Moog Matriarch User manual

Matriarch
Patching with Intention Vol. 1
Get started with patching techniques and explore
deeper synthesis concepts with stereo filter
movement and 2-operator FM synthesis.

Patching with Intention | 2
Patching with Intention
There are many ways to approach patching a
synthesizer like Matriarch. There’s no “wrong”
way to do it, and randomly patching inputs to
outputs can lead to wonderful, unexpected
results.
Other times, however, you may want to patch
with some intention. Perhaps you have an
electric piano sound in mind that you would like
Matriarch to approximate. Or an idea may strike
you while falling asleep: I wonder what would
happen if I patched the envelope generator to
the delay time...
This guide will help you better understand how
to patch Matriarch and help you discover why
you might want to patch it a certain way.

Patching with Intention | 3
Initialized Patch
Before getting started, match your
Matriarch to the initialized patch
settings above. Each section builds
upon the last, so explore them in
sequential order for the best results.
You can find the full patch diagrams
for all patches discussed in this guide
in the accompanying PDF patchbook.

First Steps | 4
First Steps
Matriarch is an extremely
powerful and exible synthesizer
composed of many different
modules based on Bob Moog’s
original designs. Its semi-modular
nature means that, while it is full
of patch points, there are many
patch connections already made
for you under the hood.
Let’s begin by designing a sound that
does not require patching. First, start
by matching your Matriarch parameter
settings to the initialized patch
diagrammed on the previous page. Play
some notes and some chords to get an
idea for how this initialized patch sounds.
This patch results in a nice, clear sound,
but let’s get a bit of movement going. A
common way of doing that is to generate
some extra movement in the lter. When
we press a key the FILTER ENVELOPE
will open the lter by an amount set by
the ENVELOPE AMT knob in the FILTERS
section.
Layering a MODULATION OSCILLATOR
will add a bit of vibrato-like texture to
our sound. This is such a common sound
design technique that we don’t have to
physically patch anything to achieve it.
Turn up the CUTOFF AMT knob in the
MODULATION section and then raise
the MOD wheel to apply the modulation
oscillator to the lter cutoff. You should
hear the lter opening and closing based
on the settings in the MODULATION
section.
Now, let’s try and achieve this same result
through patching. Through this exercise
we’ll learn how to use the all-important
utilities section of Matriarch and get a
better handle on how to use modulation
and patching to greatly expand
Matriarch’s sound palette.
Before we begin, turn the CUTOFF AMT
knob back down and return the MOD
wheel to zero.

First Steps | 5
MAKE THIS CONNECTION
We want to take the MODULATION oscillator and have it move the FILTER up and
down. Our rst impulse might be to simply take the WAVE OUT of the MODULATION
section and patch it directly to the lter’s CUTOFF 1 IN.
While that certainly gets the lter moving, it doesn’t allow us to control the amount of
modulation applied. With this direct patching, the modulation oscillator swings the lter
all the way open and all the way closed.
MAKE THIS CONNECTION
Let’s explore a way to apply more subtle modulation. In order to have control over the
depth of modulation, we can use an attenuator.
Note: Any of the attenuators on Matriarch can be used for this.
The ATTENUATOR takes the signal applied to its input—in this case a sine wave
oscillating between -5 volts and +5 volts—and decreases it. With the attenuator knob
at noon, the signal is decreased to zero, effectively silencing it. Moving the attenuator
knob clockwise a little bit will raise the signal to oscillate between –1 volt and +1 volt
(for example). Moving it fully clockwise will pass the original signal through with no
attenuation: -5 volts to +5 volts.

