Workshop Computer Program Cards

Turing Matrix

README

Turing Matrix

This is a beta Workshop Computer card built from the official 03_Turing_Machine firmware, reshaped into two switch-selected layers inspired by the Music Thing Modular Turing Machine + Vactrol Mix Expander combination.

The card builds on ideas and code originally developed by Tom Whitwell and Chris Johnson. Their work on the Turing Machine family and mixer concepts is the foundation this beta card is based on.

The original Vactrol Mix Expander is a four-input, two-output vactrol matrix mixer for the hardware Turing Machine. On the Workshop Computer we have two audio inputs, two CV inputs, two audio/CV outputs, two CV outputs, and two pulse outputs, so this card treats the idea as a two-input, two-output random matrix/mixer.

Basic idea

  • Z middle is the Turing control layer and is intended to feel like the original Turing card.
  • Z up is the mixer layer and uses the card's Turing-style control signals to animate a two-input, two-output audio/CV mixer.
  • Z down remains tap tempo.
  • Pulse Out 1 and Pulse Out 2 keep the same clock/Turing pulse behavior in both layers.
  • CV Out 1 and CV Out 2 stay quantized pitch outputs in Z middle, and become mirrored crossfaded CV outputs in Z up.
  • On startup the active layer reads the physical knob positions directly; pickup only applies after switching between layers so the controls do not jump when you return to a layer.

Controls

Z middle

  • Main knob: Turing randomness / write amount.
  • X knob: loop length.
  • Y knob: channel 2 divide/multiply relationship.

Z up

  • Main knob: mixer lag / slew time.
  • X knob: mix depth 1.
  • Y knob: mix depth 2.
  • Audio/CV In 1 and 2 are the mixer inputs. The audio inputs can also be used as slow CV sources.

LED feedback

  • Z middle keeps the inherited Turing-style LED view.
  • Z up switches the brightness LEDs to mixer feedback.
  • Z down is tap tempo when no external clock is patched.

Inputs

  • Pulse In 1: external clock for the main Turing channel.
  • Pulse In 2: independent clock for channel 2.
  • CV In 1: divide/multiply modulation for channel 2 in Z middle, mix input 1 in Z up.
  • CV In 2: quantized pitch offset in Z middle, mix input 2 in Z up.
  • Audio/CV In 1: mixer input 1 in the mixer layer.
  • Audio/CV In 2: mixer input 2 in the mixer layer.

Outputs

  • Pulse Out 1: matrix gate 1.
  • Pulse Out 2: matrix gate 2.
  • CV Out 1: channel 1 quantized pitch CV in Z middle, crossfaded CV output 1 in Z up.
  • CV Out 2: channel 2 quantized pitch CV in Z middle, crossfaded CV output 2 in Z up.
  • Audio Out 1: direct audio pass-through in Z middle, mixed audio output 1 in Z up.
  • Audio Out 2: direct audio pass-through in Z middle, mixed audio output 2 in Z up.

Quickstart

Try this as a first patch:

  1. Tune oscillator 1 and oscillator 2 to a fifth interval.
  2. Patch the two oscillators into Audio In 1 and Audio In 2.
  3. Patch Audio Out 1 and Audio Out 2 to two mixer channels and pan them hard left and right.
  4. Switch to Z up.
  5. Turn X and Y to maximum.
  6. Listen first without any CV patched so you can hear the basic stereo mix movement.
  7. Patch Slopes output to CV In 1 and CV In 2 and set Slopes to a slow loop.
  8. Patch CV Out 1 and CV Out 2 to the pitch inputs of oscillator 1 and oscillator 2.
  9. Listen on headphones and adjust the Slopes speed to hear the changes more clearly.

Mixer behavior

In the mixer layer, the card uses the Turing-style control signal as a crossfade driver. Audio Out 1 crossfades Audio In 1 against Audio In 2, and Audio Out 2 crossfades Audio In 2 against Audio In 1.

The same crossfade is mirrored on the CV pair: CV Out 1 crossfades CV In 1 against CV In 2, and CV Out 2 crossfades CV In 2 against CV In 1.

Status

Beta implementation. The firmware source is copied from card 03_Turing_Machine with:

  • the internal card number changed to 93
  • the original Audio In 1 reset behavior removed
  • the original Audio In 2 switch override behavior removed
  • a new Z up mixer layer added alongside the Turing control layer
  • startup knob values applied directly to the active layer, with pickup only applied after layer changes

Web editor

This card now needs its own editor model because the switch no longer selects two Turing presets. The local web/ editor handles the Turing settings plus the mixer-layer settings: timing, scale/range, pulse behavior, mix curve, lane link, rise/fall timing, and per-lane minimum/maximum windows. The panel still handles the live lag and mix depth gestures in Z up.

The hosted editor is here:

https://soveda.github.io/Turing_Matrix_Editor/web

⬅️ Back to All Programs ⬆️ Back to Top