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Iron Ether Appreciation Society

#881
shaggy45 said:
@Taylor Livingston Do you send off your boards to be populated since your stuff is mostly surface mounted? or do you easy bake oven them yourself?
Click to expand...

Currently I squeegee solder paste through a steel stencil, populate the components and bake the boards myself. That might change at some point, but in general I like working with my hands more than being a business administrator.

Re: the cardboard padding, I want to eliminate disposable plastic from the packaging as much as possible. There's still some bubble wrap on the inside which I haven't found a suitable replacement for yet that won't scratch up the pedal, but I'm working on it. I doubt many customers care about this, but it's something I care about personally.
 
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#883
:D For the pedals, I use 1206 parts, which are not much smaller than the 1/8w through-hole resistors I used when all the pedals were through-hole. I think they're even easier to work with and repair than through-hole passives, but some might disagree.

Now, for a Eurorack module I've been working on, which is a quad wavetable oscillator, I designed it with 0603 resistors, so they're 1/4 the size of 1206 parts, and that one was testing my eyesight and ability to keep a steady hand, I gotta admit. For the prototype I didn't have a solder stencil so I had to hand-solder hundreds of tiny parts on one board.
 
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#884
Taylor Livingston said:
For the prototype I didn't have a solder stencil so I had to hand-solder hundreds of tiny parts on one board
Click to expand...
Definition of self-torture.

XD arrived today, can’t wait to explore :hyper:

[EDIT] The XD is awesome. Very responsive and manageable. Big thanks to @Taylor Livingston for the descriptions in the instruction manual and designing an envelope pedal where I can finally get my head around what the controls do. Placed in front of the Beta DLX gives a fat wet sound I’ve been trying to capture for a long time.
 
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#887
Ok...Confession time. I was just playing around with my Fmeron, and realized that I'm largely a knob turner..meaning I play around with a pedal to find a sound I like or that suits some purpose and record those settings. I really lack some of the basic understandings of how some of these pedals work.

In the case of the Fmeron, I've found some good sounds through trial and error but can someone direct me to a resource that explains in layman's terms what exactly is happening with this pedal? something with pictures and diagrams would be great.
 
#888
glocke1 said:
In the case of the Fmeron, I've found some good sounds through trial and error but can someone direct me to a resource that explains in layman's terms what exactly is happening with this pedal? something with pictures and diagrams would be great.
Click to expand...
I’m guessing you’ve seen @Proton Lenny ’s video:



I watched it yesterday and it got me interested in the pedal. Maybe follow some of his settings as a starting ground. The main takeaway for me was to “hit the numbers” on the Mod Freq knob
 
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#889
Charlie Tuna said:
I’m guessing you’ve seen @Proton Lenny ’s video:



I watched it yesterday and it got me interested in the pedal. Maybe follow some of his settings as a starting ground. The main takeaway for me was to “hit the numbers” on the Mod Freq knob
Click to expand...



Yeah I saw that awhile back..Have to watch it again..I really need to get my head wrapped around the technical aspects of this stuff more. Like, I know what an envelope filter is, but if asked, I wouldn't be able to describe what an envelope is in terms of how it functions in a waveform
 
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#890
I can only imagine how complex the FMeron is. The Xenograph baffled me. I’ve been making fun of myself ever since, all in good humor if course but the effort was worth every minute. Interactive + wide ranges =exponential possibilities (and some of mine weren’t so hot).
The SubT I got in CL that was my introduction to Iron Ether, is pretty straightforward gratefully.
I started getting some nice results with the DOOM 2 Fuzz last night. The crossover arrangement on it is kinda unusual but I’m starting to learn how to use it almost like a filter before the XD.
 
#891
FMeron is not that bad but I program synths and sequencers a lot.

If you want to make good synth sounds it really helps to learn basic synthesis. I can't stress that enough.

So we all know what clean and synth volume is, so I wont get into those knobs. FM is frequency modulation. If you have a lot of that going it will really warp the pitch of your sound. So if you want a more pure note, keep it around 9 o clock or less. If you want a pitchy and zany effect, turn it up. It can be quite fun to mess with , but if you want to find some easily usable sounds, I'd keep it low.

The envelope depth controls the amount that the Envelope influences your sound. This is a knob I'd suggest simply playing with. The main thing to understand is that the actual envelope itself is the attack or decay knob next to the Env depth.

Simply put the attack decay either gives your sound a slow attack slow decay (like a swell) or a fast attack, fast decay (punchy, Juno/DX7 sounding bass envelope - think quick punch, no sustain).

The Mod adds harmonics. Lowest at 1 highest at 4. In between the numbers is in between tune, so you can get a warble there. To play it safe put the knobs right on each number and pick what you like. I like 3 or 4 usually.

Easy way to dial up a usable sound - To start, set the Octave switch in the middle (Great setting, gives you tons of bottom end), turn the FM knob all the way down, flip the switch to FM. Put the mod at 3 or 4 (good starting point, Id strongly suggest trying all of them of course).

Then decide what sound you want - slow swells or fast attack? I think fast attack is much more usable most of the time, so I'd suggest the knob past 12. That said, the slow swell sound is amazing to have on tap, but lets stay focused on the easy stuff.

Slowly bring the env depth knob up to taste. Start at it off and bring it up to somewhere between 9-12 o clock.

