Moog Subharmonicon: build a kit

4 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 — Clock it at IN · CLOCK, or over MIDI at IN · MIDI IN, which overrides both the internal clock and the analog one. Its own grid is four steps advanced by the RHYTHM dividers, so the pattern above is what to aim them at rather than something the box can play literally.

This block draws on the Moog Subharmonicon Manual, pp.18-47; its values are starting points.

Everything else about the Moog Subharmonicon

1KICK 1The ladder filter self-oscillating, opened by a sequencer clock
kick · hard
Routing — This is the BATERIA patch sheet (p.47) read off its own drawing: every mixer level is fully down, RESONANCE is fully up, and what you hear is the filter's own oscillation gated by a clock. The sheet's NOTES are the tuning instruction — "Kick drum tuning is controlled via filter CUTOFF. Adjust VCF DECAY and EG AMT knobs for different kick drum flavors"
- OUT · SEQ 2 CLKIN · VCA
  Sequencer 2’s own polyrhythm opens the amplifier — this is what makes the drum, since no oscillator reaches the mixer
- OUT · SEQ 1 CLKIN · CUTOFF
  Sequencer 1’s clock kicks the filter, so the drum is pitched by a pulse rather than by a note
- OUT · SEQ 1IN · RHYTHM 1
  The sequencer sets its own divider, so the pattern walks its rate instead of repeating
- OUT · SEQ 2IN · RHYTHM 2
  The same feedback on the second generator, which is what keeps the two sides from locking
OSCILLATORS
- VCO 1 FREQ262Hz(262…4186 Hz)
  Tune to the key; QUANTIZE snaps it
- VCO 1 WAVEUP(UP, MIDDLE, DOWN)
  Square up, saw down, PWM centre
- SUB 1 FREQ (VCO 1)1(1…16)
  Divides the VCO pitch by this integer
- SUB 2 FREQ (VCO 1)1(1…16)
  Divides the VCO pitch by this integer
- VCO 2 FREQ262Hz(262…4186 Hz)
  Tune to the key; QUANTIZE snaps it
- VCO 2 WAVEUP(UP, MIDDLE, DOWN)
  Square up, saw down, PWM centre
- SUB 1 FREQ (VCO 2)1(1…16)
  Divides the VCO pitch by this integer
- SUB 2 FREQ (VCO 2)1(1…16)
  Divides the VCO pitch by this integer
- VCO 1 LEVEL0% travel(0…100 % travel)
- SUB 1 LEVEL (VCO 1)0% travel(0…100 % travel)
- SUB 2 LEVEL (VCO 1)0% travel(0…100 % travel)
- VCO 2 LEVEL0% travel(0…100 % travel)
- SUB 1 LEVEL (VCO 2)0% travel(0…100 % travel)
- SUB 2 LEVEL (VCO 2)0% travel(0…100 % travel)
- CUTOFF62Hz(20…20000 Hz)
- RESONANCE100% travel(0…100 % travel)
  Full RESONANCE and the ladder sings
- VCF ATTACK1ms(1…10000 ms)
- VCF DECAY95ms(5…10000 ms)
- VCF EG AMT60% travel from centre(-100…100 % travel from centre)
- VCA ATTACK1ms(1…10000 ms)
- VCA DECAY130ms(5…10000 ms)
  Nothing else sets how long it rings
- VOLUME100% travel(0…100 % travel)
OSCILLATORS
- QUANTIZE12-ET(12-ET, 8-ET, 12-JI, 8-JI, OFF)
