# Moog - Subharmonicon Polyrhythm Drone - Build Patch: [[Patches/Moog/Moog - Subharmonicon Polyrhythm Drone]] Signal path: [[Patches/Moog/Moog - Subharmonicon Polyrhythm Drone - 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. - The Mother-32 rear 1/4″ output down at first. This patch does not use the A-540. - Set every module to the starting points in the [[Patches/Moog/Moog - Subharmonicon Polyrhythm Drone|patch note]] before you add cables: Subharmonicon TEMPO low (around 9 o'clock), RHYTHM 1=2, 2=3, 3=5, 4=7, 1 and 3 on SEQ 1, 2 and 4 on SEQ 2, QUANTIZE 12-JI, SEQ OCT ±1, STEP knobs near center, SUB frequency knobs centered, all six mixer levels around noon, CUTOFF 11 o'clock, RESONANCE 10 o'clock, EG ON, VCA ATTACK 12 o'clock, VCA DECAY 2 o'clock, then PLAY; Mother-32 MIX fully clockwise (EXT only), VCA MODE ON, CUTOFF 1 o'clock, RESONANCE 11 o'clock, LFO RATE slow (about 9 o'clock); Labyrinth RUN, TEMPO very low, SEQ1 CV RANGE 10 o'clock, SEQ2 CV RANGE 11 o'clock, CORRUPT 10 o'clock on both, a few bits on, VOLUME down or blended on a mixer. - 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 Subharmonicon dry **DATA:** channel 1 watches the Subharmonicon VCA. Channels 2–4 are free. Flying this cable to the main-rack DATA is optional. **Cables** 1. 🟡 Yellow · Subharmonicon VCA (out, Eurorack level, 10 V p-p) -> DATA channel 1 Input Jack 2. 🟡 Yellow · DATA channel 1 Buffered Through Jack -> a spare mixer channel, or listen here with a modular-to-line box if you want a dry preview before the Mother-32 3. ⚫ Black · Also listen at the Subharmonicon's own rear 1/4″ output if that is easier for this first check **Set.** Press PLAY. Tempo low, all six mixer levels up, EG on with overlapping attack and decay. **Listen for.** A deep, just-intoned organ drone that already swells in 2-, 3-, 5- and 7-beat cycles against itself, still without the second ladder or the Labyrinth drift. **Watch on DATA.** Channel 1, Oscilloscope, TIME around 1MS to see the tone, or 1.0S to 5.0S (AUTO) to see the slow swells. SCALE 5.0V. A 10 V peak-to-peak Eurorack signal. **If it doesn't sound right.** No swells: EG may be off, or the rhythms may not be assigned to the two sequencers. A single equal-tempered loop: QUANTIZE may not be on 12-JI. ## 2. Run it through the Mother-32 ladder **DATA:** reroute channel 1 so the Subharmonicon VCA still appears on the scope, but now continues into EXT. AUDIO. **Cables.** Unplug the preview from step 1. Then: 1. 🟡 Yellow · DATA channel 1 Buffered Through Jack -> Mother-32 EXT. AUDIO (in) 2. ⚫ Black · Listen at the Mother-32 rear 1/4″ output. **Set.** MIX fully clockwise (EXT only), VCA MODE ON. CUTOFF 1 o'clock, RESONANCE 11 o'clock. The Subharmonicon VCA out is 10 V p-p, which is the level the Mother-32 manual wants at EXT. AUDIO. **Listen for.** The same organ drone, now rolling through a second ladder, still without LFO or Labyrinth motion. **Watch on DATA.** Channel 1 is still the Subharmonicon going into the Mother-32. **If it doesn't sound right.** Silence at the Mother-32: MIX may not be fully at EXT, or VCA MODE may not be ON. The Mother-32's own VCO in the mix: MIX is not at EXT. ## 3. Add the slow LFO and the Labyrinth CVs **DATA:** channel 2 the Mother-32 LFO TRI, channel 3 Labyrinth SEQ1 (after it reaches VCO 1 SUB), channel 4 Labyrinth SEQ2 (after it reaches the Mother-32 cutoff). You can sit the DATA on the Labyrinth outputs themselves. **Cables** 1. 🔵 Blue · Mother-32 LFO TRI (out, ±5 V) -> DATA channel 2 Input Jack 2. 🔵 Blue · DATA channel 2 Buffered Through Jack -> Subharmonicon CUTOFF (in) 3. 🔵 Blue · Labyrinth SEQ1 CV (out, −5 to +5 V) -> DATA channel 3 Input Jack 4. 🔵 Blue · DATA channel 3 Buffered Through Jack -> Subharmonicon VCO 1 SUB (in) (judgment call) 5. 🔵 Blue · Labyrinth SEQ2 CV (out) -> DATA channel 4 Input Jack 6. 🔵 Blue · DATA channel 4 Buffered Through Jack -> Mother-32 VCF CUTOFF (in) **Set.** LFO RATE slow, about 9 o'clock. Labyrinth TEMPO very low, CORRUPT low. SUB frequency knobs centered so the input can push both directions, as the guide says. That SEQ1-to-SUB cable is blue because the destination is not a 1 V/oct jack (a judgment call in the patch note). Mother-32 LFO TRI is ±5 V and Subharmonicon CUTOFF takes −5 to +5 V, a match; back the CUTOFF knob off if the sweep is too wide. **Listen for.** Every so often the subharmonic interval under VCO 1 jumps as Labyrinth drifts. The Mother-32 ladder, and the Subharmonicon's own cutoff, roll the whole thing slowly brighter and darker. **Watch on DATA.** Channels 2, 3 and 4, Oscilloscope or Voltage Monitor, TIME around 1.0S to 5.0S, AUTO, COUPL DC, SCALE 2.0V or 5.0V, POS 0.00V. Channel 2 is a slow triangle, ±5 V. Channels 3 and 4 are slow, drifting stepped or slewed CVs in the −5 to +5 V range. If a trace sits at 0 V, COUPL may be on AC. **If it doesn't sound right.** No interval jumps: Labyrinth may not be running, or SEQ1 is not reaching VCO 1 SUB. The filter slams: lower the LFO RATE or back off the cutoff knobs. ## 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. 🟡 Yellow · Subharmonicon VCA (out, Eurorack level, 10 V p-p) -> Mother-32 EXT. AUDIO (in) 2. 🔵 Blue · Mother-32 LFO TRI (out, ±5 V) -> Subharmonicon CUTOFF (in) 3. 🔵 Blue · Labyrinth SEQ1 CV (out, −5 to +5 V) -> Subharmonicon VCO 1 SUB (in) (judgment call) 4. 🔵 Blue · Labyrinth SEQ2 CV (out) -> Mother-32 VCF CUTOFF (in) 5. ⚫ Black · Listen at the Mother-32 rear 1/4″ output. With the DATA left in as of step 3, the watched paths are: cable 1 through DATA channel 1, cable 2 through channel 2, cable 3 through channel 3, and cable 4 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:** a deep, just-intoned organ drone that swells in 2-, 3-, 5- and 7-beat cycles against itself. Every so often the subharmonic interval under VCO 1 jumps as Labyrinth drifts. The Mother-32 ladder rolls the whole thing slowly brighter and darker.