More Foogers - I love them!!

Plug in here for info tips and strategies for your Moogerfooger Analog Effects. Connect more than one for plenty of fun!
Lux_Seeker
Posts: 473
Joined: Thu Mar 26, 2009 8:44 pm

Post by Lux_Seeker » Wed Apr 29, 2009 4:46 pm

Vitja wrote:What is Vactrol?
Indeed what is a vactrol!

Simple two things:

1. A diode
2. A photocell

Both pointed at one another.

I just got three of them from Allied Electronics today.

Here is what they look like and they are cheap:

http://www.alliedelec.com/Search/Produc ... ESC=VTL5C3

Another name for them is a optoisolator because they can be used to isolate two circults.

They work like a relay. Switch on a simple circult to supply power to the diode and the LED lights up. Before this, the photocell is in darkness and therefore, it's resitance is high. Once the power is applied, the LED causes the resistance fo the photocell to drop to a very low resistance, almost an open circut.

So why is this musical? Here is the magic! Vactrols sing! They sing there little electronic hearts out.

You don't believe me listen:

You use them with what is called a low pass gate:

Plan B has them along with other modular companies:

http://www.ear-group.net/model_13.html

Secret - these little beasts create a envelope that when combined with filter produce pseudo natural sounds like plucked strings. I think this is one of the things that attracted Morton Subotnick to Buchla systems. I am not sure why Moog never used them. But you can buy them and you can plug them into a fooger (if you are handy with a soldering iron), 1/4 " plug, cable and a bit of folder will do it.

Combine it with a MIDI to gate (relay), and a low pass fooger and you have a vactrolfooger singing like the best of them.

Vitja
Posts: 175
Joined: Thu Apr 23, 2009 12:14 pm
Location: Slovenia

Post by Vitja » Wed Apr 29, 2009 7:27 pm

Sounds cool to me Is this something like vintage tremolos used?
Am...or univibe?
So where do you plug them? Cutoff in? Or you open your fooger and do some
science there? Can you make some explanation,Im really interested! :shock:

Lux_Seeker
Posts: 473
Joined: Thu Mar 26, 2009 8:44 pm

Post by Lux_Seeker » Wed Apr 29, 2009 8:49 pm

Vitja wrote:Sounds cool to me Is this something like vintage tremolos used?
Am...or univibe?
So where do you plug them? Cutoff in? Or you open your fooger and do some
science there? Can you make some explanation,Im really interested! :shock:
There is much that can be done with simple photocells that would do some of the things that you are asking about. Vactrols are enclosed and have 4 leads, two for the diode and two for the photocell. There effectiveness is based on their response.

You could also use a vactrol for a simple tremolo with the control processor or an LFO from a modular. Simple hook up the LED end to the LFO. You can get cable and 1/4" plugs at Radio Shack or other electronic Herestores on line. Then connect the vactrol LED leads of the vactrol to this. This will cause the LED to pulsate like it does not the Freqbox. You can see this with a vactrol but if you want a visual you can simply buy LEDs (you can get these at Radio Shack too). Then, I believe you may be able to use the mixer of the control processor or some sort of VCA module along with the photo cell either as resistor or combined with voltage sounce, a CV source.

As for the legendary univibe, these did not use vactrol in the sense of single vactrols with four leads but LEDs and photocells.

Here is a good web site:

http://www.lynx.net/~jc/pedalsUnivibe.html

Photocells are very underated musically. For example, you want a cheap therimin (frequency wise). Send an LPF fooger into self oscillation and then plug a photocell (DIY device with plug and photocell) into the frequency. I have done with and with a good flashlight pointing at the cell and you hand in between, you have a cheap therimin.

What should you control? That what I love about foogers. Its up to you. If you use cutoff on an LPF you get a Morley wah (for those technically astute here, yes I know, wahs are bandpass) but something like it. All Morley pedals do is use a photocell to control the frequency of a band pass. The pedal simply translates the movement of the pedal into verticle motion (with gears) to move a cover for the photocell up and down.

