Moog Subharmonicon

I like the polyrhythms, but I’m really struggling to get a sound I like.

Plus I can do quite generative stuff on the Grandmother by phasing the arp and the mod section with a lot of cutoff. Add delay and bingo.

I think I will be returning the subharmonicon.

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Yeah, Subharmonicon is not a synth I’d have on ”every song”. I’m biased in a sense cos I wrote a foundation for a number of songs just with SubH plus Octatrack and those turned into an album I was really happy with. But I haven’t been using it a whole lot for over a year now, except for the partly failed bass synth experiment.

I do think it’s still got things to offer me once I go back to using it as a centerpiece.

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Where can this album be heard? Sounds interesting. Links plz!

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It’s this soundtrack-y singer-songwriter-y electronic album I finished late last year. LOTS of other stuff going on in the arrangements, including orchestral arrangements and vocals. But these two are the most Subharmonicon-heavy tracks on the album. (Tracks 1, 3 and 9 also have some SubH in them.)

Edit: Here is the No Love Lost SubH-only version. Multitracked loops into the Octatrack and performed live in one take.

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Have you tried waveshaping or distortion to saturate the sub osc’s individually or on the main vca out? that can fatten it up no end, might be worth investigating…but yeah it not a “bass” synth as such, I use my M32 when I want the classic moogy bass sound

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Not yet. I like to experiment with sounds and fx, but I prefer that a bit of gear gets the basic right without any extras. My “basics” aren’t the same as everyone else’s of course. I understand why people love this, but so far it’s not for me, and mostly because of the sound.

In the original post, you don’t mention “loops into the Octatrack and performed live in one take”. I’ve tried to link my moog trinity into the Octatrack, which is a workflow that I think matches both the OT and the trinity well, but I never got anything close to what you’ve done. Very nice.

I would like to know how you approach patching/tweaking between recording the loops. I like how the character of the different parts are all distinct, something I struggle to do when I try to get loops into the OT. Do you use cables or just focus on attack/decay type settings? Do you have notes on what to do? Any external FX, or just OT FX?

When I was writing the album that song ended up on, I was often spending 5-6 hours just trying out things with the SubH and OT. Sometimes I was using the Oto Bam reverb or the Bim delay to spice up things. I’d get something interesting going on with the SubH, record a loop, have it play back on a flex or static track, and then try something different on the SubH on top of that. Once I had recorded enough of those loops, I’d arrange them into a song mostly by muting/unmuting loops, fading them in/out and recording that in one take.

The things that I soon found out made this easier were that I’d stick to the same osc tunings all day but tried out different note offsets, different patches (those from the SubH manual, some cables involved yes) and most importantly different seq speeds and attack/decay etc.

What I found difficult was the polyrhythmic part as that sometimes made capturing loops difficult (something would always be out of phase between the start and end of a loop).

A bit hard to explain as it was A LOT of trial and error, just experimenting and having fun with the SubH. Going by ear and heart what sounded right.

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This was interesting and helpful. Thanks for breaking it all down.

I envy the time you got to spend on this; it shows in the final product. You’ve clearly picked up some formidable skills in your exploration.

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Another one from Mr. Cinematic:

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There is a difference between practical and perceived limitations. Before I started creating patterns and modulations on the Subharmonicon I read more than a few personal reviews agreeing that it was less of a legitimate instrument as compared to traditional sequencer/synthesizers. All reviewer also agreed there was some sort of magic to the Subharmonicon as well, just that it wasn’t as predictable or controllable as one is normally accustomed to in the digital age. Alas, the Subharmonicon is analog.

I understand music less than I have a biological connection to it. I can feel music through an instrument with an absent mind- it’s not something we have to think about to create. So for me predictability and control are obstacles to living music.

The first thing about the Subharmonicon that reassured me that I would love it, is the reason many reviewers sold theirs- it’s not a DAWish contrivance. It’s a synthesizer which contributes to limitless creativity on a atmospheric level. It’s not a “groovebox”. It is a musical instrument, not a work station. You don’t make the Subharmonicon sing by “work flow”.

I know of general states you can arrive at with the Subharmonicon; droning arp-like notes; smeared colors and feedback; evolving patterns (magic).I believe it requires quality distortion, delay and reverb pedals to reach it’s potential. In it’s own, the Subharmonicon can fit in any jam at varying depths in the mix. It sounds like music.

The first thing I felt when I started understanding the Subharmonicon was deep inspiration. I knew the sounds and music I would generale with it would not be limited by my mind, it would come from the physical side of synthesis, not the intellectual.

With the Digitakt the Subharmonicon provides a river of sample material. It is a great tone to synthesize and modulate with the Elektron Method. As an analog instrument it lends warmth to a Predominantly digital mix. Even the samples seem to retain the same feel.

I currently am spending a lot of time with just the Digitakt and Digitone, and I use a few Subharmonicon samples in my kits.

Over all it does more than you could ever make it do. In this sense it’s a very capable synthesizer requiring a particular touch. As a musical instrument it’s only limitation is the creativity of the musician.

