# Moog - DFAM on Subharmonicon Polyrhythms - Build Patch: [[Patches/Moog/Moog - DFAM on Subharmonicon Polyrhythms]] Signal path: [[Patches/Moog/Moog - DFAM on Subharmonicon Polyrhythms - 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 cases as usual. The DATA lives in **Eurorack 001 Installed** (BLACK panel, 16 HP), per [[Rack]] and [[Modules/DATA]]. The Moog 4-tier is four filled 60 HP rows, so the DATA will not seat in that case. Fly cables from the Moog patch bays to the DATA in the main rack, or sit the DATA next to the Moog. If flying cables isn't practical, treat every "Watch on DATA" step as optional and build by ear. The guide says its microSD card must stay in the slot during use. - Both rear 1/4″ outputs down at first, then into a mixer. - Set every module to the starting points in the [[Patches/Moog/Moog - DFAM on Subharmonicon Polyrhythms|patch note]] before you add cables: Subharmonicon TEMPO 12 o'clock, RHYTHM 1=1, 2=3, 3=4, 4=5, 1 and 3 on SEQ 1, 2 and 4 on SEQ 2, EG ON, VCA ATTACK fully counter-clockwise, VCA DECAY 11 o'clock, VCO 1 low, VCO 2 SUB knobs centered; DFAM starting points from its own tutorial (VCO 1 FREQUENCY 10 to 11 o'clock, VCO 1 EG AMOUNT 3 o'clock, VCO DECAY 9 o'clock, NOISE / EXT LEVEL 1 o'clock, VCF EG AMOUNT 3 o'clock, CUTOFF 11 o'clock, VCA EG FAST, VCA DECAY 10 o'clock), with the VELOCITY 1–8 knobs varied a lot. Start order: press DFAM RUN/STOP first, then PLAY on the Subharmonicon. - 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 both voices on their own clocks **DATA:** channel 1 Subharmonicon VCA, channel 2 DFAM VCA, if you fly those patch-bay outs over. Otherwise just listen at both rear 1/4″ outputs. This step is a source check; those audio watch cables are not in the final patch list and should come out before you join the clocks if they get in the way. **Cables** 1. ⚫ Black · Listen at the Subharmonicon rear 1/4″ output. 2. ⚫ Black · Listen at the DFAM rear 1/4″ output. **Set.** Let each unit run on its own tempo first, so you know the bass and the drums separately. **Listen for.** A short, percussive Subharmonicon bass on one side, and a DFAM kick-and-noise loop on the other, not yet locked. **Watch on DATA.** Optional: Oscilloscope, TIME around 1MS to 10MS, SCALE 5.0V, on either VCA output. Short bursts, not a long drone. **If it doesn't sound right.** No DFAM loop: RUN/STOP may be off. No Subharmonicon bass: PLAY may be off, or the mixer levels may be down. ## 2. Join the clocks, then the triggers **DATA:** channel 3 Subharmonicon CLOCK, channel 4 Subharmonicon TRIGGER. Flying these to the main-rack DATA is optional. **Cables.** Press DFAM RUN/STOP first, then PLAY on the Subharmonicon; the DFAM guide says to start the clocked unit first. 1. 🟢 Green · Subharmonicon CLOCK (out, 0 to 10 V) -> DATA channel 3 Input Jack 2. 🟢 Green · DATA channel 3 Buffered Through Jack -> DFAM ADV / CLOCK (in, 0 to 5 V, +10 V tolerant) 3. 🔴 Red · Subharmonicon TRIGGER (out, 0 to 5 V, 1 ms) -> DATA channel 4 Input Jack 4. 🔴 Red · DATA channel 4 Buffered Through Jack -> DFAM TRIGGER (in). This breaks the TRIGGER input's normal from the sequencer clock, so the DFAM envelopes now fire on the Subharmonicon rhythm hits while the steps still advance on CLOCK. **Set.** Rhythms already on the 1-3-4-5 grid. **Listen for.