Rob Hordijk Dual Envelope Generator: Difference between revisions

Jump to navigation Jump to search
Content added Content deleted
No edit summary
(Added info about the gate / trig toggle switch on new versions.)
 
(5 intermediate revisions by 2 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
[[File:Hordijk de.png|thumb|right|200px]]The 2U wide '''Rob Hordijk Dual Envelope Generator''' module (DUAL ENV) is a fully voltage controlled envelope generator specifically designed to be used with sequenced music. There are two different types of envelopes available, one is a four stage (attack, decay1, break level, decay2, release) envelope and the second is a one stage envelope (decay only). Both envelope generators share the same gate input, meaning that they can not be triggered separately. Triggering treshold is at roughly 100mV above ground and also accepts e.g. triangle waves.<ref name="rh">Rob Hordijk</ref>
[[File:Hordijk de.png|thumb|200px|Panel design for an early Rob Hordijk DUAL ENV]]The '''DUAL ENV''' is a module by [[Rob Hordijk Design|Rob Hordijk]]. It features two paired envelopes with different shapes, ENV A is a four-stage (attack, decay 1, break level, decay 2, release) and ENV B a two-stage (attack, decay). It also features a Sample and Hold function. There have been a few versions with different envelope stages, toggle switches, and modulation possibilities.


Both envelope generators share the same gate input, meaning that they can not be triggered separately, though in later versions ENV B featured a toggle switch to allow self-cycling. This also features two LEDs to indicate the gate status of each envelope.
[[File:Hordijk de fc.png|thumb|right|200px|The Dual Envelope flowchart]]The ADBDR envelope is primarily intended to be used for volume envelopes. When the decay2 knob on the first envelope generator is fully open the decay2 acts like the sustain that you find on most of the traditional envelope generators. In this case the break control will act like the sustain level. There are CV inputs for the attack, decay1, decay2 and release rates. The CV for the attack is inversed, so increasing the CV level will shorten the attack time while increasing the decay times for the decay1, decay2 and release. This means that when e.g. the key velocity voltage is used a higher velocity will shorten the attack and increase the other decay times. Rate settings can be from really snappy to pretty slow. Care was taken that you still have good control over the rates when in the snappy range.<ref name="rh" />


Triggering threshold is roughly 100mV above ground, and can be triggered by wave forms other than pulses, e.g. triangle waves.<ref name="rh">Rob Hordijk</ref>
The second envelope generator is intended as a modulation envelope generator to e.g. sweep a filter or control the harmonic waveshaping of an OSC HRM module. It has an extra output that is controlled by a bipolar mix knob that can invert the envelope shape and also gives some extra overall ‘sink’ or ‘lift’ when the output level is increased. Rate can be set from a glitch to about a minute.<ref name="rh" />


=== ENV A ===
When modulating decay times with control voltages it is good advise to keep the voltage fixed while the envelope is developing. E.g. trying to modulate the decay time with an audio rate signal does in general not produce sensible results. A S&H is integrated into the module to sample the decaytime modulation input signal for the second envelope generator on every new gate trigger. This way the modulation amount will stay fixed until the module is triggered again by a new gate pulse. The sampled signal is also brought out on a connector, so it can be routed to a CV input on the first ADBDR envelope generator. Or be used in any other S&H application.<ref name="rh" />
[[File:Hordijk de fc.png|thumb|200px|A flow chart explaining the functionality of the DUAL ENV]]The ADBDR envelope is primarily intended to be used for volume envelopes. When the decay2 knob on the first envelope generator is fully open the decay2 acts like the sustain that you find on most of the traditional envelope generators. In this case the break control will act like the sustain level. There are CV inputs for the attack, decay1, decay2 and release rates.<ref name="rh" />

The CV input for attack is inverted, so increasing the CV level will shorten the attack time while increasing the decay times for decay 1, decay 2, and release. This means that when MIDI velocity is used as a CV a higher velocity will shorten the attack and increase the other decay times.<ref name="rh" />

Rate settings can be from really snappy to pretty slow. Care was taken that you still have good control over the rates when in the snappy range.<ref name="rh" />

The ADBDR envelope is designed to finish its attack phase before it can be re-triggered. When used for sequencing this allows for complex envelope shapes producing interesting rhythmic effects, but when used for fast keyboard play it might feel a bit strange to play the module with long attack times.<ref name="rh" />

Note that there are no attenuator knobs to set the amount of modulation for the ADBDR envelope CV inputs allowing for direct connection to velocity CV or CC#. However when modulated from other sources they might need extra CV processing to set the modulation levels properly.<ref name="rh" />

=== Gate or Trig Toggle ===
New versions of the module feature a toggle switch to select between GATE or TRIG modes. When using long pulses or 'gates' as inputs the envelope will pause at the break level while the gate is high, and continue when the gate is low. Toggle mode will simply run through all stages of the function without interruption. <!-- Need to clarify this with testing or Rob. -->

=== ENV B ===
The second envelope generator is intended as a modulation envelope generator to e.g. sweep a filter or control the harmonic wave shaping of an [[Rob Hordijk OSC HRM|OSC HRM]]. The range is from several milliseconds to about a minute.<ref name="rh" />

Earlier versions featured an extra output that is controlled by a bipolar mix knob that can invert the envelope shape and also gives some extra overall ‘sink’ or ‘lift’ when the output level is increased. Later versions traded this for a plain inverted output, and instead gave the envelope a second stage (attack), with a pot for control.

