Basimilus Iteritas Alia

Noise Engineering 10HP
DRUM OSCILLATOR WAVEFOLDER VCO

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Parameterized digital drum voice. Six-oscillator additive/FM engine with Infinifold wavefolder across three modes (Skin, Liquid, Metal). Pitch encoder, envelope output, and firmware-swappable Alia platform.

Patch Ideas · 8

★ Classic 909 kick
Liquid mode provides the pitch bloom of a 909 kick from a single module, clocked straight in.
Walkthrough
  1. Flip the Mode switch to Liquid.
  2. Flip the Range switch to Bass.
  3. Set Pitch encoder around 9 o'clock-equivalent low tuning, Decay to 2 o'clock, Attack to noon.
  4. Set Morph to 10 o'clock, Harmonic to 10 o'clock, Fold to 10 o'clock.
  5. Turn Spread fully CCW for strict harmonic series.
  6. Patch your clock t> Basimilus Iteritas Alia Trig.
  7. Patch Basimilus Iteritas Alia Out -> your drum mixer.
Signal out Out — audio, up to ~14Vpp.
Listen for A punchy kick with a short pitch drop. Lower Decay for a tighter 606 thump; raise Fold past noon for added drive on the body.
▸ Show diagram
Patch diagramPatch diagram with 3 modules and 2 connections. Modules: Basimilus Iteritas Alia, Clock, Mixer. Signals: 1 audio, 1 trigger.Basimilus Iteritas AliaClockMixerMode: Liquid · Range: BassPitch: low · Decay: 2 o'clock · Attack: noon · Morph: 10 o'clock · Harmonic: 10 o'clock · Fold: 10 o'clock · Spread: full CCWTrigtrigOutaudioOuttrigInaudioaudiotrigger
★ Metal crash with morphing ratios
Modulates Spread and Harmonic so every Metal-mode hit lands on a different FM ratio, giving a single voice a library of crashes.
Walkthrough
  1. Flip Mode to Metal, Range to Treble.
  2. Set Pitch to noon, Decay to 3 o'clock, Attack to noon.
  3. Patch a slow triangle LFO >> Alia Spread CV.
  4. Patch a stepped random (S&H) >> Alia Harm CV.
  5. Patch a gate sequencer t> Alia Trig.
  6. Patch Alia Out -> your drum mixer.
Signal out Out — audio, wash of metallic partials.
Listen for Each hit has a different bell/crash spectrum. Triangle LFO slowly shifts the character between hits; S&H scrambles harmonic count per trigger.
▸ Show diagram
Patch diagramPatch diagram with 5 modules and 4 connections. Modules: Basimilus Iteritas Alia, LFO, S&H, Gate Seq, Mixer. Signals: 1 audio, 2 cv, 1 trigger.Basimilus Iteritas AliaLFOS&HGate SeqMixerMode: Metal · Range: TreblePitch: noon · Decay: 3 o'clock · Attack: noonSpreadcvHarmcvTrigtrigOutaudioTricvOutcvOuttrigInaudioaudiocvtrigger
Pulse-train snare
Pushes Fold past the pulse-injection threshold and uses the Attack noise blend to build a gritty digital snare.
Walkthrough
  1. Mode: Skin · Range: Alto.
  2. Set Pitch around 10 o'clock, Decay 10 o'clock, Attack 9 o'clock (noise blend).
  3. Set Morph to 3 o'clock, Harmonic to 1 o'clock, Spread to noon.
  4. Turn Fold fully CW to engage the pulse-train buzz.
  5. Patch your clock t> Alia Trig.
  6. Patch a MATHS CH 1 envelope (triggered by the same clock) >> Alia Attack for velocity-scaled noise.
  7. Patch Alia Out -> your drum mixer.
Signal out Out — gritty mid-frequency snare hit.
Listen for A buzzy 606-style snare whose noise-to-pitch balance follows the MATHS envelope. Shorten MATHS Rise for quicker snap.
▸ Show diagram
Patch diagramPatch diagram with 4 modules and 4 connections. Modules: Basimilus Iteritas Alia, Clock, Mixer, CH 1. Signals: 1 audio, 1 cv, 2 trigger.Basimilus Iteritas AliaClockMixerCH 1Mode: Skin · Range: AltoPitch: 10 o'clock · Decay: 10 o'clock · Attack: 9 o'clock · Morph: 3 o'clock · Harmonic: 1 o'clock · Fold: full CW · Spread: noonenvelopeTrigtrigAttackcvOutaudioOuttrigInaudioTrigtrigOUTcvaudiocvtrigger
Env Out ducks the mix
Uses Alia's Env Out to sidechain-duck another audio bus in time with every kick.
Walkthrough
  1. Dial in a kick patch (Liquid, Bass, low Pitch, medium Decay).
  2. Patch clock t> Alia Trig.
  3. Patch Alia Out -> your drum mixer channel.
  4. Patch Alia Env Out >> a VCA CV input with the attenuverter inverted (so +env lowers gain).
  5. Route your pad/bass bus through that VCA.
  6. Tune Alia's Decay knob until the duck length feels right.
Signal out Env Out — 0-5V envelope tracking each kick.
Listen for The pad/bass bus dips on every kick and recovers as the kick tail ends. Longer Alia Decay = slower release on the duck.
▸ Show diagram
Patch diagramPatch diagram with 5 modules and 5 connections. Modules: Basimilus Iteritas Alia, Clock, VCA, Pad Bus, Mixer. Signals: 3 audio, 1 cv, 1 trigger.Basimilus Iteritas AliaClockVCAPad BusMixerMode: Liquid · Range: BassAtten: invertedTrigtrigOutaudioEnv OutcvOuttrigCVcvInaudioOutaudioOutaudioInaudio11. inverted = duckaudiocvtrigger