** Kick and noise hits landing on a 1-3-4-5 polyrhythm grid instead of straight eighths, so the DFAM loop never quite lines up the same way twice. The Subharmonicon bass is still on its own EG. **Watch on DATA.** Channel 3, Oscilloscope, TIME around 200MS to 500MS, AUTO, SCALE 2.0V or 5.0V: clock pulses, 0 to 10 V, which the DFAM guide rates ADV / CLOCK +10 V tolerant. Channel 4, same window, SCALE 2.0V: short 1 ms, 0 to 5 V triggers that do not fall on every clock. **If it doesn't sound right.** DFAM still on straight eighths: TRIGGER may not be patched, so the envelopes still follow the sequencer clock. No step motion: CLOCK may not be reaching ADV / CLOCK, or DFAM was not started first. If you skipped the DATA, patch those two cables direct. ## 3. Let the drums talk back to the bass **DATA:** move channels 1 and 2 onto DFAM VELOCITY and DFAM PITCH, since those are the new graphs. **Cables** 1. 🔵 Blue · DFAM VELOCITY (out, 0 to 5 V) -> DATA channel 1 Input Jack 2. 🔵 Blue · DATA channel 1 Buffered Through Jack -> Subharmonicon VCO 2 SUB (in) (judgment call) 3. 🔵 Blue · DFAM PITCH (out, −5 to +5 V) -> DATA channel 2 Input Jack 4. 🔵 Blue · DATA channel 2 Buffered Through Jack -> Subharmonicon CUTOFF (in) (judgment call) **Set.** SUB 1 FREQ and SUB 2 FREQ (VCO 2) centered for the SUB input. The VELOCITY 1–8 knobs now also pick VCO 2's subharmonic. Neither destination is a 1 V/oct jack, which is why both cables are blue (judgment calls in the patch note). **Listen for.** Under the drums, the Subharmonicon bass changes its sub interval and filter with each drum step. **Watch on DATA.** Channels 1 and 2, Oscilloscope or Voltage Monitor, same TIME as the clock, AUTO, COUPL DC, SCALE 2.0V, POS 0.00V. Channel 1 steps 0 to 5 V with the velocity knobs. Channel 2 swings −5 to +5 V with the pitch knobs. They should move in time with the DFAM steps on channels 3 and 4. **If it doesn't sound right.** No bass motion: the CV destinations may be swapped, or the SUB knobs may be at an extreme so the input cannot push both ways. Filter pinned: lower the DFAM PITCH range or back off the Subharmonicon CUTOFF knob. ## 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 · Subharmonicon CLOCK (out, 0 to 10 V) -> DFAM ADV / CLOCK (in, 0 to 5 V, +10 V tolerant) 2. 🔴 Red · Subharmonicon TRIGGER (out, 0 to 5 V, 1 ms) -> DFAM TRIGGER (in). This breaks the TRIGGER input's normal from the sequencer clock, so the DFAM envelopes now fire on the Subharmonicon rhythm hits while the steps still advance on CLOCK. 3. 🔵 Blue · DFAM VELOCITY (out, 0 to 5 V) -> Subharmonicon VCO 2 SUB (in) (judgment call) 4. 🔵 Blue · DFAM PITCH (out, −5 to +5 V) -> Subharmonicon CUTOFF (in) (judgment call) 5. ⚫ Black · Listen at both rear 1/4″ outputs on a mixer. With the DATA left in as of step 3, the watched paths are: cable 3 through DATA channel 1, cable 4 through channel 2, cable 1 through channel 3, and cable 2 through channel 4. Cable 5 is the rear-output listen. 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:** kick and noise hits landing on a 1-3-4-5 polyrhythm grid instead of straight eighths, so the DFAM loop never quite lines up the same way twice. Under it, the Subharmonicon bass changes its sub interval and filter with each drum step.