Best Friends Forever V

The Best Friends Forever section on this blog is a selection of modules that always stay connected, even when i create new patches.

This combination is not much different from my earlier BFF posts, only thing is that here the modules are already connected internally, and not externally with patch-cords.

The two modules, A-160 Clock Divider and A-161 Clock Sequencer are unmissable for rhythmic purposes and for syncing with MIDI or a ( voltage controlled ) LFO.

The Divider is syncronized via the Trigger and Reset Inputs, this module divides the frequencies in steps from /2, /4, /8, /16, /32 and /64, resulting in very usable trigger signals.

The synced Clock Sequencer is a very simple sequencer with 8 steps, the speed of the steps is controlled by the input of the Divider. In fact this combination of modules is an impressive sequencer on it's own.

The outputs of both modules can be used to control any clock, trigger or gate input.
For example, you can use them to trigger envelope generators, resets and (voltage controlled) switches.
It is also possible to use the A-161's trigger outputs to reset the A-160, check out the video below for the basic functions of these modules.

Video: A-160 Demo


Thanks to @Hawklord2112 for the kind permission to use this video

Best Friends Forever IV - XL Edition

This next quick patch is a small extension of my earlier Best Friends Forever posts.

Although i don't always use this patch, i do like the simplicity of it, getting me more out of my Slew Limiter.

As blogged earlier, I use the A-182-1 Switched Multiple mainly to switch between my keyboard ( via MIDI ) and my A-198 Ribbon Controller.
For this i split up this Multiple in two halves, the upper half controls the Gate, the lower half controls the pitch ( CV )

The black cables that go into the Switched multiple are for ( quantized ) Ribbon Control if channel 2 is selected, the yellow ones are for keyboard control, via channel 1

The only advantage in this patch is that i am now using both halfs of the A-170 Slew Limiter, the lower ( and more extended half ) for the Ribbon Controller, the upper half for the incoming output of the MIDI-CV Interface.

Best Friends Forever III

My next unseparable combo is a threesome this time.

This is another essential combination for me, because i use my A-198 Trautonium/Ribbon Controller a lot to control my A-100 system.
The yellow patchcables between these modules always stay connected whenever i start a new patch.

The Voltage Control output ( pitch control ) of the Ribbon Controller goes straight into the A-156 Dual Quantizer.
This module divides the signal into various little steps that provides many different possibilities to scale the notes that are played, allowing the player to play more accurate notes and scales.

Note that I use the lower and more extended half of the Dual Quantizer.
The upper half has less functions and can only divide the signal into steps of 1 /12th Volt = 1 Volt per Octave


Last in the line is the A-170 Dual Slew limiter. With this one i can add a subtile portamento to the signal.

Again, only the lower half of the module is used in this patch, because this half has more possibilities.
The slewrates are adjustable from low to mid or high, and it has separate controls for rise and fall times.

This patch gives me all the control that i need, and i cannot do without any one of these in my live-setup.

Best Friends Forever II

Two other modules i hardly ever unwire are the A-190 MIDI-CV/Sync Interface and the A-182-1 Switched Multiple.
I use this combination to quickly switch between my Keyboard and my A-198 Ribbon Controller to control various sounds.

Like i did with my A-180, i split up the A-182-1 into a 2 x 4 Multiplier.
The lower half handles the Gate signal while the upper half handles the CV/Pitch.

The yellow cables from the A-190 go directly into the Multiplier, and the black cables that go into the Multiplier come (almost) directly from the A-198 Trautonium/Ribbon Controller's outputs, one rack lower.
With the red switches i can now manually decide what instrument i would like to use for the sound i am working on...

If i switch it to 1 it uses my MIDI keyboard, if switched to 2 i can use my Ribbon Controller.

Best Friends Forever I

Van PatchPierre

A few times a year i unwire my whole A-100 system, it's like putting up a fresh canvas. New inspiration, new sounds in this case.

There are a few thing i never unwire, because i use them that much.

My first example is this one; The A-174 Joystick and the A-175 Dual Voltage Inverter.
They both sit neatly next to each-other in my rack, and i always keep the two yellow cables between them connected. What a dynamic duo...

I use my A-174 the most for controlling the cutoff of filters or for controlling the speed of the A-147 Voltage Controlled LFO module

The A-175 is such a simple but effective module, and its inputs are internally linked, so you can use the other socket as a mini-multiple

This allowes you to have both control voltages and its identical inverted voltages available at the same time.