Make Noise SOUNDHACK MORPHAGENE - Morphagene Module Overview

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Morphagene Overview
The Morphagene is a next generation Tape and Microsound music module that uses Reels, Splices, and Genes to create new
sounds from those that already exist. It is informed by the worlds of Musique Concrète, where speed and direction variation were
combined with creative tape splicing to pioneer new sounds, and Microsound, where computers allow for sound to be divided
into pieces smaller than 1/10 of a second and manipulated like sub-atomic particles.
Having voltage control over every parameter, the Morphagene is most dynamic as a digital audio buer for the modular
synthesist. The Morphagene is comprised of a pair of tool-sets, which work well together: Tape Music Tools allow for sounds to be
recorded on the y, layered using the internal Sound On Sound (S.O.S) function, manually cut into pieces using the Splice
function, and re-organized with the Organize control. Once it is spliced up, it is possible to create nearly innite variations of the
original loop by modulating the Organize parameter. Vari-Speed allows for the speed and direction of playback to be controlled
continuously with one control signal.
Gene-Size and Slide make up the Microsound Tools. Gene-Size shrinks the Splice’s “playback window” into gradually smaller
pieces called Genes (aka particles, grains, granules). A control signal, such as the Wogglebug Smooth CV applied to Slide, moves
through those pieces in a nonlinear fashion. Using Slide, random access of the audio buer is possible. Morph allows additional
textural control via the staggering or layering of successive Genes and, at extreme settings, randomized pitch up and panning.
This yeilds interesting sonic results, particularly when combined with Functions such as Vari-Speed and Organize. It is possible to
record Tape and Microsound manipulations into brand new Splices as if using two independent machines: one for playback and
one to record. The Morphagene also allows for the storage and recall of multiple sound buers in the form of Reels, stored as .wav
les on a microSD card. Each Reel can be up to 2.9 minutes long and may consist of up to 300 Splices. The end result is a sampler/
looper/audio buer that is able to exist within a modular synthesizer system, and oer a vast amount of Real-Time sound
manipulation in a fast and tactile way.
Perspective
Early pioneers of electronic music did not have access to specialized gear with which to implement their ideas. Instead, they had
to modify existing devices or create new devices in order to take steps forward into new musical possibilities. In many cases, this
novelty extended beyond the instruments used, leading to the creation of new musical form and content that had not been
previously imagined.
In the decades since, many new forms of music have been created, consumed, and eventually codied. Countless new
instruments have been designed around these forms, so many that it is frequently possible to nd and purchase a tool that is
ready-made for any given goal in the known taxonomy of musical forms. Today, all you have to do is pick the characteristics you
want in an instrument from a list, go to the nearest internet device and nd the ideal instrument in a database. Consequently,
many designers are now making instruments which are fool-proof, and which guarantee some specic musical result, thus making
it easy to create the same music over and over again.
The Morphagene does not use this approach. It is a powerful and open-ended set of tools for the advanced creative synthesist,
and is not oriented around easing the creation of any particular type of music. The Morphagene gives you the power and the
responsibility to build the musical form of your choosing, or better yet, your creation from the ground up.