Now we can use the ATTENUATOR knob to control the depth of modulation. Moving
the knob clockwise will increase the modulation depth, and moving it counter-clockwise
towards noon will decrease the modulation depth. Moving it further counter-clockwise
will invert the modulation, but more on that in a second.
At this point, we’ve successfully replicated the cutoff modulation that is hardwired via
the CUTTOFF AMT knob and MOD WHEEL through patching! Let’s use this as a starting
point for further patch exploration..
First Steps | 6

Inverting Attenuators and Stereo Movement | 7
Inverting Attenuators
and Stereo Movement
Matriarch features a stereo lter,
which is really two lters layered
on top of each other and routed
separately to the left and right
channels.
Patching the modulation oscillator to the
CUTOFF 1 IN (like we did in the previous
section) moves both lters up and down,
since the CUTOFF 1 IN is normalled to
the CUTOFF 2 IN. This means that a
voltage patched to CUTOFF 1 IN will also
be patched to CUTOFF 2 IN unless there
is something else patched to CUTOFF
2 IN, so we have the same signal from
the MODULATION section moving both
FILTER 1 and FILTER 2 simultaneously.
As it stands right now, we don’t really
have a stereo signal: both FILTER 1 and
FILTER 2 move up when the modulation
oscillator goes up and they move down
when it goes down. Let’s now explore
how to add stereo-depth and movement
through patching.
MAKE THIS CONNECTION
By using more utilities, we can easily
patch this stereo movement. Patch
the modulation WAVE OUT to an
ATTENUATOR input as before. This
attenuator will be the knob that controls
the modulation depth. Next, let’s take the
ATTENUATOR output and route it just
above to a MULT input. It doesn’t matter
which of the four jacks in the MULT we
use, but let’s use the top left jack.
The MULT takes a signal and allows us
to send it to multiple destinations. Since
we have a signal patched into one of
the jacks, all of the remaining jacks now
contain copies of that signal.

Inverting Attenuators and Stereo Movement | 8
MAKE THIS CONNECTION
Next, patch one of the MULT outputs to CUTOFF 1 IN as before. This just replicates the
patch as we had it before.
The fun begins when we take another MULT output and route it to a different attenuator.
By turning this second attenuator completely counter-clockwise we invert whatever
signal is patched into it. This means that when the modulation oscillator goes up, the
signal out of this inverted attenuator will go down and vice versa.

Inverting Attenuators and Stereo Movement | 9
MAKE THIS CONNECTION
Patch another one of the MULT outputs to a new ATTENUATOR input. Now, patch
the output of this new ATTENUATOR to the CUTOFF 2 IN. Make sure that this second
attenuator’s knob is turned fully counter-clockwise.
The rst attenuator acts as an attenuator for both left and right motion, since the
attenuated version then goes down to the second attenuator which completely inverts
whatever signal is coming in. If you move the second attenuator knob completely
clockwise, we return to mono with both lters moving in sync. Moving the second
attenuator knob back to fully counter-clockwise returns us to stereo space with the
lters moving in opposition directions.
With this patch, we’ve taken a pretty typical subtractive synth effect—an LFO moving
the lter up and down—and created a much deeper stereo version using just a
handful of patch cables and a few utility modules. While utilities like mults and
attenuators don’t exactly stand out as being the most exciting parts of a modular
synthesizer, this exercise shows just how important they can be in creating more
interesting and exciting patches.

Extended Keyboard Techniques: Velocity | 10
Extended Keyboard
Techniques: Velocity
On Matriarch’s back panel are CV outputs for keyboard velocity and aftertouch: how hard
the keys are pressed and the amount of pressure applied to a key after it’s held down,
respectively. These two aspects of Matriarch’s keyboard are not routed to anything by
default and require patching to use.
Let’s expand the patch we’ve been working with and layer on some performance controls.
First, we’ll use the keyboard velocity to control the depth of stereo lter modulation. The
harder we press a key, the wider the lter movement will be.
MAKE THIS CONNECTION
We can achieve this by simply patching the KB VEL OUT (on the rear panel) to the CV
IN of the rst attenuator which controls our modulation depth.
PATCH TO
REAR PANEL
KB VEL
OUT
Matriarch is a hands-on performance instrument that combines the
power and exibility of a modular synthesizer like Moog’s vintage
modular systems with the playable functionality of a Minimoog.
Let’s now explore how patching can be used to enhance creative
playability.

