Tuning your Modular Eurorack System

Korg Tuner: www.korg.com/us/products/tune...
Support the channel on Patreon: bit.ly/rmrpatreon
Take a lesson with me: rmr.media/education
Find my music here:
Bandcamp: bit.ly/2Kq617o
Spotify: spoti.fi/2N40SoX
KZbin Music: bit.ly/3PZQ4ol
iTunes: apple.co/2pqh3SK
Amazon Music: amzn.to/2O9q1fe
Connect:
Twitter: bit.ly/rmrtwitters
Website: bit.ly/rmrmedia

[@MattLongstaff]

Man, what a treat that little unison jam was for watching all the way to the end 🔥

[@Michkin2]

Just stepped away from a would-be jam because I was pulling my hair out tuning DFAM and remembered this video exists

[@emperorbingo]

Thank you. I recently made the accidental but obvious discovery that I should open up the filter all the way when tuning.

[@mage2k]

The most important thing when playing in key/tuning across different patched voices is that the voices are in tune with each other. With that in mind I’ll often pick an oscillator as my master tune oscillator, tune the others into beating range by ear, then (buffered) mult a basic waveform output from the master tune oscillator to the sync inputs on the other oscillators to get them totally locked with a tad of extra sizzle from the slight sync action, and plenty of easy sync modulation options via the follower oscillators’ actual frequency and pitch/fm inputs.

[@wljhawk]

That end sound is amazing!

[@els1f]

12:58 If you hold shift while turning the pitch knob, it goes into fine tune mode😋✌

[@waveland58]

Yes, I was going to say the same thing. Needs the latest firmware.

[@fuzzix]

I don't own a modular system, but I'm still gonna watch

[@CatFish107]

Careful, that's how the eurocrack dealers reel you in.

[@Gmartin4049]

4ms have added a fine tune and lock for the ensemble oscillator. much needed. thanks for another great vid. x

[@GazWilliams]

I love you Jeremy

[@jvedra9041]

Picked up a caltrans and it has changed my modular game quite a bit. Especially for the stuff with tracking problems. Just helps everyone play nice together.

[@homo192]

Yeah, would definitely recommend that too if one has unreliably tracking sound sources or wonky CV sources. It even can make devices track perfectly, which have never been meant to follow the V/Oct standard.

[@jaygregory8219]

Much needed video! Thanks for making and sharing this

[@cataraxis-jn9fu]

i twiddle the knobs till it sounds pretty. Takes ages. Great video

[@MotorHolmes]

I usually just get frustrated with noted never sounding right, forget I need to tune oscillators, and then hate the sound haha. I actually ordered a Data a few days ago as I really need integrated tuning in my workflow.

[@ottermods3212]

Another important lesson every synth owner needs to know how to do! Thanks for taking the time to break it down.

[@Gmartin4049]

Hermod plus has just added a new firmware 1.30 with a tuner mode. Says it's good with complex sounds as well. Can't wait to try it out later on the ensemble oscillator. enjoy. x

[@TeaspoonUlysses]

Huge help, J. Thanks so much.

[@manasbass]

Super Useful Video. Big fan for your videos and music . Thx a lot 🙏

[@ata8469]

Thank you for this video. Nice to see oneself’s experience with tuning being confirmed. I generally love tour content. Please continue inspiring people. You are awesome, man!

[@resetreboot]

Great thing, because recently I discovered my East Beast needs to be tuned. And I just got a module that can tune. So right on time!

[@monosnack]

I do the tuning of my oscillators with Ableton Live (Tuner).... this is very handy.

[@jonathanyoung6397]

Most useful video I’ve seen in ages thanks Jeremy! Just got a Xaoc Odessa which I was struggling to tune, but now I know why 😊

[@chrisdaniels4420]

Thanks for making this

[@MotorHolmes]

very solid!

[@Haschkey]

Something I didn't hear you mention (might have missed it) is to let your oscillators warm up for up to 30 mins, it improves tracking a lot. And one thing regarding René v2 (might apply to other sequencers) is that if I tune my oscillator to a C and then plug in René into 1v/oct and play a C, it will be sharp by almost a half step. So that means I must tune my oscillators with René plugged in or it will be wrong... It's not that much of an issue for me as René is my only sequencer, but I could see this be a real PITA when having several sequencers with built in quantizing in your system. I also vaguely remember that the New Timbral Oscillator from Random*Source tracks close to perfectly across all its range, might be wrong though since I don't own one.

[@jarls5890]

This mostly applies to analog oscillators. I think he should have mentioned this. There is a difference between analog and digital oscillators. Analog ones should be allowed to reach a stable working temp before being tuned - as they may drift as temperature changes. Digital osc much less so if at all. Also digital osc generally track much better than analog ones. Also - I think one should always tune while the v/oct input is connected (preferably by the source that will feed it) as it may change slightly when plugged/unplugged and depending on what it is plugged into (as he noticed when it was plugged in). Also - when tuning to an octave - what volt is fed for that octave is somewhat important. I.e. for C4 - how many volts? The "standard" says that a C4 is 3.250V. And since 1V is once octave that means a C8 (pretty much the end of the range) would be 7.250V.

[@robingroulx]

important content! thank you mr. modular bad boi

Thanks

[@usefulnoise8427]

This video is essential viewing for everyone in modular. How many sets have been ruined by not minding these simple steps.