If that interests you, consider this. Photo cells come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Infared, UV, ect. I will let you mind run with that one.

Consider polarized sheets. Create two wheels moving in oppositive directions. A photocell behind them and isolated from light except for the light coming through the filters. You get something that simulates the acceleration and deceleration of Leslie speakers.

By the way, you don't ever need to open and circut bend you foogers to do this. Just some audio cable, solder, 1/4 plugs and creativity. Sort of what Robert Moog used when he created his wonderful instruments.

Vitja B
Posts: 42
Joined: Thu Apr 30, 2009 5:41 am
Location: slovenia

Post by Vitja B » Thu Apr 30, 2009 11:33 am

Thanx for all this info!
I will study this,just to get some time.
It is great to just plug something in something and magic can happen!

Do you use any contact microphones for experimentation?

One thing I was doing allot was that I had an old dictaphone and I made
tape cassetes with 5 sec tape loop inside,so you could record something and than play it back into guitar pickup and it was much more interesting than if you would plug it into mixer. So I was able to record my drummers loop and send it into my guitar pickup and all the foogers and effects to loop station.

User avatar
soundxplorer
Posts: 237
Joined: Fri May 02, 2008 8:07 pm

Post by soundxplorer » Thu Apr 30, 2009 11:45 am

If you don't want to build your own "photo CV" controller, someone else has done it for you:
http://www.analoguehaven.com/devieverusa/peep

Lux: I appreciate your desire to experiment, and I think you'd really be into the BugBrand stuff.
Take a look: http://www.analoguehaven.com/bugbrand/boardweevil/
Gear: Moog LP, Gibson LP, lots of FX

Lux_Seeker
Posts: 473
Joined: Thu Mar 26, 2009 8:44 pm

Post by Lux_Seeker » Thu Apr 30, 2009 4:53 pm

soundxplorer wrote:If you don't want to build your own "photo CV" controller, someone else has done it for you:
http://www.analoguehaven.com/devieverusa/peep

Lux: I appreciate your desire to experiment, and I think you'd really be into the BugBrand stuff.
Take a look: http://www.analoguehaven.com/bugbrand/boardweevil/
Thanks for the post on the BugBrand stuff. This looks pretty interesting and not that expensive. I am aware of the photo cv controller but I can also build these for cheaper. They are easy to build.

Here is an idea.

Look at this stuff from "Highly Liquid":

http://highlyliquid.com/kits/md24/

They have MIDI to servo stuff. Now what if a servo was used to control the angle of a lens that was focused on a photocell or better yet, spins it at different rates. Hook it up to a delay and you get a MIDI controlled variable flanger.

Just brainstorming but there are so many ways this stuff can be used with foogers and other modular gear.

User avatar
soundxplorer
Posts: 237
Joined: Fri May 02, 2008 8:07 pm

Post by soundxplorer » Thu Apr 30, 2009 5:06 pm

Lux_Seeker wrote:what if a servo was used to control the angle of a lens that was focused on a photocell or better yet, spins it at different rates.
Sounds like a lot of trouble to go through just to get what is, essentially, an LFO signal. Just use the one on your Ring Mod. :D
Gear: Moog LP, Gibson LP, lots of FX

Lux_Seeker
Posts: 473
Joined: Thu Mar 26, 2009 8:44 pm

Post by Lux_Seeker » Thu Apr 30, 2009 5:20 pm

soundxplorer wrote:
Lux_Seeker wrote:what if a servo was used to control the angle of a lens that was focused on a photocell or better yet, spins it at different rates.
Sounds like a lot of trouble to go through just to get what is, essentially, an LFO signal. Just use the one on your Ring Mod. :D
It depends. Sometimes the response of physical systems is different and adds a certain character to sound. Certainly Morley pedals and the Univibe might have been considered going through a lot of trouble my using a photocell. And vactrols are not even meant to be used for music but are the basis of much of the Buchla sound.

Much of exploration into sounds is finding those interesting sweetspots in using different ways to create sounds and those wonderful accidents that lead to new and interesting sounds.