Extended Keyboard Techniques: Velocity | 11
Turn the rst (upper) attenuator knob to noon. The KB VEL OUT sends a voltage from
0 to 5 volts depending on how hard the keyboard keys are pressed. With the attenuator
knob at noon, a low voltage from KB VEL OUT caused by pressing the keys very softly
will raise the attenuator knob slightly – resulting in very subtle lter movement. Pressing
the keys harder will send a higher voltage out of KB VEL OUT, subsequently opening the
attenuator more and generating wider lter movement.
Take a moment to pause here and just play the keyboard – listening to how your
keyboard playing opens and closes the modulation. With some thoughtful patching
we’ve taken our initialized patch—a nice, but rather standard synthesizer sound—and
created a synthesizer that responds to our touch to generate some interesting stereo
movement.

Extended Keyboard Techniques: Aftertouch | 12
Let’s take it a step further with aftertouch. While the keyboard velocity
controls the depth of modulation, we can patch aftertouch to control the
rate of modulation.
MAKE THIS CONNECTION
Patch the KB AT OUT (on the rear panel) to the MODULATION section’s RATE IN.
Move the RATE knob down to around 9 o’clock to set a slow modulation rate for this
patch. The KB AT OUT will send a higher voltage as you apply aftertouch (pressure
to the keys once they’re held down), and will speed up the modulation rate the more
aftertouch you apply. With the keyboard velocity still adjusting the depth of modulation,
play around with this patch and explore all of the interesting ways you can control
stereo movement.
Up to this point we’ve had a single goal in mind: stereo lter motion.. Currently, all of our
patching is related to how those lters move, and how we can control that movement.
But remember, Matriarch is an open-ended synthesizer capable of an astoundingly wide
array of sounds. All of these techniques can apply to modulating delay times, oscillator
pitches, or sequencer movement just like we’ve used them to modulate the lter.
Extended Keyboard
Techniques: Aftertouch
PATCH TO
REAR PANEL
KB VEL
OUT
PATCH TO
REAR PANEL
AT

Extended Keyboard Techniques: Aftertouch | 13
MAKE THIS CONNECTION
Keeping the patch as we have it, let’s now use aftertouch to modulate the delay. Take
the KB AT OUT and patch it to the TIME 1 IN of the STEREO DELAY.
Increase the MIX knob in the STEREO DELAY section to noon and add a bit of feedback
with the FEEDBACK knob. Play around, and you’ll notice that now as you apply
aftertouch you lengthen the delay time—resulting in some wonderfully wobbly sounds.
PATCH TO
REAR PANEL
KB VEL
OUT
PATCH TO
REAR PANEL
AT
MAKE THIS CONNECTION
We still have an attenuator handy, which we can use to invert the aftertouch voltage if
we like. Patch KB AT OUT to the remaining ATTENUATOR input, set the ATTENUATOR
knob counter-clockwise to invert the incoming voltage, and patch the output to TIME
1 IN in the STEREO DELAY. This will make it so that applying aftertouch shortens the
delay time rather than lengthens it.
In fact, with this attenuator we have control of both the range of modulation for
aftertouch and its direction—such is the power of the inverting attenuators of Matriarch!
PATCH TO
REAR PANEL
KB VEL
OUT
PATCH TO
REAR PANEL
AT

Switch PARAPHONY to 1 for now while
we build our rst 2-operator FM voice.
Given how harmonically rich FM
synthesis is, sine waves are often used.
We potentially have three sine wave
oscillators at our disposal: the modulation
oscillator and both lters self-resonating.
Triangle waves work well, and using the
oscillator bank makes things cleaner and
more exible. So, let’s now switch all four
OSCILLATORS to triangle waves.
2-Operator Analog FM Synthesis | 14
2-Operator Analog
FM Synthesis
FM synthesis sits next to subtractive
analog synthesis as one of the major
synthesis methods available today. While
FM exploded in the 1980s by harnessing
the power of digital technology available
at the time, the core concept of FM
synthesis—frequency modulation—has
been possible all the way back to the
vintage Moog systems of the 1960s. With
Matriarch we can create deep and exible
FM patches for a world of sounds not
typically available on analog subtractive
synthesizers.
Let’s return to the initialized patch
from the beginning of this guide as
a starting point. We’re going to use
the oscillator bank as our source of
carrier and modulation oscillators,
allowing us to turn Matriarch into a
2 - o p e r a t o r F M s y n t h w i t h t w o v o i c e s .
Now that we have a handle on how to use attenuators and mults to
deepen our patches, let’s realize a different goal: FM synthesis.

