Minilogue Audio In - What for???

CircuitRider · Post by **CircuitRider** » Wed Jan 31, 2018 9:32 pm

Anybody know what the audio in on a Minilogue is for? Volca add-ons maybe? I don't have any of those yet.

Thanks!

megamarkd · Post by **megamarkd** » Thu Feb 01, 2018 12:20 am

Ext In is for anything, anything at all. You can plug another synth's output into it or a microphone or an old radio or a drum machine. Be creative. I gave a little instructional for plugging in a drum machine into a Monologue in the thread titled "Monologue AUDIO IN" but the technique will work with any MIDI instrument in place of the drum machine.

KorgNeubie · Post by **KorgNeubie** » Thu Feb 01, 2018 6:09 pm

megamarkd - Thanks for that! I'll search for your thread. A microphone? I had not thought of that...sounds like I need to explore.

-CR

oodA · Post by **oodA** » Sat Mar 10, 2018 12:18 am

Hey very interesting thought about the microphone

I've tried with a VolcaFM in the minilogue to still be able to get bass notes even while playing polymode.

Really cool

megamarkd · Post by **megamarkd** » Sun Mar 11, 2018 6:29 am

megamarkd - Thanks for that! I'll search for your thread. A microphone? I had not thought of that...sounds like I need to explore.

-CR

You are most welcome! Have some fun experimenting, but always sit while doing so to avoid falling over when you are knocked off your feet by an unexpected genie coming out of the synth!

oodA wrote:Hey very interesting thought about the microphone

I've tried with a VolcaFM in the minilogue to still be able to get bass notes even while playing polymode.

Really cool

That would be a great use. Digital bass can be a bit lacking at times especially FM bass, so that arrangement would beef-up the Volca FM nicely. If you are using a mixer with FX sends, perhaps try sending the FM to the Minilogue using a send instead. That way you could then mix the Minilogue/Volca FM signal in with the dry FM (not to mention with the Minilogue Ext In on an FX send it makes it very easy to send any instrument of for the Minilogue treatment).

Another daring* trick is to send the headphones output of your Minilogue back into it's Ext In. Be sure to have the Ext In level at zero before you start to play, then very very carefully turn up the Ext In level on the Minilogue. Listen to what happens as it could reach a point where you start to drive the Ext In beyond the level of the headphones output and you start to creating a self-generating feedback loop. Things can get squeally and start to run-away from you fairly easily if you go past that level where the Ext In is louder than the output without realising it, so go really slow until you really get the hang of it.

*Only attempt this trick if you are really confident you know you won't blow-up you synth with a run-away feedback loop. Seriously. Make sure you really know your synth before you try this daring trick. I'm not fooling with this warning. You spent a lot on your keyboard, don't wreck it by diving into the deep-end without testing how deep the water is first. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

oodA · Post by **oodA** » Sun Mar 11, 2018 11:21 am

Well this is interesting, especially the use of sends. I will really need this since I got a couple effect pedals that would greatly benefit from being able to send signals and mix them as I need.

Regarding the Volca, the main thing I liked by plugging it into the Minilogue is being able to select the octave, thus "calling" higher or lower notes from the ones played on the Minilogue. The only downside is that the Volca is dependant to the Minilogue and will always play alongside it.

About the headphones output, how could a loop feedback damage the synth?
I won't even try, since I am cautious when pushing gear.

megamarkd · Post by **megamarkd** » Fri Mar 16, 2018 11:28 pm

Like on a delay when you turn up the feedback, it amplifies the loop each time, so creates a self-feeding amp circuit that can get carried away. This can be avoided by attenuating (lowering the volume) of the loop before it re-enters the amp. The Minilogue has no way to control the audio in level so you'd want to do that via an effects send rather than doing a loop straight from the headphones-out. Damage can occur if the Ext-in level overloads the input circuit. I'm sure there is someone out there who can explain all this far better than I...

As for running the FM into the Minilogue but on it's own sequence, try clocking the FM with the Minilogue sync out. Set up the Minilogue running it's sync out to the FM sync in and don't connect any MIDI to it. You should be able to now play sequences on the FM without the notes played on the Minilogue also triggering the FM. The FM will only be heard through the Minilogue if the Minilogue is being triggered, so it will gate the FM's sequences unless you are running through the FM into the Minilogue via a send on a mixer. Those new Volca Mix's have a send don't they?

jmcdeg · Post by **jmcdeg** » Wed Apr 04, 2018 2:03 pm

megamarkd wrote:Another daring trick is to send the headphones output of your Minilogue back into it's Ext In. Be sure to have the Ext In level at zero before you start to play, then very very carefully turn up the Ext In level on the Minilogue. Listen to what happens as it could reach a point where you start to drive the Ext In beyond the level of the headphones output and you start to creating a self-generating feedback loop. Things can get squeally and start to ...

I really like to try to feedback the headphone output into the audio input. Appreciate the warning

. However how can I 'turn up the Ext In level'? Is that something we can do via the menus? Or is the Master Level or VCO level the only option, basically controlling the headphone level?

megamarkd · Post by **megamarkd** » Thu Apr 05, 2018 9:36 am

jmcdeg wrote:
megamarkd wrote:Another daring trick is to send the headphones output of your Minilogue back into it's Ext In. Be sure to have the Ext In level at zero before you start to play, then very very carefully turn up the Ext In level on the Minilogue. Listen to what happens as it could reach a point where you start to drive the Ext In beyond the level of the headphones output and you start to creating a self-generating feedback loop. Things can get squeally and start to ...
I really like to try to feedback the headphone output into the audio input. Appreciate the warning . However how can I 'turn up the Ext In level'? Is that something we can do via the menus? Or is the Master Level or VCO level the only option, basically controlling the headphone level?