★ Pitched melodic voice
Uses sustained triggers and Decay full CW to turn Alia into a six-partial additive drone voice tracked by 1V/oct.
Walkthrough
  1. Mode: Skin · Range: Alto.
  2. Turn Decay fully CW (long/sustained), Attack around 1 o'clock, Harmonic 11 o'clock, Fold 10 o'clock.
  3. Turn Morph to 9 o'clock (near-sine) and Spread fully CCW (strict harmonic).
  4. Patch a quantized sequencer p> Alia Pitch CV.
  5. Patch a sustained gate (sequencer gate out) g> Alia Trig.
  6. Patch Alia Out -> your main mixer.
Signal out Out — pitched additive voice, tracks 1V/oct across -2V to +5V.
Listen for A soft six-partial organ-like tone that follows the sequence. Open Harmonic for a brighter chord-ish timbre; close it for pure sine.
▸ Show diagram
Patch diagramPatch diagram with 3 modules and 3 connections. Modules: Basimilus Iteritas Alia, Sequencer, Mixer. Signals: 1 audio, 1 pitch, 1 gate.Basimilus Iteritas AliaSequencerMixerMode: Skin · Range: AltoDecay: full CW · Attack: 1 o'clock · Harmonic: 11 o'clock · Fold: 10 o'clock · Morph: 9 o'clock · Spread: full CCWPitch1v/octTriggateOutaudioPitch1v/octGategateInaudioaudiopitchgate
Audio-rate FM bell
Drives Trig at audio rates in Metal mode for a re-triggered digital bell sequence.
Walkthrough
  1. Mode: Metal · Range: Treble.
  2. Set Pitch high (around 3 o'clock), Decay 2 o'clock, Harmonic full CW, Fold full CW.
  3. Set Spread at 2 o'clock for between-positions aliasing character.
  4. Patch a square-wave VCO (~50 Hz) t> Alia Trig.
  5. Patch a slow sequencer or LFO p> that VCO's V/Oct for bell melody.
  6. Patch Alia Out -> your mixer.
Signal out Out — pitched metallic bell with re-triggered FM grain.
Listen for A gritty bell tone whose pitch follows the VCO melody and whose grain tracks the audio-rate retrigger. Lower the VCO frequency for a buzzier timbre.
▸ Show diagram
Patch diagramPatch diagram with 4 modules and 3 connections. Modules: Basimilus Iteritas Alia, VCO, LFO, Mixer. Signals: 1 audio, 1 pitch, 1 trigger.Basimilus Iteritas AliaVCOLFOMixerMode: Metal · Range: TreblePitch: 3 o'clock · Decay: 2 o'clock · Harmonic: full CW · Fold: full CW · Spread: 2 o'clockWave: Square · ~50 HzTrigtrigOutaudioV/Oct1v/octOuttrigOut1v/octInaudio121. audio-rate retrigger2. bell melodyaudiopitchtrigger
Env-synced filter bark
Sends Alia's Env Out into an external filter's cutoff so each kick opens the filter on a separate synth line.
Walkthrough
  1. Dial Alia to a short Liquid-mode kick (Bass, Decay ~10 o'clock).
  2. Patch clock t> Alia Trig.
  3. Patch Alia Env Out >> Filter Cutoff CV input.
  4. Route a separate VCO -> that Filter input (not Alia's audio).
  5. Patch Filter Out -> Mixer.
  6. Patch Alia Out -> Mixer too, so both are audible.
  7. Adjust Filter base cutoff so the bark lands in the right register.
Signal out Env Out — 0-5V envelope · drives external filter cutoff.
Listen for The external VCO gets a percussive 'bark' every time Alia fires, like a kick-triggered filter accent. Longer Alia Decay = longer filter sweep.
▸ Show diagram
Patch diagramPatch diagram with 5 modules and 5 connections. Modules: Basimilus Iteritas Alia, Clock, VCO, Filter, Mixer. Signals: 3 audio, 1 cv, 1 trigger.Basimilus Iteritas AliaClockVCOFilterMixerMode: Liquid · Range: BassDecay: 10 o'clockTrigtrigEnv OutcvOutaudioOuttrigOutaudioCutoffcvInaudioOutaudioInaudioaudiocvtrigger
Swept inharmonic drone
Holds a gate high and sweeps Spread between strict positions for a slowly morphing inharmonic drone.
Walkthrough
  1. Mode: Skin · Range: Bass.
  2. Decay fully CW, Attack 1 o'clock, Harmonic full CW, Fold 11 o'clock.
  3. Set Morph to noon, Pitch around 10 o'clock.
  4. Patch a slow sine LFO (~20s cycle) >> Alia Spread CV.
  5. Patch a sustained +5V gate g> Alia Trig (or hold the Hit button briefly to latch).
  6. Patch Alia Out -> reverb -> mixer.
Signal out Out — continuous inharmonic pad texture.
Listen for A six-partial drone whose overtones drift between clean harmonic and prime-inharmonic spacings as the LFO moves. Strongest effect is around Spread noon.
▸ Show diagram
Patch diagramPatch diagram with 5 modules and 4 connections. Modules: Basimilus Iteritas Alia, LFO, Gate Source, Reverb, Mixer. Signals: 2 audio, 1 cv, 1 gate.Basimilus Iteritas AliaLFOGate SourceReverbMixerMode: Skin · Range: BassDecay: full CW · Attack: 1 o'clock · Harmonic: full CW · Fold: 11 o'clock · Morph: noon · Pitch: 10 o'clockTriggateSpreadcvOutaudioSinecvOutgateInaudioOutaudioInaudio11. sustainedaudiocvgate

