Mangrove

Mannequins 10HP
OSCILLATOR VCO WAVESHAPER

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Analog formant oscillator. A triangle core drives an impulse-formant engine with three waveshaping controls (FORMANT, BARREL, AIR) yielding vocal, woodwind and brass-like spectra. Hard-sync input and through-zero FM are supported.

Patch Ideas · 10

★ Spoken-vowel synthesis
wave/formant: constant formant · FORMANT at ~1 o'clock · BARREL just off centre · AIR at noon · Sequencer v/oct → V/8 PITCH · FORMANT CV → slow LFO for vowel glide · melody retains a fixed formant peak like a vocalised tract
▸ Show diagram
Patch diagramPatch diagram with 4 modules and 3 connections. Modules: Mangrove, LFO, Sequencer, Output. Signals: 1 audio, 1 cv, 1 pitch.MangroveLFOSequencerOutputwave/formant: constant formantFORMANT: ~1 o'clockBARREL: just off centreAIR: noonV/8 PITCH1v/octFORMANT CVcvFORMANTaudioOutcvPitch1v/octInaudio11. vowel morphaudiocvpitch
Clarinet impression
constant formant · FORMANT low/mid · BARREL full CCW for asymmetric ramp · AIR noon · envelope → FORMANT CV subtly · odd-harmonic-rich hollow tone · fixed formant gives low notes extra body
▸ Show diagram
Patch diagramPatch diagram with 4 modules and 4 connections. Modules: Mangrove, Envelope, Sequencer, VCA. Signals: 1 audio, 2 cv, 1 pitch.MangroveEnvelopeSequencerVCAwave/formant: constant formantFORMANT: ~11 o'clockBARREL: full CCWAIR: noonV/8 PITCH1v/octFORMANT CVcvFORMANTaudioOutcvPitch1v/octInaudioCVcvaudiocvpitch
★ Through-zero FM pair
Two Mangroves · Mangrove A SQUARE → Mangrove B FM · Mangrove B constant wave · FM INDEX driven by envelope for dynamic FM · share v/oct so both track · classic DX-style FM with formant character
▸ Show diagram
Patch diagramPatch diagram with 5 modules and 5 connections. Modules: Mangrove A, Mangrove B, Envelope, Sequencer, Output. Signals: 2 audio, 1 cv, 2 pitch.Mangrove AMangrove BEnvelopeSequencerOutputwave/formant: constant waveV/8 PITCH1v/octSQUAREaudioV/8 PITCH1v/octFMaudioFM INDEXcvFORMANTaudioOutcvPitch1v/octInaudioaudiocvpitch
AIR overdrive lead
constant wave · FORMANT 2 o'clock · BARREL noon · AIR past 3 o'clock drives soft clipping · VCA bypassed (AIR is the VCA) · slow LFO → AIR CV for swelling grit · lead voice with built-in saturation
▸ Show diagram
Patch diagramPatch diagram with 4 modules and 3 connections. Modules: Mangrove, LFO, Sequencer, Output. Signals: 1 audio, 1 cv, 1 pitch.MangroveLFOSequencerOutputwave/formant: constant waveFORMANT: ~2 o'clockAIR: past 3 o'clock (overdrive)V/8 PITCH1v/octAIR CVcvFORMANTaudioOutcvPitch1v/octInaudioaudiocvpitch
Audio-rate sync bells
constant formant · FORMANT 3 o'clock · BARREL CCW · external VCO → SYNC at audio rate · locked formant against swept core produces bell-like partials · modulate PITCH for sweeping bell timbre
▸ Show diagram
