Serge Modular | Episode 02 | Voices and Utilities (and Maths vs DUSG)

I wish I could do this all day. Building a Serge system in eurorack is great fun, and the same applies to figuring it out. I've been running this channel for a while know and I assumed I knew a lot. In EP01 I knew nothing and I could hide behind fancy animations. In this episode I still don't know enough to dive deep but I've figured out there are 4U voice- and utility panels. Most of them can be directly translated to eurorack and in this episode I've 'built' a La Bestia II (with some missing parts).
A deep compare with Maths is unavoidable, so we're going to compare Maths with DUSG again. Serge modules have Rise, Falls and Both all over the place and they sound totally different at audio rates. They're designed to double as full featured VCO's with varishape waveforms, AM and FM. They can filter, and work as VCA's or LPG's. This is called 'patch programmability'. So what's on the panel isn't necessarily what the module is for. Without your direction, a dual slope means nothing.
00:00 Introduction
01:07 Maths V1 = Serge DUSG + (Buchla 281) + 257
02:38 Maths EOR/EOC vs DUSG END
03:29 DUSG as Complex VCO
04:33 Introducing GTS
05:10 Utilities sound like utilities
07:26 Winds of Wood
09:01 Quantized jam with Rene, Optomix & Mimeophon
13:01 A Krell patch with the La Bestia II panel layout (eurorack).

[@andrometer2382]

Your one of the best KZbin has to offer

[@kirkyoung4147]

true

[@geraldgoodiii6993]

I second that

[@danmoore9682]

so glad you are making these, thanks! Exactly what I needed.

[@hlprmnky]

You can say there’s no story or self-expression in the “abstract sound art” vein of exploration, but of course there is, or can be - your voice can be heard when you’re curating a generative space just as readily as when you’re building up a composition from first principles, if your audience is ready to listen to what your choices have to say. Thank you for, as always, a brilliant and captivating introduction to a corner of the modular world that’s very new to me, at least.

[@CinematicLaboratory]

Thank you so much for you comment. You are absolutely right and I am sorry for the misconception. I was referring to that particular 'abstract' part in the video where I was just making weird noise, having absolutely no idea what I was doing. It felt like throwing paint at a canvas. I was referring to my own work which felt like a nihilistic noise study. What I was trying to say is: a story or any form of self expression turns noise into art. Without it, it's just noise.

[@hlprmnky]

@@CinematicLaboratory Well, again I have to say thank *you* for having the courage to share that space of vulnerability and exploration with us! I am fascinated by Serge’s designs but am probably never going to be able to fill my 208HP case with R*S modules, or embark on the adventure of a 4U Serge system. This series you’re doing is super valuable to all of us, who will now get the chance to learn some of what a Serge system has to teach about synthesis vicariously. I’m looking forward to taking some of those lessons back to my own system. Cheers!

[@CinematicLaboratory]

I just realized while making the GTO video that making useless noise is also part of the creative process. It's the part where one decides what to keep, like carving something out of a rock with powertools until it's shaped enough to use the finer tools. I knew all this, but it's different when you actually apply it.

[@geraldgoodiii6993]

We love u bro Keep it up!!!

[@medusajapan]

Awesome video!

[@fonitronik]

The DUSG is a unique and original circuit design by Serge Tcherepnin. MATHs copied this circuit and added a 4-channel attenuverting mixer (called CV PRO in the Serge-world) - don't know why they referenced it to Buchla. The DUSG mk II improved on the original circuit (temp compensation, tracking) but with the GTS Serge Tcherepnin designed a completely new circuit. The GTS is now working as VCO with incredible tracking and transient times.

[@darylccc]

Inpiration, iteration and interpretation leads to new improved designs and ideas. I think the DUSG MKII & GTS are responses to the many iterations of the DUSG in eurorack and elsewhere.

[@CinematicLaboratory]

@@darylccc I agree. I also learned that the DUSG was 4U when Maths V1 was developed, and it did not process audio rate at that time. It was intended for CV. I also believe the DUSG would not exist if Serge didn't teach at CalArt and getting inspired by Buchla's 100 or early 200 models. There's no Serge without Buchla. So I don't think Maths is a DUSG copy, but a tribute to 4U Serge and Buchla. I think the timeline is important here and it seems there was no deliberate 'copy' intention. When Maths was developed, Tony Rolando couldn't possibly realize it would take over the modular world and we'd be having this discussion :).

[@goonfish]

While I've always been one to shoot-down Make Noise cultists who pick & choose when inspiration and innovation is kosher or due... even IF you ignore MATHS v2's different A-logic & gate processing sections, the mixer section is also much more than a basic summed attenuverter group-with its different-per-channel ±DC offset generators/adders)-but I suppose it is _very_ easy to miss if you're only basing its functionality off of panel labels...

[@julianverrat-ich-nicht6130]

this is so exiting!

[@shinokto3972]

more serge! Thanks

[@CinematicLaboratory]

Working on it right now. 00:00. Good time to quit working. Doesn't feel like working for a second.

[@mikegeary8056]

Impatiently waiting on my GTO to arrive

[@CinematicLaboratory]

It will take weeks before I can make a tutorial for it :).

