MAKEN0ISE’s Universal Synthesizer System: A Modular Starting Patch Dissected

The New Universal Synthesizer System from Make Noise is presented as a modular playground where patching is entirely open-ended. The video sets the tone by emphasising that there’s no single ‘correct’ way to connect these modules—every user is encouraged to forge their own path. This approach is classic Make Noise: offering tools that invite experimentation rather than prescribing workflows.

From the outset, the system is described as a suite of interconnected modules—Multi-Wave, Polymaths, and a pair of QXGs—designed to be chained together with supplied cables. This normalisation provides a ready-made signal path, but the ethos remains clear: the best patch is the one you create yourself. The video positions the following patch as a starting point, not a template, inviting users to adapt and mutate it as they see fit.

The demonstration begins by connecting the outputs of the leftmost QXG to the auxiliary inputs of the rightmost QXG, completing the internal audio and modulation chain. This simple connection leverages the system’s under-the-hood normalisation, where Multi-Wave provides audio, Polymaths delivers amplitude modulation, and the QXGs handle the final output routing.

Monitoring the outputs of the rightmost QXG, the patcher then links Multi-Wave and Polymaths so that both activate in synchrony. This ensures that both modules respond to the same channel activations, laying the groundwork for tightly integrated modulation and sequencing. The video is careful to note that this is just one example among many possible configurations, reinforcing the system’s flexibility.

Key features of the system come to the fore as the patcher sets Polymaths to channel index mode, ensuring it can accurately track voltages from Multi-Wave. With the span panel control at noon and the span CV attenuverter fully clockwise, Polymaths is primed for precise channel following. The Multi-Wave’s channel index output is patched to the span CV input on Polymaths, and both modules are set to their preferred activation modes—round mode for Multi-Wave, indicated by a yellow display.

Sequencing is introduced by clocking Multi-Wave via Tempy and distributing the clock signal to both Multi-Wave and René. This setup allows Multi-Wave to advance through its eight channels sequentially, with Polymaths tracking each step. Pitch sequencing is achieved by routing René’s X-CV output to Multi-Wave’s volt per octave input, so each channel’s pitch updates with every activation. The result is a tightly locked system where modulation and pitch sequencing are deeply intertwined.

The creative possibilities of the system become apparent when the fall time on Polymaths is increased, allowing notes to overlap and blend. This produces evolving textures as successive notes bleed into one another, a technique that’s particularly effective for lush, polyphonic soundscapes. The video demonstrates how subtle tweaks to envelope times can dramatically alter the musical outcome.

Further exploration introduces the concept of modulation dissemination: each channel holds a modulation value at activation, updating only when triggered again. By patching a gate from Press Point to the fall CV input on Polymaths and adjusting the attenuverter, the patcher shows how dynamic, per-channel modulation can be achieved. This opens the door to intricate, evolving modulations across the system.

Finally, the spread parameter on Polymaths is manipulated to distribute oscillation unevenly across channels. Depending on the direction of the spread control, either the leftmost or rightmost channels receive more modulation, adding another layer of movement and complexity. The video closes by encouraging users to take this starting patch and push it in their own direction—a fitting end for a system built on open-ended exploration.