QCD User Manual v2.0
Contents
1. Plug the VCAM s four outputs 1 2 3 4 into four triggerable modules drum modules or envelope triggers for example e Make sure the QCD is in Trigger Mode because triggers can be combined more easily than gates e Turn up all the VCAM knobs By turning on different combinations of buttons various trigger patterns will come out of each VCAM channel You can combine two or more rhythms by turning on two or more buttons in a column You can route a beat to multiple outputs by turning it on in more than one row Self modulating matrix complex rhythmic pattern generator QCD in Gate Mode Plug the four outputs of the QCD into the VCAM s four inputs A B C D Plug the VCAM s four outputs 1 2 3 4 back into the four Div Mult jacks of the QCD Make sure the QCD is in Gate Mode If it s in Trigger Mode this patch won t do very much The VCAM buttons will route the QCD channels into each other and the VCAM knobs will adjust the amount each channel effects the other s When you turn a button on fine tune the knob Small changes in the knob can result in drastic differences Each pattern of buttons knobs causes a different set of rhythms This is a very powerful patch structure that turns the QCD VCAM into a playable four voice rhythm section You can quickly build simple or complex beats and go between states with the touch of a few buttons For outputs you can designate one or more VCAM channels as your trigger pattern outputs Output 4 in the d2. 06 27mm deep Power consumption 12V rail 53mA max with 5V Source jumper selecting external 5V 65mA max with 5V Source jumper selecting internal 5V 5V rail 13mA max with 5V Source jumper selecting external 5V not used with 5V Source jumper selecting internal 5V 12V rail 40mA max Page 2 Getting started First install the QCD in your Eurorack modular system Use the included power cable to plug into the 16 pin header on a standard Eurorack Doepfer standard power supply The red stripe should point down and is 12V Screw the QCD to the rails on your case using the included M3 screws or supply your own screws 1 Start by tapping in a tempo Press the Tap button twice Instantly the button will flash to your tempo All the channels are now synced to the tempo you tapped If you tap a new tempo all the lights will follow your new rhythm You can clear the tempo by holding down the Tap button for 1 second 2 Plug the TAP OUT jack into something that makes sound Try a bass drum module or you could Ping or trigger a PEG channel and run the ENV output into a VCA with a cool sound running through it This will be your metronome 3 Plug the red OUT jack into something else that makes or changes sound Maybe a hi hat module or trigger a different envelope or FM waveshape a VCO 4 Turn the red Div Mult knob and listen to the different divisions and multiples of the clock For instance x3 will be triplets or x
3. adjusts the voltage required to trigger a clock or reset This trimpot is labelled THRESHOLD and is in the lower left corner At fully CCW the voltage is 5 0V At center it s 2 5V At fully CW it s OV and the unit will not respond to CLK IN or Reset j The QCD can be interfaced with LZX level compatible equipment by setting this s trimpot to about 0 5V If you need a precise triggering level you can use a volt meter to measure the voltage on the wiper of the trimpot as you turn it This voltage will be the threshold voltage Factory default is about 2 5V or centered Near the power connector is a 3 pin header with a jumper Jumping the side marked INT will power the QCD from the 12V rail using the internal regulator Jumping the side marked EXT will power part of the QCD from the 5V rail excessive noise on the 5V rail it may cause the QCD to glitch If you are experiencing glitching try setting the QCD to INT Factory setting is INT mode CLOCK 2 neacer At the top of the PCB there s a header labeled OUTS This connects the QCD s output jacks to another module The output jacks will still function and plugging into them will not override or disconnect the header connection The OUTS header works with several modules e 4ms QPLFO See above section QCD and QPLFO e 4ms VCA Matrix Connect the 8 pin cable to the DAISYCHAIN INPUTS header on the VCAM The QCD clocks will appear on the VCAM s main input