=== Sample & Hold ===
When modulating decay times with control voltages it is good advise to keep the voltage fixed while the envelope is developing. For example trying to modulate the decay time with an audio rate signal does in general not produce sensible results. A S&H is integrated into the module to sample the decay time modulation input signal (S&H IN) on every new gate trigger. This way the modulation amount will stay fixed until the module is triggered again by a new gate pulse. The full sampled signal is sent straight to the S&H OUT, so it can be routed to an input of choice on ENV A or use elsewhere, but is attenuated using the ENV B MOD knob before being sent to the ENV B DECAY function.<ref name="rh" />
[[File:RobHordijk-OSCSYNC-DUALENV-TWINPEAK.jpg.jpg|thumb|A Rob Hordijk DUAL ENV filter (centre) in triple-module format with a TWIN PEAK (right) and OSC SYNC (left) - this version features a toggle switch for GATE or TRIG modes, and another for ENV B self-cycling mode.]]

=== Normalisations ===
Many of Rob's designs feature internal connections or 'normalisations' between inputs and outputs. These can be broken by inserting jacks into the inputs. When found together in triple-module formation the following normalised connections were made:

* TRIPLE LF-VCO - B PULSE > DUAL ENV - GATE IN
* DUAL ENV - ENV A OUT > TWINPEAK - VCA CV


The ADBDR envelope is designed in a way that is hás to finish its attack phase to reach its peak level before it can be retriggered. When used for sequencing this allows for complex envelope shapes that give interesting rhythmic effects, but when used for keyboard play it might feel a bit strange to play the module with long attack times and fast play. Note that there are no attenuator knobs to set the amount of modulation for the ADBDR envelope CV inputs, these inputs are at full sensitivity. They can be connected directly to e.g. the velocity CV or CC# CV outputs of a MIDItoCV converter, but when modulated from other sources one might need an extra CV mixer module to set the modulation levels properly.<ref name="rh" />
{{From Muff Wiggler wiki|Rob Hordijk Designs}}
== References ==
== References ==
{{From Mod Wiggler Wiki|Rob Hordijk Designs}}
{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}



Latest revision as of 02:54, 20 June 2022

Panel design for an early Rob Hordijk DUAL ENV

The DUAL ENV is a module by Rob Hordijk. It features two paired envelopes with different shapes, ENV A is a four-stage (attack, decay 1, break level, decay 2, release) and ENV B a two-stage (attack, decay). It also features a Sample and Hold function. There have been a few versions with different envelope stages, toggle switches, and modulation possibilities.

Both envelope generators share the same gate input, meaning that they can not be triggered separately, though in later versions ENV B featured a toggle switch to allow self-cycling. This also features two LEDs to indicate the gate status of each envelope.

Triggering threshold is roughly 100mV above ground, and can be triggered by wave forms other than pulses, e.g. triangle waves.[1]

ENV A

A flow chart explaining the functionality of the DUAL ENV

The ADBDR envelope is primarily intended to be used for volume envelopes. When the decay2 knob on the first envelope generator is fully open the decay2 acts like the sustain that you find on most of the traditional envelope generators. In this case the break control will act like the sustain level. There are CV inputs for the attack, decay1, decay2 and release rates.[1]

The CV input for attack is inverted, so increasing the CV level will shorten the attack time while increasing the decay times for decay 1, decay 2, and release. This means that when MIDI velocity is used as a CV a higher velocity will shorten the attack and increase the other decay times.[1]

Rate settings can be from really snappy to pretty slow. Care was taken that you still have good control over the rates when in the snappy range.[1]

The ADBDR envelope is designed to finish its attack phase before it can be re-triggered. When used for sequencing this allows for complex envelope shapes producing interesting rhythmic effects, but when used for fast keyboard play it might feel a bit strange to play the module with long attack times.[1]

Note that there are no attenuator knobs to set the amount of modulation for the ADBDR envelope CV inputs allowing for direct connection to velocity CV or CC#. However when modulated from other sources they might need extra CV processing to set the modulation levels properly.[1]

Gate or Trig Toggle

New versions of the module feature a toggle switch to select between GATE or TRIG modes. When using long pulses or 'gates' as inputs the envelope will pause at the break level while the gate is high, and continue when the gate is low. Toggle mode will simply run through all stages of the function without interruption.

ENV B

The second envelope generator is intended as a modulation envelope generator to e.g. sweep a filter or control the harmonic wave shaping of an OSC HRM. The range is from several milliseconds to about a minute.[1]

Earlier versions featured an extra output that is controlled by a bipolar mix knob that can invert the envelope shape and also gives some extra overall ‘sink’ or ‘lift’ when the output level is increased. Later versions traded this for a plain inverted output, and instead gave the envelope a second stage (attack), with a pot for control.

Sample & Hold

When modulating decay times with control voltages it is good advise to keep the voltage fixed while the envelope is developing. For example trying to modulate the decay time with an audio rate signal does in general not produce sensible results. A S&H is integrated into the module to sample the decay time modulation input signal (S&H IN) on every new gate trigger. This way the modulation amount will stay fixed until the module is triggered again by a new gate pulse. The full sampled signal is sent straight to the S&H OUT, so it can be routed to an input of choice on ENV A or use elsewhere, but is attenuated using the ENV B MOD knob before being sent to the ENV B DECAY function.[1]

A Rob Hordijk DUAL ENV filter (centre) in triple-module format with a TWIN PEAK (right) and OSC SYNC (left) - this version features a toggle switch for GATE or TRIG modes, and another for ENV B self-cycling mode.

Normalisations

Many of Rob's designs feature internal connections or 'normalisations' between inputs and outputs. These can be broken by inserting jacks into the inputs. When found together in triple-module formation the following normalised connections were made:

  • TRIPLE LF-VCO - B PULSE > DUAL ENV - GATE IN
  • DUAL ENV - ENV A OUT > TWINPEAK - VCA CV

References

This page uses Creative Commons Licensed content from Mod Wiggler Wiki:Rob Hordijk Designs (View authors).

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Rob Hordijk

External links