# Main - Euclidean Kick and Metal Percussion - Build Patch: [[Patches/Main/Main - Euclidean Kick and Metal Percussion]] Signal path: [[Patches/Main/Main - Euclidean Kick and Metal Percussion - 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 fully down; it only keeps time and pitches the metal. - Set every module to the starting points in the [[Patches/Main/Main - Euclidean Kick and Metal Percussion|patch note]] before you add cables: Mother-32 TEMPO around 110 to 120 BPM, an 8-step note pattern; Disting #1 on **H-5**, Steps 16, Pulses (pattern 1) 4, Z (pattern 2) at 5 or 7, Pulse length 0 (10 ms); Plaits on the analog bass drum model (second bank, sixth model), FREQUENCY around 9 o'clock, HARMONICS 11 o'clock, TIMBRE 10 o'clock, MORPH 11 o'clock, attenuverters at noon; Rings modal resonator, polyphony 2, STRUCTURE 2 o'clock, BRIGHTNESS 1 o'clock, DAMPING 10 o'clock, POSITION 11 o'clock; Shades both channels in attenuator mode, channel 1 at 2 o'clock, channel 2 at 11 o'clock; Beads DRY/WET 10 o'clock, REVERB 11 o'clock, FEEDBACK fully counter-clockwise. - 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 the kick dry **DATA:** channel 1 watches Plaits OUT. Channels 2–4 are free. **Cables** 1. 🟡 Yellow · Plaits OUT (out, 6) -> DATA channel 1 Input Jack 2. 🟡 Yellow · DATA channel 1 Buffered Through Jack -> A-540 channel A input **Set.** A-540 up just enough to hear. For a first strike, patch a temporary 🔴 red trigger into Plaits TRIG (Mother-32 GATE is fine) and pull it out when Disting pattern 1 takes over. **Listen for.** A classic analog kick, low and short. It should be a hit, not a buzzing tone. The Plaits kick is hot; keep the A-540 modest. **Watch on DATA.** Channel 1, Oscilloscope, TIME around 1MS to 10MS, SCALE 5.0V, AUTO then NORM if it steadies. A short, decaying low-frequency burst on each strike. **If it doesn't sound right.** A long drone: MORPH (decay) may be too high, or a leftover trigger may be holding TRIG. No strike: nothing is hitting TRIG yet, which is normal until step 3. ## 2. Add the clock **DATA:** channel 1 Plaits audio, channel 2 Mother-32 clock. **Cables** 1. 🟢 Green · Mother-32 ASSIGN (out; default is the sequencer clock, 0 to +5 V) -> DATA channel 2 Input Jack 2. 🟢 Green · DATA channel 2 Buffered Through Jack -> Disting #1 X (in, clock) **Set.** TEMPO 110 to 120 BPM. ASSIGN left at its default, the sequencer clock. Disting already on H-5. VOLUME stays down. **Listen for.** Nothing new. The kick is still only speaking when you strike it by hand. **Watch on DATA.** Channel 2, Oscilloscope or Voltage Monitor, TIME around 200MS to 500MS, trigger AUTO, SCALE 2.0V, POS 0.00V. Regular pulses at the tempo, 0 to +5 V if they match the Mother-32 manual figure used in the patch note. 110 to 120 BPM is close to 2 Hz; the Voltage Monitor may start to alias at the high end, so the Oscilloscope is the safer view here. **If it doesn't sound right.** No pulses: confirm ASSIGN is the clock, COUPL is DC, and the Through Jack is the one under Input 2, not an Output Jack. ## 3. Put the kick on the Euclidean pattern **DATA:** channel 1 Plaits, channel 2 clock, channel 3 Disting pattern 1. **Cables.** Pull the temporary TRIG cable if you used one. 1. 🔴 Red · Disting #1 A (out, pattern 1) -> DATA channel 3 Input Jack 2. 🔴 Red · DATA channel 3 Buffered Through Jack -> Plaits TRIG (in, 3) **Set.** Pattern 1 is 4 pulses in 16 steps, four-on-the-floor. **Listen for.** A drum-machine kick on the quarter notes, locked to the Mother-32 tempo. **Watch on DATA.** Channel 3, same TIME and AUTO as the clock. A short pulse (parameter 3 at 0 gives 10 ms) on every fourth clock. The pulses should line up with every fourth mark on channel 2. **If it doesn't sound right.** Clock on the scope but no kick: A may not be reaching TRIG, or Plaits may not be on the bass-drum model. Hits that ignore the grid: a leftover cable may still be on TRIG. ## 4. Add the metal, then pitch it **DATA:** all four channels. Channel 1 Plaits, channel 2 clock, channel 3 pattern 1, channel 4 first watches Disting pattern 2, then can move to Mother-32 KB once the metal is speaking. **Cables** 1. 