- SEQ OCT±1(±5, ±2, ±1)
SEQ 1 ASSIGN
- OSC 1UNLIT(LIT, UNLIT)
- SUB 1UNLIT(LIT, UNLIT)
- SUB 2UNLIT(LIT, UNLIT)
SEQ 2 ASSIGN
- OSC 2UNLIT(LIT, UNLIT)
- SUB 1UNLIT(LIT, UNLIT)
- SUB 2UNLIT(LIT, UNLIT)
POLYRHYTHM
- RHYTHM 18(1…16)
  Divides the tempo; 1 is the tempo
- RHYTHM 1 · SEQ 1LIT(LIT, UNLIT)
- RHYTHM 1 · SEQ 2UNLIT(LIT, UNLIT)
- RHYTHM 24(1…16)
- RHYTHM 2 · SEQ 1UNLIT(LIT, UNLIT)
- RHYTHM 2 · SEQ 2LIT(LIT, UNLIT)
- RHYTHM 31(1…16)
- RHYTHM 3 · SEQ 1UNLIT(LIT, UNLIT)
- RHYTHM 3 · SEQ 2UNLIT(LIT, UNLIT)
- RHYTHM 416(1…16)
- RHYTHM 4 · SEQ 1LIT(LIT, UNLIT)
- RHYTHM 4 · SEQ 2UNLIT(LIT, UNLIT)
Record one hit with your recorder as KICK 1.
2TOM 1The same filter ping, tuned up and given a longer tail
tom · dark
Routing — The kick's trick at a higher CUTOFF and a longer VCF DECAY, which is what p.47 means by "different kick drum flavors" — one control decides the pitch of the drum
OSCILLATORS
- VCO 1 FREQ262Hz(262…4186 Hz)
  Tune to the key; QUANTIZE snaps it
- VCO 1 WAVEUP(UP, MIDDLE, DOWN)
  Square up, saw down, PWM centre
- SUB 1 FREQ (VCO 1)3(1…16)
  Divides the VCO pitch by this integer
- SUB 2 FREQ (VCO 1)6(1…16)
  Divides the VCO pitch by this integer
- VCO 2 FREQ262Hz(262…4186 Hz)
  Tune to the key; QUANTIZE snaps it
- VCO 2 WAVEUP(UP, MIDDLE, DOWN)
  Square up, saw down, PWM centre
- SUB 1 FREQ (VCO 2)1(1…16)
  Divides the VCO pitch by this integer
- SUB 2 FREQ (VCO 2)1(1…16)
  Divides the VCO pitch by this integer
- VCO 1 LEVEL18% travel(0…100 % travel)
- SUB 1 LEVEL (VCO 1)30% travel(0…100 % travel)
- SUB 2 LEVEL (VCO 1)0% travel(0…100 % travel)
- VCO 2 LEVEL0% travel(0…100 % travel)
- SUB 1 LEVEL (VCO 2)0% travel(0…100 % travel)
- SUB 2 LEVEL (VCO 2)0% travel(0…100 % travel)
- CUTOFF165Hz(20…20000 Hz)
- RESONANCE88% travel(0…100 % travel)
  Full RESONANCE and the ladder sings
- VCF ATTACK1ms(1…10000 ms)
- VCF DECAY240ms(5…10000 ms)
- VCF EG AMT48% travel from centre(-100…100 % travel from centre)
- VCA ATTACK1ms(1…10000 ms)
- VCA DECAY260ms(5…10000 ms)
  Nothing else sets how long it rings
- VOLUME72% travel(0…100 % travel)
OSCILLATORS
- QUANTIZEOFF(12-ET, 8-ET, 12-JI, 8-JI, OFF)
- SEQ OCT±1(±5, ±2, ±1)
SEQ 1 ASSIGN
- OSC 1UNLIT(LIT, UNLIT)
- SUB 1UNLIT(LIT, UNLIT)
- SUB 2UNLIT(LIT, UNLIT)
SEQ 2 ASSIGN
- OSC 2UNLIT(LIT, UNLIT)
- SUB 1UNLIT(LIT, UNLIT)
- SUB 2UNLIT(LIT, UNLIT)
POLYRHYTHM
- RHYTHM 18(1…16)
  Divides the tempo; 1 is the tempo
- RHYTHM 1 · SEQ 1LIT(LIT, UNLIT)
- RHYTHM 1 · SEQ 2UNLIT(LIT, UNLIT)
- RHYTHM 216(1…16)
- RHYTHM 2 · SEQ 1UNLIT(LIT, UNLIT)
- RHYTHM 2 · SEQ 2UNLIT(LIT, UNLIT)
- RHYTHM 316(1…16)
- RHYTHM 3 · SEQ 1UNLIT(LIT, UNLIT)
- RHYTHM 3 · SEQ 2UNLIT(LIT, UNLIT)
- RHYTHM 416(1…16)