4. le ery around 1 00 TRIX S Set Div Mults ta P Start of bar slow clock To PEG or QPLFO Ping for a slow LFO where shown Dubstep or experiment Self modulating matrix complex rhythmic pattern generator see text on facing page Make sure the QCD s jumpers are set to Gate Mode see Gate Trigger section below Page 5 More Patch Ideas QCD as master clock Using the QCD as a master clock is easy Just tap a tempo and all the channels will be in time To chain multiple QCDs simply run the Tap Out jack into the next QCD s top channel CLK IN To chain to other clock modules such as the Rotating Clock Divider RCD run the Tap Out into the other module s main clock input QCD as clock slave The QCD also functions as a clock slave Run your master clock into the red CLK IN jack All four QCD channels will be clocked by the external clock so you can select a different Div Mult amount for each one Plugging into one of the CLK IN jacks will override the clock coming from above and drive the channels below See Clock normalization for details QCD as complex trigger generator Very complicated rhythmic patterns can be generated using the QCD with a VCA Matrix or a QCD Expander See QCD and VCA Matrix above as well as the QCD Expander manual If you don t have either of these two modules you could use an attenuator A two or four channel attenuator is great Plug one QCD channel output into the attenuator and run the output
5. of that into a different channel s Div Mult CV jack Adjust the attenuator knob to change how much the first channel modulates the second Another useful companion to the QCD is the Short Bus from Low Gain This has diodes on the inputs to all for triggers to combine easily Patch in the four QCD channels and use the switches to route combinations of them to the two bus outputs Audio Rate Harmonizing While the QCD is not designed to run at audio rates it will process and produce low frequency audio signals A simple signal like a square or triangle will give the cleanest results but any signal can be used The output will be a harsh square wave so you may want to clean it up with some filtering or further processing The frequency response is complex Running the QCD at high frequencies is an easy way to generate noise The output pitch is quantized past 300Hz or so Sweeping the Div Mult CV results in some interesting effects Try mixing the original signal back in Try modulating Div Mult at audio rates Note It s recommended to be in Gate Mode use the QCD Expander when running at audio rates The audio output in trigger mode is dirty and becomes unstable more rapidly Gate Mode and Trigger Mode Trigger Mode Pulse width is about 12ms Above 35Hz audio Gate Mode Pulse width is 50 of total period square wave rate the pulse width becomes unstable unless you are using With the QCD Expander this represents Pulse Width at 50 a QCD E
6. of modules on the same power bus can be clocked from a single QCD thus greatly simplifying your patches If set to receive listen the clock bus will be sent to the Q CD s Channel 1 input Red channel This overrides the Tap Tempo Channel 1 normalized connection Thus to use Tap Tempo you have to manually patch it into a QCD channel The clock bus can be overridden on the any receiving module by patching a cable into the clock input jack so using the clock bus does not create any limitations Compatible modules 4ms QCD 4ms Rotating Clock Divider RCD v1 2 and later receive only 4ms Shuffling Clock Multiplier SCM v1 2 and later receive only 4ms Pingable Envelope Generator PEG v2 0 and later receive only Makenoise CTRLSEL Clock Send Lead Master The QCD will send a clock over the bus Put a jumper across Tap gt Ch1 and across Ch1 gt Bus Omit Bus gt Ch7 Whatever you patch into the Channel 1 Red CLK IN jack will be sent to the clock bus Tap Tempo will be sent to the clock bus if nothing is plugged into the Channel 1 CLK IN jack Clock Receive Follow Slave The QCD will receive a clock from the clock bus Put a jumper across Bus gt Ch1 and omit the other positions Channel 1 4 will be clocked from the Bus The Tap Tempo section will act like an independent module To use the QCD with the Tap Tempo button you will have to patch from TAP OUT into the CLK IN jack Stand alone Free The QCD will ig
