# Seahorse - Turntable Strummed Through Rings - Build Patch: [[Patches/Seahorse/Seahorse - Turntable Strummed Through Rings]] Signal path: [[Patches/Seahorse/Seahorse - Turntable Strummed Through Rings - 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]]. Move it into the SeaHorse if you have 16 HP free — that case has open room — or fly cables from the SeaHorse to the DATA still sitting in the main rack. If neither is practical, skip the pass-throughs and build by ear; every "Watch on DATA" step is optional. The guide says its microSD card must stay in the slot during use. - Monitors or the A-541 down at first. Phono Preamp MONO, Echo, Micro Sequence and motor CV jack silk-screens are check panel. Hook the turntable's ground wire to the Phono Preamp's GND thumbscrew. - Set every module to the starting points in the [[Patches/Seahorse/Seahorse - Turntable Strummed Through Rings|patch note]] before you add cables: Phono Preamp on PHONO, volume up until Rings rings full without crunching; Rings modal resonator, polyphony 4, STRUCTURE 11 o'clock, BRIGHTNESS 1 o'clock, DAMPING 2 o'clock, POSITION 12 o'clock; Micro Sequence slow tapped tempo, Scale on Dorian, length 8, a few steps muted; Echo Rate 1 o'clock, Feedback 12 o'clock, Mix 11 o'clock; Shades channel 1 in attenuator mode, 9 to 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 the record dry **DATA:** channel 1 watches the Phono Preamp MONO output. Channels 2–4 are free. If the DATA stayed in the main rack, fly this over or move the DATA first. The MONO jack is check panel. **Cables** 1. ⚫ Black · Turntable RCA -> Phono Preamp RCA inputs (L/R) 2. 🟡 Yellow · Phono Preamp MONO output (check panel which jack is MONO) -> DATA channel 1 Input Jack 3. 🟡 Yellow · DATA channel 1 Buffered Through Jack -> A-541 channel A input (1/8″) **Set.** Switch to PHONO (LINE only for a line source). Bring the preamp volume up to a solid modular level, but do not add gain anywhere else later; Rings expects modular level at IN, which is what the preamp puts out. **Listen for.** The record, dry, at modular level. This is only a source check, so you know what is about to excite Rings. **Watch on DATA.** Channel 1, Oscilloscope, TIME around 1MS, SCALE 5.0V, trigger AUTO (the guide recommends AUTO for a mix of many signals, like a record). A busy, irregular audio waveform, not a single oscillator. **If it doesn't sound right.** Thin or quiet: the preamp may be on LINE, or you skipped the GND wire and have hum instead of signal. Distorted already: lower the preamp volume. ## 2. Excite Rings, then sequence it **DATA:** reroute channel 1 so the record still appears on the scope, but now continues into Rings IN. Channel 2 watches Rings ODD. Channel 3 can watch the Micro Sequence pitch or gate. Micro Sequence jacks are check panel. **Cables.** Unplug channel 1's Through Jack from the A-541. Then: 1. 🟡 Yellow · DATA channel 1 Buffered Through Jack -> Rings IN (in, 4) 2. ⚪ Gray · Micro Sequence quantized pitch output (check panel) -> Rings V/OCT (in, 3) 3. 🔴 Red · Micro Sequence Gate output (check panel) -> Rings STRUM (in, 2) 4. 🟡 Yellow · Rings ODD (out) -> DATA channel 2 Input Jack 5. 🟡 Yellow · DATA channel 2 Buffered Through Jack -> A-541 channel A input (1/8″) 6. 🟡 Yellow · Rings EVEN (out) -> A-541 channel B input (1/8″) **Set.** Slow Dorian 8-step line, a few steps muted for breathing room. **Listen for.** The record becomes the exciter: its drums and voices ring Rings into tuned chords that follow the Micro Sequence. Odd and even are both still dry. **Watch on DATA.