Thorinair - Luminescent Glimmer // Semi-Generative Modular Ambient // 1 Hour Relaxation

My first ever modular ambient patch. Inspired by the sounds of crystals on the Luminescent Ledge VRChat world...

MP3 320 kbps: https://www.mediafire.com/file/zz1lgb...
FLAC: https://www.mediafire.com/file/5uqm6j...

Modular Grid Rack (May change with time!): https://www.modulargrid.net/e/racks/v...
Patch Link: https://www.modulargrid.net/e/patches...

A few months ago, I got really hooked on modular synthesis. I didn't have anything to start with, but I kept watching videos by the likes of State Azure (   / stateazure  ) and Ruta (   / rutasound  . I was mesmerized by their generative patches. Naturally, it was difficult to resist the temptation - maybe it would be something that will reignite the love for music production in me. I bought a bunch of DIY kits, most of them by ST Modular, and spent weeks soldering them. I designed my own Eurorack compatible case: "Talos Ohm 1X85" and the rest is history.

This is my first ever modular ambient patch. I wanted to have it emulate the sound that the crystals on Luminescent Ledge VRChat world emit (https://vrchat.com/home/world/wrld_fb... ). I originally made the crystal sounds in the world using software synths as they are way more versatile, so it was a challenge to bring this sound to the modular world - and to have it randomized. The result is not perfect, but it is good enough to the point that I felt I can post it. I call this "Semi-Generative" as I rely on Ableton Live to generate the midi signaling and some level of randomization.

Patch notes:

A lot of design choices for the patch came from the limitation of what I have and what I can do. Various potentially weird workarounds and such while I am still learning and accumulating gear...

Ableton Live controls a total of 3 different MIDI channels: 2 for the Talos Ohm 1X85 and 1 for the Bass Station II. Each channel can play 3 different MIDI clips which are randomly switched out every 4 bars. The clips are arranged in such a way that they are always in key and playing notes which correspond to the same chord. Some MIDI processing in Ableton makes it only trigger the pluck output sometimes.

Bass Station II generates the sine pads. It is run specifically in paraphonic mode, which allows it to play 2 different notes at the same time. One LFO outputs a sample & hold to randomize the volume of the notes, while the other controls the frequency of a low pass filter with some resonance. The output of the BSII is routed through Talos Ohm 1X85 without any processing just for convenience.

Talos Ohm 1X85 takes two MIDI channel inputs: one for regular plucks and one for bassy plucks. Sound source of regular plucks is the Cyllene VCO 's triangle output, while bassy plucks are from the Honeyeater VCO. Regular plucks are only occasionally triggered by the MIDI. Because of a limitation in the MIDI module, I used a "buffer" ADSR to delay the actual pluck slightly, otherwise it sounded detuned due to the slight portamento. The output of this ADSR triggers another ADSR for the actual sound. To ensure that the bassy plucks are always triggered with the regular ones, the output of the ADSR is mixed together with an LFO which is only sometimes in the state which makes the ADSR "loud" enough to trigger another ADSR which in turn lets the bassy pluck though. Both the regular and bassy ADSRs control 2 VCAs for the actual sound. The plucks are mixed together and routed through a classic analog lowpass filter with a bit of resonance to give them some shimmer. Output of the filter is fed into a repurposed clipping distortion module (Clipping Cat module) which is used as a VCA, modulated using an LFO, to make the pluck volume randomized. The final output goes through a delay and reverb effect.

Two outputs (plucks + BSII) are routed back to my computer's audio interface and additional audio processing is done in Ableton Live. BSII input has reverb added to it and some EQing, while Talos Ohm input has a Haas effect on it to give it stereo width, along with some EQing. Both tracks are mixed together in DAW for easier post editing if necessary.