MAKE THIS CONNECTION
For one FM voice our goal is to use
Oscillator 2 to Frequency Modulate (or
FM) Oscillator 1. A crude way of doing this
would be to patch Oscillator 2’s WAVE
OUT output to Oscillator 1’s PITCH IN
input.
Turn down all channels in the mixer
except for OSCILLATOR 1 and press a
note. Compare how the sound changes
as you press the key, removing the patch
connection and then repatching. You’ll
notice that with Oscillator 2 patched to
the PITCH IN the tone is way too low
and pretty abby. This has to do with the
PITCH IN input having an exponential
response, which works well for pitch and
keyboard information, but not as well
when doing FM synthesis.
MAKE THIS CONNECTION
Instead try patching Oscillator 2 WAVE
OUT output to Oscillator 1’s LIN FM IN
input.
You’ll notice now a very bright tone–one
full of overtones. By changing the value
of the OCTAVE switch of Oscillator 2
you change the relationship between the
carrier (Oscillator 1) and the modulator
(Oscillator 2) and thus change the color
of the sound. This might be too bright of
a tone, however, and you’ll want to adjust
the FM depth. Just as before, it is time to
use an attenuator.
2-Operator Analog FM Synthesis | 15

MAKE THIS CONNECTION
Patch Oscillator 2’s WAVE OUT output to an ATTENUATOR input and the
ATTENUATOR output to Oscillator 1’s LIN FM IN input.
Now you can use the attenuator to dial in the depth of frequency modulation. You can
even invert Oscillator 2 by moving the ATTENUATOR knob counterclockwise past noon,
but in the case of this patch it doesn’t make much of a difference.
A major feature of FM synths is dynamic depth FM synthesis—where the depth
of modulation will vary over time—usually controlled by an envelope. Matriarch’s
attenuators easily let us achieve this since their CV inputs make them voltage controlled
ampliers! We will take the amplitude envelope and use that to control the depth of FM.
2-Operator Analog FM Synthesis | 16

2-Operator Analog FM Synthesis | First Step 17
MAKE THIS CONNECTION
We could patch the ENV OUT directly to the CV IN of our attenuator, but by running
the envelope itself through its own attenuator we can have even more control over the
depth of FM.
The rst attenuator sets the starting FM depth and the second sets the max FM depth.
With the rst attenuator at zero (noon) and the second all the way up we get tones
that start with no FM, grow to full FM over the course of the envelope, and return back
to no FM. With the rst attenuator at maximum and the second all the way counter-
clockwise (inverting the envelope) we get the opposite: tones that start with full FM,
reduce to no FM at the height of the envelope, and grow back to full FM as the envelope
decays. By playing with these two attenuators, the amplitude envelope parameters, and
Oscillator 2’s octave and detuning, we have an incredibly wide range of metallic, bright,
clangorous, and buzzy sounds that change over time—perfect for feeding Matriarch’s
stereo lter and delay.

2-Operator Analog FM Synthesis | First Step 18
MAKE THIS CONNECTION
Even better, we can make this a two-voice FM synth by setting up a similar patch with
Oscillators 3+4. Turn up OSCILLATOR 3 in the mixer, patch Oscillator 4 to Oscillator 3’s
LIN FM IN via our remaining attenuator, and mult the attenuated amplitude envelope
to both FM depth attenuators. Switch PARAPHONY to 2 now—this will enable us to use
Oscillators 1+2 for our rst FM voice and Oscillators 3+4 for our second. Below is a full
patch diagram for our two-voice 2-operator FM synthesizer:

Subharmonicon | First Step 19
Now that you have built some intuition for how
Matriarch’s patch points can be used to expand
your tonal palette, feel free to start exploring
and experimenting on your own. We’ve only just
scratched the surface, and with some patch cables
and your imagination Matriarch truly comes alive.
We’ve included a supplementary patch book,
outlining some of the patches in this guide and
some alternate versions of them to play around with.
Remember, though: there is no wrong way to patch
Matriarch. Let your ears be your guide.
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Further Exploration

Subharmonicon | First Step 20
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