Patch diagramPatch diagram with 5 modules and 4 connections. Modules: Mangrove, VCO, LFO, Sequencer, Output. Signals: 2 audio, 1 cv, 1 pitch.MangroveVCOLFOSequencerOutputwave/formant: constant formantFORMANT: ~3 o'clockBARREL: CCWSYNCaudioV/8 PITCHcvFORMANTaudioV/Oct1v/octOutaudioOutcvPitch1v/octInaudio11. audio-rate syncaudiocvpitch
★ Kick drum
constant wave · PITCH low · snappy envelope → V/8 PITCH for pitch drop · short envelope → AIR CV (attenuverter CW) for amplitude · BARREL asymmetric for click transient · FORMANT full CW for sharp attack · instant analog kick
▸ Show diagram
Patch diagramPatch diagram with 4 modules and 4 connections. Modules: Mangrove, Envelope, Clock, Output. Signals: 1 audio, 2 cv, 1 trigger.MangroveEnvelopeClockOutputwave/formant: constant waveFORMANT: full CWBARREL: asymmetricAIR: starts closedV/8 PITCHcvAIR CVcvFORMANTaudioTrigtrigOutcvOuttrigInaudio121. pitch drop2. amp envaudiocvtrigger
Sub + formant stack
SQUARE → external mixer as sub · FORMANT → same mixer as upper voice · tune FORMANT with BARREL/FORMANT for harmonic upper layer · one Mangrove carries both bass and lead parts · modulate FORMANT CV only for moving top
▸ Show diagram
Patch diagramPatch diagram with 4 modules and 4 connections. Modules: Mangrove, Mixer, LFO, Sequencer. Signals: 2 audio, 1 cv, 1 pitch.MangroveMixerLFOSequencerwave/formant: constant waveV/8 PITCH1v/octFORMANT CVcvSQUAREaudioFORMANTaudioSubaudioLeadaudioOutcvPitch1v/oct11. upper voice onlyaudiocvpitch
Formant-tracking LFO wobble
constant formant · slow bipolar LFO → BARREL CV (attenuverter moderate) · FORMANT mid · subtle LFO → FM INDEX · produces rhythmic harmonic wobble without pitch change · sits under a lead voice as pad
▸ Show diagram
Patch diagramPatch diagram with 4 modules and 4 connections. Modules: Mangrove, LFO, Sequencer, Output. Signals: 1 audio, 2 cv, 1 pitch.MangroveLFOSequencerOutputwave/formant: constant formantBARREL CVcvFM INDEXcvV/8 PITCH1v/octFORMANTaudioOutcvPitch1v/octInaudio11. harmonic wobbleaudiocvpitch
Self-FM screech
FORMANT OUT → FM · FM INDEX high · BARREL extreme · output feeds back through shaper then back to FM input · aggressive digital-sounding noise with pitched core · great for drones and industrial tones
▸ Show diagram
Patch diagramPatch diagram with 3 modules and 3 connections. Modules: Mangrove, VCA, Envelope. Signals: 2 audio, 1 cv.MangroveVCAEnvelopeFM INDEX: high via CVBARREL: extremeFMaudioFORMANTaudioInaudioCVcvOutcv11. self-FM feedbackaudiocv
Pitch-tracked formant sweep
constant wave · sequencer v/oct → V/8 PITCH and → FORMANT CV (attenuated) · FORMANT therefore follows pitch even in wave mode · creates a fixed harmonic ratio emphasised on every note · pseudo-violin timbre
▸ Show diagram
Patch diagramPatch diagram with 3 modules and 3 connections. Modules: Mangrove, Sequencer, Output. Signals: 1 audio, 1 cv, 1 pitch.MangroveSequencerOutputwave/formant: constant waveV/8 PITCH1v/octFORMANT CVcvFORMANTaudioPitch1v/octInaudio11. tracks harmonicaudiocvpitch

