Modulation

In this instalment of our synth series, we look at some common mod sources and how to use them to bring your patches to life

- Scot Solida

1 In this tutorial, we’ll be showing you some common – and not-so-common– modulation sources and how they can be used to add life and motion to your patches. We’ll be using Cherry Audio’s Voltage Modular Nucleus, but much of what we’ll be doing can be done with other synths, too. Let’s fire up Nucleus and hit that New button to clear the rack.

Without modulation, our sounds would be static and lifeless – buzzing waveforms or dull drones bereft of emotion or interest. More often than not, modulation is obvious – the gentle slope of an envelope generator’s decay or the rhythmic throb of a low-frequency oscillator. We’ve touched on both of these particular modulation tools in previous installments, but this month we’ll take a more detailed look.

We’ll also consider some less obvious applications of modulation. For instance, we’ll look at how you might use audio-rate modulation to add some timbral character to a sound. You may already know something about frequency modulation – aka FM.

We implore you not to overlook the human element in your explorations. Some modulation sources don’t appear in the form of showy modules with oodles of knobs but are instead applied by our own performance techniques. These sorts of sources are crucial if you want to elevate your modular synth patches beyond mere noisemakers, pushing them instead into the realm of expressive musical instruments.

Modulation is the fireworks show that elicits the ‘oohs and ahhs’ of listeners, transforming a simple patch into a sublime simulation of an acoustic instrument. Modulation is truly the lifeblood of synthesis.

1. Modulation investigation