly what I wanted, but..."

[@AdamHardymaniOSMM]

Learnt so much from this series, the ideas come thick and fast! Think I’ll be watching again and again! Thank you 🙏

[@xephon3000]

Man, seeing and hearing how a side chain is setup is so awesome! It’s great that VCV is a thing that exists cuz otherwise I’d be getting intense GAS from hearing all that’s possible in eurorack while watching these lessons

[@atanjacket]

Thanks for posting these! World might be going to war soon, but at least I can finally learn Euro-rack properly!

[@rogerkummert1523]

I e been into modular for 6 years now and I think this is the best intro series I've seen. Very comprehensive and it will give newbies a good head start. Congratulations. You done good.

[@OhHeyK3vin]

The excellent lesson on modulation aside, this is a really solid look at the process of creating a groove in Eurorack.

[@Jerel_with_a_J]

these videos keep getting better and better! modulating the modulators is fascinating!

[@ThMntnst]

sporting the latest Tides in my Eurorack, I can say that it may be not an underrated module in the general sense, but it seems to be overlooked regarding the Mutable-Lineup. Great Module!

[@kerwinfernandes3643]

MAD, the last random modulation section. God have mercy, I love this series. I really hope to meet you someday. God bless you on your journey! 😊🙏♥

[@Gulasch200]

Thanks a lot Jeremy, I feel modulated myself now. 🤪

[@frazkintsukuroi5836]

I know this tutorial is 2 years old but considering the amount of effort you've put into it, I wanted to mention a few things for people who - like me - built along with you and are struggling to get the starting patch to work: If you're like me and wondering why the heck the delay doesn't seem to do anything: don't forget to dial up the "Channel 1 to Aux 1" on the mixer (just look at the knobs on the mixer of the vid right of the AUX plugs and you'll see one is turned up a bit). This is absolutely a me problem, but since there isn't a lot happing in that area I'd say it's easy to miss when setting up the patch. If you're wondering why turning the bow knob doesn't result in your sound changing as it does in the video: your issue is probably in the rampage module: channel B doesn't do anything until you trigger it at least once (after which it will do the expected cycle). So press the trigger button for channel B (top right, red button labelled "trigger") manually to get the cycle going, or if you want to be fancy: connect the run output of the clock to the output B trigger so you're sure it's triggered when you "start" the patch.

[@jennifershields8581]

You're an icon for this, thank you! Totally would have never figured out needing to trigger rampage without this comment.

[@CatFish107]

I've been watching RMR vids since you were on Andrew's show with RKC and Cuckoo, and this series is the first time I've had any prior knowledge or experience with the topic of the video. Exciting stuff, and still helping me learn all the time. Thanks Jeremy!

[@WillRoan]

These videos changed the game. Thank you so so much.

[@FabianFalconett]

Love these. Thank you. Honestly biggest take away is the need for more attenuverters and quantizers.

[@whatup7214]

totally loved these vids. having so much fun with vcv rack, cant wait for more

[@xTheOxx]

I totally get the love Maths receives, it's brilliant, but I think the combination of a Rampage and a Dual Atenuverter is even better. It's a full-on swiss army knife of modulation.

[@7177YT]

Jeremy joining us rackheads for good huh? What a pleasure! Welcome to the fold! (;

[@jonathanyoung6397]

Best one yet and I’ve been eating these up! I learned a ton from this, particularly about clocking & resetting LFOs and modulating at audio rate. Amazing, thank you so much. What a masterclass…

[@OttoMilde]

Finally managed to patch it right after six times😅 Since I'm going to Superbooth this year, this is like trying out a proper life-jacket, or something. Love your work!

[@burgersmoke404]

That wavetable jiggle! Glorious!