🟡 Yellow · Rings ODD (out) -> Shades channel 2 Signal input, for a moment, or park it on A-540 B so you can hear it dry. For a clean first listen, go Rings ODD -> A-540 channel B input, and we will move it into Shades in the next step. 2. 🔴 Red · Disting #1 B (out, pattern 2) -> Rings STRUM (in, 2) 3. ⚪ Gray · Mother-32 KB (out) -> Rings V/OCT (in, 3) To watch the pattern 2 triggers, sit DATA channel 4 between Disting B and Rings STRUM: - 🔴 Red · Disting #1 B (out, pattern 2) -> DATA channel 4 Input Jack - 🔴 Red · DATA channel 4 Buffered Through Jack -> Rings STRUM (in, 2) **Set.** Rings already in modal mode with short DAMPING and STRUCTURE past noon for metal. The Mother-32 8-step pattern only sets these pitches. **Listen for.** Metallic hits on an odd Euclidean pattern under the kick, changing pitch with the Mother-32 sequence. Turn Disting Z while it runs to change the hit count (5 or 7 on 16). **Watch on DATA.** Channel 4 shows short pulses that do not line up with the kick's four-on-the-floor. After you have seen that, you can move channel 4 onto Mother-32 KB to watch the stepped pitch instead (Oscilloscope or Voltage Monitor, slow TIME, AUTO, SCALE 2.0V). **If it doesn't sound right.** Metal on the same beats as the kick: Z may be at 4, same as pattern 1. No pitch change: KB may not be reaching V/OCT, or the Mother-32 sequencer may be stopped. The Mother-32 voice in the mix: VOLUME is not fully down. ## 5. Mix, then add a small room **DATA:** channel 1 can stay on Plaits until the mix is in, then you may move it to sit on the Shades mix or on Beads L. Channels 2 and 3 stay on clock and kick triggers. **Cables.** Unplug Plaits and Rings from the A-540 (including any DATA Through Jack that was going to A-540 A). Then: 1. 🟡 Yellow · Plaits OUT (out, 6) -> Shades channel 1 Signal input (if channel 1 was watching Plaits, put the Input Jack on Plaits and the Through Jack on Shades channel 1, or patch Plaits direct and free the channel) 2. 🟡 Yellow · Rings ODD (out) -> Shades channel 2 Signal input 3. 🟡 Yellow · Shades channel 2 Signal output -> Beads IN L. Leave channel 1's output empty, so channel 2's output carries channels 1 + 2. 4. 🟡 Yellow · Beads L (out) -> A-540 channel A input 5. 🟡 Yellow · Beads R (out) -> A-540 channel B input **Set.** Shades channel 1 at 2 o'clock (the kick brake), channel 2 at 11 o'clock. Beads mostly dry: DRY/WET 10 o'clock, REVERB 11 o'clock, FEEDBACK off. **Listen for.** The same kick and metal, now in one mix, sitting in a small room rather than a cloud. **Watch on DATA.** If you move channel 1 to Beads L, TIME around 1MS to 10MS will show the mixed hits with a little extra tail from the room. **If it doesn't sound right.** Kick buries the metal: lower Shades channel 1. A huge wash: DRY/WET or REVERB is too high; this patch wants a room, not a cloud. Only one voice: Shades channel 1's output may be patched, which would break the 2-into-1 mix. ## Full patch These are the 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; default is the sequencer clock, 0 to +5 V) -> Disting #1 X (in, clock) 2. 🔴 Red · Disting #1 A (out, pattern 1) -> Plaits TRIG (in, 3) 3. 🔴 Red · Disting #1 B (out, pattern 2) -> Rings STRUM (in, 2) 4. ⚪ Gray · Mother-32 KB (out) -> Rings V/OCT (in, 3) 5. 🟡 Yellow · Plaits OUT (out, 6) -> Shades channel 1 Signal input 6. 🟡 Yellow · Rings ODD (out) -> Shades channel 2 Signal input 7. 🟡 Yellow · Shades channel 2 Signal output -> Beads IN L. Leave channel 1's output empty, so channel 2's output carries channels 1 + 2. 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, a useful final watch is: cable 1 through DATA channel 2, cable 2 through channel 3, and either cable 3 or cable 4 through channel 4, with channel 1 free to sit on Plaits, the Shades mix, or Beads L. Cables 5–9 can run direct. The DATA can stay in or come out. To remove it, patch each watched signal 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:** a classic drum-machine kick on the quarter notes, with metallic Rings hits on an odd Euclidean pattern under it, pitched by the Mother-32 sequence. Turn Disting Z while it runs to change the hit count.