Transformers: how many cars do you see? Ford Fiesta Fantasy Concept, 1978, by Ghia. Two years after the Prima, Ford presented a Fiesta with interchangeable body parts that could transform it into a pick-up, convertible, 2-seat sports car, 4 seat coupé or a wagon. Shown at the Chicago auto show, the Fantasy was never seen again and the first generation Fiesta remained a 3 door hatchback.
I mentioned in a previous post that one of the ways i use modular (and one of the reasons I 💖 it) is creating patches where i am having conversations with the system. I realize if you’ve never played with modular, that may not make much sense, do i decided to record a short video of what i mean. watch me attempt to play one handed while recording
I am playing the pads on the MPC (think of it like a piano keyboard) which is converting that note information into CV (control voltage). What that means is that playing a note is sent as two messages, one which is the pitch, the second being on/off (is the note being played, for how long, etc, think duration). This information is sent as pure analog electrical signals (the voltage = the pitch, it is not saying ‘play middle C’ it’s sending an electric current at a voltage scaled to represent that note).
Once it leaves the MPC it reaches the modules. Some of the modules are designed to take that Pitch and Note On information and synthesize sounds (when people talk modular they usually call these ‘voices’). From there, the sound is passed through others that manipulate/effect it (sampler, granular reverb) before coming back to the MPC to be recorded.
The power of modular is that pitch and on/off aren’t the only signals you can send, and not the only uses for the signals. Basically every knob you see can be turned by hand or by electricity (control voltage). This voltage can be a simple pattern like a triangle wave or something as complex as an audio wave (basically imagine turning a knob SO FAST that your knob twisting is a sound unto itself). You can have the curve of one sound shape a second and then trigger a sample to play at a speed inversely proportional to its volume. If it exists as a basic math or computer science function, there is a module for that (modular is basically playing with math at audio frequencies)
You can make everything interrelated and interactive and chaotic. What you see me doing in the video is playing a simple melody, and then responding to how the system interprets that input. It is intentionally unpredictable. I want playing it to be a two way interaction. I really mean it when i say this is a conversation. I’m talking with my machines 💖