Over the course of the workshop, I learned the basics of VCV Rack and used the software to emulate modular synthesis similar to Rashad Becker’s work. Initially, I used an oscillator to familiarise myself with the routing structure in order to get a sound output. I set up a simple chain that routed an oscillator output to an amplifier input, and added different components, such as filters, envelopes, delay/reverbs, and LFOs as I progressed. I also experimented with using the device ‘CLKD’ to generate a signal in place of the oscillator. This allowed the sound output to be tempo-synced through a gate which played a pattern as opposed to the drone of the oscillator waveform.
The end result was a sound that held a variety of interesting characteristics. Specifically, the left and right output were different sounds in the same key. The right output was a droning bass sound that was developed out of the device ‘Bleak’, an oscillator, running through a filter and a short reverb on the device ‘Plateau’. I also modulated the reverb time using an LFO to produce different reverbs in different harmonic frequencies with different lengths. The left output was more in the style of a lead and was tempo-synced on account of being generated by ‘CLKD’. The gate of the envelope on the signal was patched to an amplitude device, creating a tempo-synced output. Further, a second instance of ‘Bleak’ was sent to another amplifier centred in mono, upon which a delay was added and an LFO helped modulate the delay length, adding an interesting texture to the higher frequency range of the sound.
I believe that the workshop was thoroughly engaging in terms of sound design. It helped re-contextualise what ‘sound’ really even means as we explored ways of creating sound that were outside of the grid-based workflow that DAWs seem to facilitate. The usage of modular synthesis or its emulation really puts a focus on creating intentional sound as opposed to creating a melody out of ‘passable’ sound. As a songwriter, this is not something I do often, but it would thoroughly help my production practice by placing an emphasis on writing ‘pieces’ as opposed to songs. Further, it broke down the key components of electronic synthesis in the context of Becker’s work, helping me create a personal framework within which I can judge different sounds as a listener and student.