Download the Three Body Manual PDF (Schlappi Engineering)
As a fellow Eurorack musician, let's dive into how to wield the Schlappi Engineering Three Body for wild sound design—ranging from wrecked percussion to dubstep/drum and bass basslines to eerie atmospheric pads. Here are focused patch ideas and modulation strategies leveraging the module's unique features like through-zero FM/PM, phase relationships, and ratio tracking.
A. Snappy Metallic Hits - Put the center oscillator in FREE, HIGH mode (acts as voice). - Left and right oscillators in RATIO mode, both track center, with div/mult settings to place them at non-integer ratios (e.g., 7:3 for clangorous partials). - Feed a short envelope into FM INDEX or PHASE INDEX on the center oscillator. - Try sending envelopes or triggers to outer oscillators' FM or PHASE inputs. - Cross-modulate (patch left phase out to right phase in and vice versa) and push PHASE CV up just to the edge of noise. - Use the outer oscillators’ sine/triangle outputs for additional ringy percussion layers.
B. Fuzzy Toms or Kicks - Center in FREE, LOW for LFO or low-audio range. - Short decay envelope into FM (lin) or PHASE to get warbly, laser-like decays. - Increase linear FM index for "wub" or "boom" artifacts. - Feed a noise burst or fast LFO into SYNC for pseudo-acoustic scrapes.
A. Ripping Dubstep Basses - Center oscillator as modulator (FREE, HIGH), left or right as carrier (RATIO, HIGH/MULT). - Use a clock or gate from a sequencer into SYNC to hard-sync the carrier for sharp, digital edges. - LFO or envelope into FM INDEX or PHASE INDEX for movement—try modulating the modulation index itself with an envelope for evolving grit. - Turn FM index up high—it will phase-reverse and melt the carrier into unpredictable digital chaos (classic "FM mayhem"). - Patch CV into VOCT/RATIO input on the carrier, use a random sequencer or stepped voltage to create octave jumps and "neuro" scale leaps. - Try cross modulation between the outer oscillators for thick growl; back off if it gets too noisy.
B. Reese Bass / Jungle Neuro Swerves - Set both outer oscillators in RATIO mode, center as modulator (FM or PHASE). - Stereo patch: Take both outer sine (or triangle) outs for instant wide, moving sound. - Use slow LFO on FM INDEX or PHASE to sweep harmonic content. - For additional stereo movement, use the center cosine and sine outs panned hard left/right.
A. Floating Pads with Shifting Harmonics - Center oscillator: FREE, LOW/HIGH depending on desired register. - Outer oscillators: RATIO modes, set ratios to non-integer or overtone intervals (e.g., 5:3, 8:5). - Modulate PHASE INDEX on the center with slow LFOs, envelopes, or aftertouch (if using a controller). - Use both the sine and cosine outs from center oscillator; pan them for a natural stereo shimmer. - Bring up some PHASE cross-modulation between outer oscillators for “swirling mist” effects. - Feed slow random or LFOs to the outer oscillators’ VOCT/RATIO inputs for scale drift. - If you want less harmonic richness, reduce FM/PHASE indexes and rely more on subtle ratio modulations.
B. Binaural/Motion Effects - Exploit the phase direction header for true quadrature relationships and wide stereo. - Use two LFOs with different frequencies modulating left and right phase indexes, while listening to center saw/cosaw outs.
Adjust rear headers (external filter, phase direction, square phase modulation) for advanced behaviors—e.g., thick sub fundamentals via unmodulated square, or true stereo phase operation.
Experiment with self-patching: use outs from one oscillator to modulate itself via FM or PHASE, using VCAs/external attenuation for feedback control.
For more advanced signal processing or integrating Three Body in digital/hybrid workflows, check out Eurorack Processor on Github.
Generated With Eurorack Processor