Rhythmicon+.
Four rhythms drive two sequencers, and each sequencer plays its own oscillator with two undertones below it. Six voices through one filter, like an analog instrument: rhythm and chord grow out of the same numbers.
In the video: Rhythmicon+ through Portal and Thermal by Output and Live's EQ Eight.
Hear the rhythm. Play it. And finally, see it.
1931
The composer Henry Cowell had a theory: a chord and a rhythm are the same thing at different speeds. A note that vibrates three times while another vibrates twice forms a fifth. Slow both down far enough and you hear a three-against-two rhythm. Cowell asked Léon Theremin to build an instrument that could play this. The result was the Rhythmicon, one of the first electronic rhythm machines: every key played a pulse from the overtone series, the first once per bar, the second twice, the third three times, up to sixteen.
How it works here
Rhythmicon takes one clock and lets four rhythms divide it by any number from 1 to 16. Each rhythm drives one or both of two four-step sequencers. A sequencer moves on whenever one of its rhythms hits, so ÷3 and ÷4 on the same sequencer make an uneven, swinging line, while the other sequencer drifts at its own pace. The whole pattern repeats only when all rhythms meet again on the one: the display counts that cycle, CYCLE 17 / 42.
Undertones
The same idea works for pitch. Divide a frequency by 2, 3 or 4 and you get the undertone series, the mirror of the overtones. Each sequencer plays its note together with two of these undertones: a chord that belongs to the rhythm. The same pairing of rhythm divisions and undertones is at the heart of Moog's Subharmonicon: its rhythm generators go back to Cowell and Theremin, its undertones to the Mixtur-Trautonium.
True undertones
The subs divide the oscillator frequency by 2 to 16, exactly, not rounded to the nearest semitone. ÷5 and ÷7 sit slightly off the piano, and that is the sound of it.
Two oscillator systems
Saw, pulse or a formant table per system, each with SHAPE: second saw up to the octave, pulse width, or the position in the table. FM from oscillator 2 to oscillator 1, subs included.
One filter, one VCA
All six voices meet in a four-pole ladder filter with drive, each step fires the filter and amp envelopes. Slight drift, imperfect waveforms and analog envelope curves keep it alive.
Destroy
Ring modulation, a wavefolder that follows the envelope, sample-rate and bit reduction. All before the filter, so you can tame it again.
See the polyrhythm
Each rhythm row shows its hits for the current bar and which sequencer it drives. Every step shows the note it plays.
In key with your set
16 scales and a root, or follow the scale of your Live set with one click. Undertones exact or snapped to the scale.
Rhythmicon or Rhythmicon+?
Rhythmicon
- The sequencer: four rhythms, two sequencers, undertone chords
- Plays your instruments and Drum Racks over MIDI
- Undertones rounded to MIDI notes
- Drums mode, gate length
Rhythmicon+
- The same sequencer
- Its own sound: two oscillator systems, saw, pulse and formant table, FM
- Exact undertones, ladder filter, drive, envelopes
- Destroy: ring, wavefolder, sample rate, bits
Questions.
Rhythmicon or Rhythmicon+?
Rhythmicon is the sequencer: it plays your instruments, a Drum Rack or any synth over MIDI. Rhythmicon+ is the same sequencer with its own sound engine, and only there the undertones are exact.
What do I need?
Ableton Live 12 with Max for Live: Live 12 Suite, or Live 12 Standard with the Max for Live add-on. Mac and Windows.
How do I install it?
Drag Thoow Rhythmicon+.amxd onto an empty MIDI track and press play. It is an instrument and plays in time with your set.
Is it a Subharmonicon in software?
No. It uses the same idea of rhythm divisions and undertones, and you will recognise the layout. But it adds a display, accents, swing, density, 16 scales, a formant table and the Destroy page, and it lives in your Live set.
Can I automate everything?
Yes. Every control is a Live parameter: automate it, map it to a controller or let Thoow Motion move it.
Get Rhythmicon+ for €27.
One payment, no subscription. You get the device by email right away, and every update for free.
Buy Rhythmicon+ · €27Ableton Live 12 Suite, or Live 12 Standard with Max for Live. Mac and Windows. Card, PayPal, Apple Pay and more. Taxes are calculated for your country at checkout. Our order process is conducted by our online reseller Paddle.com, who is the Merchant of Record for all our orders and handles questions about your payment and refunds. Terms and refunds.
Rhythmicon+, after the Rhythmicon by Henry Cowell and Léon Theremin (1931). Inspired by the Moog Subharmonicon; not affiliated with Moog Music.