[@CinematicLaboratory]

Finished half of the GTO video/movie. You're going to love it so much (the module, can't promise anything about the video).

[@user-ng9uc3vu3k]

Robert, .. you mentioned quite a few things, in this .. but, "supposed to be music" .. obviously, we're free to follow our hearts, with our gear .. but, yes .. quirky, unearthly, etc. sounds is one thing, however interesting .. but, to get something in a rhythm, .. a catchy hook to the ear .. that's more rewarding.

[@CinematicLaboratory]

My definition of music is extremely broad and it definitely includes the abstract, not confined to any scale or structure. But at some point, my brain ignores too much chaos or it gives me a headache or a sense of anxiety. I guess anything that resonates well is 'music'. If it doesn't, it's noise. This, of course, is totally personal.

[@advaita9156]

That patch between 9 and 12 minutes is seriously class. Makes me want to dive more into the Serge world, I have VCFQ already…might add to it

[@CinematicLaboratory]

Thanks! I've been playing with the Serge 8XL sequencer all night after discovering what it can do, and adding a quantizer. OMG. This series will have a lot of episodes before it's done.

[@advaita9156]

@@CinematicLaboratoryI’ll be here for the ride! Would be nice to see something on the VC Resonant EQ if you have the capacity for that too.

[@CinematicLaboratory]

@@advaita9156 Definitely! I am currently working on the GTO module video, and the Res EQ is so special it deserves its own episode too. I absolutely love that module. It's a shame the voltage controlled Res EQ XL is so expensive and big. So I have the small one. Not the giant. But I can turn knobs myself which is a big part of the feedback fun.

[@advaita9156]

@@CinematicLaboratory yeah the VC one is huge, if it was smaller and cheaper would be a must have imo. But effectively could it be VC’d with 8 VCA’s dedicated to every frequency band?

[@goonfish]

​@@CinematicLaboratory ResEQ Standalone video is a must! Maybe with a little showdown/collab patches with the Vari-Q VCF? 👀

[@geraldgoodiii6993]

When I patch the shared system I use it in a vacuum I guess u could say. It’s its own thing. I don’t use it in my productions. I just use it to patch and play and explore and learn. And I like it that way. Yea it can do “musical” but I prefer to make noise with it Frankly I get more enjoyment out of that 208hp case just fuckin around to see how complex of interactions I can get between modules than all my other Eurorack and other synths.

[@CinematicLaboratory]

I bet you're aware I love making noise too, indeed to explore and learn. I bet you also have those 'wow' moments when something emerges you haven't heard before. I am just not a fan of too much randomness or too abstract. I need to be able to picture a scene in my head, even if it's just a kaleidoscpe of watercolors. When it's TV static, I'll explore further :)

[@oliverkollar9143]

Very awesome!! Re: v/oct- The old paper face oscillators are a little bit of pain to use for melodic sequencing since there are only 2 cv ins and no v/oct. You have to tune, retune, then tune the sequence. When you're using 2 oscillators or more this can be REALLY frustrating........let alone drift. The newer oscillators have v/oct and are temp. compensated. Makes melodic work much much easier.

[@CinematicLaboratory]

Thanks for sharing! Even in modern eurorack there are plenty of VCO's that drift all over the place, don't track to higher octaves or detune when you look at it. I am hoping to borrow a Paperface 50 which has 1V/Oct, but the Roma dual SEQ4 isn't quantized so even when it tracks 100% perfect it will still be messy. Lots of reverb always helps, or pretending you're doing something microtonal. I often let go of pitch and just play frequencies by ear.

[@isaacc7]

Loving the Serge journey! Count me among the many that have fallen in love with at least the idea of Serge 4u. Elby designs makes 3u Serge modules with either 3.5mm or banana. You are kind of stuck in the 70s if you stick with Serge modules in that line but there are plenty of new things from the likes of Ken Stone (CGS) and Ian Fritz. If you want to go 4u, Elby makes those as well but then you also have custom makers like Loudest Warning, Low Gain, Prism Circuits and more. I want to use bananas but am torn between the three formats, Elby Euroserge, Loudest Warning, and R*S. All have their own advantages and drawbacks. The good news is that they are all compatible with each other so aside from the rack they can be used together. Bugbrand works well with all of them as well.

[@oliverkollar9143]

@@isaacc7 In my experience.......Prism, Elby and LW are cool in that they still do DIY as an option. If I were to start over in 4U Serge, I would definitely go Loudest Warning. You have sooo many circuits available and working with Charley is great. It's also relatively affordable when considering what you're getting in a panel. I had Charley build a panel with modern circuits , (DUSG, Wave Multiplier, Resonant EQ,) to play with my paper face system, and it has opened up so many more possibilities it's been mind blowing.

[@fonitronik]

That's the reason that for the VCOs in the 50th anniversary edition Serge designed a new CV circuitry making them very stable and tracking extraordinary well. The core, thus the waveforms, are identical to the vintage.

[@isaacc7]

@@oliverkollar9143 I’m thinking more along the lines of getting a boat/rack and building a system a module or two at a time. Full panels are just so expensive.