# Main - Shift Register Bells with Motor Mutation - Build Patch: [[Patches/Main - Shift Register Bells with Motor Mutation]] Signal path: [[Patches/Main - Shift Register Bells with Motor Mutation - SignalPath|SignalPath]] An incremental build of that patch. One or two cables at a time, so you can hear each stage and watch the interesting voltages on the Mordax DATA. Starting points, jack names, and the final cable list come from the patch note. DATA jack names and modes come from the official [DATA User Guide](https://mordax.link/DATA_User_Guide) (SYS V. 01.02.05, updated 230310), linked from [mordax.net](https://www.mordax.net/products/data). **Cable colors:** [[Cable Colors]] after [Learning Modular](https://learningmodular.com/choosing-patch-cables/): ⚪ Gray 1 V/oct · 🔵 Blue modulation · 🟡 Yellow audio · 🔴 Red gates/triggers · 🟢 Green clock/sync · ⚫ Black external ## Before you start - Power the case as usual. Seat the DATA in the main rack if it is not already there. The guide says its microSD card must stay in the slot during use. - Monitors or the A-540 down at first. Mother-32 VOLUME down, or let it play a quiet low pattern from its own output. You are listening to Rings, then Beads, not the Mother-32 voice. - Set every module to the starting points in the [[Patches/Main - Shift Register Bells with Motor Mutation|patch note]] before you add cables: Mother-32 TEMPO about 70 to 90 BPM; Disting #1 on **F-6**, Length 8, a minor or pentatonic-type scale, output attenuverter around 12 to 16, Slew 0; leave the Z knob below the lock point for now (the loop locks when the display flashes "**", about +2 V); Rings in sympathetic-strings mode, polyphony 4, STRUCTURE 12 o'clock, BRIGHTNESS 11 o'clock, DAMPING 1 o'clock, POSITION 10 o'clock; Shades channel 1 in attenuator mode at 11 o'clock; Beads DRY/WET 1 o'clock, REVERB 2 to 3 o'clock, SIZE 1 o'clock, DENSITY 1 o'clock, FEEDBACK 10 o'clock. - On the DATA, open the **Oscilloscope** program from the main menu. In each channel's pop-up menu, set **COUPL** to **DC**. The guide says you typically want to view signals as DC; AC coupling blocks a steady voltage and will make a clock or a stepped CV sit at 0 V or droop. Use trigger mode **AUTO** whenever the time scale is in the hundreds of milliseconds or in seconds. **DATA jacks, as named in the User Guide:** four **Input Jacks** (±10 V), four **Buffered Through Jacks**, and four **Output Jacks**. This build uses only the inputs and the throughs. The guide: "Regardless of the program running, a signal present at an Input Jack is buffered and sent back out of its corresponding Through Jack for use elsewhere in your patch." The official panel photo on mordax.net numbers those channels **1–4**; each Through Jack sits directly under its Input Jack, with a downward triangle between them. The panel does not silk-screen the words Input or Through; if your panel reads differently, check the panel. The Output Jacks (the right-hand bank, also numbered 1–4) are unused here. **Pass-through habit:** to watch a signal, unplug the destination end, go from the source into a DATA Input Jack, and continue from that channel's Buffered Through Jack to the destination. The cable color stays the color of the signal. The DATA has four channels, so they get reassigned as the build moves. A running plan is at the top of each step. ## 1. Hear Rings dry **DATA:** channel 1 watches Rings ODD. Channels 2–4 are free. **Cables** 1. 🟡 Yellow · Rings ODD (out) -> DATA channel 1 Input Jack 2. 🟡 Yellow · DATA channel 1 Buffered Through Jack -> A-540 channel A input 3. 🟡 Yellow · Rings EVEN (out) -> A-540 channel B input **Set.** A-540 up just enough to hear. Leave Rings STRUM unpatched for this step. **Listen for.** A struck bell and harp when a new note starts. With STRUM unpatched, Rings starts a note on each pitch change: turn the FREQUENCY knob, or patch a brief voltage into V/OCT. For a steadier test, patch a temporary 🔴 red trigger into STRUM (Mother-32 GATE is fine) and pull it out when Disting B takes over in step 3. Notes should ring long, metallic, not glassy-harsh. **Watch on DATA.** Channel 1, Oscilloscope, TIME around 1MS, SCALE 5.0V, trigger AUTO to start, then NORM if the wave steadies. You should see a decaying, ringing waveform on each strike, not a steady oscillator. The Tuner program can also read this channel (27.50 Hz to 2,960 Hz). A decaying bell may wander as partials die, so treat the Tuner as a pitch check, not the main graph. **If it doesn't sound right.