Ambient Noodlings

Happy Sunday! It’s a nice day here and I’ve been enjoying a chill weekend - something that has been all too rare lately!

I have something special for today’s ambient track. For quite some time, I’ve been intrigued by the Elektron’s Digitakt. I’ve been watching videos about the Digitakt II with a skeptical mind. One of the things I like so much about modular is the tactile experience. I’ve tried messing with some groove boxes before and thought they felt more like programming than playing an instrument. Still, I’ve been wanting something percussion oriented and I haven’t really vibed with things I’ve tried in modular for that.

After watching lots of videos, I finally decided to give one a try. I had several Eurorack modules that I’d set off to the side to sell or trade. My favorite store, Perfect Circuit, had a deal recently where you get 15% a new item with trade-ins. I got a great offer that allowed me to get a Digitakt II and a MIDI module for my rack for a nearly even trade.

I spent a few hours this afternoon following along with an instructional video and created my first ambient track. Getting used to the interface seemed daunting at first. The Elektron workflow makes a lot of sense though once you dive in. I had a few moments of frustration, but with patience a lot of lightbulb moments happened and I got the hang of it. I only scratched the surface of what this thing can do and I’m thoroughly impressed.

The only kind-of disappointment are the built-in delay and reverb effects. I love the Blackhole-inspired reverb in my FX Aid module and for delay my Mimeophon module is one of modular’s best. I simply ran the Digitakt through my modular effects and got what I wanted. All voices are the Digitakt. Best of both worlds - Elektron and modular.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit michaelconnell.substack.com

Happy Sunday evening! I’ve been playing around with my Spectraphon today and came up with this little jam. There is a lot of manual manipulation in addition to the usual modulation on this one. I enjoyed the range of tones I was able to pull from this complex oscillator module. All sounds are from the Spectraphon’s various outputs.

Patch Notes

* Spectraphon sequenced by a pair of Moskwa II sequencers

* Atlas for low pass filtering

* Octasource and Chaos for modulation

* Delay by Mimeophon

* Reverb by FX Aid

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit michaelconnell.substack.com

Happy Sunday afternoon! Today’s ambient exploration is a journey of some noise through Morphagene for grain extraction and on into Spectraphon to find music in chaos. It’s a lot of fun creating things like this. I’m never sure what I’ll have in the end. Grab some headphones and check it out.

Patch Notes

* Noise Plethora recorded with Morphagene

* Morphagene samples played into Spectraphon

* Spectraphon harmonic outputs enveloped by Percall and sine output folded before using as a base drone

* Filtering by Atlas

* Delay by Mimeophon and reverb by FX Aid

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit michaelconnell.substack.com

Happy Sunday evening, ambient music fans! I tried to create something simple and relaxing this time because that’s what I need. Things are still busy for me and there is a lot of stress at the moment. Calming music helps. Grab some headphones and take a short break with me.

Patch Notes

* Spectraphon is sequenced by a pair of Moskwa II sequencers

* Filtering by Atlas

* Percall used for envelopes

* Delay by Mimeophon

* Reverb by FX Aid

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit michaelconnell.substack.com

Happy Sunday evening y’all. Down to wire for me to get a jam posted again! I needed to spend the holiday weekend working and didn’t get a chance to sit down at the synth until late in the day. Honestly, I just wanted to crash on the couch! The music must go on though. It provides a necessary respite from a long work week. Enjoy.

Patch Notes

* Spectraphon sequenced by a pair of Moskwa II sequencers

* Fold 6 wave folder for one of Spectraphon’s sine waves

* Atlas for filtering

* Percall for envelopes

* Sealegs for delay and reverb

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit michaelconnell.substack.com

Happy Sunday evening! Another busy weekend for me and I’m down to the wire to post my weekly ambient track. Feeling a bit dark again I guess, as I’ve got a bit of a brooding drone this time around. I like the atmosphere as I listen through my headphones. Enjoy the darkness.

Patch Notes

* Morphagene playing some synth samples into Spectraphon

* Spectraphon v/oct and Morphagene playback speed sequenced by Moskwa II

* Maths used for FM on Spectraphon with a periodic envelope

* Atlas for filtering Spectaphon

* Sealegs for delay and reverb

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit michaelconnell.substack.com

Happy Sunday, ambient music lovers. After another long, tough work week, today’s modular synth session ended up going kind of dark. I didn’t really have that intention when I sat down to noodle around. Yet, here we are. Maybe I’m reading the news too much. I should stop that. Grab some headphones and check out today’s recording. I’m messing around with more stereo movement and headphones will make the trip more interesting.

Patch Notes

* Voices are Spectraphon oscillators processed through Panharmonium

* Sequencing by a pair of Moskwa II sequencers

* Atlas for filtering

* Lublin and Maths for envelopes

* Chaos and Octasource modulate all the things

* Sealegs for delay and reverb

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit michaelconnell.substack.com

Happy Sunday! Today’s recording had some obstacles to clear and I wasn’t sure I was going to have a post ready before end of day. I had to work a lot of the weekend and today we had a thunderstorm take out power and Internet connection for several hours. Things finally aligned this evening and I had a little time to squeeze in a bit of noodling on the modular synth.

Patch Notes

* Spectraphon sequenced by a pair of Moskwa II sequencers

* Sequencers clocked independently by Pam’s New Workout

* Main voices are harmonic outputs of Spectraphon

* Droning sine wave from Spectraphon through Fold6 wavefolder

* Filtering by Atlas

* Delay and reverb by Sealegs

* Chaos and Octasource doing modulation

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit michaelconnell.substack.com

Happy Sunday! Today I’ve got a little jam that came together quickly while I was experimenting with a different delay module. I’m trying out an Intellijel Sealegs that may replace both my Mimeophon and FX Aid. The Sealegs caught my attention with its nice tape delay emulation, organic modulation and character, and a lush built-in reverb. It was fun to experiment and explore with it for a while today. I’m liking what I hear so far.

Patch Notes

* Spectraphon sequenced by Moskwa II

* One oscillator of Spectraphon FMing the other

* Harmonic and sub outputs of Spectraphon mixed for tonal variety

* Filtering by Atlas

* Delay and reverb by Sealegs

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit michaelconnell.substack.com

Happy Sunday, ambient music lovers! Hope you’re enjoying your day. We’ve got sunshine where I’m at after a week of some pretty powerful thunderstorms. I’ve got a pretty chill tune for you that makes good use of the versatility of the Spectraphon. Grab some headphones and give a listen.

Patch Notes

* Spectraphon sequenced by a pair of Moskwa II sequencers.

* Lublin and Maths used for envelopes.

* Filtering by Atlas.

* Modulation by Chaos and Octasource.

* Delay by Mimeophon and reverb by FX Aid.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit michaelconnell.substack.com