Minimal Wave Records

So I bought the SH09 which has CV/Gase in and out.  I’ve also got a Boss DR220e drum machine that has a trigger in and out.  Is it possible to hook the two up (I assume the synth lfo could control the tempo of the drum machine and/or the drum machine could control the tempo of the lfo on the synth)?

as far as i understand you need trigger in on your synth to trigger envelopes from external source (a drum machine for example). the difference between gate in and trigger in is that gate opens and closes (so the gate signal has some duration) while trigger is just a short impulse which could initiate some event (start a vcf or a vca envelope for example).

you can hook the trigger out of the dr220 to the gate in on the sh-09. the sh-09 will then play a note (whatever the last note you pressed was) every time the dr220 sends a trigger (it’s programmable, from the accent, if i recall). this is particularly good for basslines.
it’s possible you could also take the gate out of the sh-09 and plug that into the trigger in on the dr220, although that’s probably not a very productive venture - every time you’d play a note on the sh09 it will just step the dr220. could be interesting if you’re in the mood to make something very awkward, perhaps.
i don’t think there is anyway to sync the lfo with anything on the sh-09 - the sh101 has s&h on the lfo that can be synced, however, and i think the sh02 does as well.

if you get any other drum machine with trigger out (ie: dr55/110, 606, 707, etc), you could hook the trigger out of that into the trigger in on the dr220 to sync the two drum machines, which could be very nice (i’d imagine the 707 or the dr110 would complement it well - i don’t have a dr220 but am somewhat familiar with the sounds,).

The cv/gate FAQs on the Kenton website are good and briefly explains some of the different protocols, including the different kinds of gate/trig: Gate In, V-Trig In, S-Trig In, Trig In.

Some of their how-to pages are also interesting, although none of the examples refer to an SH09 or DR220 necessarily.

Thanks for all the info!  I was able to get the SH09 to trigger the steps on the DR220, but not the other way around.  Considering I don’t have a manual for the drum machine its trial and error until I get it figured out.

maybe the trigger output volume on dr-220 is not enough for sh-09, i used to have the same problem with sh-1, i actually had to have the trigger out running through a bass amp to get the required volume

try to connect it through a booster or a headphone amp and see if it works

upd: oh and by the way do you hear an actual sound of the trigger when you hook it to a mixer/amp? it should sound like a short click (like we hear in egyptian lover’s beats for example)

trigger bass

[quote author=“Ollie_Stench”]I was able to get the SH09 to trigger the steps on the DR220, but not the other way around.

Make sure you set up a sound on the SH-09 that has some decay/release on both the amp & filter.  Definately have the VCA set to ENV and not GATE.  Also, you may have better luck sending the trigger to the external input (set ENV to GATE+TRIG)

The trigger signal is very short so you won’t have much luck setting up those types of sounds that rely on the key (GATE) being held while the envelope decays towards a sustain of zero and then releases quickly when the key is let up.  Generally, for a triggered bass sound (as known from so many tracks we are concerned with here) you want:

Attack:  Zero
Decay:  Short, but not instant
Sustain:  around 1/2 way +/-
Release: Same as Decay

Once you get it going you can tweak D/S/R to taste for more staccatto or more sustained.