After Later Audio – Pachinko (Marbles)

Pachinko by After Later Audio is a recreation of the beloved CV and trigger generator, Marbles by Mutable Instruments.

Pachinko keeps all the functionality of Marbles, however only on 12te instead of 14te. It generates random sequences at three trigger outputs and a total of four CV outputs. Many of the channels are related to each other. Thus, instead of haphazard chaos, you get wild, yet coherent results. Thanks to a multitude of manually adjustable and voltage-controllable parameters, the module’s behavior can be flexibly influenced. Synchronization to external clocks, control over repetition and progression of sequences as well as quantization are just a few examples.

Random gate generator

Master clock

• Internal clock with adjustable rate (with V/O CV input), or division/multiplication of an external clock
• The range selection button for further multiplying or dividing the clock by 4
• Rhythm follower/predictor to lock onto uneven clock divisions or rhythmic patterns
• Adjustable jitter (knob and CV), going from perfect tracking to completely erroneous – but always preserving the overall tempo

Two-channel random rhythm generator

• Three gate outputs: t2 is the main output carrying the jittery clock, t1 and t3 are the complementary random rhythm output.
• Three generative models, with CV-controlled bias parameter, increasing the density of notes on one channel or the other:
1. Random routing of each clock pulse to either output, following a coin toss
2. Selection of a random division factor for one output, and the reciprocal factor for the other
3. Generation of random kick/snare patterns using a process similar to Grids
• Adjustable gate duration, from short triggers to full length. Gate duration can be randomized

Random voltage generator

• 3 outputs, either clocked by the 3 outputs of the random gate generator, or by a common external clock
• Distribution control: SPREAD control, scanning between constant, bell-shaped, uniform, or discrete distributions; and BIAS control biasing the generated voltage towards the bottom or top of the voltage range
• Adjustable range: 0 to +2V (for melodies), 0 to +5V, -5V to +5V

Quantized or smooth… CV Post-processor

• The STEPS parameter controls the steppiness/quantization of the output voltages
• Turn this knob clockwise and a progressive quantizer is applied to the voltages - progressively reducing the probability of hitting a note outside of the scale, then making accidentals less likely, then giving more weight to the root and fifth - and at the extreme yielding only octaves
• If steppy is not your thing, turn counterclockwise to increasingly slew the output voltages to the point that the module produces smooth, continuous curves

Programmable quantizer

• 6 programmable scales.
• Scales are programmed by playing a short jam in the target scale: Marbles learns which notes are more prominent than others

Output diversity

• The three outputs can all follow the settings dialed on the control panel, or react in different and opposite ways. The turn of a knob can completely push your patch in a new direction!

Random looping and shuffling

• DEJA VU parameter increases the probably of re-playing past material to the point that the generated output forms a loop... then increasing the probability of randomizing the order of this loop.
• The DEJA VU control applies to the random rhythm, the random voltages, or to both, or neither of them.
• Adjustable loop length from 1 to 16 steps.

External CV processing

• An external CV can be recorded in the DEJA VU loop in place of internal random voltages.
• All transformations performed by the random voltage generator (looping, shuffling, spreading, transposition, quantization, lag-processing) can be performed on external voltages.
• TLDR: live remixing of external sequences!

Module power connector can be connected either way.