Reporting back after four days, this is one serious piece of kit! It’s my Octatrack’s new best friend. It also really likes the piano! I swear, I’ve had the same simple patch and main osc frequencies dialed in on the SubH for four nights straight and it keeps on giving. Been just messing with the other knobs, buttons and the sequencer. Honeymoon period, I know, but still. Already glad I gave this a shot, because I really wasn’t sure.
Still not sure how it’ll sit in a song with other instruments (had some trouble with the tuning vs. some orchestral samples when it was running several oscillators) but you really could make an album’s worth of tracks with just this and the Octatrack (or DAW).
Have you been using the Moogs together exclusively or combined the SubH with anything else? Like I said, I really like it with the piano and Octatrack but Digitone would also seem to be a nice companion based on some testing. Obviously, I’m also gonna introduce the SubH to my DFAM in the near future.
Question about Subharmonicon for the users out there. Is it the kind of synth that invites knob-spinning / experimentation, or do you really need to start with a goal before diving in? In other words, do you get a lot of happy accidents? Can it process external signals – i.e. can you run another source through the filter?
My setup is an A4MKII, TR8-S + the 3 Moogs. It’s all running into a Soundcraft Signature 12 with a few pedals dedicated to a couple of the Moogs (SubH into El Capistan then Bigsky, DFAM into Timeline, Mother 32 into A4 for effects).
I’ve not been a big fan of euro rack but now that I have the semi-modulars I’ve planned out a small system with Maths, Marbles, Elements, Rings, Clouds, and Veils.
The motivation behind this setup is to perform live with only a bare minimum of drum programming and sequences laid out. I have it setup so I can cue each Moog and program them on the fly mid-performance to keep the whole system very ephemeral.
I felt that with the Digitone and OT I was constantly trying to program a set that never actually materialized. I want to perform rather than guide patterns and do filter sweeps (nothing wrong with this whatsoever). I intend to build a skill at performing the system.
I love it so far and have much better output with this setup. Some times I’ll just ambient out and keep the TR8-S turned off and turn the clock way down. Get some rhythmic noise coming from the DFAM, arps from the Mother, and drones from the SubH.
For the first time ever I feel fully in control of my system. This setup really resonates with me.
It helps to layout the pitches on the sequencers in advance. If using the quantizer, you can noodle around a bit and keep things melodically pleasant while performing. I would say that the experimentation, for me at least, is best explored by engaging and disengaging the rhythm clocks. There’s a great performance that I watched where the guy plays with the global clock and the oscillator tune to great effect. I’ll link it when I dig it up again.
Yes.
No but I wouldn’t see that as a negative. Just means you’ll need to pickup a Mother 32 and/or DFAM
lots of happy accidents with the interactions of the polyrhythms and sequencer pitches I have found, also, it must be said there are plenty of un-happy accidents if you are not careful! I do love the sound of this synth and it is so well designed to be played with the other two Moog semi’s and the 6 osc. outputs are a joy to use in my modular setup. It is a synth that has a definite sound, it’s pretty hard to make it sound like anything else, but I love its character wholeheartedly!
Hope it’s ok I post my first SubH jam here? Three SubH loops in this one, along with some of my piano loops, Oto Bam and Machinedrum. All performed live on the Octatrack. What an inspiring piece of kit!
Really enjoyed this one. I like how the swelling sounds and melodies played along with the tight drum sequence. I try to achieve the same, but haven’t gotten to this level yet. Super.
A long overdue thank you, cold-fashioned! I’ve been busy playing the Subharmonicon (only half kidding)! Seriously, if I ever look back on my recordings chronologically in retrospect, I’ll find out I have the SubH on EVERYTHING.
Reminds me of the Thom Yorke quote where he said he was so enamoured with a new reverb (people better in the know have said it’s the Make Noise Erbe Verb) once that when he had been listening back to his recordings he was sort of embarrassed he had put it so emphatically on everything.
I can only imagine how deeply in love I’d be with the SubH if I could save and recall patches on it. Yes, one can always sample loops into the Octatrack but it’s not the same when a slight twist of a filter knob, for example, can sometimes make a huge difference in the mood and timbre. It’s an immensely playable and responsive instrument. So not being able to recall patches is obviously a key part of the beauty of the whole thing.
Edit: Funnily enough my concern with the SubH was if I’d use it in actual tracks (other than just sample it into some background fluff). Hell, this thing is writing tracks for me (well almost). It’s a true idea-generating machine.
It was my concern as well and at first I thought it was real in the sense that I could primarily make tracks where the SubH is the foundation (if not the only instrument), maybe sneak in some piano and percussion. That’s the way I’ve mostly approached it but in the last couple of days I’ve laid some nice SubH overdubs on a couple of older tracks as well.
As much as I love this unique Machine, I had to return it to finance an OT AE.
One thing to consider if you buy one is, if you turn it off and then back on, it won’t sound the same at all. So, if you’re too tired to record your Sequence, leave it on for the next time or you will lose the hard work you put into it.
True, I’ve noticed the same thing. However, I think it’s not very hard to dial the patch again and at least get back into the same neighbourhood. Compared to ”real” modular (which I didn’t enjoy) or even something like the DFAM I feel SubH is a lot easier to use in this regard. However, sometimes even stopping and restarting a sequence has made me sort of lose the groove.
Getting an OT is probably the best reason to move on from any device, though! Congrats! Should you want to revisit the SubH, there will be plenty waiting for you.
Recreated in VCV as per the video.
I do not own the original, but hell this is addictive.
Created a sequence with a master out delay and reverb, set low volume to let play in background while working.
Cannot leave that loop.
GASing.
madness