Moog Mother-32: build a kit

7 drum sounds this box makes on its own, in the order to build them.

Record each hit with the sampler, recorder, or DAW you use.

Routing — Played from its own 32-step sequencer, from MIDI IN, or from pitch and gate at VCO 1V/OCT and GATE.

This block draws on the Moog Mother-32 User Manual (Version 2), pp.11-16; its values are starting points.

Everything else about the Moog Mother-32

1KICK 1Kick from the normalled envelope: no cables, the pitch drop is two switches
kick · hard
Routing — No patch cable: the EG is already normalled to the up position of VCO MOD SOURCE (p.49), so VCO MOD DEST at FREQUENCY is the whole pitch drop
- FREQUENCY0st(-12…12 st)
- VCO WAVESAW(PULSE, SAW)
- MIX0% travel(0…100 % travel)
  Counterclockwise is the VCO, clockwise is white noise or whatever is in EXT. AUDIO
- CUTOFF110Hz(20…20000 Hz)
- RESONANCE28% travel(0…100 % travel)
  Past 3 o’clock the filter self-oscillates
- VCF MODELOW PASS(HI PASS, LOW PASS)
- VOLUME78% travel(0…100 % travel)
- Modulation — VCO MOD SOURCEEG / VCO MODVCO MOD DESTFREQUENCYVCO MOD AMOUNT34% travel(0…100 % travel)
  0 is no modulation
  The EG is normalled here — a cable in VCO MOD replaces it
- Modulation — VCF MOD SOURCEEGthe VCF cutoffVCF MOD POLARITY+VCF MOD AMOUNT40% travel(0…100 % travel)
  0 is no modulation
- ATTACK0% travel(0…100 % travel)
- SUSTAINOFF(ON, OFF)
  SUSTAIN ON plays legato, OFF retriggers
- DECAY16% travel(0…100 % travel)
- VCA MODEEG(ON, EG)
- GLIDE0% travel(0…100 % travel)
  Turn GLIDE clockwise to glide a step
Record one hit with your recorder as KICK 1.
2KICK 2Kick with the pulse folded back in beside the saw
kick · dirty
Routing — p.11's TIP: with VCO WAVE on SAW and the pulse in EXT. AUDIO, MIX blends the two waveforms instead of blending in noise
- OUT · VCO PULSEIN · EXT. AUDIO
  Replaces the white noise normalled to the clockwise end of MIX, so MIX now blends saw against pulse
- FREQUENCY0st(-12…12 st)
- VCO WAVESAW(PULSE, SAW)
- PULSE WIDTH22%(2…98 %)
  Thinner accentuates the upper harmonics; mid position is a square wave
- MIX55% travel(0…100 % travel)
  Counterclockwise is the VCO, clockwise is white noise or whatever is in EXT. AUDIO
- CUTOFF140Hz(20…20000 Hz)
- RESONANCE62% travel(0…100 % travel)
  Past 3 o’clock the filter self-oscillates
- VCF MODELOW PASS(HI PASS, LOW PASS)
- VOLUME74% travel(0…100 % travel)
- Modulation — VCO MOD SOURCEEG / VCO MODVCO MOD DESTFREQUENCYVCO MOD AMOUNT30% travel(0…100 % travel)
  0 is no modulation
  The EG is normalled here — a cable in VCO MOD replaces it
- Modulation — VCF MOD SOURCEEGthe VCF cutoffVCF MOD POLARITY+VCF MOD AMOUNT35% travel(0…100 % travel)
  0 is no modulation
- ATTACK0% travel(0…100 % travel)
- SUSTAINOFF(ON, OFF)
  SUSTAIN ON plays legato, OFF retriggers
- DECAY20% travel(0…100 % travel)
- VCA MODEEG(ON, EG)
- GLIDE0% travel(0…100 % travel)
  Turn GLIDE clockwise to glide a step
Record one hit with your recorder as KICK 2.
3SNARE 1Noise snare with the oscillator roughened underneath it
snare · hard
Routing — MIX sits toward the noise end with enough oscillator left to hear the FM. The role exists on this box because Moog printed a METAL SNARE patch for it (p.64)
- OUT · NOISEIN · VCO LIN FM
