Werkstatt Chaos (Noise Patches & Ultra-Low BPM)

The Moog Werkstatt-01 is a small & fun semi-modular synthesizer - I feel like its functionality is super smooth, stable, and precise - but that's not what we always want. Even a system with nice 'guardrails' can be pushed to generate noise-like waveforms and irregular events. I show some demos and hands-on patching. At the end of the video I discuss a 15 minute gap between sounds that I caught on the recorder - 15 minutes of silence - the Werkstatt busily doing it's thing, quietly, until something "lines up" right, gets perturbed, or such - and a short sound is made. Pretty fascinating.
TIMELINE
00:00 INTRO
Discussion of getting noise and irregularity out of a more-or-less deterministic synthesizer.
note - I wasn't really planning on making this video, so some of my early patch notes for these intro demos are a little hazy. I think all of the early stuff was based on:
patching:
lfo_out--vco_exp_in
eg_out--lfo_in
(at one point I added kb_cv_out--vcf_in for some key tracking)
I also added vco_out--gate_in for continuous sound.
settings:
freq(1:00 or less, higher is ultrasonic?), saw; explore filter; vco_mod(env, explore amount, freq); vcf_mod(none); lfo(12:00-3:00, square); env(sus_off, min, 9:00?).
Let me know if the above don't work.
03:53 NOISE PATCH
vco_out--gate_in, trig_out--vco_exp_in
freq(08:00-11:00), saw; vco and vcf modulation amounts minimized; lfo(not used); env(sus_off, min, 8:00); explore freq, decay, and keyboard; use the filter to explore further.
09:50 NOISE PATCH VARIATION
add eg_out--lfo_in to the above, lfo(8:00-12:00?, square), vco_mod(lfo, 12:00, freq); explore how freq, vco mod amount, lfo rate, and decay all interact; use keys to find distinct "modes"; filter.
14:03 ULTRA-LOW BPM
I tweaked the above patch for a while to really slow it down. I was getting sporadic envelope 'hits' but after one micro-adjustment I just kept waiting, not sure if it would come back or not. The audio trace shows a 15 minute gap, then there are a lot of hits that are 30-90 sec apart. Maybe a temperature change in the room? Experimental music, ambient music, art installation? Let me know if you find a use for this sort of thing (or just like it)!
LINKS
www.moogmusic.com

[@mwmusic29]

Excellent. This will be fun to try!

[@hwcidybz]

hey excellent work/play! thanks for posting these explorations & inspirations)))) Werkstatt-01 in the last year or so was my intro to synthesis, and these are the places I went right for myself, seeking out that generative, chaotic, moving thing)))) subscribed))))

[@undulations]

Hey, that is great to hear😀! I love the Werkstatt's sound/interface and I feel like it can enter some unexpected territory too. Thanks for watching and subscribing!

[@blacksunhighdesert]

Inspirational! Thank you for sharing these patches.

[@undulations]

You're welcome! Thanks a lot for watching🙏🏼!

[@tlatsegms]

Great sounds⚡️

[@undulations]

Thank you🙏🏼!

[@ilioscio]

Just found your channel via your Electron Samples granular synthesis video (which was great) and now I see you're playing with the Werkstatt, that's a big subscribe from me. Would love more!

[@undulations]

Hey, sorry this took ages for me to reply to. Glad you liked the videos. Thanks a lot for subscribing🙏!

[@redwoodword]

Nice! Cool to see how you can use the original patch bay in a way that goes beyond what you can do with the patchable header. You have inspired me to unscrew the header and experiment.

[@undulations]

Excellent! Glad to hear that! Thanks very much for checking out the video🙏🏼!

[@SouthShoreSonics]

There are 14 discreet patchpoints in Dupont style on the Werkstatt, but only 12 on the 1/8" breakout, so you miss out on Trig Out and Gate Out. JTYWLTK

[@psmaulehlien]

Cool beans.

[@undulations]

Thanks for checking it out🙏🏼!

[@SouthShoreSonics]

5:53 This one is great! Sound like a morse code being played across on a shortwave radio!

[@undulations]

Yes! I really like the 'tonal' part of these patches🎧

[@edgeof60]

Thanks for this, easily the most useful Werkstatt patching demo that doesn't rely on external triggers. Just got one last week (on sale at Sweetwater for $159!). I've found it interacts quite nicely with the Kastle Drum, not so much with the Volca Modular, but I'm still working on it. If you get a chance to experiment with this combo it would be interesting to hear about it.

[@undulations]

That's a great idea👍🏻! I'll work on that at some point (but I loaned my Werkstatt to a friend for a bit). Thanks for checking out the channel🙏🏼!

[@SugarfootJack]

Great video, thanks! I love adding randomness into my music and these techniques are perfect; the Werkstatt certainly has hidden depths. The 15 minute gap is very, very cool.

[@undulations]

Hey, thanks very much! I appreciate getting feedback about the long gap part👍🏻.

[@Amistriotis]

Great. I am trying to make similar things with the Volca Modular ^_^ Now I start thinking of buying Werkastatt...

[@undulations]

Thanks for checking it out🙏🏼!

[@snorrevonflake]

What became of the modular video you annonced to do next? Really looking forward to that.

[@undulations]

I appreciate the interest! Busy summer. In this case it was mostly a matter of making the video that I had time to make (and also because I kept wondering about noise and randomness on the Werkstatt). The pod video is in the pipeline, but still a work in progress. Thanks again🙏🏼!