[@JeffHopkinsMusic]

Pitch tracking issues can be from a couple different sources. MIDI->CV, sequencers, quantizers, or Oscillators themselves can all affect scaling and pitch tracking. FH-2 can do amazing things for calibrating a v/oct output to an Oscillator over the whole range too, which is super cool.

[@redlester]

02:15 I noticed this change in pitch when plugging a sequencer into the V/Oct of any oscillator. More audible on some than others, and it's different for each sequencer. With my Metropolix it's very audible and it's even different for each of the two pitch outputs. So if I want to work at concert pitch I've taken to always going from sequencer to oscillator via a quantiser, which should also help with pitch tracking. You might also need to check if your sequencer is outputting 0 to 10V or -5 to +5V as this can produce unexpected results regarding which octave you're using as your 'centre' point.

[@offthisworld]

Great video. Handy details. And I so agree on the 4MS ENOSC -- It's a pain I agree and I can't believe this is what 4MS had in mind when designing it. It should get a fix. Soon. Very. Soon.

[@waveland58]

The latest firmware has fine-tuning.

[@Gmartin4049]

It doesn't need a fix. Its a complex oscillator and spreads the notes in interesting ways. Its not for the faint hearted but is an amazing module. The manual explains it well. There are pics of how it spreads the notes as you turn up spread. I just use my ears to tune. I agree its not easy but beautiful.

[@oneearedcat001]

Thanks, really useful for a Eurorack newb

[@linuxbender]

Thx

[@foxendeavor]

Also pay attention to the voltage that a particular module like the Hermod+ outputs. Its 0 volts is not the same as others - it appears to go to negative voltage ranges. I ran into this problem when tuning osc and if I tuned them too high and they didn't like negative voltage, whacky things happen.

[@ritec]

I have been into modular for a while and i hardly ever tune my oscillators. Normally I play around until things sound good to me and make my music, that said the music I play is mostly about sounds design rather than melodies.

[@Tofu_Pilot]

@15:39 dampening? you have moisture control on that oscillator? Mine has damping only.

[@Chris-qq7mt]

Great video! What cables are you using? Seems like they bend pretty cool.

[@deniselias5405]

the evenVCO tracks almost perfect. But the only one I know of

[@VictorSteiner]

I have a MORDAX DATA but because I try biulding smaller, battery-powered systems to use in the park I now tune with the Tuner-Algo of FX Aid. Non-visual but good enough for me.

[@ritec]

When is that tuner rom Korg coming out? I do not see it anywhere.

[@walrtbstudios5430]

If you’ve got a Plaits (and/or clone) on the latest firmware they should throw out octaves of C; I simply tune everything to them- even though I have a NTS-2, a uTune and several uO-Cs. Lazy, but effective.

[@offthisworld]

PS: you can lock the 4ms ENOSC pitch knob. Then again, I don't appreciate the way it handles tuning. It sounds 'detuned' from a mile off either way. I look at 4ms here ... are they aware of this pain?

[@Gmartin4049]

it spreads the notes in a beautiful but difficult way to comprehend but with patience it very rewarding. The manual explains this well. The new update is defo a bonus. Waited ages for this update. I love the microtonal sound scape it can provide.

[@modularjesus]

my only concern after tuning oscillators is how to not accidentally touch the knob and mess things up during live show :D

[@AlexanderEinoder]

Aren't there knob lockers?

[@modularjesus]

@@AlexanderEinoderdon’t know which oscillators you’re using, but the ones I own doesn’t have such function

[@homo192]

@@modularjesus Frap Tools Brenso has lock buttons, for example... You can place felt rings beneath the tuning knobs so they become harder to turn, thus preventing from moving them accidentally. I've done this with great results. This "system" even allows for adjusting the resistance the felt provides by putting more or less pressure on it when mounting the knob to the poti shaft.

[@AlexanderEinoder]

@@modularjesus nah its something that physically attaches to the knob

[@modularjesus]

@@AlexanderEinoder waaaaait what???:D please enlighten me, I would love to have such thing!!

[@diegomartin73388]

How do you send a constant Note on Hermod+ ?

[@ThMntnst]

#Ctuninggang!

[@PSILOCYBINISTHEWAY]

"as a content creator" it's ok to say you're unemployed lol awesome video tho, ty for this. your rig is nuts too

[@catscanmeow]

I see the patching panda etna has a new design there

[@err_rawr]

C C C C C Ceeeeeeeee

[@snorrevonflake]

I never thought of Eurorack as sth putting out tonal/musical pitch, its for weird noises, who would want to "tune" that.

[@homo192]

Really? Maybe hard to believe, but a modular synthesizer is just a musical instrument people are free to use to their liking. So where does your "it's for..." rule come from? Ever heard of note quantizers and quantizing sequencers exist in modular world? ;)

[@christianwheeler8386]

Please don’t call yourself a content creator. It’s totally selling yourself short. As someone severely addicted to self loathing I do the same stuff. You deserve better. Also, the term is terrible as a whole as it is minimally descriptive yet conjures mostly negative connotations.

[@mildheadwound]

Doesn't it make more sense to tune to a saw wave, vs. a sine? It is the start of the duty cycle. Sine waves are never, 'perfect', and kinda smudgie in the middle.