Your clean is obviously your preference, but something between 9-12 is good. Synth Vol I have closer to max.

Finally, add a little FM. Even just 9 oclock will give you some mojo.

If you do all these things you should have a very usable bass tone that has a fast decay and sounds a bit like a Juno bass synth tone fused with your bass guitar. Its a really great sound. As a bonus, if you switch the FM to Amp, you will have a huge Sinewave style bass sound that fills up a ton of bottom end. It's like using an Octave pedal, but its a different sound and it tracks incredibly well.

That's two very usable sounds that you have with the flick of one switch. Hopefully this helps. Again, this only what I like and my taste, and is a very fast way to dial in a sound and understand how the FMeron works. I am interested in hearing what others come up with.
 
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#894
glocke1 said:
Ok...Confession time. I was just playing around with my Fmeron, and realized that I'm largely a knob turner..meaning I play around with a pedal to find a sound I like or that suits some purpose and record those settings. I really lack some of the basic understandings of how some of these pedals work.

In the case of the Fmeron, I've found some good sounds through trial and error but can someone direct me to a resource that explains in layman's terms what exactly is happening with this pedal? something with pictures and diagrams would be great.
Click to expand...

@AngelCrusher 's explanation is great. If you haven't taken a look at the manual, I know they're not always fun to read but the first page is a quick start guide where I tried to really simplify explanations as much as possible. Then there's a diagram showing what's going on inside the pedal. The last two pages also have a series of example settings.

High settings of the FM knob can sometimes be a little too crazy when using the FMeron on its own, but IMO these settings are great fodder for sending into a filter - kind of like how people use fuzz pedals before filters, but with a different funky flavor.

Janek Gwizdala recently made a new FMeron video on his Youtube channel that shows some cool settings and how to use them in a musical context.
 
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#895
Thanks Taylor and AngelCrusher...

The FMeron manual is helpful, I've had it out the past few days ..AngelCrushers explanation is helpful also.

I understand better how changing the settings change the sound, but the problem is Im just not really clear on all the terminology and what it exactly means..Like I said, Im largely a knob turner...Some of whats discussed I don't have a firm understanding of, such as what exactly an envelope is in when used in a synth or even musical context, etc...I also need to wrap my head around what exactly is happening to the wave forms when the different settings are tweaked. I probably need to take some kind of synth tutorial to get a better handle on all that.
 
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#896
An envelope is a control signal that changes over time. In the FMeron, it's basically like a robotic hand turning the FM knob (or volume knob when the toggle is set to Amp).

Forgetting the envelope for a second, if you start with the FM knob all the way down, the sound is a sine wave - no harmonics, very mellow bassy sound. As you turn the FM knob up, more and more "wiggles" get added to the sine wave which equates to more harmonics and a more complex, buzzy sound. Turning the knob while playing a note creates a cool, changing sound, but you can't turn the knob and play at the same time. The envelope's job is to "automate" turning this knob every time you play a note.

So, the envelope can be set to either turn up the FM knob over time (Attack/Decay knob to the left of center), or turn it down over time (A/D set to the right of center).

Near the center of the A/D knob, the Invisible Robo-Hand turns the FM up or down really quick. Farther from center, it turns it more slowly.

The envelope is triggered when you pluck the string. The Env Depth knob controls how much the Robo-Hand turns the FM knob - lower settings just barely move it, higher settings make big sweeps.
 
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#898
sloppysubs said:
@Taylor Livingston Any hope that you'll ever make any more Subterannea? I've got the Nimbus and the FMeron and love it, but that Sub is the what I am looking for and can't find to save my life. haha. Thank you for all that you do.
Click to expand...

We're all refreshing the IE shop daily waiting for the Dubterranea, the SubT's successor, to drop.
 
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#899
Taylor Livingston said:
An envelope is a control signal that changes over time. In the FMeron, it's basically like a robotic hand turning the FM knob (or volume knob when the toggle is set to Amp).

Forgetting the envelope for a second, if you start with the FM knob all the way down, the sound is a sine wave - no harmonics, very mellow bassy sound. As you turn the FM knob up, more and more "wiggles" get added to the sine wave which equates to more harmonics and a more complex, buzzy sound. Turning the knob while playing a note creates a cool, changing sound, but you can't turn the knob and play at the same time. The envelope's job is to "automate" turning this knob every time you play a note.

So, the envelope can be set to either turn up the FM knob over time (Attack/Decay knob to the left of center), or turn it down over time (A/D set to the right of center).

Near the center of the A/D knob, the Invisible Robo-Hand turns the FM up or down really quick. Farther from center, it turns it more slowly.

The envelope is triggered when you pluck the string. The Env Depth knob controls how much the Robo-Hand turns the FM knob - lower settings just barely move it, higher settings make big sweeps.
Click to expand...
Your handy dandy little manuals inside are really helpful (as was your and @AngelCrusher's crash course posts above.) Pictures with words are also very helpful, like eating at an ethnic restaurant for the first time :drool: Like @glocke1 I have a rudimentary knowledge of electronics and being able to describe the what makes the sounds stuff.

What I do know is that IE is the bomb. Top shelf stuff. Not sure what I need next, but I feel like I probably need something else that's been Taylor made :rolleyes: < See what I did there?
 

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