Behaviors

constant wave mode wave/formant switch: constant wave

FORMANT duration scales with pitch, so the waveshape stays consistent across the keyboard. Behaves like a conventional oscillator: the same BARREL/FORMANT setting sounds harmonically similar at every note.

constant formant mode wave/formant switch: constant formant

FORMANT duration stays fixed regardless of pitch. Low notes get many formant cycles per period (rich, vocal), high notes approach a single impulse. Emulates the spectral behaviour of vocal tract or wind instruments whose resonant body doesn't scale with fundamental.

AIR gate + overdrive AIR knob sweep

AIR is both the FORMANT output VCA and a soft clipper. Fully CCW mutes FORMANT entirely — common 'no sound' gotcha. Around noon the output is clean at 10Vpp. Past noon the VCA drives into saturation, adding even harmonics and density.

SQUARE bypasses shaping Patch SQUARE output

SQUARE taps the oscillator core before the formant engine. It responds only to PITCH, FINE, V/8 and SYNC — FORMANT / BARREL / AIR have no effect. Useful for sub duty, sync-based cross-modulation or as a clean second voice.

Through-zero linear FM Audio-rate signal into FM

FM jack is AC-coupled linear through-zero. Paired with another Mangrove or sine VCO, deep FM indices stay in tune. FM INDEX jack (normalled to +5V) acts as a VCA on the modulation depth for dynamic FM timbres.

Soft sync reset Rising edge at SYNC

SYNC performs a soft phase reset rather than a hard master/slave. Pinging SYNC with a sub-audio trigger chirps the formant; audio-rate sync produces formant-locked sidebands and cross-modulated timbres. Does not retrigger the formant envelope independently.

FORMANT / BARREL interaction Move BARREL with fixed FORMANT

The same FORMANT duration sounds very different under different BARREL settings: symmetric BARREL produces triangle-like spectra, asymmetric BARREL yields sawtooth formants rich in odd/even harmonics. BARREL is most audible when FORMANT is longer than one oscillator period.

Self-patched FM SQUARE → FM

Patching SQUARE into FM creates self-modulation at the core pitch. Combined with FM INDEX CV you get PWM-like timbre shifts. Patching FORMANT → FM instead introduces shaped-wave feedback that colours the spectrum dynamically with BARREL and FORMANT changes.

Controls

Global PITCH Coarse exponential frequency. Sets oscillator core pitch; sums with FINE and V/8 PITCH CV.
Wide sweep · tracks 1V/oct over 6 octaves via V/8
Global FINE One-octave fine pitch tuning offset.
±6 semitones around PITCH
Global FORMANT Duration of the formant impulse. Sets the spectral peak independently of pitch. CCW emphasises bass; CW pushes formant into the highs.
Summed with FORMANT CV · wave/formant switch changes pitch-tracking behaviour
Global BARREL Rise/fall ratio of the impulse envelope. Morphs the formant spectrum from ramp through triangle to sawtooth shapes.
Symmetric at noon · CCW/CW = opposite skews
Global AIR Output VCA and soft overdrive. Closes the FORMANT output at full CCW; noon ≈ 10Vpp clean; CW drives into wavefolder-like clipping.
−60dB → 10Vpp clean → overdrive · FORMANT output only
AIR CV AIR attenuverter Grey knob. Scales and inverts AIR CV before summing into the AIR VCA.
CCW: invert · noon: zero · CW: unity
Global wave/formant switch Selects whether FORMANT duration tracks pitch. constant wave: formant scales with pitch (traditional oscillator). constant formant: formant frequency stays fixed while pitch changes (vocal/woodwind behaviour).
Two-position toggle

I/O

IN · 7

  • V/8 PITCH ±5V · tracks over 6 octaves CV
    1V/octave pitch CV. DC-coupled exponential.
  • FM audio-rate AUDIO
    Linear through-zero FM input. AC-coupled; accepts audio-rate signals.
  • FM INDEX 0–5V CV
    DC-coupled CV controlling FM depth. Normalled high when unpatched so FM is audible by default.
    NORM → +5V when unpatched (full FM depth)
  • FORMANT CV ±5V CV
    DC-coupled modulation of FORMANT duration. ±5V at noon ≈ half-sweep.
  • BARREL CV ±5V CV
    DC-coupled modulation of impulse rise/fall ratio. ±5V at noon covers full knob range.
  • AIR CV ±5V CV
    DC-coupled modulation of AIR VCA via attenuverter.
  • SYNC trigger / audio-rate GATE
    Soft hard-sync. Rising edges reset the oscillator core phase. AC-coupled.

OUT · 2

  • SQUARE ±5V
    Square wave from the oscillator core. Unaffected by FORMANT / BARREL / AIR.
  • FORMANT up to 10Vpp (AIR dependent)
    Shaped impulse output after FORMANT, BARREL and AIR stages.