MONSOON — Narti Live firmware v1.8 (Parasites v2.01 for Monsoon + new modes) unofficial, use at your own risk MODES (open mode select: press the LED button + LOAD/SAVE together, or hold the LED button 2.5 s; then LOAD/SAVE = next mode, LED button = previous mode) 1 Granular LED 1 (unchanged) 2 Pitch / stretch LED 2 (unchanged) 3 Looping delay LED 3 (unchanged) 4 PHASER LED 4 stereo phaser (new) 5 MI reverb all but LED 1 (unchanged) 6 Resonator all but LED 2 (unchanged) 7 CAVERN all but LED 3 Vhikk X-inspired stereo delay / space (new) 8 VHIKK all but LED 4 Vhikk X-inspired voice + processor (new) To leave the mode-select screen: hold the LED button ~1 s, then ~1 s again. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 8 VHIKK (Vhikk X-inspired drone voice + processor) An original stereo drone voice highly inspired by the Forge TME Vhikk X: nine algorithms, each a generator -> FIELD filter -> VCA, then the processor (the CAVERN engine as a metallic DUNGEON or a diffuse REFLEKTA delay). Anything at the audio inputs goes straight to the effects (not through the FIELD filter or the VCA); its dry part follows MIX like the generator. Stereo out. ONE PAGE - every function has its own control: POSITION slider ... TIME delay length, 20 ms - 0.8 s (glides) DENSITY slider .... CELL frequency shift in the loop, none at noon SIZE slider ....... MORPH timbral scan (wave / wavetable frame / cluster) TEXTURE slider .... FORM repeats > metallic > diffuse (reverb-like) PITCH knob ........ BASIS octave switch: -2 / -1 / 0 / +1 / +2 octaves (5 positions, C2 at noon) V/OCT ............. note, 1 V/oct on top of the octave DRY/WET knob ...... MIX generator <-> processor STEREO knob ....... WARP cross modulation (two kinds, left / right of noon) FEEDBACK knob ..... FEED neutral at noon. Left: the output hears the frequency shifter alone; right: shifter blended with the raw echoes (moving notches) REVERB knob ....... FIELD low-pass (left) / open (noon) / high-pass (right), one smooth sweep through noon The Monsoon has 9 controls and the Vhikk X has 12, so three functions live on the LED button, the way the Vhikk X shares its encoders: hold LED button + STEREO .. SPAN oscillator spread / tuning (right of noon adds stereo width) hold LED button + REVERB .. FUSE colour, depends on the algorithm hold LED button + SIZE .... SCAN second timbral scan (table set) (soft takeover: when you press or release the LED button, a control that was left elsewhere does not jump - it catches up smoothly as you turn it and meets the knob; LED 4 is red while the LED button is held) BUTTONS AND JACKS LED button tap ...... next algorithm 1..9. LED 1-3 show the two switches of the original: green = first switch (up / centre / down), red = second switch, amber = both on one LED. Green glows with the VCA. LOAD/SAVE tap ....... SCAN to the next table set FREEZE tap .......... SEED: new random pitch / wave offsets and echo spacing FREEZE hold 1 s ..... freeze the processor loop (LED 4 blue); again to free FREEZE jack ......... gate = freeze the processor loop TRIG jack ........... VCA. Nothing patched: drone. Patch a clock or gates: each trigger plays a stab whose decay follows the trigger rate; 3 s without triggers = the drone swells back in (about 1 s). V/OCT as trigger .... one cable from a sequencer is enough (e.g. the Plaits AUX pitch out): every NEW note at V/OCT fires the VCA, 2 ms after the jump so the pitch has settled. The same note twice in a row does not retrigger (use TRIG for that). Slow LFOs / vibrato (under 0.4 semitone per step) never trigger. As soon as TRIG gets pulses, TRIG alone fires the VCA (V/OCT then only sets the pitch); 2 s after the last TRIG pulse, V/OCT notes trigger again. Mode select ......... hold the LED button 2.5 s without moving a control (or LED + LOAD/SAVE together) ALGORITHMS (first switch / second switch) - each with its own character 1 up/up ANALOGUE PAIR + DUNGEON: carrier + modulator with a soft sub an octave down; clear tape-like repeats. WARP L expo FM, R ring mod; SPAN modulator tuning; MORPH carrier pulse>saw>sine; SCAN modulator wave; FUSE L chorus, R resonance + band-pass 2 up/centre WAVESHAPING PAIR + REFLEKTA: a stereo shaped pair. WARP L index + mod feedback, R index + carrier feedback; SPAN carrier ratio; SCAN shaper set; FUSE L audio-rate delay mod, R saturation 3 up/down SINE CLUSTER + DUNGEON: pure sines that shimmer slowly. WARP L phase feedback, R cross FM; MORPH cluster; SCAN ring-mod mix; FUSE L chorus, R noise modulation 4 centre/up STACK WAVETABLE + DUNGEON: four detuned oscillators, a built-in unison chorus. WARP L bit reduction, R cross FM; MORPH frame; SCAN table set; SPAN wider unison; FUSE L band-pass + sine, R chorus + resonance 5 centre/centre FM WAVETABLE + DUNGEON (short, bright combs): two carrier / modulator pairs, bells, keys, glass. SPAN = the ratio (0.5, 1, 1.5, 2 ... 