[@realhiphopshit9426]

hey Jeremy, u have no idea how grateful I am for this series! I just discovered today your channel and I can say its a historical day for me :) ...im struggling to learn patching since 6 months and, thru this series, You just helped me to put a GLUE to the all the knowledge I got so far in order that everything arranged together in my brain - You just opened my eyes, made me to step back a bit, zoom out - and figure out the way this works. So i want to say that you are an amazing teacher . Your charm, jokes and flow, The way you approached this series, the chronological order of the episodes + the structure and teaching method you used just blew my mind. F**king amazing and so Inspirational on the top of everything! - and now the fun really starts for me - and patching becomes a pleasure not a pain. And thank you also for the quality content u share on your channel, I found it today and I can say that every new video I watch - its just amplifying the curiosity to watch a new one! Quality content, man! I guess everything its because of your mindset, But I like that i feel myself on the same page with you regarding the whole philosophy behind the music production. I'm gonna go now to mess around with VCV rack and I have one question for you : ' I got the fact that having a uni or a bipolar signal just determine the way/behavior of a modulated knob/paramater, for example - but Im wondering - on gates & triggers , do really matters if those spikes are between -5 to 0 volts or are only on the the positive side ? Should I care all the time about the range of the voltage in order to keep my signal path healthy " and without jumping with my signal in a full range 0 - 10 V? ..For pitch and modulation, this makes a big difference but what about clocks, gates and triggers?

[@Gracana]

"I hope that was fun for you." IT WAS! VERY MUCH! I'm playing with VCV Rack while I wait to get my real modular setup.. set up. I really appreciate the videos, they (and VCV Rack) are helping me figure out what I like and what I want to buy.

[@MeriaDuck]

Thanks for making this, I know what I will be playing with this weekend 🤣

[@g.i.d.t2934]

I love this series, i just started with modular and got some really usefull ideas/advices as a starting point, also explenations. I was just thinking about how beautiful is the fact that a person used his time, knowledge and will to teach others who are trying to understand. I really appreciate that, and i'm glad i came through these videos. Thanks!

[@edawwade]

Such a cool series. Thank you!

[@will5359]

Thank you so much for making this video series! I have been exploring vcv rack for awhile now and these videos answered a lot of the questions I had. Would be cool if you explored songwriting via vcv rack, whether that be creating entire songs inside vcv rack or taking snippets and turning them into complete songs. Great work, keep it up!

[@gnome3d750]

This series is a blessing!

[@myaluv]

Amazing! Really enjoying these series, thank you!!!

[@itsdarklikehell]

I second this comment.. good stuff... I would also like to see one about sunvox instead of vcvrack.

[@irishmossdubwise]

This series is fantastic

[@harryleblanc4939]

Way too much fun!😃

[@yu-r_music]

Incredible videos! Thank you so much!

[@av.punk.801]

You know the series and software are good because during setup, I had an idea in my head, and Knew to throw an LFO on the EXT IN for the Blow channel on the voice mod to get the sound I wanted... This is fun

[@LonnonFoster]

So worth it! Of course, now I need to get the worst of the stanky wubs out of my system before anything I make is safe to listen to, but damn, the patch I just made cranks out some *hideously beautiful noise*. Thank you!

[@bennyfairfax1]

I think in comparison to the other videos in the series, this one could've explained the patch better. I found this video harder to follow along to than the others. For example, I couldn't get the rampage signal to show up in the scope even though I followed the patching. I still think this series is great overall.

[@ClowdyHowdy]

I also couldn't get the rampage signal to show up until I clicked the red trigg button on channel 2 (the right side), then it started mixing the two properly and modulating the signal.

[@andres.hidalgo.a]

@@ClowdyHowdy hi... same here, yours was the solution, thanks....

[@F_letc.h]

Great stuff. Thanks!

[@PetervanderPlaat]

Thanks for this awesome tutorial

[@djohnson2449]

Incredible tutorial !

[@katelikesrectangles]

modulaaAAAaaAAAaaAAAaation!

[@hulk10086]

woof

[@sonicsupersam7793]

Another one! Perfect thing for me in the uk during my half term. How often do you plan on posting these?

