5. Meta-modulation – modulating the modulators

Any synth with a decent mod matrix should allow you to modulate modulation amount/depth with another modulator. Confused? Don’t worry – here’s how to get meta with your mod assignments in three easy steps

1

Here’s a meaty single-oscillator synth bassline created using VPS Avenger. We’ve dialled in tight filter envelope settings, and we’re using this envelope to introduce frequency modulation over the start of each bass note. The assignment is

Flt1 Envelope » OSC 1 FM Amount here in Avenger’s mod matrix – let’s call this ‘Slot 1’ purely for explanatory purposes.

2

Wiggling this Env > FM mod amount

slider (our ‘Slot 1 depth’) introduces cool motion and timbral change. To control this slider hands-free, we assign a free-running,

2-beat sine LFO to sweep the ‘ Slot 1 depth’ slider. The LFO rhythmically increases and decreases how much the filter envelope is affecting FM amount. Get it? We’ll call this second mod assignment ‘Slot 2’.

3

So far, we’ve got ‘Slot 2’ modulating our ‘Slot 1’ depth. To dive deeper down the modulation rabbit hole, we’d like to use a handy dial to increase and decrease the amount by which this LFO influences Flt Env > FM Amount, so we assign an empty macro knob to control our ‘Slot 2’

depth. Finally, for more rhythmic fun, we hook up a second macro to alter LFO Rate.