Modular Monthly

AJH Synth Ring SM

Like everything we’ve tried from AJH Synth, the Ring SM (ring modulator, sub generator and mixer) is something special for those into ring modulators – and even for those who aren’t. A unique design using a warm vintage discrete circuit from the ’60s, there’s no off-the-shelf basic ring modulation here. The Z input, actually a second Y input, lets you mix additional signals and also has a different phase relationship in the circuit, giving a more resonant character against the Y input.

We also have a ‘double’ switch which lets you take a single X input and ignore the Y function and modulate the X input against itself to create a frequency doubling effect. The two sub generators create -1 and 2 sub waves based on the X input, so you can add weight in the lower octaves (sometimes lost from more extreme ring modulation). Like the ring modulator, these sub generators are also more unique than you may expect as they’re shaped sine waves and not just basic square wave subs. The waves shape from skewed to clipped giving a rich, warm bass tone that doesn’t eat up space in the mix or sound flabby as low pitched square waves can.

Finally the mixer section is based on a ’70s Moog CP3 circuit which offers fantastic sounding clipping if you want it. Normalisation gives you the Ring Modulators outputs and sub as part of the mixer or you can use it as a straight five-input mixer. The output level is also a nice touch for changing the response of level-dependent modules further down the patch.