QCD User Manual v1.0
Contents
1. A B C D 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 42. 12V rail 48mA max with 5V Source jumper selecting external 5V 88mA max with 5V Source jumper selecting internal 5V 5V rail 41mA 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 x12 will be triplets if you consider the tap c
3. CD 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 CLOCK OUT 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 jacks not the CV jacks If you are building the VCA Matrix patches shown earlier in the manual connecting this ribbon cable replaces the four 1 8 cables routed from the QCD outputs to the VCA Matrix inputs e 4ms Shifting Inverting Signal Mingler SISM Details forthcoming in the 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 interverted to produce a step wave Try patching this back into the one of the QCD s Div Mult jacks Page 8
4. QCD Expander to modulate the pulse width of an audio rate clock and get a somewhat classic PWM esque effect dhe 4 red el TE A 5 Trigger Mode Install all eight jumpers Gate mode QCD Expander all jumpers removed factory setting Install only the four required jumpers and ribbon cable connected to the Expander module The QCD can be set to Gate or Trigger Mode In Trigger Mode the outputs are 10ms pulses In Gate Mode the outputs are square waves See the end of the manual for instructions on how to change the jumpers You can quickly tell if the QCD is in Gate or Trigger Mode by looking at the LEDs If the LEDs just blink briefly and stay off for a while then it s in Trigger Mode If the LEDs stay on for about the same amount of time as they re off then they re in Gate Mode Note The TAP OUT is always in Gate Mode Page 6 Clock normalization clock clocked by the tap clock PCB v1 2 dims the channel LEDs only red black blue green PCB v1 3 dims the channel LEDs and also the Tap button Page 7 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 Each channel is clocked by whatever is clocking the channel above The top channel red is The two most common config
5. Quad Clock Distributor QCD from 4ms Company Eurorack Module User Manual v1 0 2013 12 09 AAT ult 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
6. 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 aen 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 ye Aa e Keep in mind that the slower channel must be resetting the faster Div Mult channel in order to generate a shuffle pattern x3 gt x5 not x5 gt x3 Reset h Manual triggers Tip Try modulating the green Div Mult a small amount with an LFO And or fire manual resets into the green channel Pag
7. ator and run the output 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 10ms Gate Mode Pulse width is 50 of total period square wave Note In Triggger mode above 35Hz audio rate the pulse width is about 3 of the period not 10ms This allows you to use a
8. can damage the trimpot Threshold Trimpot Adjustment The trimpot on the back of the QCD adjusts the voltage required to trigger a clock or reset This trimpot is labelled Trig Level and is near the power connector 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 The QCD can be interfaced with LZX level compatible equipement by setting this 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 Tip Before adjusting the trimpot take a photo so you can set it back 5V voltage source select 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 a the 5V rail When the QCD is in EXT mode less current is drawn from the 12V rail but if there is excessive noise on the 5V rail it may cause the QCD to glitch If the 5V rail sags due to power draw from other modules the Div Mult amounts could change If you are experiencing these problems try setting the QCD to INT Factory setting is INT mode CLOCK OUTS header At the top of the PCB there s a header labeled CLOCK OUTS This connects the Q
9. e 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 a 8 pin T s ribbon cable Connect the PINGS header on the QPLFO aaa pa A 6 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 i k Skew Reset QUAD CLOCK QUAD PINGABLE LFO ap DISTRIBUTOR 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
10. in the diagram 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 Page 5 QCD jumpers must be To RCD or Trigger outputs set to Trigger mode downstream clock os fo wse he CO OED DLO 9 ZG Advanced tip Run RCD gates into these CV jacks ll l6 i 31 aT Div Mult Reset Reset QUAD CLOCK DISTRIBUTOR gm 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 Jazzy syncopations Complex bongo patterns 4 set to Gate mode id c Input Output 3 7 wen e gt Mme oy My Div Mult Reset Pp fon Fine tune th ior i
11. l 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 57 40 mm deep Power consumption
12. lock 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 pie A we 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 Djiyide 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 clear the reset turn the knob up to x16
13. ne tune the VC4AM a p DISTRIBUTOR ds try around 1 00 a Set Div Mults Ss gt Start of bar slow clock To PEG or QPLFO Ping for a slow LFO where shown Dubstep or experiment Se f 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 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 rhytmic 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 attenutor is great Plug one QCD channel output into the attenu
14. snap 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 CV Skew able CV Div Mult able LFOs e The 8 pin header can also interface with other modules VCAMatrix Mixiplexor 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 external clocks are plugged in it clocks al
15. urations 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 run 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
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