7. 12 will be triplets if you consider the tap clock to be quarter notes and 4 will hit every 4th beat Try to get familiar with the difference between x7 and x6 for example 5 Plug external CV into the red Div Mult CV jack Try the ENV out from a PEG running very slowly turn the PEG Scale knob to about 2 o clock Tip Ping the PEG with the black OUT and set black Div Mult to 32 or 16 Try a manual pad such as the Pressure Points or a Synthwerks FSR module Aa i pressure output not gate outputs Div Mult Div Mult CV jack Try a sequencer output Each step in the sequencer can set a different plug external CV here Diyide Multiply amount Tip Clock the sequencer with the Tap Out or one of the QCD channels Now everything will be synced This is an easy way to experiment with sequencing dance beats changing rhythms rhythmically 5 Turn the blue Div Mult knob to and plug the blue OUT into something that makes sound Now we have 3 sounds going a metronome Tap Out the red channel and the blue channel which should be matching the metronome 6 Trigger the blue Reset on the up beat Run a manual trigger into blue Reset and fire it a fraction of a beat after you hear the metronome Listen to how the blue sound is still at the same tempo as the metronome but on an off beat Hit the trigger some more and listen to how it Manual Trigger changes This is called changing the phase of a clock Play with Div Mult too Tip To cl
8. Quad Clock Distributor QCD from 4ms Company Eurorack Module User Manual v2 0 2015 02 20 AAT QUAD CLOCK ap DISTRIBUTOR gp The Quad Clock Distributor QCD from 4ms Company is a four channel Voltage Controlled Clock Divider Multiplier with master Tap Tempo Each channel can be synced to the tap tempo to the channel above or to an external clock Each channel also has a reset jack With a Tap Tempo button and five sync ed clock outputs the QCD is a versatile head of the chain Master clock module and or a complex rhythmic pattern generator The QCD has headers for connecting to the QPLFO VCA Matrix and other modules e Four CV Clock Divider Multipliers 32 to x16 e Tap Tempo button with dedicated tap clock output e Channels sync to tap tempo or can be driven by external clock s e Reset jack on each channel e Gate or trigger outputs or variable PW and Trigger Delay using the QCD Expander e Create complex trigger patterns for drum modules or rhythmic patches e Connects to QPLFO and other modules with the included 8 pin cable e QCD Expander adds attenuator inverters for CV inputs DOWNLOAD MOST RECENT MANUAL AT http 4mspedals com qcd php Basic features e Four CV controlled Clock Divider Multipliers o CV control allows for clock speed to be sequenced manually changed and or self patched for complex and controllable patterns o Divides and Multiplies clocks from 32 to x16 on each channel Detented knobs sn
9. ap to integer division multiples CV jacks modulate Div Mult amount Channels can be stacked for more range 1048576 to x65536 e Tap clock output jack runs at the tapped tempo even if other channels are being clocked externally e Independent CLOCK IN OUT Reset and Div Mult CV on each channel e Reset jack restarts the clock when a trigger is received alters phase of clock e Clock input jacks are normalized downwards Tap gt Red gt Black gt Blue gt Green o Plugging into a CLK IN jack will clock the channel s below with the same clock e Auto stop each channel stops automatically when the incoming clock stops e LED brightness can be adjusted from the front panel e Jumper selectable gate or trigger outputs QCD Expander adds CV control e High quality potentiometers with metal shafts and nuts Connectivity e Daisy chain multiple CDs or other clock modules using Tap Out jack e Interfaces with QCD Expander for more features Pulse Width Inverted Gate attenuverters for CV inputs e 8 pin header on the PCB connects to the Quad Pingable LFO QPLFO to provide four LFOs with CV control of Skew and CV control of the clock divide multiply amount e The 8 pin header can also interface with other modules VCA Matrix Mixiplexer Intermix e Can create a standard clock from a DINSYNC 24ppq clock and vice versa using two channels 12 and 2 or x6 and x4 for example Controls and jacks e Tap tempo button tap twice to set a tempo If no e
10. ear the reset turn the knob up to x16 and back or send a trigger into the Div Mult jack or just stop and restart the clock hold the Tap button for 1 second If you don t have a manual trigger like a Pressure Points or Synthwerks FSR use a manual CV knob MATHS Ch 2 ora stopped PEG channel in Bi polar mode and turn the knob down up down to generate a trigger Or do the poor man s button plug unplug a cable into any jack that s holding a high gate Shuffle pattern AAT Div Mult Reset 7 Make a shuffle beat by resetting the blue channel with the green channel This patch only works if the jumpers are set to Trigger Mode or you have a QCD Expander with Pulse Width set to triggers See the Gate Mode and Trigger Mode section later in the manual Set blue Div Mult to x5 Set green Div Mult to x2 Patch green OUT into blue Reset The blue channel will output a swing pattern Try green Div Mult at x3 meh try x4 Try blue Div Mult at x7 The green channel must be going slower than the blue channel or else you won t get a shuffle pattern e For best results the two Div Mult values should not be multiples of each other e g x3 and x5 not x2 and x4 e Keep in mind that the slower channel must be resetting the faster nis Div Mule channel in order to generate a shuffle pattern x3 gt x5 not x5 gt x3 Reset anual triggers Tip Try modulating the green Div Mult a small amount with an LFO And or fire manual re