Behaviors

Skin mode Mode switch → Skin

Six-operator additive engine with no inter-oscillator interaction. Each partial plays a static ratio set by Spread. Best for kicks, toms, and additive synth stabs. Fold and Harmonic are the primary timbre sculptors since there is no pitch envelope.

Liquid mode Mode switch → Liquid

Skin architecture plus a pitch envelope applied to all six oscillators. Produces the characteristic 808/909 pitch drop without external patching. Decay scales both amplitude and pitch-envelope length together.

Metal mode Mode switch → Metal

Two parallel three-operator phase-modulation stacks. Produces bells, cowbells, crashes, and alien timbres. Spread and Harmonic become FM ratio and index controls; small movements cause large timbral shifts.

Pitch encoder coarse/fine toggle press the Pitch encoder

Press action toggles the encoder between coarse semitone steps and fine tuning. Replaces the continuous Pitch pot on the original Alter and allows precise re-tuning without drift. State persists across triggers.

Envelope output any trigger

Env Out emits 0-5V mirroring the internal amplitude envelope. Patch into an external VCA CV, filter cutoff, or FX parameter so the effect tracks each hit's shape. Alia-only jack; not present on the original Alter.

Infinifold with pulse injection Fold knob in top quarter

Below 75%, Fold sets a threshold and the engine stacks fold stages with amplitude compensation. Above 75%, a signal-following pulse train is injected at signal extrema for a gritty pitched buzz. Key zone for noisy snares and sub-bass grit.

