Ohmforce — Bohm


Manual PDF

Creative patch ideas for the Ohm Force Bohm system

Bohm is much more than a kick module. Reading through the manual, it’s really a performance-oriented stereo kick workstation with three distinct roles:

That means you can use it as:

Below are practical and creative ways to combine it with other Eurorack modules.


1. Turn Bohm into a playable bass voice

The manual makes it clear that Bohm can track pitch at 1V/oct if you:

Patch idea

Use a pitch sequencer or keyboard controller to play Bohm melodically while still behaving like a kick/bass hybrid.

Great pairings

Why it’s interesting

Because Bohm’s models are not just simple sines. Many are wavetable/FM/sample-layered engines, so you can get: - 808 basslines - FM acid-ish low end - industrial tuned tom/bass hits - per-note kick changes in a groove

Extra trick

Send: - pitch CV to PITCH - gate to HIT - velocity/accent CV to VELOCITY

Now you have a dynamic bass instrument that still has kick articulation.


2. Use Groove as a modular techno rumble designer

Groove isn’t just a delay. It creates clock-triggered repetitions, reverb/noise/grit-sub layers, and a tap-based envelope. This is huge.

Patch idea

Clock Groove at 16ths or triplets, and trigger Bohm only on quarter notes. Use Groove to build: - rolling techno rumble - kick tops - pumping noise wash - sub-synced ghost hits

Great pairings

Creative move

Use Groove COLOR to morph between: - kick repetitions - reverb-based body - noise - grit + sub

Then automate it with a slow CV to create a kick that evolves from tight to cavernous over 16 or 32 bars.

Best companion modules

Examples: - SSF Stereo Dipole - WMD Overseer - Bastl Ikarie - Joranalogue Fold 6 - Noise Engineering Ruina series


3. Exploit the TAPS output as a modulation source

One of the most underrated features in the manual: Groove provides a TAPS CV output. System settings also let that output become:

This means Bohm can act like a rhythmic CV brain for the rest of your system.

Patch ideas

A. Animate a hi-hat VCA

Send TAPS OUT to a VCA controlling noise or hats. - Kick triggers the groove envelope - Groove taps create hat swells synced to kick structure

B. Sidechain external bass without a compressor

Set TAPS OUT to I BOHM or PERF and patch into: - a VCA CV input - a low-pass gate CV - the level CV of a mixer channel

Now your modular bassline or drone ducks rhythmically.

C. Modulate filter cutoff rhythmically

Send TAPS OUT to: - filter cutoff CV - wavefolder amount - delay feedback CV

This gives your entire patch a kick-related breathing pattern.

Great pairings


4. Use Performer as your modular sidechain and DJ bus

Performer is not just an insert effect. It is a ducking processor and performance effects bus for external stereo audio.

Core concept

Feed another part of your patch into Performer IN, and Bohm will duck it on each HIT.

This means you can sidechain: - pads - drones - stereo loops - a whole submixer - granular clouds - chord voices

Great pairings

Patch ideas

A. Full live techno bus

Patch your melodic bus into Performer IN, then let Bohm create all the pumping.

Use: - DUCK for depth - DUCK TIME variation for release length - DUCK SMTH to preserve some transient - DUCK BS to duck only lows for more transparent sidechaining

This is extremely useful if you want a “mastering-style” pump without dedicating a compressor.

B. DJ filter transitions

Set Performer FX to: - DJ FILTER - LP - HP - BEAT ROLL - SLIP ROLL

Now Bohm becomes your transition/performance module for the rest of your patch.

Excellent with: - stereo sampler - drum bus - granular texture source

C. Process only the kick or only the input

The CHN variation lets you choose: - ALL - KICK - INPUT

So you can: - filter only the external music while kicks stay clean - roll/stutter only the kick - process everything together for breakdowns

This makes it function like a compact live DJ section inside the rack.


5. Build a self-ducking drone patch

The manual specifically notes: - Performer can duck external input - Groove can sustain as a drone with GRV ENV = SUSTAIN - PERF VOL can be set to affect only Bohm or Bohm+Groove - Groove can become effectively continuous in some cases

Patch idea

Create a sustained drone from another voice and let Bohm periodically carve holes in it.

Setup

Great drone sources

Result

You get a huge, breathing cinematic low-end structure where the kick doesn’t merely sit on top — it physically sculpts the other sound.


