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In our third installment of Pulse Tips, our new series of short, Eurorack related video tutorials, we examine using the Music Thing Mikrophonie as a (sometimes chaotic) tap tempo source for the Make Noise Tempi. We’ve explored a few ways to use the Tempi, from creating complex polyrhythms using rotate and random modes, to sequencing the different states or clock presets. Now we explore tapping in a leading clock tempo via the contact mic based Mikrophonie in the same manner as the Tempi manual describes using Pressure Points.
The Music Thing Mikrophonie is a versatile module based on a very simple premise. A simple piezo transducer contact sensor is adhered to the back of the panel, behind an abrasive surface pattern. When the textured panel is tapped, touched or rubbed, voltage is generated by the contact mic, in the form of a sudden burst or spike in voltage before returning to zero. A separate input on the Mikrophonie can be used with an external contact mic, as seen in this video from the making of Halo 5, or as a line input for a Guitar or Bass.
The behavior of the Mikrophonie can result in interesting (and potentially volatile) performance when connected to the Tempi clock input. The best performance as a tap tempo source will be achieved by keeping the Gain knob set to the lowest level possible, to avoid accidental spikes in voltage when the case or other panels are touched. On the other hand, for sporadic and unpredictable results, try turning the Gain knob up…
Music Thing made a big splash this week at Superbooth, the huge synth convention currently taking place in Berlin, Germany. Tom Whitwell, the creator of Music Thing and the Mikrophonie, introduced 3 new modules. The Magnetophone makes use of a magnetic cassette tape playback head, a new revision of his well known Turing Machine and a new prototype module designed around a Guitar pickup. Users will surely invent inspirational applications for these new modules, even though it may be difficult to imagine exactly how they will be put to use!
How are you using the Mikrophonie? Let us know in the comments!
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