Manual PDF / Bohm Documentation
Bohm is not just a kick module. It is really a performance-oriented kick system with:
That means it can function as a structural anchor for full tracks, not just a single drum sound.
The big idea is this:
Use Bohm as the module that defines sections, transitions, energy, and groove, while other modules provide melody, bass, hats, percussion, drones, and harmonic movement.
In many Eurorack systems, the loop sounds great but never becomes a song because there is no strong mechanism for: - changing sections, - recalling states, - introducing contrast, - creating fills and transitions, - controlling tension/release over time.
Bohm directly helps with that.
From the manual, the most important song-building features are:
You can save kicks as snapshots containing: - model variations, - and in live contexts, knob positions too.
This is huge for arrangement. Instead of one kick for the whole patch, you can prepare: - verse kick, - chorus kick, - breakdown kick, - bridge kick, - fill kick, - outro kick.
That alone gives you section identity.
Bohm has: - 32 programs - each with 1–16 steps - each step stores a full kick snapshot.
So one program can effectively act like a song section timeline or a library of scene recalls.
In Live Song mode, the FUNCTION trigger advances through a sequence of stored kick states.
This means Bohm can become a section sequencer: - Step 1 = intro - Step 2 = verse - Step 3 = chorus - Step 4 = verse variation - Step 5 = breakdown - Step 6 = build - Step 7 = drop - Step 8 = outro
Because the next step is cued and becomes active on the next HIT, this is ideal for musically clean transitions.
In Live Jam mode, you can freely cue the next snapshot from a program.
This is perfect if your songs are not rigidly linear. You can improvise: - extend a breakdown, - jump back to a groove, - bring in a harder kick, - move to a transition state when the room feels ready.
The optional Groove expander is extremely important for turning beats into arrangements.
It is not just a copy of the kick: - it can produce repetitions, - reverb-based rumbles, - noise, - grit + sub, - tap envelopes, - stereo shaping, - filtering/distortion.
That gives you section changes without repatching: - tight dry verse, - wider rumble chorus, - noisier breakdown, - minimal kick-only intro, - dense techno drop.
The Performer expander can: - duck external stereo input on every kick, - process either kick, input, or both, - apply DJ filter / LP / HP / beat roll / slip roll, - toggle effects instantly or synced to HIT, - split low frequencies for more transparent ducking.
This is one of the strongest “make it a song” tools in the whole system.
It lets Bohm become the center of: - sidechain pumping, - breakdown filtering, - transition rolls, - live drop effects, - balancing external stems or voices against the kick.
A full-length song in Eurorack usually needs these musical layers:
Bohm mainly handles 1, 2, 6, and part of 7, and it can strongly influence 3 and 4 through pitch tracking, ducking, and audio routing.
This is the most obvious and effective use.
Use other modules for: - melody sequencer, - bass voice, - hats/percussion, - pads/drone.
Use Bohm to store a different kick+Groove+Performer state for each section.
Program 1: 1. Intro – soft kick, low FX, no Groove 2. Verse – tighter kick, mild Groove taps 3. Chorus – bigger kick, wider stereo, more rumble 4. Verse 2 – slightly brighter transient 5. Breakdown – minimal kick, Performer HP filter on external audio 6. Build – rising FX, stronger ducking, beat roll 7. Drop – full kick + Groove + wide stereo 8. Outro – reduced sustain and FX
Advance steps using: - a manual button, - a trigger sequencer, - an end-of-cycle pulse from a clock divider, - a gate pattern from a song controller module.
Even if the rest of the patch loops, the song feels arranged because the drum identity and pumping behavior evolve by section.
Because Song Mode can queue the next step and follow program logic, it can act like the backbone of the performance.
Create one program per song section family: - Program 1 = intro/verse states - Program 2 = chorus/drop states - Program 3 = breakdown/build states
Or one whole song in a single program with up to 16 steps.
Use another module to synchronize larger changes: - sequential switch for bass pattern changes, - preset manager for oscillator/filter states, - clocked sequential trigger switch for drums, - CV recorder or automation source for timbral shifts.
Send the same “section advance” pulse to: - Bohm FUNCTION input, - a sequential switch, - a reset input on your melodic sequencer, - a logic module that opens/closes percussion VCAs.
Then one event changes the whole song section.
The Groove expander is ideal for creating the illusion of a much larger drum arrangement.