6. Use Bohm snapshots like scene memory for live improvisation

Bohm has 32 programs with 16 steps each, plus: - snapshot save/load - LOAD W/ POTS - Song mode - Jam mode - per-knob behavior: LATCH, REL, OVR

This is ideal with sequencers or controllers that can fire step advances.

Patch idea

Use Bohm as a scene-recall rhythm engine while the rest of your system remains semi-improvised.

With other modules

Great pairings

Smart live setup

Set some knobs to OVR inside the program: - COLOR - FX - maybe PITCH

Now snapshots recall the overall kick architecture, but you retain hands-on control of the “money parameters.”


7. Combine Bohm with logic and probability modules for generative kick variation

Because Bohm responds to: - HIT - VELOCITY - FUNCTION CV randomization in Studio mode - lots of parameter CV inputs

…it can benefit hugely from modular logic.

Patch idea

Create an evolving kick system where: - kick triggers remain stable - accents vary - model variations randomize occasionally - Groove taps reshape on phrase boundaries

Great pairings

Example

This turns Bohm into a generative kick laboratory.


8. Patch Bohm through resonators for tuned kick architecture

Because Bohm is rich in transients and tuned low-frequency content, it works brilliantly as an exciter.

Patch idea

Send Bohm’s output to: - resonator - comb filter - physical modeling module - tuned delay

Great pairings

Results

Extra idea

Use the Bohm envelope from TAPS OUT to modulate the resonator damping/brightness.


9. Feed Bohm into a LPG or VCA for alternate transient shaping

Even though Bohm has internal envelopes, using an external dynamics stage gives another layer of articulation.

Patch idea

Route Bohm into: - VCA controlled by another envelope - LPG for woody damping - transient shaper/EQ

Great pairings

Why bother?

You can: - choke the tail - emphasize the punch - make kicks more percussive and woody - create “gated industrial” kicks

This is especially useful on the more sample-layered or FM-heavy models.


10. Use external CV recorders or motion sequencers to animate macro controls

Bohm’s controls are macro-based and model-dependent. That means a single CV modulation can produce lots of meaningful movement.

Best CV targets

Great pairings

Patch idea

Record one manual gesture with Planar 2 or Voltage Block to sweep: - Bohm COLOR - Groove COLOR - Performer FX

Now one movement transitions the whole drum ecosystem from dry punch to huge rave wash.


11. Build layered kick ecosystems with external analog kick modules

Bohm is already dual voice with Groove, but it becomes monstrous when layered with a third kick.

Great companion kick/percussion modules

Patch approaches

A. Bohm = sub/fundamental, external module = click

Use Bohm for weight and long body. Use another kick module for midrange click. Mix externally or send one through Performer input.

B. Bohm = main kick, external module = ghost kick

Send the other kick through Performer input so Bohm ducks it rhythmically.

C. Bohm Groove = rumble, external module = dry 909 attack

Very strong for modern techno.


12. Use Bohm as the central low-end voice in a stereo effects network

Bohm outputs true stereo audio. That’s unusual for a kick module and worth exploiting.

Great stereo effects

Patch ideas

A. Stereo widening + post-FX rumble

Use Bohm model STEREO variation to widen, then feed into stereo reverb/delay.

B. Split panning by source

Use the system PANNING settings: - Bohm left - Groove right - Performer center or opposite side

Then process the channels separately downstream.

This is powerful if you have: - dual mono filters - separate distortion paths - independent channel VCAs

Example

Hard-pan Bohm left and Groove right, then: - distort left harder - filter right darker - recombine in mixer

Now your kick system has internal width and movement rather than just a centered thump.


13. Leverage PM-K1 for acoustic-space hybrid percussion

The PM-K1 model is unusual: it’s a physical model of an acoustic bass drum, with controls for: - drum size/tension - beater volume - beater reverb decay / tone - room size - ambient mic volume - stereo spread

Patch idea

Use PM-K1 not as a club kick but as a cinematic percussion anchor.

Pair with

Great companion modules

Because PM-K1 ignores many standard controls, it behaves like a different instrument entirely — perfect for ambient, soundtrack, experimental techno intros, or acoustic-electronic hybrids.