11. iagram Or you can use stacking cables or mults to take the output from any QCD or VCAM channel and also run that channel back into the QCD Div Mult Build the example patch on the facing page top Try turning on different buttons and adjusting the VCAM knobs by small amounts Make sure the QCD s jumpers are removed so that it s in Gate Mode Try to understand how this patch works For instance turning on button A 2 will route QCD channel 1 into QCD channel 2 s Div Mult Thus channel 2 will go fast slow fast slow at a rate specified by channel 1 s speed The difference between fast and slow will be determined by the A 2 knob on the VCAM Page 4 QCD jumpers must be To RCD or Trigger outputs set to Trigger mode y downstream clock w Jf pm Que Fo C O L DA Q Advanced tip Run RCD gates into these CV jacks Div mae Reset Level UAD CLOCK STRIBUTOR T VCAMATRIX SS Turn each Div Mult knob Turn all the knobs up Press buttons to route to a unique value and combine triggers Trigger routing with QCD and VCA Matrix see text on facing page Make sure the QCD s jumpers are set to Trigger Mode see Gate Trigger section below QCD jumpers must be J azzy syncopations Complex bongo patterns lt set to Gate mode a 4 ais oN 5 2 ci z Z5 rr s GY w o eS LO Div Mule Reset y ouapkrock Fine tune tha knot VCAMA ine tune tne a DISTRIBUTOR
12. jacks not the CV jacks This replaces four 1 8 cables routed from the QCD outputs to the VCA Matrix inputs e 4ms Shifting Inverting Signal Mingler SISM The QCD clocks will be routed to the switch tabs of the SISM s input jacks Be sure to remove the LINK jumpers on the SISM see SISM manual e Mixiplexer from Toppobrillo Use individual connector wires available from Toppobrillo or 4ms Pressing the X I button on the Mixiplexer selects the QCD s four clocks to control the four VCAs of the Mixiplexer Level Knobs on the Mixiplexer attenuate the clocks While a fun patch it may be more useful to connect the QCD to a QPLFO and the QPLFO to the Mixiplexer e Intermix from Circuit Abbey Run the 8 pin cable to the left or right bank input on the Intermix Set the Intermix to L R Bank mode Set the QCD into Gate Mode The four QCD clocks can be mixed attenuated and inverted to produce a step wave Try patching this back into the one of the QCD s Div Mult jacks BUS CLOCK jumpers The QCD can send and receive clocks from other modules using the top rail of the power bus commonly known as the Gate bus in Doepfer systems This feature is only available on the QCD v2 0 and later The QCD can act as a master clock or leader by sending clock pulses over the bus Other modules that are configured to receive follow a clock on the bus will be synchronized to the QCD as if you had patched a cable between them A nearly infinite number
13. nore the clock bus Put a jumper across Tap gt Ch1 and omit the other two positions Tis mode is only recommended if you are using the bus for other purposes e g Doepfer CV Gate bus
14. sets into the green channel Page 3 QCD and QPLFO The QCD is designed to connect to the Quad Pingable LFO which turns the QCD s clocks into analogue waveshapes variable skew ramp triangle saw Together these two modules provide a fully clock syncable variable skew quad LFO and master clock system The QPLFO and QCD connect in the back with an 8 pin ribbon cable Connect the PINGS header on the QPLFO CLKIN4 e PING Y nme to the CLOCK OUTS header on the QCD Make sure the red stripe is aligned to the white line on both modules When connected together each QPLFO Ping jack is normalized to the corresponding output on the QCD Whatever tempo each QCD channel is running at the QPLFO channel will run at the same tempo Plugging into the Ping on the QPLFO jack will override the QCD connection so the two units can still be used separately You can freely plug into the QCD s OUT jacks without interrupting the connection UAD CLOCK QUAD PINGABLE LFO Q q p DISTRIBUTOR op QCD and VCA Matrix The VCA Matrix is an excellent companion to the QCD The four outputs of the QCD can be run into the four VCA Matrix inputs On the facing page are two example patch structures One requires the QCD s jumpers to be in Trigger Mode the other requires them to be in Gate Mode see Gate Mode and Trigger Mode section below Trigger routing QCD in Trigger Mode Plug the four outputs of the QCD into the VCAM s four inputs A B C D