It can do: - techno rumble, - kick tops, - repeated taps, - noise envelope movement, - sub grit, - stereo width changes, - effect changes.
A full song usually needs the low-end density to change over time. Groove gives you: - “small” section vs “big” section, - “dry” vs “washy”, - “tight” vs “club-wide”.
That is arrangement.
Use the TAPS output CV to animate other modules: - open a VCA on a noise hat layer, - modulate a filter on a bass drone, - drive sidechain-like envelope on pads, - hit an LPG for percussive textures.
Since TAPS can output Groove, inverted Bohm, Performer, or Bohm envelopes depending on system setting, it becomes a song-wide dynamics control source.
The Performer expander is maybe the most underrated part of Bohm for songwriting.
You can route external stereo audio into it and then: - duck it from the kick, - filter it, - beat roll it, - slip roll it, - process only the kick, only the input, or both.
Send your whole melodic/percussion mix into Performer. - In full sections: mild ducking, no filter - In breakdown: high-pass the input - In build: increase resonance or beat roll - On drop: return to full-range audio
That is a classic song arc.
Instead of separately patching envelope followers and VCAs, let Bohm do: - kick, - ducking, - performance FX, - output summing.
Then your song instantly gets the “record-like” pumping and transitions that help loops feel finished.
Use: - DJ FILTER for opens/closes, - BEAT ROLL for fill energy, - SLIP ROLL for stuttered transitions before a drop.
You can perform these by hand or snapshot them as states.
The manual says Bohm can track pitch at 1V/oct if configured properly: - set PITCH knob fully CCW, - PITCH attenuverter fully CW, - choose the correct voltage range in settings.
This means Bohm is not only a kick. It can become a tuned bass percussion voice.
Sequence pitch CV into Bohm so the kick follows the root note of the section: - verse on C, - pre-chorus on F, - chorus on G, - breakdown on A minor variation.
This alone makes a loop feel like a song because the low end now reflects harmonic structure.
Since HIT can behave as a gate, you can create longer sustained bass/kick notes for: - breakdown bass drones, - pitched sub accents, - tom-like phrases, - pseudo-bassline hooks.
Layer Bohm as the transient/low-end thump and use another VCO/filter voice for sustained bass tone.
Good companion modules: - Instruō Ts-L - Intellijel Dixie II+ - AJH MiniMod VCO - Mutable Plaits - SSF Zephyr / steady utility oscillators - any LPG/filter/VCA chain
Use a precision adder or sequential switch to change bass transposition by section.
Bohm can store its own internal states, but full songs become easier when other modules also change state with it.
The classic reason a Eurorack patch doesn’t become a song is that too many parameters are static.
If Bohm changes section but your bass/filter/harmony don’t, it still feels loop-based.
So make Bohm the center of a scene-change ecosystem.
This can easily become a full 5–8 minute live techno structure.
Save snapshots with: - dry compact kick for verses, - glitchier FM kick for fills, - brighter transient for chorus, - Performer slip roll for transitions.
Use Jam Mode instead of Song Mode if you want to choose alternate phrase endings live.
Bohm is still useful here, but not just as a four-on-the-floor kick.
This is a good example of using Bohm for narrative evolution, not just a dance kick.
Here are the main strategies.
Most Eurorack jams fail structurally because the kick never changes enough.
With Bohm, change: - model, - transient type, - distortion, - stereo width, - Groove presence, - ducking amount, - Performer effect state.
Even small changes make sections feel intentional.
A song develops by adding and removing layers.
With Bohm: - remove Groove for reduced sections, - reduce Sustain/Length for tighter moments, - use Performer VOL and ducking to rebalance the full patch, - cue snapshots with less FX and less stereo width for verses, - restore full-width/rumble on drops.
Pair with: - mute modules, - VCAs under sequencer control, - trigger mutes, - switched clocks.
A song needs connectors between ideas.
Bohm can supply these with: - beat roll, - slip roll, - DJ filter sweeps, - FX on/off synced to HIT, - transient tone changes, - pitch drops/rises, - randomization for fills.
You can dedicate one or two snapshots per program just to transitions.
For example: - Step 7 = “build” - Step 8 = “fill” - Step 9 = “drop”
This is one of the clearest ways to make your modular patch feel like a finished track.
Instead of letting all other voices float separately, submix them and send them into Performer. Now the kick can: - carve space, - create pumping, - filter the whole mix for breakdowns, - apply roll effects for transitions.