  Noise into linear FM breaks up the pitched part of the hit; the noise still reaches the mixer normalled (p.48)
- FREQUENCY0st(-12…12 st)
- VCO WAVESAW(PULSE, SAW)
- MIX72% travel(0…100 % travel)
  Counterclockwise is the VCO, clockwise is white noise or whatever is in EXT. AUDIO
- CUTOFF1800Hz(20…20000 Hz)
- RESONANCE58% travel(0…100 % travel)
  Past 3 o’clock the filter self-oscillates
- VCF MODELOW PASS(HI PASS, LOW PASS)
- VOLUME76% travel(0…100 % travel)
- Modulation — VCO MOD SOURCEEG / VCO MODVCO MOD DESTFREQUENCYVCO MOD AMOUNT0% travel(0…100 % travel)
  0 is no modulation
  The EG is normalled here — a cable in VCO MOD replaces it
- Modulation — VCF MOD SOURCEEGthe VCF cutoffVCF MOD POLARITY+VCF MOD AMOUNT46% travel(0…100 % travel)
  0 is no modulation
- ATTACK0% travel(0…100 % travel)
- SUSTAINOFF(ON, OFF)
  SUSTAIN ON plays legato, OFF retriggers
- DECAY12% travel(0…100 % travel)
- VCA MODEEG(ON, EG)
- GLIDE0% travel(0…100 % travel)
  Turn GLIDE clockwise to glide a step
Record one hit with your recorder as SNARE 1.
4TOM 1Pitched tom with a shallow fall and a little noise on the front
tom · dark
Routing — A shallower VCO MOD AMOUNT than the kick wants — the fall is a tom's, not a drop
- OUT · KBIN · VCF CUTOFF
  Higher toms open the filter with the pitch
- FREQUENCY0st(-12…12 st)
- VCO WAVESAW(PULSE, SAW)
- MIX18% travel(0…100 % travel)
  Counterclockwise is the VCO, clockwise is white noise or whatever is in EXT. AUDIO
- CUTOFF420Hz(20…20000 Hz)
- RESONANCE44% travel(0…100 % travel)
  Past 3 o’clock the filter self-oscillates
- VCF MODELOW PASS(HI PASS, LOW PASS)
- VOLUME78% travel(0…100 % travel)
- Modulation — VCO MOD SOURCEEG / VCO MODVCO MOD DESTFREQUENCYVCO MOD AMOUNT22% travel(0…100 % travel)
  0 is no modulation
  The EG is normalled here — a cable in VCO MOD replaces it
- Modulation — VCF MOD SOURCEEGthe VCF cutoffVCF MOD POLARITY+VCF MOD AMOUNT30% travel(0…100 % travel)
  0 is no modulation
- ATTACK0% travel(0…100 % travel)
- SUSTAINOFF(ON, OFF)
  SUSTAIN ON plays legato, OFF retriggers
- DECAY26% travel(0…100 % travel)
- VCA MODEEG(ON, EG)
- GLIDE0% travel(0…100 % travel)
  Turn GLIDE clockwise to glide a step
Record one hit with your recorder as TOM 1.
5METALLIC 1Audio-rate square into linear FM, then hi-passed
metallic · dirty
Routing — p.13 says the LFO "is also capable of audio-rate modulation" and p.49 offers LIN FM for exactly that; neither page instructs this cable, so it is ours
- OUT · LFO SQIN · VCO LIN FM
  Audio-rate FM: the inharmonic clang is the whole part
- FREQUENCY10st(-12…12 st)
- VCO WAVEPULSE(PULSE, SAW)
- PULSE WIDTH12%(2…98 %)
  Thinner accentuates the upper harmonics; mid position is a square wave
- MIX0% travel(0…100 % travel)
  Counterclockwise is the VCO, clockwise is white noise or whatever is in EXT. AUDIO
- CUTOFF3200Hz(20…20000 Hz)
- RESONANCE52% travel(0…100 % travel)
  Past 3 o’clock the filter self-oscillates
- VCF MODEHI PASS(HI PASS, LOW PASS)
- VOLUME72% travel(0…100 % travel)
- Modulation — VCO MOD SOURCEEG / VCO MODVCO MOD DESTFREQUENCYVCO MOD AMOUNT0% travel(0…100 % travel)
  0 is no modulation
  The EG is normalled here — a cable in VCO MOD replaces it
- Modulation — VCF MOD SOURCEEGthe VCF cutoffVCF MOD POLARITY+VCF MOD AMOUNT26% travel(0…100 % travel)
  0 is no modulation
- LFO RATE210Hz(0.1…350 Hz)
