We’ve launched our new Voltage Control Lab Memberships, based around monthly private lessons, weekly online group office hours, access to our growing, exclusive video library, discounts on VCL events and much more! Check it out at www.voltagecontrollab.com. Now on to the Quad Gate Delay!!

Malekko has been churning out great modules over the past couple of years, thanks in part to the hard work and vision of module designer, Ben Davis. The newest device from the company is the Quad Gate Delay, a utility for introducing funky time shifting to gate patterns and rhythms.

The Quad Gate Delay is not a delay-based audio effect. Rather, the module receives a gate input, passing that gate to the output after quite literally postponing the gate signal for a certain amount of time. In our first example, we pass the same clock information through two channels on the delay, and slowly increase the delay time on the second channel, creating an off-kilter rhythmic relationship between the two clocks. This can be used to generate shuffled beats and clocks.

The Gate Delay features three channel modes and three time modes, with drastically different results with each. The channel modes alter how the 4 channels handle input gates. The first mode sets each channel to operate independently of the others, so we can route the different drum patterns in our groove to the channels in the delay, and then slightly alter the timing. This can be handy for funky beats, particularly for creating hiphop in the modular universe. The second mode sends any gate sent to channel 1 to the outputs of the other three channels, a setting that might be useful for creating ruffs, bursts or broken beats. The third mode sends any gate output from channel 1 to the input of the next channel, creating a cascading delayed effect down through the 4 delays.

The time-based modes also determine the functionality of the gates. Mode one sets each channel to a millisecond based delay time, so that delays can be extremely short or free from any clock or tempo. Modes two and three require a clock input at the top of the panel, and base delay times around that tempo. Mode two is unquantized, while mode three is quantized to the beat, making it handy for rhythm remixing. The channels 1 and 2 delay times can also be modulated via the inputs at the top of the module, pairing well with the Voltage Block or other step sequencers.

Davis has been on a roll the past couple of years. Starting with the Varigate 4, then the Varigate 8+, Voltage Block and more, his innovative approach to sequencing and modulation have been adopted by some of the top modular artists including our friend, Baseck (who can play the heck out of a Varigate 8+!)

How are you mixing up your rhythm and gate sequences? Tell us about it in the comments!