That kind of integrated dynamics is often what makes a loop become a track.
To build songs, think in scene changes.
A single trigger or gate can: - advance Bohm to next step, - switch melodic sequence, - reset clock divider, - open a VCA for pads, - mute hats, - transpose bass.
This is how modular starts behaving like a compositional instrument instead of a perpetual loop.
Best with Bohm: - Five12 Vector Sequencer - Winter Modular Eloquencer - Metropolix - Hermod+ - Varigate 8+ - Pamela’s Pro Workout as timing brain
These can send: - clock, - reset, - section-advance triggers, - pitch CV for tuned kick, - modulation tied to song sections.
Bohm becomes much more song-capable if you can mute and submix other layers around it.
Use them to vary: - filter opening, - bass tone, - delay send, - drone level, - percussion density.
These are essential for full-song architecture. Bohm provides the section concept; utilities distribute it.
These pair extremely well with Performer’s ducking/filtering.
You can run:
- pads,
- vocals,
- noise beds,
- percussion loops,
- field recordings
through Performer and make them “breathe” with the kick.
A full track with intro, build, drop, breakdown, second drop, outro.
Create snapshots: 1. Intro minimal kick 2. Verse kick 3. Verse + light Groove 4. Drop kick + full Groove 5. Breakdown filtered input only 6. Build with beat roll 7. Main drop with harder FX 8. Outro reduced kick
Advance FUNCTION every 16 or 32 bars. Use manual mutes for hats and percussion. Let Performer handle the big transitions.
Make the kick support chord changes.
The kick root follows the song harmony.
This is subtle but extremely effective for making the arrangement feel composed.
A non-linear performance where you can extend sections as needed.
You can respond to the room while still having structured, recallable section changes.
Don’t save 10 random kick tones. Save: - intro, - verse, - verse lift, - chorus, - build, - breakdown, - fake-out, - final drop, - outro.
Name them accordingly.
A practical approach: - Program 1 = track 1 - Program 2 = track 2 - Program 3 = track 3
Or: - Program 1 = intros - Program 2 = main grooves - Program 3 = transitions - Program 4 = drops
Depends whether your live set is fixed or improvised.
The manual gives: - Latch - Relative - Override
For full-song work: - use Override for knobs you want live control over all the time, - use Latch when you want snapshot accuracy first, - use Relative when you want safe morphing from stored states.
For example: - Bohm COLOR in Override = always playable - Performer FX in Latch = recall exact transition states - Groove VOL in Relative = easy live balancing
If you want the same global performance FX setup across many steps, leave Performer excluded from step recalls. If each section needs specific filtering/ducking/FX states, set it to include.
That is very useful for deciding whether Performer acts like: - a global performance bus, or - a per-section arrangement processor.
A full song is often just: - 16 bars groove, - 8 bars variation, - 8 bars build, - 16 bars drop, - 8 bars breakdown.
Use clock dividers or song sequencers to send FUNCTION triggers at those boundaries.
This avoids the endless-loop trap.
Bohm is powerful, but it is not a full song workstation by itself.
It does not replace: - a melodic sequencer, - a voice allocator, - a full mixer, - VCAs and mutes, - utility logic, - dedicated harmonic control.
Its strength is that it gives your patch: - section recall - rhythmic identity - dynamic glue - performance transitions - low-end evolution
That is exactly the set of things many modular systems lack when trying to become full songs.
If I were building songs around Bohm, I would think of it in these roles:
Use saved states to define sections.
Bring it in and out to scale the arrangement.
Sidechain, filter, and transition the rest of the patch.
Let sequencers, oscillators, samplers, and mixers provide the musical content around Bohm’s structure.
When used like that, Bohm becomes less of a drum module and more of a song-form engine for live modular performance.
If you want one concrete recommendation, here is a very effective architecture:
You get: - kick evolution, - automatic pumping, - breakdown filters, - fill effects, - song sections, - room for improvisation.
That is enough to make genuinely full-length modular tracks.
The key to using Bohm for full songs is not just “making a better kick.”
It is using its snapshots, programs, Song/Jam modes, Groove layer, and Performer bus processing as a framework for:
If you combine Bohm with: - a clock/song trigger source, - melodic/bass sequencers, - mixers and VCAs, - switches and utilities, - and a stereo source into Performer,
then Bohm can become one of the most effective modules in a Eurorack system for turning a good loop into a full, performable song.