After Later Audio — Ornament and Crime

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Download Ornament & Crime v1.3 User Manual (PDF)

Ornament & Crime for Hyper-Complex, Densely Rhythmic Percussion

Ornament & Crime (O_C) is exceptionally suited for creative rhythmic architectures: advanced polyrhythms, odd time signatures, Euclidean sequencing, and self-mutating patterns. While not a "voice" or "effect" module in the traditional sense, O_C becomes a powerful rhythmic engine/triggers brain or a “musical modulation” generator, ideal for sophisticated percussion sequencing. Here’s how to exploit it for densely rhythmic and hyper-complex percussion:

Strategy: Use O_C as a Rhythmic Brain for Percussion

Rather than producing sounds directly, O_C spits out precisely controlled and wildly evolving CV/gate streams. Route these outputs to drum voices, percussion modules, sample players, or any CV/gate sources to drive rich rhythmic interplay. Chain, cross-patch, or layer with other sequencers for utter rhythmic mayhem or structure.

Best O_C Apps for Advanced Rhythms

1. Piqued (Quad Voltage-Controlled Envelope/Trigger Generator w/ Euclidean/Polyrhythms)

Euclidean Trigger Filters: Turn each channel into a polyrhythmic/Euclidean trigger and envelope generator.
Pattern Length, Fill, and Rotation: Per-channel control of how often an envelope fires within a set length—perfect for complex polyrhythms (e.g. 5 in 8, 3 in 7, etc.).
Variable Envelope Shapes: Make your drum triggers not just gates but custom-shaped envelopes (very punchy, or slow ramps for “fuzzy” percussion).
Looping/Burst Mode: Use the envelope looping/ratcheting for fast rolls, bursts, retriggering hi-hats, or glitchy hats.
CV Control: Sequence or modulate envelope parameters for constant evolution/“mutation”.

Patch Ideas: - Euclidean Triggers: Channel A = Kicks (5 in 8), B = Snares (3 in 8), C = Claps (7 in 13), D = Perc Hits (2 in 9). - Envelope Loops: Self-retrigger envelopes for rapid burst percussion. - Randomize: Modulate Euclidean parameters or envelope durations with LFO/CV for shifting grooves. - Chained Envelopes: Use end-of-cycle (EOC) as triggers for other envelopes (drum fills that trigger new hits).

2. Dialectic Ping Pong (Bouncing Ball Envelopes for Chaotic Percussion)

Simulates physics of bouncing balls—inherently non-grid, evolving rhythmic trigger/gate sequences.
Control initial amplitude, gravity, “bounce loss”, retrigger count—ideal for swinging, accelerating, decelerating percussion patterns.
Great for flams, fills, fills, rolls, and “organic” ever-mutating percussive movement.

Patch Idea: Use several channels with different gravities and loss to trigger “drunken” percussion.

3. Sequins (Dual 4x16-Step Sequencer with Pattern Chaining, Direction, Probability, Randomness)

Chain patterns together for extremely long/complex sequences.
Any channel can be clocked by a different clock for ratio-based polyrhythms (e.g., one at 9 triggers, the other at 8).
Direction: random, pendulum, Brownian motion: introduces variation and anti-repetitive rhythms.
CV addressing: CV controls step position for non-linear drum triggering (e.g. live modulation of sequence steps).

4. Piqued + Sequins Hybrid

Use Sequins CV outputs to modulate envelope length, fill amount, or step count on Piqued, turning your percussion lines into evolving, self-mutating polyrhythmic monsters.

5. Meta-Q (Quantizer with Scale/Mask/Step Sequencing)

Use dual quantizers to mangle drum pitch, or—by feeding stepped modulation from an LFO or random source—send irregular clocking/gates to percussion modules.

6. Harrington 1200 / Automatonnetz (Chord & Transformation Triggering)

Euclidean trigger masks per transformation (PLR/NSH): Not limited to melody—use to gate percussive elements with logic or sequential “rhythmic chord changes”.
Programmable transformation order/priority gives shifting accents and “hiccuping” patterns.

7. Viznutcracker, sweet! (ByteBeat)

Bytebeats can be clocked by external or Euclidean triggers—use them as CV for drum parameter “glitch FX” or (with slew/quantize) as unpredictable stepped mod signals.
Audio-rate bytebeats patched into a VCA/Filter, triggered by rhythmic envelopes, become abrasive percussion blocks.

Making Percussion Unique, Punchy, and Percussive

Dynamic Envelope Shaping: In Piqued, modulate attack/release/shape per striking event for every hit to be slightly different—keeps percussion from sounding static.
Fast Envelope Modulation for "Punch": Short snappy attack, variable decay and amplitude (modulate with sequencers/LFO for “living” drums).
Self-modulation: Patch O_C outputs to your drum modules, and route their envelope (or amplitude) CV out back into O_C’s CV inputs for auto-evolving rhythms.
Cross-Channel Triggering/Chaining: Chain EOC to trigger other envelopes for layered percussion, micro-fills, or ghost notes.
Ratchets and Burst Envelopes: Use Piqued’s max loops + retrig envelopes for ratchets/trills—great for hats, snare rolls, or machine-gun fills.
Envelope Shapes: Use “wiggle” and “dipper” shapes for more organic percussive envelopes, or Gate shape for hard-edged triggers.

Patch Tips for Complex Polyrhythms

Multiple Clocks: Feed separate, non-multiplicative clocks to each O_C channel.
Euclidean Mode Everywhere: Dissimilar pattern lengths & fills per channel = layers of poly-metre, always shifting.
External Modulation: Modulate Euclidean fills/offsets with slow LFOs, stepped CVs, or even other O_C channels for algorithmic, never-repeating patterns.
Brownian/Rnd Directions: Let patterns “walk” or “jump” randomly for controlled chaos.
Envelope/Gate Logic: Sum, XOR, or logic-combine envelope outs for even denser triggers.
Chain O_C with Sequential Switch or Matrix: Route these rhythms dynamically to different voices, drums, or FX for "live remixing".

Exploiting Output Uniqueness

Drum Voice Pitch/Bend/Fx: Use O_C’s evolving envelopes/CVs to modulate pitch, filter, decay, overdrive, or wavetable position in drum and percussion voices.
Bytebeat Glitches: Use Viznutcracker’s audio outs for digital “clap” or “noise” components, filter heavily, and mix with regular drums for one-of-a-kind hits.

Practical Application Example

Patch: Polyrhythmic Euclidean Drum Machine 1. Set Piqued Channel A: Euclidean (5 fills, 7 steps, offset 0)—to trigger Kick. 2. Channel B: (13, 16, 3)—Snare. 3. Channel C: (7, 9, 2)—Clap/Conga. 4. Channel D: (3, 5, 0)—Hi-Hat, with looping AD envelope. 5. Modulate fill and offset with slow LFOs or random CV. 6. Use Sequins to modulate Piqued’s envelope length/randomness per hit. 7. Crosspatch EOC from one envelope as retrigger to another for microfills. 8. Send Bytebeat or Lorenz attractor out to modulate filter/decay/pitch for accent and random FX.