Vitja B
Posts: 42
Joined: Thu Apr 30, 2009 5:41 am
Location: slovenia

Post by Vitja B » Fri May 01, 2009 10:18 am

I agree with you.
A few times I experienced a sound surprise when I engaged a RM for example.
I didnt expect that result and I didnt know what was going on,but it motivate me and I made something great with music what I never did before and I dont believe Im gonna do it again.I love this kind of unexpected results, they can be very creative!
MF-101,MF-102,MF-104Z,MP-201,PRS Custom24/10 top,Acoustic G100T,many more.

ColorForm2113
Posts: 1279
Joined: Fri Feb 02, 2007 2:17 am
Location: Illinois(e)

Post by ColorForm2113 » Fri May 01, 2009 2:40 pm

The vactoral sounds very similar to my peep controller and a strobe light
My modular so far: Q104, Q106 x2, Q107, Q108, Q109 x2 , Q116, Q118, Q127 w/Q140, Q130, STG Wave Folder, Mixer and Mankato playing with Moog Voyager, VX-351, CP-251, MF-104M x2 ( STEREO!) Volca Beats and Bass, Arturia Beat step

Lux_Seeker
Posts: 473
Joined: Thu Mar 26, 2009 8:44 pm

Post by Lux_Seeker » Fri May 01, 2009 4:34 pm

ColorForm2113 wrote:The vactoral sounds very similar to my peep controller and a strobe light
Not sure what a peep controller is but if its a photocell then to some extent yes but the response would not be the same. Realize first that strobes produce short bursts of very bright light. Vactrols use small LEDs at very close range and in a plastic encapsulated electronic component which insures consistancy. This is why they are used in modular synth modules.

Lux_Seeker
Posts: 473
Joined: Thu Mar 26, 2009 8:44 pm

Post by Lux_Seeker » Fri May 01, 2009 4:42 pm

OK, found the Devi Ever Peep Controller (plug or pedal) here:

http://deviever.com/fx/peep/index.html

Yes, these are basically photocells. I can make something like that for a lot less than what they want for those of course you are paying for labor.

The different between that and a vactrol is again, vactrols combine the led and the photocell and ecapsulate it so that no light from outside will effect it.

Bryan B
Posts: 354
Joined: Mon Aug 06, 2007 2:13 pm
Location: Minneapolis, MN

Post by Bryan B » Fri May 01, 2009 9:28 pm

Lux_Seeker wrote:
Here is an idea.

Look at this stuff from "Highly Liquid":

http://highlyliquid.com/kits/md24/
Highly Liquid is highly recommended from me!

I have built 3 of his boards (for various projects) and have 2 waiting to be built and another one that I bought used and assembled. The kits work great and are easy to assemble.
MemoryMoog Plus (with Kenton Midi Upgrade Kit) MF-101 Lowpass Filter, MF-102 Ring Mod, MF-103 Stage Phaser, MF104M Delay, MF-105M MIDI MuRF, MF-107 Freq Box, MF-108M ClusterFlux and CP-251 Control Processor.

Bryan B
Posts: 354
Joined: Mon Aug 06, 2007 2:13 pm
Location: Minneapolis, MN

Post by Bryan B » Fri May 01, 2009 9:42 pm

Here is some pics of my projects made with Highly Liquid Boards:

Midi Controlled Outlet Strip:
Image

Image

Midi to 48 Gate Out Box for my Modded TR-606 with Gate and Trigger Inputs:
Image

Image

Image
MemoryMoog Plus (with Kenton Midi Upgrade Kit) MF-101 Lowpass Filter, MF-102 Ring Mod, MF-103 Stage Phaser, MF104M Delay, MF-105M MIDI MuRF, MF-107 Freq Box, MF-108M ClusterFlux and CP-251 Control Processor.

Lux_Seeker
Posts: 473
Joined: Thu Mar 26, 2009 8:44 pm

Post by Lux_Seeker » Sat May 02, 2009 7:24 am

Yes, these boards look very useful. I have thought about the MIDI to 48 gate one myself.

Post Reply