A modal resonator for the modular rack, adapted from Emilie Gillet's open-source Rings. Strike it with its own exciter or feed it audio, and it rings like a struck string, a bar or a bell, with every aspect of the resonance under patchable control. It is an independent adaptation with the original panel's artwork, credited in its attribution notice.
The idea
A modal resonator models an object by its modes: the set of frequencies it rings at and how long each one lasts. Rings excites that set of modes, with a short burst from its internal exciter or with whatever audio you send in, and lets them ring. This version offers the original modal model, with one, two or four voices so that new notes can ring over the tails of old ones.
Controls
- Frequency sets the pitch, and V/OCT follows a pitch signal from a sequencer or keyboard module.
- Structure spreads the modes apart, from harmonic and string-like toward stretched and bell-like.
- Brightness decides how much of the high modes survive the strike.
- Damping sets how long the resonance rings.
- Position is where the object is struck, which changes which modes sound strongest.
- Polyphony chooses one, two or four voices.
Each of Frequency, Structure, Brightness, Damping and Position has its own CV input and amount control. The amounts are attenuverters: turn one through zero to invert the modulation.
Inputs and outputs
- IN is audio excitation. Leave it unpatched to use the internal exciter; patch it and the resonator rings only from what you send.
- STRUM plays a note on each rising edge. Without it, Rings strums on its own when it hears a new onset or a pitch change.
- ODD and EVEN are two separate pickups on the resonator. Patch only one and it carries both mixed together; patch both to keep them apart, for example left and right.
Getting started
In a rack, send a slow square LFO or a clock into STRUM and take ODD and EVEN to the rest of your rack, then sweep Structure and Brightness. The Rings modal garden rack on the website is a ready-made patch: press Play and unmute the monitor. Rings also works on guitar or other audio through IN.
The original module's sympathetic-string, dispersive-string and bonus modes are not included.
