SOUND ON SOUND

[John Stafford]

Hi all,

I was wondering if it's normal for the sub oscillators on the Subharmonicon to freak out when the main frequency is very high, e.g. with the freq and sequencer knobs turned all the way up. I just get noise. It's the same with both oscillators, so I assume it's not a fault, but it still feel odd.

It's possible to drive the oscillators way above "normal" range, so I suppose the subs are trying to divide down from noise past a certain point.

Thanks.

[Ben Asaro]

I'll try it on mine; I've never tried using the SubH as a dog whistle! :D

Edit: what range are you using? 1 octave, 2, or 5?

[Eddy Deegan]

I've done a quick limited test on mine (I'm unable to change a few knobs as I've got something on the go which depends on them being where they are). I stuck it into 5 octave mode, cranked the frequency of a main oscillator up to the max and twiddled one of the sub-oscillators associated with it.

Nothing went crazy for me ... maybe it would be useful to share a photo of your SH where it's exhibiting this behaviour and so we can reproduce those settings and report back.

[John Stafford]

Thank you both. I appreciate it.

The image above shows a problem patch.

I'm now certain this is a flaw. When everything is turned down except one sub oscillator, changing the other oscillator's controls changes the noise e.g. having nothing audible but Osc 1 Sub 1, changing sequence 2 or Osc 2 Freq changes the noise.

[John Stafford]

PS I've been spending a bit of time investigating this, and at times it sounds like digital interference. Sweeping the oscillators and the sequencer knobs (while listening to the subs) makes it sound strange all too easily. I think this would be a well known "feature" if it were normal.

The upside is that it can also sound a lot like a Synthi. :D Some of the noises I'm getting are great!

[Ben Asaro]

LOL unfortunately it does sound like a defect. How old is your unit? With the 1 octave range and VCO in the center, the highest note in the sequencer should only be an octave above and I've not heard any strange artifacts using it that way. The only issue I've noticed is that when the VCO is turned WAY up, the tracking gets unreliable at the top end of the sequencer range but granted that's pushing it to the limits.

Maybe you are picking up noise from a nearby hard drive? Perhaps try a different power circuit or location?

That's a real bummer and the first time I've heard of an issue with the SubH.

[John Stafford]

Thank you Ben. I appreciate that. I'll send it back for a replacement (Thomann).

It's a new machine. The noise changes in a reproducible way (depending on the sequencer knobs) so I wonder if it's the digital circuitry. It's an amazing machine though, so I don't want a refund. :D

Thanks again,
John

[Ben Asaro]

Not a problem, I hope you get it sorted!

[John Stafford]

I got my new Subharmonicon today.

The unintended weird behaviour is gone, but there's still plenty of weirdness left over (given that it's a Subharmonicon). :bouncy:

[Ben Asaro]

HA!

At least it's intended weirdness!

Enjoy the journey, the SubH is a wonderful, confounding, and inspiring instrument.