Tides questions

#1

Hey there,

this is my first post, so in case anyone has asked these questions before, please forward me to that topic (and accept my apologies for the double-post).

I have been fascinated with function generators lately and love the MI stuff, so I was very, very happy when I found out about Tides! So far, my plan was to get Plaits soon, as I was also looking for a VCO that could do FM and wavefolding, but… yeah, looks like Tides can do all that, too!

So, after reading the manual and watching the videos on YouTube, I have some specific questions and hope yous can answer them:

  • is the FM input exponential or linear? Both is fine for me, I would just like to know. (1st row of inputs at the bottom, fourth input from the left / right next to the 1V/OCT one)
  • how does the polarizer work, when you turn the FM input signal into the negative range? So far I have only known about attenuators on FM inputs, so this is kinda mind-blowing to me.
  • when I use the Smoothness pot to add wavefolding (turning it cw), how extreme can it go, especially when I send a modulator into Tides as the carrier VCO?

I know, all my questions are about using it as a VCO and FM stuff, but that’s because I absolutely trust MI to ace it at the “normal” functions, haha. So far I own Links and Kinks and love both of them to death. :slight_smile:

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#2
  • The FM input is exponential.
  • If by “polarizer” you mean attenuverter, it works as advertised. If you set it to the negative range, the CV signal will be inverted. For example, if you send a sawtooth (increasing ramp), you’ll get a decreasing frequency sweep (tiiiioooo) if the attenuverter is turned on the - side, and an increasing frequency sweep (whooooop) if the attenuverter is turned on the + side.
  • I don’t recall the details, but it’s equivalent to a 4 or 5-stage wavefolder (the same kind of wavefolding power as a Buchla “Timbre” control).
2 Likes
#3

Thank you very much, those were the answers I have been looking for!

#4

Quick follow up question: what about the
A) FM input and
B) FM Mode
In Plaits? Are they expo or linear? I guess I will in the end have both modules ^^

#5

A) expo.
B) it’s phase modulation, not FM