Make Noise Phonogene - Manual (Page 4)

OVERVIEW
The Phonogene is a digital re-visioning and elaboration of the tape recorder as musical instrument. It takes
its name from a little known, one of a kind instrument, used by composer Pierre Schaeffer. While it is not an
emulation, it does share the primitive, tactile nature of its namesake, and expands upon the original
concepts. It is informed by the worlds of Musique Concrète (where speed and direction variation were
combined with creative tape splicing to pioneer new sounds) and Microsound (where computers allow for
sound to be divided into pieces smaller then 1/10 of a second, and manipulated like sub-atomic particles).
Having voltage control over every parameter, it is most dynamic as a digital audio buffer for the modular
synthesist. The Phonogene is comprised of a pair of tool-sets, which work well together. Tape Music Tools
allow for sounds to be recorded on the fly, layered using the internal Sound On Sound function, manually cut
into pieces using the SPLICE function, and re-organized with the ORGANIZE control. Once it is spliced up, it
is possible to create nearly infinite variations of the original loop by modulating the ORGANIZE parameter.
VARISPEED allows for the speed and direction of playback to be controlled continuously with one control
signal. GENE-SIZE, GENE-SHIFT and SLIDE make up the Microsound Tools. GENE-SIZE divides the audio
buffer into progressively smaller pieces called Genes (aka particles, grains, granules). A clock signal applied
to GENE-SHIFT will step through those pieces in chronological order, while a control signal (such as the
Wogglebug Smooth CV) applied to SLIDE, moves through those pieces in a nonlinear fashion. Using
SLIDE, random access of the audio buffer is possible. Obviously, functions such as VARI-SPEED and
ORGANIZE are useful for Microsound as well, which is why these functions were grouped into one module.
The end result is a sampler/ looper/audio buffer that is able to exist within a modular synthesizer system, and
offer a vast amount of real-time sound manipulation in a fast and tactile way.
PERSPECTIVE
There is often the expectation that “bad sounds,” such as clicks, pops, distortions, wrong notes, phase
inaccuracies and otherwise, should be impossible with modern musical instruments. Many designers are
making instruments which are fool-proof, and which guarantee some specific musical result, thus making it
easy to create the same music over and over again. The Phonogene does not use this approach. In fact, we
have made it very possible to make the “bad sounds” and “mistakes” that have led to some of the greatest
moments in musical history (and of course, some of the worst!). With the Phonogene, it is possible to Splice
sounds in such a way that you will hear sharp contrasts, clicks and pops. This is the physics of sound! It is
possible to slow down a recording to the point of complete decimation, so that all that remains is trail of
digital artifacts. Such are the limitations of digital sound. It is possible to render the source material
completely unintelligible, to cut busted loops, to distort digitally, to obscure, to regenerate to the point of
almost no signal integrity. This is the nature of the Phonogene. If you seek the perfect looping tool, in the
most contemporary sense of the word “loop,” then please look elsewhere. If you desire to explore the realm
of modular, digital sample manipulation and microsound, read on!