[@RedMeansRecording]

one more tomorrow and thats it for a while

[@pureeschaap]

@@RedMeansRecording That's horrible news :)

[@hyperactivists9390]

fantastic i joined your patreon :) i am so grateful you did this series!!! is there any way to download these 4 tutorials?

[@Gracana]

In case I'm not the only one with this issue: the Hora mixers don't seem to work anymore. Most of the faders don't move. I used the AS Mixer8ch instead.

[@shreyagupta581]

I have a question, for some reason, the function generator rampage is giving me too output from Falling - there's no signal showing in my patch in the cable from falling to scope. Could please help me troubleshoot. Thanks

[@ScratSniff]

does anyone now, why, on the first patch, not every Trigger of the Gate sequence is triggering a Note on the synthesizer - if I build the patch on my own, everyone triggers a sound...

[@GeorgeLocke]

Hey Jeremy, I would be interested to hear from you answering this: why use modular? What's the point of doing it this way vs. the piano roll? Another question would be, is VCV rack more like Ableton or a hardware modular?

[@GeorgeLocke]

I'm just noticing how well you've done explaining things that go unnoticed and normal/invisible for myself, wove been doing computer music for 10+ years.

[@RedMeansRecording]

The tools available in modular open up a level of customizability and flow and experimentation that's unique

[@JustinKimball]

VCV is _way_ more like hardware modular than ableton IMO. You have to patch it exactly as you would with a modular synthesizer. IMO modular is just a totally different way of interfacing with and creating music. The best analogy I have is that playing piano and singing are both absolutely ways of making music -- but they are a completely different way of engaging with it, right? Well, eurorack is also it's own unique way of creating and engaging with music - and it's completely flexible and customizable based on what you want to do with it.

[@romyn8726]

Hey, what is the purpose for assigning the run output from the clock into the sequences? thanks!

[@RedMeansRecording]

I'm using it as a reset

[@pureeschaap]

What hardware are you using? Intel, AMD, Apple? RAM motherboard & graphical card? In- or external soundcard? Have you published your specs somewhere? It seems so fast & smooth...

[@RedMeansRecording]

I9 with 32 gb of ram and gtx970

[@pureeschaap]

@@RedMeansRecording Thank you. In the meantime, I bought a gaming laptop to be able to smoothly watch and interact with your guides ;)

[@FoundationMCR]

i dont know what i missed but something fundamental - i cant get the first two oscillators to relate to each other in terms of pitch - they just sound awful and the attentuation/offset just makes it worse. got frustrated and gave up for today :/

[@filiphron3147]

I have the same issue, what i have done is that i linked output of the one quantizer (the keyboard thingy) to both (synthesizer and oscillator) and tuned frequency knob macro oscillator 2 when they sounded approximately the same (it was in my case around 21.018) semitones. Then i linked the macro oscillator v/oct input to it's own quantizer. Hope it helps!

[@AGVersace100]

does VCV support multi touch?

[@pureeschaap]

You can connect several mice and use a touchscreen.

[@itsdarklikehell]

so we need.... yet another osc.....

[@jonaslundholm]

Is this available för iPhone or iPad?

[@DarknessNam]

There is a port for idevices called MIRack. It’s not as co,Pete as bcc rack, but has most of the essentials.

[@DarknessNam]

I hate autocorrect…..it’s not as complete as vcv rack….

[@jonaslundholm]

@@DarknessNam Thanks for reply. Is is worth €15?

[@DarknessNam]

@@jonaslundholm I don’t remember it having any cost at all. I’m pretty sure it was free.

[@DarknessNam]

@@jonaslundholm sorry, I was wrong, it was 10$. I think it was worth it myself.

[@bubblegumscifi3450]

Anyone unable to open the patches in VCV Rack 2? Any solutions for this would be appreciated : )

[@bubblegumscifi3450]

And by that I mean the patches open but wont play i.e. can't press "Run" on the clock module

[@pureeschaap]

@@bubblegumscifi3450 I suppose you've found a solution in the meantime? Anyway, there can be many reason, so you'll need to be more specific/descriptive on your problem.