7), WARP L the FM index, R cross FM; MORPH carrier frame; SCAN carrier set; FUSE L chorus + sub 6 centre/down FORMANT WAVETABLE + REFLEKTA: window-synced grains, vocal and resonant. MORPH = the vowel / formant, WARP L formant wobble, R cross FM; SCAN table set; FUSE L oscillator all- pass, R wavefold 7 down/up DIATONIC PAD + REFLEKTA (long, dark): minor-scale chord tones on soft tables that breathe slowly 8 down/centre METAL CLUSTER + DUNGEON (short metallic combs): inharmonic, bell-like partials that ring into each other 9 down/down SWARM + REFLEKTA (very long wash): octave stacks of drifting, shimmering voices (7-9: WARP L phase mod, R cross FM; SPAN spread; MORPH cluster scan; SCAN table set; FUSE L stereo chorus, R saturation) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 7 CAVERN (Vhikk X-inspired space) POSITION TIME · SIZE FIELD · DENSITY CELL (shift) · TEXTURE FORM PITCH + V/OCT FUSE (left chorus, right saturation) · FEEDBACK · STEREO spread DRY/WET · REVERB (Clouds reverb) · FREEZE holds the loop · TRIG = SEED 4 PHASER POSITION rate · SIZE depth · PITCH + V/OCT centre · DENSITY LFO shape TEXTURE stages 2-12 · FEEDBACK resonance · STEREO L/R offset · DRY/WET mix REVERB Clouds reverb · FREEZE holds the sweep · TRIG restarts the LFO INSTALL Hold FREEZE and power on, play Monsoon-NartiLive-v1.8.wav (about 5.5 minutes) into IN L (no MP3, no notification sounds). The module restarts when it is done. GO BACK Monsoon-ORIGINAL-Parasites-v2.01-restore.wav = the original Monsoon firmware (Tom Burns, github.com/boourns/eurorack). Install it the same way. CHANGES v1.8 Feel and transitions, the way a finished module should behave: - every knob and slider responds in a few milliseconds when you move it (was up to 0.2 s) and stays still when you do not (dynamic smoothing: ADC noise filtered as before), CV follows faster too; V/OCT is steadier (pitch jitter 1.1 -> 0.4 cents), notes still jump - no zipper noise: every VHIKK and CAVERN control moves per sample (wavetable and cluster crossfades, filters, MIX, FEED, FUSE ...) - MORPH sweeps the clusters (3, 7, 8, 9) without clicks - FIELD passes noon without a click or a dropout (two filters that fade in and out instead of switching) - changing algorithm: a 6 ms fade, the new one fades in, the processor glides to its new space; no level jump - the drone swells back in instead of jumping in after stabs, and a stab on a drone takes over without a gap - V/OCT notes and the BASIS octave switch: clean pitch changes - FREEZE fades the input out of the loop instead of cutting it - soft takeover for SPAN / FUSE / SCAN (LED button) - changing mode or quality fades out and in (no pop), the output fades in at power-on - settings are saved 2 s after the last change (no flash writes while you tap through algorithms) - a filter that could blow up when FIELD jumped across its whole range is fixed; NaN / runaway watchdog resets the voice cleanly v1.7 Every VHIKK algorithm has its own character (sub oscillator, shimmer, unison stack, FM, formant, breathing pad, metal, swarm) and its own space (delay time, structure and tone). v1.6 VHIKK sounds cleaner and keeps its level: - band-limited wavetables with 4x more harmonics (96), switching smoothly to simpler versions as the pitch goes up: no aliasing fizz - the waveshaper runs at twice the rate, cross FM gets gentler at high pitches, two soft poles at ~13 kHz smooth the very top - slow analogue-like drift of every oscillator (a few cents) - automatic level: every algorithm and knob position at a similar loudness (measured within 2 dB between algorithms; FIELD at its extremes within about 5 dB), the processor follows what goes in - subtle built-in saturation after the VCA, a clean peak limiter at the end (no soft clipping, nothing near full scale) - smoother delay taps in the processor (also in CAVERN) - FIELD has a more musical range (12 kHz - 110 Hz, 25 Hz - 2.8 kHz) v1.5 VHIKK: PITCH knob = octave switch, V/OCT notes fire the VCA (TRIG wins when patched), audio inputs only go through the effects. v1.4 Mode 8 is now VHIKK (Vhikk X-inspired voice + processor, one page). The LOQUAX VOICE mode of v1.3 is gone. v1.2 CAVERN: POSITION and DENSITY glide (no clicks). v1.1 CAVERN mode. v1.0 Stereo phaser instead of spectral. Built from the Monsoon Parasites source (Clouds by Emilie Gillet, Parasites by Matthias Puech, Monsoon port by Tom Burns), MIT license. CAVERN and VHIKK are original code inspired by the Forge TME Vhikk X; not affiliated with Forge TME.