Post-fold envelope restore any trigger

After the folder, Alia re-applies a shape derived from the summed oscillators. This preserves percussive dynamics that folding normally flattens, so even maximum Fold retains attack punch instead of becoming a steady drone.

Audio-rate trig square/pulse VCO → Trig

Trig accepts audio-rate input. Re-triggering the envelope at oscillator rates produces pitched digital textures, cross-modulated bells, and gritty metallic timbres. Pairs well with Metal mode and high Spread for inharmonic bell sequences.

Firmware swap rear micro-USB + Customer Portal

Alia is a firmware-swappable platform. Rear micro-USB connects to Noise Engineering's Customer Portal to load any other Alia-compatible firmware (Manis, Cursus, Ataraxic, etc.) for free. Only one firmware runs at a time; swap is non-destructive.

Pitch CV range extended Pitch CV input

Alia accepts -2V to +5V on Pitch CV (seven-octave span). Wider and signed compared to Alter's 0-8V range, so negative voltages from attenuverters and bipolar LFOs track musically without DC offset tricks.

Autocalibration on boot power up with Pitch CV unpatched

On startup with nothing patched into Pitch CV, Alia runs an autocalibration routine for its oscillators. Leaves tracking tight across the full -2V to +5V pitch range. Skipped if a cable is present at boot.

Controls

Global Pitch Rotary encoder sets fundamental pitch. Press to toggle between coarse semitone steps and fine tuning. Sums with Pitch CV.
encoder · press = coarse/fine · sums with Pitch CV (-2V to +5V)
Global Morph Continuously blends the waveform for all six oscillators through sine, triangle, saw, and square. Knob offsets the CV input.
sine → triangle → saw → square · CV 0-5V
Global Attack Shapes onset for all oscillators plus noise. CCW mixes in noise, dead center is an analog pop, CW slows attack. Knob offsets CV.
CCW: noise burst · noon: click · CW: slow attack
Global Decay Amplitude decay time for all oscillators. In Liquid mode also sets the pitch envelope length. Knob offsets CV.
short to long · affects pitch env in Liquid
Global Harmonic Harmonic count and decay for the six oscillators. CCW a single partial; moving CW introduces partials 2–6 with lengthening decays.
CCW: 1 partial · CW: 6 partials with long decays
Global Fold Infinifolder amount. Lower three quarters set a folding threshold; top quarter mixes in a signal-following pulse train for gritty buzz.
0-75%: threshold fold · 75%+: pulse-train buzz
Global Spread Frequency spacing of the five non-fundamental oscillators. Sweeps from strict harmonic series to prime/inharmonic spacings.
CCW/CW: harmonic · mid: prime/inharmonic
Global Mode switch Three-position toggle selects synthesis algorithm. Skin is 6-op additive; Liquid adds a pitch envelope to all partials; Metal phase-modulates two 3-op FM stacks.
Skin · Liquid · Metal · no CV
Global Range switch Octave range selector. Alto is +2 octaves; Treble is +4 octaves relative to Bass.
Bass · Alto (+2 oct) · Treble (+4 oct) · no CV
Global Hit Momentary button fires the envelope manually. Handy for live hits and auditioning patches without a cable patched to Trig.
momentary · manual envelope trigger

I/O

IN · 8

  • Pitch -2V to +5V · 1V/oct CV
    1V/oct pitch CV for the fundamental oscillator. Sums with Pitch encoder value.
  • Morph 0-5V CV
    CV for waveshape blend. Sums with Morph knob.
  • Attack 0-5V CV
    CV for attack shape (noise/click/slow). Sums with Attack knob.
  • Decay 0-5V CV
    CV for decay time. Sums with Decay knob.
  • Harm 0-5V CV
    CV for harmonic count/decay. Sums with Harmonic knob.
  • Fold 0-5V GATE
    CV for fold threshold and pulse-train injection. Sums with Fold knob.
  • Spread 0-5V CV
    CV for frequency spacing. Sums with Spread knob.
  • Trig +1.8V threshold GATE
    Rising-edge trigger fires the envelope. Accepts gates, triggers, and audio-rate signals for re-triggered texture.

OUT · 2

  • Out ~14Vpp max AUDIO
    Main audio output. Low impedance. Internal loudness compensation evens level across parameter changes.
  • Env Out 0-5V ENV
    Copy of the internal amplitude envelope. Useful for modulating external VCAs, filters, or FX in sync with each hit.