** Nothing at all: confirm ODD and EVEN are really going out, and that the A-540 inputs are the 1/8″ modular jacks. A short, dull tick: raise DAMPING. No strike unless you move FREQUENCY: that is normal until a trigger hits STRUM. ## 2. Add the clock **DATA:** channel 1 still Rings ODD. Channel 2 watches the Mother-32 clock. **Cables** 1. 🟢 Green · Mother-32 ASSIGN (out, sequencer clock) -> DATA channel 2 Input Jack 2. 🟢 Green · DATA channel 2 Buffered Through Jack -> Disting #1 X (in, clock) **Set.** TEMPO slow, 70 to 90 BPM. ASSIGN defaults to the sequencer clock; leave it there. Disting #1 is already on F-6, but Z stays below the lock point. **Listen for.** Nothing new. The clock is a control signal. Rings is still only speaking when you strike it by hand. **Watch on DATA.** Channel 2, still in the Oscilloscope, TIME around 500MS to 1.0S (the guide's TIME ranges from 50uS to 5.0S; at 1.0S the screen holds 12 seconds of signal). Trigger AUTO. SCALE 2.0V, POS 0.00V so the center line is 0 V. You should see a regular pulse at the tempo, sitting above 0 V. Other notes in this vault, citing the Mother-32 Users Manual, give ASSIGN's sequencer clock as 0 to +5 V; use the scope's SCALE readout if yours looks taller or shorter. The Voltage Monitor program is also built for slow pulses like this: it shows about 12 seconds, with a thick dotted 0 V line and fine dotted ±5 V lines. Repeating signals faster than 2 Hz will alias there, but 70 to 90 BPM stays under that. **If it doesn't sound right.** No pulses on channel 2: confirm ASSIGN is the clock, COUPL is DC, and the Through Jack is the one under Input 2, not an Output Jack. Disting shows no sign of a clock: the Through Jack may be going to the wrong Disting input; X is the clock on F-6. ## 3. Let the Disting strum Rings **DATA:** channel 1 Rings ODD, channel 2 clock, channel 3 Disting B. **Cables.** Pull the temporary STRUM trigger if you used one in step 1. 1. 🔴 Red · Disting #1 B (out, trigger) -> DATA channel 3 Input Jack 2. 🔴 Red · DATA channel 3 Buffered Through Jack -> Rings STRUM (in, 2) **Set.** No new knobs. **Listen for.** Rings now fires in time with the Mother-32 clock, on whatever pitch the FREQUENCY knob is sitting at. Same bell, steady tempo, no melody yet. **Watch on DATA.** Channel 3, same slow TIME and AUTO trigger as the clock. You should see a short pulse on each clock. The pulses line up with channel 2. **If it doesn't sound right.** Clock on the scope but no strike: B may not be reaching STRUM, or the Disting is not on F-6. Strikes that ignore the clock: a leftover cable may still be on STRUM. ## 4. Add the Disting's pitch **DATA:** all four channels are now in use. Channel 1 Rings ODD, channel 2 clock, channel 3 Disting B, channel 4 Disting A. **Cables** 1. ⚪ Gray · Disting #1 A (out, quantized CV) -> DATA channel 4 Input Jack 2. ⚪ Gray · DATA channel 4 Buffered Through Jack -> Rings V/OCT (in, 3) **Set.** Leave Z below the lock point so bits can still flip. **Listen for.** The bells change note. Because Z is not locked, the eight-step loop rewrites itself a note at a time instead of repeating forever. Every note should land in your scale. **Watch on DATA.** Channel 4, same slow TIME and AUTO as the clock. You should see a stepped voltage that moves when a clock pulse arrives. It will not yet repeat the same eight steps. The Voltage Monitor's 12-second window is a good alternate view of this staircase. **If it doesn't sound right.** Still one pitch: A is not reaching V/OCT, or the output attenuverter is at zero. Sour notes: check Parameter 2 (Scale). Wild octave jumps: lower Parameter 3 (Output attenuverter) toward 12 to 16. ## 5. Lock the loop **DATA:** no new cables, same four channels. **Set.** Turn the Disting Z knob up until the display flashes "**" (about +2 V). **Listen for.** The same eight notes now cycle like a music box. Silence is not the goal; repetition is. This step adds no sound of its own, it only stops the melody from rewriting. **Watch on DATA.** Channel 4's staircase should now repeat every eight pulses on channel 2. Channel 3 keeps firing once per clock. **If it doesn't sound right.** The melody keeps changing: Z is not at the lock point, or something is already holding the Z input low. We have not patched the motor yet, so if Z will not stay locked, unplug anything in Z and try the knob alone. ## 6. Put it in a room (Beads) **DATA:** keep channels 2–4 as they are. Reroute channel 1 so Rings ODD still appears on the scope, but now continues into Beads instead of the A-540. **Cables.** Unplug both Rings outputs from the A-540 (channel 1's Through Jack, and the EVEN cable). Then: 1. 🟡 Yellow · DATA channel 1 Buffered Through Jack -> Beads IN L (this replaces the old run to A-540 A; Rings ODD should still be in channel 1's Input Jack) 2. 