** Channel 1 is the record going into Rings. Channel 2, TIME around 1MS, SCALE 5.0V: decaying, ringing chords on each strum, more tonal than the raw record. If you sit channel 3 on the pitch output: a slow staircase, Voltage Monitor or Oscilloscope, TIME around 1.0S, AUTO, SCALE 2.0V. **If it doesn't sound right.** Rings barely speaks: the preamp may be too low, or IN may not be getting the MONO output (check panel). Always the same chord: the pitch jack is check panel. No breathing room: unmute a couple of steps, or you forgot to mute any. ## 3. Echo on the odd side, motor on the rate **DATA:** keep channel 1 on the record and channel 2 on Rings ODD, now going into the Echo. Channel 4 watches the motor CV after Shades. Echo and motor CV jacks are check panel. **Cables.** Unplug channel 2's Through Jack from A-541 A. Then: 1. 🟡 Yellow · DATA channel 2 Buffered Through Jack -> Echo audio input (check panel) 2. 🟡 Yellow · Echo output (check panel) -> A-541 channel A input (1/8″); ⚫ Black if you patch it to Mini Speaker 1 instead (judgment call) 3. 🔵 Blue · Reverse DC Motor CV out (check panel) -> Shades channel 1 Signal input 4. 🔵 Blue · Shades channel 1 Signal output -> DATA channel 4 Input Jack 5. 🔵 Blue · DATA channel 4 Buffered Through Jack -> Echo rate CV input (check panel) Rings EVEN stays dry to A-541 B (or Mini Speaker 2, which would be black). **Set.** Echo Rate 1 o'clock, Feedback 12 o'clock, Mix 11 o'clock. Shades at 9 to 10 o'clock so a spin nudges the rate instead of slamming it. Per the maker, spinning the motor right gives positive CV and left gives negative. **Listen for.** The odd side trails a dirty echo that warbles when you spin the motor; the even side stays dry. **Watch on DATA.** Channel 4, Oscilloscope or Voltage Monitor, slow TIME, AUTO, COUPL DC, SCALE 2.0V or 5.0V. The trace sits still at rest, then swings as you spin, and returns as the motor coasts. The v1 motor manual gives the raw CV as 5 to 10 V peak-to-peak; after Shades it should be a smaller swing. **If it doesn't sound right.** Both sides echoed: EVEN may have been sent through the Echo as well. No wow: the rate CV jack is check panel, or Shades is fully down. The echo slams around: lower Shades. ## 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. ⚫ Black · Turntable RCA -> Phono Preamp RCA inputs (L/R) 2. 🟡 Yellow · Phono Preamp MONO output (check panel which jack is MONO) -> Rings IN (in, 4) 3. ⚪ Gray · Micro Sequence quantized pitch output (check panel) -> Rings V/OCT (in, 3) 4. 🔴 Red · Micro Sequence Gate output (check panel) -> Rings STRUM (in, 2) 5. 🟡 Yellow · Rings ODD (out) -> Echo audio input (check panel) 6. 🟡 Yellow · Echo output (check panel) -> A-541 channel A input (1/8″); ⚫ Black if you patch it to Mini Speaker 1 instead (judgment call) 7. 🟡 Yellow · Rings EVEN (out) -> A-541 channel B input (1/8″); ⚫ Black if you patch it to Mini Speaker 2 instead (judgment call) 8. 🔵 Blue · Reverse DC Motor CV out (check panel) -> Shades channel 1 Signal input 9. 🔵 Blue · Shades channel 1 Signal output -> Echo rate CV input (check panel) With the DATA left in as of step 3, the watched paths are: cable 2 through DATA channel 1, cable 5 through channel 2, and cable 9 through channel 4, with channel 3 free for a Micro Sequence output. Cables 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, and 8 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:** the record as the exciter: its drums and voices ring Rings into tuned chords that follow the Micro Sequence. The odd side trails a dirty echo that warbles when you spin the motor; the even side stays dry.