- RHYTHM 4 · SEQ 1UNLIT(LIT, UNLIT)
- RHYTHM 4 · SEQ 2UNLIT(LIT, UNLIT)
Record one hit with your recorder as TOM 1.
3METALLIC 1Coprime dividers ringing against each other with the filter wide open
metallic · bright
Routing — The four dividers are 5, 7, 11 and 13 against two VCOs a tone apart, so nothing in the chord shares a partial and the result is inharmonic. The cable puts a subharmonic on the other oscillator's pulse width at audio rate, which p.32 says a cable there replaces the normalled sawtooth
- OUT · VCO 1 SUB 2IN · VCO 2 PWM
  Audio-rate pulse-width modulation across the two oscillators; p.33 says this cable overrides the internal sawtooth connection
OSCILLATORS
- VCO 1 FREQ1318Hz(262…4186 Hz)
  Tune to the key; QUANTIZE snaps it
- VCO 1 WAVEUP(UP, MIDDLE, DOWN)
  Square up, saw down, PWM centre
- SUB 1 FREQ (VCO 1)5(1…16)
  Divides the VCO pitch by this integer
- SUB 2 FREQ (VCO 1)7(1…16)
  Divides the VCO pitch by this integer
- VCO 2 FREQ1480Hz(262…4186 Hz)
  Tune to the key; QUANTIZE snaps it
- VCO 2 WAVEUP(UP, MIDDLE, DOWN)
  Square up, saw down, PWM centre
- SUB 1 FREQ (VCO 2)11(1…16)
  Divides the VCO pitch by this integer
- SUB 2 FREQ (VCO 2)13(1…16)
  Divides the VCO pitch by this integer
- VCO 1 LEVEL54% travel(0…100 % travel)
- SUB 1 LEVEL (VCO 1)62% travel(0…100 % travel)
- SUB 2 LEVEL (VCO 1)58% travel(0…100 % travel)
- VCO 2 LEVEL50% travel(0…100 % travel)
- SUB 1 LEVEL (VCO 2)56% travel(0…100 % travel)
- SUB 2 LEVEL (VCO 2)52% travel(0…100 % travel)
- CUTOFF8600Hz(20…20000 Hz)
- RESONANCE44% travel(0…100 % travel)
- VCF ATTACK1ms(1…10000 ms)
- VCF DECAY420ms(5…10000 ms)
- VCF EG AMT40% travel from centre(-100…100 % travel from centre)
- VCA ATTACK1ms(1…10000 ms)
- VCA DECAY460ms(5…10000 ms)
  Nothing else sets how long it rings
- VOLUME68% travel(0…100 % travel)
OSCILLATORS
- QUANTIZEOFF(12-ET, 8-ET, 12-JI, 8-JI, OFF)
- SEQ OCT±2(±5, ±2, ±1)
SEQ 1 ASSIGN
- OSC 1UNLIT(LIT, UNLIT)
- SUB 1LIT(LIT, UNLIT)
- SUB 2LIT(LIT, UNLIT)
SEQ 2 ASSIGN
- OSC 2UNLIT(LIT, UNLIT)
- SUB 1LIT(LIT, UNLIT)
- SUB 2LIT(LIT, UNLIT)
POLYRHYTHM
- RHYTHM 13(1…16)
  Divides the tempo; 1 is the tempo
- RHYTHM 1 · SEQ 1LIT(LIT, UNLIT)
- RHYTHM 1 · SEQ 2UNLIT(LIT, UNLIT)
- RHYTHM 25(1…16)
- RHYTHM 2 · SEQ 1UNLIT(LIT, UNLIT)
- RHYTHM 2 · SEQ 2LIT(LIT, UNLIT)
- RHYTHM 37(1…16)
- RHYTHM 3 · SEQ 1LIT(LIT, UNLIT)
- RHYTHM 3 · SEQ 2LIT(LIT, UNLIT)
- RHYTHM 41(1…16)
- RHYTHM 4 · SEQ 1UNLIT(LIT, UNLIT)
- RHYTHM 4 · SEQ 2UNLIT(LIT, UNLIT)
Record one hit with your recorder as METALLIC 1.
4IMPACT 1Every source at the bottom of its range, fired once by the trigger button
impact · hard
