The 2hp Swarm is a powerful and compact "hyper-oscillator" that excels at creating lush, dense textures—think classic supersaw stacks, swarmy pads, chaotic noise, or ultra-thick unison leads. Its CV-controllable voices and detune parameters, plus a waveform toggle (saw/pulse), make it a flexible foundation for any Eurorack patch. Here’s how you can take Swarm into creative sonic territory by pairing with other modules:
Modules Needed:
- Swarm
- Polyphonic MIDI-to-CV (e.g. Expert Sleepers FH-2, Mutable Instruments Yarns)
- Quad Envelope/AD (Intellijel Quadrax, Mutable Instruments Quadra)
- VCA (2hp VCA, Intellijel uVCA)
- Stereo Reverb & Chorus (Strymon Magneto, Happy Nerding FX Aid)
Patch:
- Sequence Swarm's Freq CV with your MIDI-to-CV for poly-style pitch control.
- Use Swarm’s Voices and Detune to max for ultimate thickness.
- Envelope your sound with quad ADs into VCAs for dynamics.
- Patch audio output into lush stereo effects for epic, wide trance leads or evolving pads.
Modules Needed:
- Swarm
- LFOs/modulation sources (Make Noise Maths, ALM Pamela’s PRO Workout, Mutable Instruments Tides/Marbles)
- Filters (Mutable Instruments Ripples, 2hp MMF)
- Random/chaos generator (Wogglebug, Ornament & Crime "Hemispheres" applets)
Patch:
- Modulate Voices and Detune with slow or random CVs for constantly evolving timbres.
- Switch between saw/pulse for harmonic changes.
- Shape the output with a state-variable filter, modulating cutoff/resonance for morphing tones.
- For extra depth, modulate filter parameters with another random source.
Modules Needed:
- Swarm
- Envelope Follower (Doepfer A-119, Mutable Instruments Ears)
- Distortion/Wavefolder (SSF Triptych, Befaco Wavefolder)
- Manual Switch/Trigger (Make Noise Pressure Points, 2hp Trim)
Patch:
- Use an envelope follower to drive Swarm's Detune for rhythm-reactive chaos.
- Use Swarm in Pulse mode for clicky, digital artifacts.
- Patch output through wavefolder/distortion for gnarly timbres.
- Use manual triggers to jump between different numbers of voices/detune levels during live performance.
Modules Needed:
- Swarm
- Analog VCA (Intellijel uVCA, Doepfer A-132)
- ADSR Envelope (2hp EG, Intellijel Dual ADSR)
- Saturation or Analog Drive (Erica Synths Fusion, Mutable Warps)
Patch:
- Swarm in pulse mode, low on Voices, just enough for weight.
- Envelope gate the bassline with a snappy ADSR and VCA.
- Post-VCA, add saturation for subharmonic richness.
- Modulate Detune slightly with a slow, synced LFO for an "analog drift" effect.
Modules Needed:
- Swarm
- Sequencer (Winter Modular Eloquencer, Make Noise Rene, or even something generative like Marbles)
- Quantizer (Intellijel uScale, Ornament & Crime)
- Physical modeling processor (Mutable Instruments Rings, Clouds)
Patch:
- Steer Swarm’s pitch and detune with generative sequences & quantized random voltages.
- Send Swarm's audio into Rings or Clouds for novel spectral processing.
- Modulate Waveform Toggle and Voices for timbral movement.
Modules Needed:
- Swarm
- Performance controller (Sensel Morph, Intellijel Tetrapad)
- Expressive Modulation (manual joystick, Planar2, or touch strip)
Patch:
- Map touch position to Detune and Voices, allowing expressive swells, shimmer, and shifts live.
- Map vertical axis to Waveform Toggle via CV for morphing between saw/pulse.
Explore! Experimentation is key. Swarm’s superpower is the stacking and micro-motion of voices—so hyper-modulate, saturate and spatialize its output for wild results.