14. XT-88 as a custom kick/sample laboratory

The XT-88 model lets you load: - up to 16 custom wavetables - up to 256 samples - user WAVE files - custom layering samples

Patch idea

Create your own signature percussion engine by loading: - vinyl clicks - foley hits - metal textures - modular recordings - field-recorded impacts - vocal consonants

Then use Bohm’s macro controls to transform them into playable kicks.

Great workflow

Pair Bohm with: - a desktop editor workflow - DAW resampling - field recorder - other Eurorack samplers for source generation

Smart sound design trick

Make your own layer folders: - “Clicks” - “Hard tops” - “Dust” - “Industrial” - “Wood” - “Broken speaker” - “Rave transient”

Then use snapshots to create genre-specific sets.


15. Create polyrhythmic low-end systems with independent HIT and CLOCK streams

Important manual detail: - Bohm main voice is triggered by HIT - Groove voice is triggered by CLOCK

They don’t have to be the same rhythm.

Patch idea

Use different rhythmic divisions for each.

Example setups

Great pairings

Examples: - Pam’s - Tempi - Rotating Clock Divider - Euclidean Circles - Shakmat Time Wizard - Doepfer trigger tools

Result

Groove becomes a rhythmic “afterimage” of the kick rather than a static tail.


16. Use Performer beat roll/slip roll as a modular breakdown machine

The Performer FX modes include: - BEAT ROLL - SLIP ROLL

These are performance-oriented and excellent in live modular where most systems lack DJ-style loop effects.

Patch idea

Feed a whole drum/percussion submix into Performer IN. Let Bohm provide the kick and ducking. Then punch in beat roll for transitions.

Great pairings

Modules: - Bitbox - Squid Salmple - Assimil8or - Erica Sample Drum - WMD/SSF percussion modules - Stereo mixer before Performer

This can replace a lot of external mixer DJ FX tricks inside the rack.


17. Pair Bohm with envelope-following or audio-reactive modules

Because Bohm is highly transient and structured, it is a fantastic source for: - envelope followers - transient extractors - comparators - audio-to-CV tools

Patch idea

Use Bohm audio to derive modulation for the rest of your patch.

Great pairings

Uses

This is especially nice if you don’t want to use TAPS OUT and want audio-reactive behavior instead.


18. Make Bohm the master “drop” controller with manual controllers

Because the module has performance-oriented controls and scene memory, it pairs really well with hands-on controllers.

Great pairings

Patch idea

Map different control sources to: - Bohm COLOR - Bohm FX - Groove VOL - Performer DUCK - Performer FX

Now one hand can: - increase kick aggression - raise rumble - deepen sidechain - sweep DJ filter - then recall a new kick snapshot

That’s an entire live techno performance workflow centered around Bohm.


19. Process Bohm through spectral or unusual processors

Because Bohm models cover FM, physical modeling, wavetable and layered samples, they respond differently to niche processors.

Interesting companions

Patch ideas

This creates recursive drum architecture.


20. Build a full “one-rack techno engine” around Bohm

If I were designing a compact system around Bohm, I’d pair it with:

Essential supporting module types

Example dream companions

With that, Bohm can sit at the center as: - kick - bass - sidechain processor - transition effect - scene memory brain


Best module pairings by goal

For hard techno

Examples: Crater, Ruina, Pam’s, Ikarie, Bitbox, Planar 2

For dub techno / deep techno

Examples: Mimeophon, Rings, Ensemble Oscillator, QPAS/Ikarie, Batumi

For live performance

Examples: Hermod, Tetrapad, Cosmix Pro, Squid Salmple

For experimental percussion

Examples: Arbhar, Data Bender, Compare 2, Morphagene


A few especially strong patch recipes

Recipe 1: Modern techno kick station

Result: full kick/rumble/pump ecosystem from one hub.

Recipe 2: Bassline + kick hybrid

Result: kick that plays notes and still slams.

Recipe 3: Breakdown machine

Result: modular DJ-style transitions without external mixer FX.

Recipe 4: Generative industrial percussion

Result: self-evolving industrial kick landscapes.


Final thoughts

Bohm is best treated not as “a kick module,” but as a low-end performance instrument. The most interesting combinations come from treating its parts separately:

If you want, I can also make you any of these next:

  1. a 10-patch “starter cookbook” for Bohm
  2. a best companion modules shopping list by budget
  3. a genre-specific guide for techno / electro / industrial / ambient
  4. a small-case performance system built around Bohm

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