Does anyone know of any stand-alone or modular arpeggiators? Preferably not virtual.
I’m trying to get a specific sound, not the classic arpeggiated sound, but were you turn the clock speed really high (20-30 Hz) and hold down a chord on a monophonic synth to get sort of a pseudo-chord type effect. The clock speed needs to be relatively high for this, just below the audio range. Old computers like the Commodore 64 used this technique to get “chords” using limited sound sources.
I’ve done a bit of searching an can’t find one with a high enough clock speed…I can’t find any at ALL really.
I’m not sure if it’s still in production, but the MAM MAP-1 is a stand alone arpeggiator that’s based on the Oberheim Cyclone.
I own a Cyclone, and if the MAP-1 has half as many features, it’s worth seeking out. The Cyclones are super rare, but if you run across one, grab it. It’s a little buggy, but it’s extremely powerful.
Thanks guys. Here’s what I’ve gathered. There a three hardware arpeggiators that I can find: The Oberheim Cyclone, the MAM MAP-1 and the Waldorf Gecko.
All of these are no longer in production and they’re all hard to find. Great, that’s just lovely. I’m pretty amazed NO one currently makes a hardware arp. I guess most modern synths have them built in…
Its not the same. To do want I want it needs to be able to cycle through the notes I’m holding down, like a chord. A sequencer will not allow me to do this. Thanks for the suggestion, though.
Hey, don’t forget the super cool Kurzweil ExpressionMate
Ribbon controller. Has a very deep programable MIDI arpegiator,
and fits above the keyboard on a Voyager, much like the old
Moog 1150 on a Minimoog. Plus it has a few other decent features.
Now if I can figure a way to remove that Kurzweil logo on the ribbon!
Oops! Forgot the MOTM MIDI to CV module. This one should surely
go as fast as 30Hz. You can always ask Paul S. if it will. You will need
a +/- 15 and +5 volt power supply and a few bucks. But it is available
for sale. Looks to have exactly what you want. I have one on order. http://synthtech.com/motm650.html
Terry
The MOTM-650 looks cool, but the internal clock speed only reaches 238BPM (a little less than 4Hz). The arp can reach 4X clock speed, but that still might not be enough. I’d have to use an external clock, and even then it might not work. I’ll shoot them an email.
If anyone is interested in the sound I’m talking about, I found a clip. The arpeggiated “chord” sound comes in about 3/4ths of the way through the clip:
Depending on what synth you’re using, a sequencer can work as an arpeggiator. They’re pretty much the same thing. An arpegiator is just a simple pre-programmed sequencer.
For instance, you program in the chord you want on the sequencer, and then send that sequence voltage to the OSC CV input on your Rogue, Prodigy, Micro, Mini, etc…
Then the sequence will cycle through that chord for each root note you’re holding down on your synths’s keyboard. You can do this in realtime.
While it’s true that some synths won’t let you play the keyboard while simultaneously sending a CV input. On most every MOOG I know of, the OSC CV input and internal keyboard CV are summed.
So, this allows you “play” the sequence from the keyboard in realtime, just like an arpeggiator. You could have the sequencer playing octaves of your root note(like many arpeggios) and/or play full chords in intervals of the root note you’re playing on the keyboard.
Isn’t this more/less what you want to do?
I just thought if this is what you’re trying to accomplish, you’d have an easier time finding a sequencer (and probably get alot more out of it), than trying to track down a dedicated CV arpegiator.
Another even easier option though, is to just use a Midi/CV convertor and let your sequencer software/hardware create the arpeggios/sequences.
Listen to the sample. I want to be able to play different chords, minor, major, diminished, etc. One after another. Only an arpeggiator will cycle through the notes being held down, ANY notes being held down at any given time.
A sequencer will only let me program in one chord shape at a time and will play that same “chord” sequence with the only difference being the root. Not the same thing.
The SH101, or Monopoly (or most any polysynth) do this sort of thing-- as you probably already know…
Isn’t this sort of polyphonic arpeggio more about having a digitally scanning keyboard? Like, you could probably generate them on the Voyager’s keyboard using MIDI data. But not very many monosynths have this kind of keyboard.
Are those argeggiators you mentioned MIDI devices?
I bet there is probably alot of software that can generate these kind of arpeggios and then they could be converted to CV, for use on other monos.
Maybe you were taliking about doing this with a Poly-synth to begin with… sorry, I’m not really helping…
i use a pc program called ARP 8x, run into my .com midi interface module - it is a midi computer arpegator by metaphoric software.. .. it reaches 200 BPM, and it can hit a 64th not off of that…
so i run midi keyboard to pc, midi out on pc to synth you can easiley route the midi signal internally in the program, and sequence 8 midi sources at the same time
so 64th note= 8x a quarter note [ 8 x 200 (bpm)] =1600 / 60 (secs) = 26.6 hz
i think that is “near” audio range for you it sounds good with delay on it…
it has gate control, and a velocity grid/matrix for triggering rhythms,
there is a website to download a trial of it use google
I use a Mac and the program is PC only. Thanks though.
I use Ableton Live 5 which has an MIDI arp on it. I messed around with it a bit, but couldn’t get it to do what I wanted. I bet it will work, I just have to fiddle with it some more. I just really don’t want to use software. Ugh.
I think my best bet is to find a MAM. They go for pretty cheap. I saw a craig’s list post from a few months ago for a MAM MAP-1 for $50.
