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Ring-Mod Metallic Lead

Sounds like: A cold, robotic lead where the pitch feels slightly ambiguous.

Sound type: lead · Genre: Electro, IDM · Style: inharmonic, robotic ring-modulated lead tone

A cold, robotic, inharmonic lead built from ring modulation between two voices — the pitch itself becomes ambiguous, which is the intended effect for an alien/robotic character.

Open this patch in the interactive Patchpad

Digitone II

Exact match: WAVETONE MOD = RING MOD

SYN page 1 · WAVETONE

SYN page 2 · WAVETONE

FLTR page 1 · Multi-mode

AMP page

Digitone II's WAVETONE machine (select with FUNC+SYN). MOD RING MOD makes Oscillator 2 ring-modulate Oscillator 1, with LEV2 at 0 so only the modulated sound is heard. TUN2 at +1755 cents gives an inharmonic sideband spacing and ambiguous pitch. Adjust TUN2 by ear; small changes shift the character a lot. A sustained AMP envelope makes it a lead.

Syntakt

Exact match: SY RAW WAV2 = Ring modulator

SYN — SY RAW

FLTR PAGE 1

AMP PAGE 1

AMP PAGE 2

SY RAW's WAV2 has a real ring modulator setting: Oscillator 2 ring-modulates Oscillator 1 even at LEV2 0. DET 110 offsets Oscillator 2 from Oscillator 1 for an inharmonic, pitch-ambiguous tone. OVER adds grit. DET is by ear.

Novation Summit

Exact match: Mixer Ring Mod knob

OSCILLATOR 1

OSCILLATOR 2

MIXER

FILTER

AMP ENVELOPE

Summit's MIXER section has a genuine Ring Mod level knob (Osc 1 × Osc 2) — turned up high here as the main character, with both oscillators' own dry levels kept audible too for a denser blend. Oscillator 2's COARSE detuned a non-harmonic 7 semitones sharp of Oscillator 1 (plus FINE cents) is what makes the ring-mod product dissonant rather than a clean interval — this is genuine ring modulation, not an approximation.

Arturia MiniFreak

Exact match: Osc 2 FM/RM engine RingMod

OSCILLATOR · Osc 1

OSCILLATOR · Osc 2

ANALOG FILTER

ENVELOPE

Osc 1 is BasicWaves with Morph at 50 (pure sawtooth): the Morph knob runs from a square (0) through a sawtooth (50) to a double sawtooth an octave up (100), Sym only changes the pulse width below 50, and Sub adds a sine an octave down (0 here). Osc 2 is the FM/RM engine (Osc 2 only): Osc 1 modulates it; Wave is Osc 2's waveform, Timbre the FM amount and Shape the ring-mod amount. Values are on MiniFreak's native 0-100 scale.

Compared with other synths: Together with Hydrasynth's Mixer RING VOL this is one of the two most literal ring-mod routes in the library.

Dreadbox Typhon

Approximation: No ring mod: detune and resonance for an inharmonic edge

FRONT PANEL

AMP ADSR

FX1

Typhon has no ring-modulation circuit and only two VCOs — TUNE 2 detuned to a non-harmonic interval and RESON pushed high are the main sources of inharmonic edge here, with FX1's Hard Clipping adding extra harmonic density on top. Expect a warmer, less alien, more 'gritty' result than true ring-mod gives. Front-panel knobs are physically unmarked, so those values are clock positions.

ASM Hydrasynth Desktop

Exact match: Mixer RING VOL

OSCILLATOR 1

OSCILLATOR 2

MIXER

FILTER 1

ENVELOPE 2

Hydrasynth's MIXER has a genuine RING VOL knob — true ring modulation between Osc 1 and Osc 2, not an approximation. Osc 2's own dry OSC 2 LEVEL is muted to 0 so only the ring-mod sum/difference product (plus Osc 1's fundamental) comes through, keeping the inharmonic character front and center. Osc 2 detuned a non-harmonic 7 semitones + 10 cents from Osc 1 is what makes the ring-mod product dissonant rather than a clean interval.

How the synths compare

Real ring modulation is available on Digitone II (WAVETONE MOD RING MOD), Syntakt (SY RAW WAV2 ring modulator), Summit, MiniFreak and Hydrasynth; Typhon approximates the inharmonic character with detuning and distortion.

Patchpad is a free reference of drum patterns and synth patches written for real hardware: Digitakt II, Digitone II, Syntakt, Novation Summit, Arturia MiniFreak, Dreadbox Typhon and ASM Hydrasynth Desktop.