I didn’t ever study music, only ever played live with others and learned through the music; listening and feeling. The Subharmonicon for me allows for inspiration to exceed comprehension

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It’s funny, I was just thinking of selling mine but your post convinced me not to. If anything, it reminded me of what I already knew.

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Yea the Subharmonicon is one of the few synths that I’ve kept even though I’m not currently using it - I’m not sure I could sell it even though I’ve parted with its 2 sisters. There’s something special about, and its sonic palette is surprisingly rich.

I just went back through some of my more Subharmonicon heavy stuff, I need to break this thing out again!!

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I’m trying to choose a third box to go with my Digitakt and my Syntakt and this is a strong contender (Along with Dreadbox Nymphes which seems amazing for the price bracket). I previously owned a DFAM and although I loved it, I didn’t have much else to go with it at the time. I feel like the Subharmonicon might add a distinct “flavour” and workflow that I won’t get with the Elektron boxes and (based on the videos I’ve seen) that it’s actually quite versatile in terms of going from techno patterns to drones and ambience etc. I don’t really like “dry” synths with no FX but obviously I have the excellent Elektron delay and reverb available.

Does anyone have any feedback about integration with Elektron? I’m aware that it can just sync via MIDI (with the adapter) but I just wanted to check if anyone has had any problems or gotchas? Does it sync well?

I also saw one video where the guy said that if you make a sequence/patch and then turn the unit off and on again it might sound quite different or out of tune. I know analogue can be quirky but that sounds pretty annoying by anyone’s standards!

Am I right in thinking that it can also be played like a traditional mono synth via a MIDI cable as well? That would be a bonus but not essential.

Thanks in advance!

If you sync it and want to use it as regular synth, you need to disable start /stop in midi out filter, besides that its straight forward. Most of the time you would use its clock divider anyway. Its a fun device, but you need a tuner for it. I exchanged minf for a digitakt though. (i miss it a little, but i found a step divider in max for live).

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Interesting that you mention M4L. I’m a long-time Bitwig user and the sequencing trickery that’s possible is almost endless, including doing MIDI channel stuff so it’s easy to play the DT or ST polyphonically (like those retrokit MIDI cables) and even split out sets of tracks so I could have multiple poly synths just from the ST for example.

I’m actually trying to get away from the computer (endless struggle) because I write code all day for a living. 4 days out of 5 that’s at this very desk so I need some sort of change of pace otherwise I go a bit crazy sometimes!

To be productive with the subharmonicon you need to record it. I recorded it with mpc, but then had to transfer files, so i recorded it straight into Abelton. Buying a standing desk helps to get away from the computer, i have a launchpad, and can record with a touch of a button.

I prefer hybrid.

I found the timbre of SubH fairly limited but I loved sampling it into Digitakt for downtuning, bitcrushing, reverb, etc, and it helps that it’s a mono instrument in that regard. Also, midi wise I found trying to ‘play it’ via external notes to be a PITA because you can only sequence the main oscillators with midi (with the suboscillators dividing down based on the main oscillators if that makes sense). Although external midi is good for ‘key changes’, when used very sparingly. However it is an excellent synth, using high quality components, knobs, etc, filter is lovely and boosting resonance can remove any low end mud when required. But yeah, sampling it is better than letting it play through an entire track imo. Also, if you’re gonna pair it with Syntakt, you’ll almost certainly be using it in Equal Temperament – but the real joy of SubH (again imo) is Just Intonation.

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The subharmonicon is a tasty synth. I have had mine for about a year now and have grown to love it. It sounds as good as analog synth can get, and it’s format leads to a different way of thinking.

I have gone beyond the 4 step sequence, though by no means have I abandoned it. As is it can manifest patterns of wonderment so time spent au naturel is time well spent. But I have mine paired up with a variegate 4+ so that’s an 8 stepper with versatile gate settings. Portamento and probability, etc. I also use distortion and delay pedals mix in some spring reverb on the board.

It’s a live box, resonance, filter, etc can move the sequence into and out of fat or sharp patterns and airy or dirty drag feedbacks- all with either melodic or textural outcomes.

It’s fun to sample too with the digitakt. It can put some nice sounds under some keys and benefits from the elektron process.

If you value the sound of your music, and can bend like a reed to changing winds the subharmonicon is unlike anything else, and can generate sounds you’d never of thought of. That is itself may not be unique but the total package is, no question.

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I love my Subharmonicon! It’s the only Moog I’ve kept, every time I use it gives me something lush. Always integrated well for me and it does MIDI well.

I actually think it’s really diverse in the sounds it can create - from almost guitar like strings to bongy bells. Rich chords, fat basses and nutty leads.

It’s not a workhorse synth - but I think you can get a lot out of it - it’s a synth that connects with a certain way of making music. I think having a soft-spot for polymeters helps.

I spent about a year recording with mine and it’s featured on most of my released stuff I think - I’ve not used it much recently but I’ll return to it. It’s now much easier to handle transposition over MIDI so I think I could get more out of it than I did when I last used it.

Some of my favourite jams with it:

This was an issue with older firmware btw :+1:

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