This is the first video in an ongoing series about modular synthesis called "Modulations". I focus on the Branches "dual Bernoulli gate" from Mutable Instrument, but strive to discuss general modular synthesis concepts along the way. Thanks for watching! My next video will be back to the Kastle DNA project, and hopefully have some conclusions about a genetic algorithm approach to patching the Kastle and some good patches!

ps Shoutout to Rodent at Make Noise for being kind to a customer on a superrainy day and loaning me your umbrella to keep the modules dry!

TIMELINE


00:00 STARTER
I set this up in Part 1

00:10 INTRO Overview, unboxing of Branches module

01:36 PART 1: A or notA
This part shows some uses of Branches as a "disruptor" or "thinner" of a stream of gates, giving statistical control over how frequently the gates occur. I use the Pittsburgh Modular Micro Sequence sequencer to generate the gates and Akemie's Taiko from ALM Busy Circuits is the voice. Make Noise Rosie is the output module for all of this.

08:53 PART 2: A or B
This part shows the fundamental behavior of Branches, whereby a stream of gates gets sent to one destination (A) or another (B) with control over the random preference between the two. Same sequencer and Akemie's Taiko but with the Black Wavetable VCO (Erica Synths) being throttled by the Intellijel Micro VCF module.

12:45 PART 3: Audio Frequency
This part takes the speed way up and shows that Branches can be a tool for sound design as well. The Wavetable VCO becomes the signal source, then through Branches, and out to ping the Micro VCF. I added the Walrus Audio SLÖ reverb as a send/return effect on Rosie here.

15:40 OUTRO It's a nice module. Pretty cheap too.
There are some great features (latch mode and toggle mode) that I didn't cover in the video. Maybe another time in a video about generative patches. The next video will be back to the Kastle DNA.

16:38 ENDER 0coast
I actually did this shot fairly early on in the videomaking process. I started exploring Branches with the 0coast (I've spent far more time with the 0coast than my modular setup, but working on that via these videos). This clip points out some interesting, very general, concepts about Branches as a module. A lot of it has to do with timing and signal routing. You can have A out and B out do completely unrelated things (that then become related, in that they occur exlusively), you can have A out and B out do similar things such as each trigger a voice in some way but, there likely needs to be some way of bringing the "branches" back together. In the voice case it's a mixer. In this clip it's done by using the 0coast miniMaths utility, mixing the envelopes from the Slope and Contour sections of the 0coast. Those envelopes are tuned differently (Slope more plucky, Contour more smooth) and the Slope is still normalled to the overtone/multiply section (so it gives timbral changes too). And Branches can do so much more, particularly with the normalled input in the lower half of the module, giving a lot of ways to diversify the sounds.

LINKS
https://mutableinstruments.net
https://busycircuits.com
https://pittsburghmodular.com
https://www.ericasynths.lv
https://intellijel.com
https://www.makenoisemusic.com
https://www.walrusaudio.com