Yeah, I jumped in on this topic with my long term knowledge of playing silly-buggers with Ext-Ins on various synthesisers (including Korgs). I'm not actually a Minilogue owner and foolishly assumed a way of controlling the level would be there. I double checked that on the Minilogue and it's not got a level for the audio in

("hey markd, rtfm before you post, douchebag!") I feel like an idiot for doing that.
But do no dismay, there are a few ways around this.

First off, use a lead that *ISN'T* a stereo -> mono lead for the loopback. Use a stereo splitter if you can (or a insert cable: same poop, different price) to run it in, it'll leave you with a spare output of the Minilogue (albeit half stereo) to do what you like with too. If you use a stereo -> mono lead, you'll end up with a summed level going into your synth, which could be upto twice the gain of a single channel.

You can use a mixer with an aux send/fx send or control room output (you won't need a return so monitor room out is idea). You can then use the send level to keep your audio in level in check. Looking at the Minilogue manual I see that the suggested way to use the External Audio In is via a mixer. This is how I'm doing it with my MS-20 and MiniBrute. MS-20 has that nice little preamp processor on it, but I can skip that using the mixer. The MiniBrute has a limiter in it's input as I can't wreck it, but then also has the mixer level.

The other way to do it is to use the oscillator levels. Trickier and requires more live tweaking, but hey, didn't Hendrix look like one wild musician while constantly teasing fate with his feedback performances? One you are all tuned up with your settings and have plugged the headphones into the audio in, turn both the oscillators levels down and then play a note (or send a sequence). Now slowly turn up the levels and remember jump on that sh!t if it starts to run away. I'd like to think there is some form of limiter on the audio in, but I can't check....

In the end, the idea is to try to shave a little off the sound each time it reenters the audio input, this means less chance of an exponential gain increase. Mess around with other things in between the headphone out and the Audio in, like another filter bank (something tells me you don't have one just laying around let along a multimode with highpass, which is the idea really) or pedals like distortion or delay (now there's some mayhem, watch out there for you delay feedback as well as the Minilogue for some Double Trouble) or any pedal you like the sound of. Most decent pedals have an output level on them and you can use that for your audio input attenuater and they are cheaper than a mixer (if you don't have a mixer already).

jmcdeg · Post by **jmcdeg** » Sat Apr 07, 2018 3:34 pm

Thanks for your elaborate answer! And you very much seem to know what you're talking about so absolutely no worries at all the Ext In stuff

). You've actually provided a lot of usefull background!

I am currently in the process of getting some (cheap) gear in as I don't have a mixer. My ML is my only OTB device, with the Line Out straight into my Scarlett.

The current idea is to get an extremely simple passive mixer, even without a send. The idea is to route the headphone out into the mixer, use the fader to control the level, and route the mixer back into the line in. Only question is whether there'll be enough level, but the headphone out should provide a higher level compared to the line out I guess?

thehighesttree · Post by **thehighesttree** » Wed May 02, 2018 12:00 am

Anyone know if Mono/Minilogue actually amplifies a mic signal? I 'm pretty sure it doesn't since it has no gain control but prove me wrong IF YOU DARE!

demonp · Post by **demonp** » Wed May 02, 2018 2:06 pm

It doesnt.

demonp · Post by **demonp** » Wed May 02, 2018 2:10 pm

It doesnt.

Skate323k137 · Post by **Skate323k137** » Sun Aug 26, 2018 5:40 am

I use my Minilogue audio in with a Roland sound canvas SC-55. Minilogue midi out goes to the SC-55 midi module, and the midi module audio out goes back to the minilogue audio in. If you use clean GM instruments such as a saw wave or string, and make sure chorus and reverb are off, you can effectively make the midi module almost like a 3rd VCO. The trick mentioned earlier of turning down the 2 VCOs on the minilogue all the way is very useful to see the wave you're sending on the Minilogues built in oscilloscope. It can give a nice 3 octave option too, since the GM module will stay in the octave that corresponds to the second from the top (of the four octaves on the minilogue VCOs). Alternately this lets you get a thicker 1 or 2 octave sound as well.

Added bonus, if you save your minilogue patches to the slot number which correspondes to the midi instrument number in the GM standard you wish to accompany it, rolling through programs in the minilogue brings the SC55 programs along with it (up to 100 slots). Else, if you set the minilogue program 1st, you can change the midi module to whatever wave or instrument you want to accompany the minilogue VCOs.

Last but not least you can set up 16 instruments on the midi module, making midi channel select on the minilogue an option for having multiple instruments ready for supplimenting your minilogue VCOs on the fly.

The only thing I haven't tried is assigning multiple instruments to the same midi input channel on the midi module. I don't know if it allows this (it is multi timbre...), so I'll give this a go at some point. It would be cool to layer a couple different instruments on the way in to the minilogue.

Skate323k137 · Post by **Skate323k137** » Sun Aug 26, 2018 4:44 pm

You can indeed set multiple instruments to midi input channel one on the sound canvas. This lets you layer 2 or 3 voices on the way to the minilogue. Iirc it has 18 note polyphony, so 3 or 4 sound canvas voices triggered simultaneously will at least match the 4 note polyphony of the minilogue.

Here's a youtube video of some quick demonstration

https://youtu.be/leFhGgqeBMc