ring modulators!

[_One//Man//Mutiny_]

Currently rocking a DOD Gonkulator and am happy with it, the Way Huge Ringworm is incredible, wish I never got rid of mine, they are pretty pricey now but they are killer ring mods.
Malekko Heavy Industries Scrutator is also a really great ring mod as well! It’s technically a bit crusher/sample rate reducer but it’s got ring modulating sounds in it!

 

[TOOL460002]

I had a Micro Bug Crusher. Neat but not enough knobs for me. I also had two ZVex Ringtones (TT and original). Those were vastly more fun, and being able to step or sequence through different carrier frequencies adds a lot (almost like presets). That said, I use a ZOIA for ring modulation, but if you're getting that for just the ring mod I would question your sanity.

 

[Hotblack]

why?

I find it a more "musical" pedal that the Frequency Analyzer. With the FA, I had no idea what kind of sound I was going to get out of it. The VM is a bit more malleable. The Gonkulator is nice for getting some overtones and sounds a little glitchy. The FA is almost too glitchy (in my experience). The VM can be total madness or just slightly weird. The MF-102 is the Gold Standard, but I think the VM has some of its spirit in a smaller footprint at a much lower price tag.

 

[Jared Lash]

The Bugcrusher isn't a ring mod or ring mod variant.

IIRC it's a sample & hold filter but with the LFO running at audio rates. Very cool (and great for synth sounds) but not a ring mod.

 

[TOOL460002]

IIRC it's a sample & hold filter but with the LFO running at audio rates. Very cool (and great for synth sounds) but not a ring mod.

EDIT: Nm. Got it. Oddly tricky to Google my way there. It is counterintuitive to say an LFO runs at audio rates because of the "low" in LFO.

Can you explain what that means? Your post got me into constructing a sample/hold filter via ZOIA, but that specific wording has me confused.

 

[sdjfoh]

Sold my randy’s revenge but then after trying out other ring mods, I bought it again.

the moogerfooger ring mod is great but it’s so huge… Randy’s revenge is the best tone in a small package and I can use it as a trem quickly with the low freq switch

 

[mercbass]

I've only ever used a clone of a Dan Armstrong Green Ringer. It's excellent.

 

[Stubb]

Sold my randy’s revenge but then after trying out other ring mods, I bought it again.

the moogerfooger ring mod is great but it’s so huge… Randy’s revenge is the best tone in a small package and I can use it as a trem quickly with the low freq switch

Randy's Revenge is sweet. Had one for a while before I realized I played in a 60s-70s band. If I had infinite money this would be the ring mod I'd keep around for when I wanted a ring mod. The gamelan-like sounds you can get are incredible. And using it as a tremolo made me wish I was playing a Telecaster.

 

[Jared Lash]

EDIT: Nm. Got it. Oddly tricky to Google my way there. It is counterintuitive to say an LFO runs at audio rates because of the "low" in LFO.

Can you explain what that means? Your post got me into constructing a sample/hold filter via ZOIA, but that specific wording has me confused.

You're definitely on the right track. Most LFOs run less than 20 Hz, which is below human hearing. The Bugcrusher is a S&H filter running at 30+Hz

 

[cnltb]

Randy's Revenge is sweet. Had one for a while before I realized I played in a 60s-70s band. If I had infinite money this would be the ring mod I'd keep around for when I wanted a ring mod. The gamelan-like sounds you can get are incredible. And using it as a tremolo made me wish I was playing a Telecaster.

The trem from Randys revenge is really, really nice on bass too!
That into Shallow waters' Chorus for chording is a very useful thing!

 

[jkmtl]

I just ordered Randy's Revenge! The other suggestions were all interesting, especially the Vetruvian and the Ringworm, but the RR just sounded more up my alley. The MF-102 is on my wish list, though, along with most of the rest of the Moogerfooger line....

I'm not certain where this will go in the signal chain, but I'm looking forward to experimenting.

 

[LSMFT6]

Red Panda just announced that the Radius is shipping in January

 

[Bullitt5135]

You can't go wrong with the Illudium PU-36 Explosive Space Modulator.

 

[Bob_Ross]

I still kick myself for getting rid of ...wait, that's not the right term, that implies some conscious intent; I didn't get rid of, rather I lost track of ...my original circa 1975 Maestro Ring Modulator, the one designed by Tom Oberheim.

Yes it was enormous, and yes it required 120 volts AC...but who cares? It was a freakin' legit ring modulator with an external audio input so you could replace the built-in oscillator that provided the carrier signal (or wait, was that the modulator signal?) with any other signal...including, for example, your bandmate's instrument!!! Wonderful mayhem ensued.

:::wistful sigh:::

I've been kinda faking the ring modulator sound with an Iron Ether FMeron lately, but if I were gonna get another ring modulator nowadays I'd be torn between a Randy's Revenge and the old Moog piece. Or, if the gods smiled on me, another Maestro.

 

[n!k]

I got into ring modulators this year. I got a Jen HF Modulator clone, which is like a very primitive analog tremolo-so-fast kind of pitch modulation. I wrote a song in the key of B and different notes kind of warble/vibrate at different speeds the further you go from B and E. That clone is super cool but I am holding myself to a small pedalboard for this doom project. So I got a Pigtronix Ringmaster which I discovered can do the same trick as well as tons of others like follow-tracking and even octaving/harmonizing. I also got a Gonkulator to goof around with. They really can be super musical in the right context, but I have to admit I like the kind of tremolo/pitch trick a lot more than the classic robot chiming sounds

 

[davelowell2]

I've been kinda faking the ring modulator sound with an Iron Ether FMeron lately, but if I were gonna get another ring modulator nowadays I'd be torn between a Randy's Revenge and the old Moog piece. Or, if the gods smiled on me, another Maestro.

How do you set up the FMeron for that?

 

[Bob_Ross]

How do you set up the FMeron for that?

With the unit in Frequency Modulation mode, Clean volume fully ccw (off), just Synth volume turned up, and then just screwing around with the FM and Mod Freq parameters...it's almost hard to not get something that sounds like ring modulation, at least for certain pitches. The tricky part is finding the right combination of settings for it to sound ring modulation-esque for all pitches.

 

[thumbslapper]

Dr. Scientist just came out with a new RM: Phreak

Delicious Audio has a good article on it: New Pedal: Dr. Scientist Phreak Ring Mod | Delicious Audio where they say
"The most important feature of this pedal, in our opinion, is the Tuning Mode, which tunes the ring mod frequency to the input signal. This is a crucial feature (although not new to this pedal) that allows to have more musical results from an effect that can otherwise sound very dissonant "

 

[jkmtl]

Where do you put your ring mod in your signal chain?

 

[cyberfola]

near the end... before modulation and delay...