# Strong-Fundamental Bass Voice - SignalPath Patch: [[Patches/Original/Strong-Fundamental Bass Voice]] Build: [[Patches/Original/Strong-Fundamental Bass Voice - Build|Build]] ## Overview Four jobs run at once: the Mother-32 keeps the notes, Plaits makes the bass, Stages opens each note, and two Distings build a chaotic envelope for the ladder filter. Listen at the Mother-32. ```mermaid flowchart LR M32KB[Mother-32 KB] --> P[Plaits FM bass] M32G[Mother-32 GATE] --> St[Stages AD envelope] St --> Mult[A-180-1] Mult --> P Mult --> D2[Disting #2 A-2 multiplier] P --> M32F[Mother-32 ladder and VCA] D1N[Disting #1 noise] --> D1[Disting #1 B-1 S and H] M32LFO[Mother-32 LFO SQ] --> D1 D1 --> D2 D2 --> Sh[Shades attenuator] Sh --> M32F M32F --> Out[Mother-32 main out] linkStyle 0 stroke:#9e9e9e,stroke-width:3px linkStyle 1 stroke:#d62828,stroke-width:3px linkStyle 2 stroke:#1e63d6,stroke-width:3px linkStyle 3 stroke:#1e63d6,stroke-width:3px linkStyle 4 stroke:#1e63d6,stroke-width:3px linkStyle 5 stroke:#e0b800,stroke-width:3px linkStyle 6 stroke:#e0b800,stroke-width:3px linkStyle 7 stroke:#d62828,stroke-width:3px linkStyle 8 stroke:#1e63d6,stroke-width:3px linkStyle 9 stroke:#1e63d6,stroke-width:3px linkStyle 10 stroke:#1e63d6,stroke-width:3px linkStyle 11 stroke:#222,stroke-width:3px ``` **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 ## Why the fundamental is strong Plaits is on the two-operator FM model, with TIMBRE fully counter-clockwise, so the tone starts as an almost pure sine with a solid fundamental. HARMONICS sits at noon. Stages segments 5 and 6 make a short AD envelope that opens Plaits' internal low-pass gate on LEVEL, which is the VCA. The Mother-32 MIX is fully toward EXT, so only Plaits hits the ladder, and the VCA is in EG mode with a short attack and long sustain. The patch also offers Plaits AUX (the sub-oscillator) for a lower octave, but it is unclear whether the LEVEL input acts on AUX. If AUX ignores the envelope, the note says to let the Mother-32's own EG shape the note. ## Why the filter brightness changes on every note That is Chris's chaotic envelope, built from two Distings. Disting #1 runs B-1 Sample and Hold: its own noise goes into X, and the Mother-32 LFO square fires Y, so it grabs a new random voltage on each LFO cycle, not on each gate. Z slews those steps into smooth curves. Disting #2 runs A-2 Four Quadrant Multiplier and multiplies that random voltage by the same Stages envelope, so the filter gets a gate-fired envelope whose depth wanders from note to note. The LFO square is used as a trigger, which is why that cable is red (a judgment call in the patch note). ## Why Shades sits in front of the cutoff The Mother-32 VCF CUTOFF input sweeps its full range on −5 V to +5 V, and the Disting outputs can swing wider. Shades channel 1 is the brake. Start around 1 o'clock and raise it until the wobble is audible but not wild. EXT AUDIO wants a 10 V peak-to-peak Eurorack signal; if the filter sounds overdriven, lower Plaits or the MIX, the same way Chris had to deal with clipping on the C4RBN. ## Short version Plaits is the bass, Stages opens the door, and the two Distings keep changing how far the filter opens.