🟡 Yellow · Rings EVEN (out) -> Beads IN R 3. 🟡 Yellow · Beads L (out) -> A-540 channel A input 4. 🟡 Yellow · Beads R (out) -> A-540 channel B input **Set.** Beads already at the starting points: DRY/WET 1 o'clock, REVERB 2 to 3 o'clock, SIZE 1 o'clock, DENSITY 1 o'clock, FEEDBACK 10 o'clock. The input gain sets itself when you plug in. **Listen for.** The same eight bells, now wide and washy. Each strike leaves a tail that overlaps the next note. That overlap is what makes eight plain notes sound like a pad. **Watch on DATA.** Channel 1 is still the dry Rings ODD going into Beads: the same decaying strikes, now in tempo. If you would rather see the wet output, move channel 1 to sit between Beads L and A-540 A instead; the Through Jack would then go to A-540 A, and Rings ODD would go straight to Beads IN L. **If it doesn't sound right.** Dry as before: DRY/WET may be fully counter-clockwise, or Beads may be bypassed. Only one side: EVEN may still be on the A-540 instead of Beads IN R. A howl: lower FEEDBACK. ## 7. Mutate it with the motor **DATA:** the four channels are full, and the motor CV after Shades is the new graph worth seeing. Unplug Rings ODD from the DATA and patch it straight to Beads, freeing channel 1 for Shades. **Cables.** First restore the audio hop that channel 1 was making: 1. 🟡 Yellow · Rings ODD (out) -> Beads IN L (direct; remove the two DATA cables that were in this path) Then add the mutation: 2. 🔵 Blue · Reverse DC Motor CV out (check panel; the v1 manual calls it "cv out") -> Shades channel 1 Signal input 3. 🔵 Blue · Shades channel 1 Signal output -> DATA channel 1 Input Jack 4. 🔵 Blue · DATA channel 1 Buffered Through Jack -> Disting #1 Z (CV in; summed with the Z knob) **Set.** Shades channel 1 still in attenuator mode, around 11 o'clock. Leave the Disting Z knob up at the lock point. Per the maker, spinning the motor right gives positive CV and left gives negative. **Listen for.** Spin the motor left: notes start changing, one at a time, as Z drops under +2 V and bits flip. Let it coast to a stop, or spin it right: the new eight-note loop locks again. The room from Beads stays around it. **Watch on DATA.** Channel 1, Oscilloscope or Voltage Monitor, slow TIME, AUTO, COUPL DC, SCALE 2.0V or 5.0V. The trace should sit still while the motor is at rest, then swing as you spin, returning toward rest as it coasts. At the same time, channel 4's staircase should hold while Z is locked, then start rewriting when the Shades voltage pulls Z down, and hold a new pattern when you let go. The v1 motor manual gives the raw CV as 5 to 10 V peak-to-peak; Shades is the brake, so the trace after Shades should be a smaller swing than that. **If it doesn't sound right.** The loop slams around instead of nudging: lower Shades. No change when you spin: try the other direction (left is the one that pulls Z down), confirm the Through Jack is going to Disting Z, and that Shades is not fully counter-clockwise. Z never relocks after you let go: the motor may still be putting out a standing voltage; wait for it to stop, or turn the Disting Z knob a little higher to give yourself more headroom. ## Full patch These are the nine cables from the patch note. If the DATA is still in the path, each watched signal is two cables (source to Input Jack, Buffered Through Jack to destination) instead of one. 1. 🟢 Green · Mother-32 ASSIGN (out, sequencer clock) -> Disting #1 X (in, clock) 2. ⚪ Gray · Disting #1 A (out, quantized CV) -> Rings V/OCT (in, 3) 3. 🔴 Red · Disting #1 B (out, trigger) -> Rings STRUM (in, 2) 4. 🔵 Blue · Reverse DC Motor CV out (check panel; the v1 manual calls it "cv out") -> Shades channel 1 Signal input 5. 🔵 Blue · Shades channel 1 Signal output -> Disting #1 Z (CV in; summed with the Z knob) 6. 🟡 Yellow · Rings ODD (out) -> Beads IN L 7. 🟡 Yellow · Rings EVEN (out) -> Beads IN R 8. 🟡 Yellow · Beads L (out) -> A-540 channel A input 9. 🟡 Yellow · Beads R (out) -> A-540 channel B input With the DATA left in as of step 7, the watched paths are: cable 1 through DATA channel 2, cable 2 through channel 4, cable 3 through channel 3, and cable 5 through channel 1. Cables 4 and 6–9 run direct. The DATA can stay in or come out. To remove it, patch each of those four signals straight from source to destination, as in the list above. The sound should not change; you just lose the graphs. **What it should sound like, once the last cable is in:** an 8-note bell and harp loop that repeats like a music box until you spin the motor. Spin it left and notes start changing; let go and the new loop holds. Wide, washy space from Beads.