Looking for a synth patch that does all of the rhythmic heavy lifting? BazilleCM has got your back…
Roland Schmidt is a professional programmer, sound designer and producer, who has worked in collaboration with a number of successful production teams over the last 25 years. He can also be found delivering regular and key-note lectures on the use of hardware/software synthesisers and production, at various higher educational institutions throughout the UK.
The use of sequencers within synthesiser patches is nothing new, but it can be a contentious topic. As we’re scrolling through the myriad presets that accompany most commercial synth plugins, chances are that you’ll happen upon a collection of preordained sequences, wherein somebody else’s composition could be implanted on your own.
Leaving the issue of copyright to one side, we can be far more creative by programming our plugins to play a rhythm that we decide, allowing us to imprint our own chord sequence on our tracks. This was commonplace even in the earlier days of the commercial use of synthesisers. The track Let Me Go by Heaven 17, relied on the hypnotic and thoroughly effective use of a CV sequencer to provide both rhythm and alter filter-cutoff position. Any software plugin synth with an inbuilt sequencer can generate a rhythm specified by you. The net gain is an exceptionally tight pattern that locks perfectly to your track and DAW.
Our very own BazilleCM synth plugin is a fine example, with its versatile 16-step sequencer, accessed from the bottom of the plugin window. The capable nature of this section can extend way beyond simple rhythmic duties, but this is a perfect place to get started. Despite being modular in design, it’ll even allow you to play polyphonically. So grab your copy of BazilleCM and let’s dive in.
Step by step
1 We’ll begin by initialising a patch within BazilleCM. Open up your DAW and load up the BazilleCM plugin. Once the plugin window is open, move to the central display at the top of the window, click to reveal the drop-down menu, and select ‘init’ from the bottom. This will initialise the patch.
2 As part of the initialisation, you’ll also hear the FX Delay active in the signal. To make our adjustments clearer, go to the Delay section (bottom right) and move the switch to the ‘off’ position. We’ll switch it on again later. Remember, any time you make an adjustment to a setting or pot, a numeric value will appear in the upper display.
3 We’ll start creating our patch by moving to the OSC1 section. Move halfway down the oscillator strip,