Routing — All four dividers are near ÷16 under low VCOs, so what lands is the bottom of the box. Hit TRIGGER by hand for the one-shot: with the EG button lit, p.28 says it "will instantly restart the envelope generators without waiting for the next step". The chord is an undertone chord: every note under the two VCOs is that VCO divided by a whole number, so the SUB FREQ integers decide which chord exists. If the direction wants an interval these dividers cannot make, move a VCO rather than forcing a divider
OSCILLATORS
- VCO 1 FREQ262Hz(262…4186 Hz)
  Tune to the key; QUANTIZE snaps it
- VCO 1 WAVEUP(UP, MIDDLE, DOWN)
  Square up, saw down, PWM centre
- SUB 1 FREQ (VCO 1)8(1…16)
  Divides the VCO pitch by this integer
- SUB 2 FREQ (VCO 1)12(1…16)
  Divides the VCO pitch by this integer
- VCO 2 FREQ277Hz(262…4186 Hz)
  Tune to the key; QUANTIZE snaps it
- VCO 2 WAVEUP(UP, MIDDLE, DOWN)
  Square up, saw down, PWM centre
- SUB 1 FREQ (VCO 2)10(1…16)
  Divides the VCO pitch by this integer
- SUB 2 FREQ (VCO 2)16(1…16)
  Divides the VCO pitch by this integer
- VCO 1 LEVEL30% travel(0…100 % travel)
- SUB 1 LEVEL (VCO 1)92% travel(0…100 % travel)
- SUB 2 LEVEL (VCO 1)78% travel(0…100 % travel)
- VCO 2 LEVEL26% travel(0…100 % travel)
- SUB 1 LEVEL (VCO 2)88% travel(0…100 % travel)
- SUB 2 LEVEL (VCO 2)72% travel(0…100 % travel)
- CUTOFF140Hz(20…20000 Hz)
- RESONANCE34% travel(0…100 % travel)
- VCF ATTACK1ms(1…10000 ms)
- VCF DECAY900ms(5…10000 ms)
- VCF EG AMT48% travel from centre(-100…100 % travel from centre)
- VCA ATTACK1ms(1…10000 ms)
- VCA DECAY1600ms(5…10000 ms)
  Nothing else sets how long it rings
- VOLUME82% travel(0…100 % travel)
OSCILLATORS
- QUANTIZEOFF(12-ET, 8-ET, 12-JI, 8-JI, OFF)
- SEQ OCT±1(±5, ±2, ±1)
SEQ 1 ASSIGN
- OSC 1UNLIT(LIT, UNLIT)
- SUB 1UNLIT(LIT, UNLIT)
- SUB 2UNLIT(LIT, UNLIT)
SEQ 2 ASSIGN
- OSC 2UNLIT(LIT, UNLIT)
- SUB 1UNLIT(LIT, UNLIT)
- SUB 2UNLIT(LIT, UNLIT)
POLYRHYTHM
- RHYTHM 116(1…16)
  Divides the tempo; 1 is the tempo
- RHYTHM 1 · SEQ 1LIT(LIT, UNLIT)
- RHYTHM 1 · SEQ 2UNLIT(LIT, UNLIT)
- RHYTHM 216(1…16)
- RHYTHM 2 · SEQ 1UNLIT(LIT, UNLIT)
- RHYTHM 2 · SEQ 2UNLIT(LIT, UNLIT)
- RHYTHM 31(1…16)
- RHYTHM 3 · SEQ 1UNLIT(LIT, UNLIT)
- RHYTHM 3 · SEQ 2UNLIT(LIT, UNLIT)
- RHYTHM 41(1…16)
- RHYTHM 4 · SEQ 1UNLIT(LIT, UNLIT)
- RHYTHM 4 · SEQ 2UNLIT(LIT, UNLIT)
Record one hit with your recorder as IMPACT 1.

Not in this kit

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

1KICK 1The ladder filter self-oscillating, opened by a sequencer clock

2TOM 1The same filter ping, tuned up and given a longer tail

3METALLIC 1Coprime dividers ringing against each other with the filter wide open

4IMPACT 1Every source at the bottom of its range, fired once by the trigger button