15. un an external clock into the blue CLK IN jack This will clock the blue and green channels from the external clock The red and black channels will still be clocked by the Tap tempo clock Adjusting LED Brightness The brightness of the LEDs can be adjusted from very dim to very bright producing a light show on your face You should leave the unit powered on to do this so you can watch the LEDs change You will need a small screwdriver 0 size phillips tip and 1 8 8mm or smaller diameter shaft Carefully insert the screwdriver into the LED Adjustment hole as shown in the photo Make sure the screwdriver is perpendicular to the panel You should feel contact with the trim pot which is a short distance below the surface of the panel Turn the screwdriver slowly If you turn all the way to the left counter clockwise the LEDs will turn almost off If you turn all the way to the right clockwise the LEDs will be painfully bright to view Sunglasses optional If you re not sure if the screwdriver is the right size to turn the trimpot remove the QCD from the rack The trimpot is visible from the top edge of the module so you can visually inspect if the screwdriver is fitting Forcing the wrong screwdriver can damage the trimpot PCB v1 2 dims the channel LEDs only red black blue green PCB v1 3 and v2 0 and later dim the channel LEDs and also the Tap button Threshold Trimpot Adjustment The trimpot on the back of the QCD
16. xpander highly recommended i g aD 5 U L Za ia 2 ad 20 ws 00 mm Uo a 5 oO i w Y has 2 a a o re E Trigger Mode Gate mode eee a a Install all eight jumpers Install only the four required jumpers and ribbon cable connected to the default setting Expander module The QCD can be set to Gate or Trigger Mode In Trigger Mode the outputs are 12ms pulses In Gate Mode the outputs are square waves The QCD Expander allows for variable Pulse Width trigger gates or anything in between For best results maximum control and most stable pulse widths we recommend using the QCD Expander instead of setting the jumpers to Trigger Mode The QCD ships from the factory in Gate Mode with four extra jumpers included Page 6 Clock normalization The QCD s CLK IN jacks are normalized in a pattern that allows for one or more clocks to drive one or more channels or all the channels to sync to a single clock See diagram at left All the channels are clocked by the tap clock unless you override that by plugging in an external clock Each channel is clocked by whatever is clocking the channel above The top channel red is clocked by the tap clock The two most common configurations are e Tap Tempo Master No CLK IN jacks being used The tap tempo clocks all the channels e External Clock plug an external clock into Red CLK IN Leave other CLK IN jacks open Another configuration example would be to r
17. xternal clocks are plugged in it clocks all the channels e TAP OUT jack Clock output for the tapped tempo e Each of the 4 channels has e CLK IN jack Clock input Any signal can be used A trim pot on the back sets the triggering threshold default is 2 5V If nothing is plugged in the clock is taken from the CLK IN jack on the channel above The top channel s CLK IN jack is normalized to the Tap clock e OUT jack Clock output Period tempo is a division or multiple of the time between the last two pulses on the CLK IN jack e Reset jack Trigger input locks the clock phase to a new spot in the measure Any signal can be used The same triggering threshold for the CLK IN jack is used e Div Mult Knob selects amount of clock division or multiplication from 32 to x16 detenting clicking at integer amounts Note 32 and x16 have two clicks each Turning the knob all the way down is 32 and turning it up one click is also 32 The next click is 16 Similarly the top two clicks are x16 The artwork on the faceplate shows this e Div Mult jack OV to 10V sweeps full range Knob provides offset to the signal on the jack e LED blinks to the tempo Brightness is adjustable e LED Brightness the small hole next to the TAP OUT jack is for adjusting the LED Brightness A tiny phillips screwdriver can be inserted through the panel to adjust the brightness See manual section for instructions Dimensions e 10HP Eurorack format module e 1
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