Processing External Audio
So what’s in the box? Well, firstly, you have two very stable VCOs (ready to go from the off) that can produce saw or variable pulse waves (with PWM), noise, a sine LFO for modulation, two punchy envelopes (amp and filter/ pitch) and the famous SVF (state-variable) 12dB/2-pole filter that can run continuously from LP to HP mode – this is a huge part of the famous sound. That’s the basics.
However, what looking at these features in isolation doesn’t tell you is that the SEM is basically one huge sweet spot of a synth and it’s pretty hard to make it sound bad! The VCOs sound huge and upfront with vintage grit but enough clarity for modern productions, while the filter is just so versatile (as its state is continuously variable) enabling sounds that morph and evolve from fat to thin and everything in between!
One of the key aspects of the Two Voice Pro is the way you can push levels of the oscillators into the filter for subtle or more nasty overdriven sounds and once you harness the power of this ‘breakup’ and couple that with the non-self-oscillating filter (with its precise, juicy, yet musical resonance), you’re on your way to getting the most from it. However, there’s more! You can process any external audio source through the signal path (instruments/vocals etc), route things internally and externally using the patch panel and CV/Gate outs, create mono or MIDI-clocked duophonic sequences and roll these into songs, play a bass and lead simultaneously using the split- keyboard function and more. In this guide we’ll see how to get the most from this fantastic synth, including creating sequences, basses/leads, drums, duophonic/split sounds and processing external audio.
As a fully-analogue sound processor, the Two Voice Pro is killer and can add lots to any studio/live set-up. Adding grit/growl and filtration to sources such as guitars and basses is easy. You can process any external source as long as you have the correct leads (unbalanced, jack on the SEM end). Connect a drum machine in stereo by taking the left output into the external input of SEM A and the right output into SEM B’s input. Then control the level either on the drum machine itself and/or by using the EXT dial level control on each SEM. The harder you drive the level coming in, the more creamy or nasty the overdrive will get. Then of course, you can mash up the sound even more using the filters, LFOs and envelopes too. The beauty here is you can treat both sources completely independently, or just go through and match each SEM’s settings to the processing on both sides of the incoming audio.