  Well above the sub-audio range — the knob reaches about 350 Hz
- LFO WAVESQUARE(SQUARE, TRIANGLE)
- ATTACK0% travel(0…100 % travel)
- SUSTAINOFF(ON, OFF)
  SUSTAIN ON plays legato, OFF retriggers
- DECAY16% travel(0…100 % travel)
- VCA MODEEG(ON, EG)
- GLIDE0% travel(0…100 % travel)
  Turn GLIDE clockwise to glide a step
Record one hit with your recorder as METALLIC 1.
6NOISE 1Hi-passed noise chopped by a fast square
noise · dirty
Routing — RESONANCE stays at zero: p.14 warns that resonance in HI PASS "will reintroduce bottom end into a sound"
- OUT · LFO SQIN · VCF CUTOFF
  A square at forty-odd hertz gates the noise into a rattle
- FREQUENCY0st(-12…12 st)
- VCO WAVESAW(PULSE, SAW)
- MIX100% travel(0…100 % travel)
  Counterclockwise is the VCO, clockwise is white noise or whatever is in EXT. AUDIO
- CUTOFF2600Hz(20…20000 Hz)
- RESONANCE0% travel(0…100 % travel)
  Past 3 o’clock the filter self-oscillates
- VCF MODEHI PASS(HI PASS, LOW PASS)
- VOLUME72% travel(0…100 % travel)
- Modulation — VCO MOD SOURCELFOVCO MOD DESTPULSE WIDTHVCO MOD AMOUNT0% travel(0…100 % travel)
  0 is no modulation
- Modulation — VCF MOD SOURCEEGthe VCF cutoffVCF MOD POLARITY+VCF MOD AMOUNT34% travel(0…100 % travel)
  0 is no modulation
- LFO RATE42Hz(0.1…350 Hz)
- LFO WAVESQUARE(SQUARE, TRIANGLE)
- ATTACK0% travel(0…100 % travel)
- SUSTAINOFF(ON, OFF)
  SUSTAIN ON plays legato, OFF retriggers
- DECAY18% travel(0…100 % travel)
- VCA MODEEG(ON, EG)
- GLIDE0% travel(0…100 % travel)
  Turn GLIDE clockwise to glide a step
Record one hit with your recorder as NOISE 1.
7IMPACT 1One-shot impact: noise across the front, pitch dropping behind it
impact · hard
Routing — VCA MODE stays on EG so the hit ends by itself
- OUT · NOISEIN · VCO LIN FM
  Noise on the oscillator turns the drop into a crash
- FREQUENCY0st(-12…12 st)
- VCO WAVESAW(PULSE, SAW)
- MIX64% travel(0…100 % travel)
  Counterclockwise is the VCO, clockwise is white noise or whatever is in EXT. AUDIO
- CUTOFF700Hz(20…20000 Hz)
- RESONANCE66% travel(0…100 % travel)
  Past 3 o’clock the filter self-oscillates
- VCF MODELOW PASS(HI PASS, LOW PASS)
- VOLUME80% travel(0…100 % travel)
- Modulation — VCO MOD SOURCEEG / VCO MODVCO MOD DESTFREQUENCYVCO MOD AMOUNT52% travel(0…100 % travel)
  0 is no modulation
  The EG is normalled here — a cable in VCO MOD replaces it
- Modulation — VCF MOD SOURCEEGthe VCF cutoffVCF MOD POLARITY+VCF MOD AMOUNT40% travel(0…100 % travel)
  0 is no modulation
- ATTACK0% travel(0…100 % travel)
- SUSTAINOFF(ON, OFF)
  SUSTAIN ON plays legato, OFF retriggers
- DECAY34% travel(0…100 % travel)
- VCA MODEEG(ON, EG)
- GLIDE0% travel(0…100 % travel)
  Turn GLIDE clockwise to glide a step
Record one hit with your recorder as IMPACT 1.

Not in this kit

Bring clap, rim, closed hat, open hat and ride from another box or a sample library.

1KICK 1Kick from the normalled envelope: no cables, the pitch drop is two switches

2KICK 2Kick with the pulse folded back in beside the saw

3SNARE 1Noise snare with the oscillator roughened underneath it

4TOM 1Pitched tom with a shallow fall and a little noise on the front

5METALLIC 1Audio-rate square into linear FM, then hi-passed

6NOISE 1Hi-passed noise chopped by a fast square

7IMPACT 1One-shot impact: noise across the front, pitch dropping behind it