4 Ways To Get Started With Making Quadraphonic Music

The latest loopop video takes a look at four ways to get started with making quadraphonic music.

The video covers four potential setups for making quadraphonic music, including:

  • Making quadraphonic music with a DAW;W
  • Using Eurorack modules to make music in quad;
  • Quadraphonic music using VCV Rack; and
  • DAWless set-ups for quad music.

“If you create music, you’ve got to try doing it in quad,” he notes. “The experience of sitting in the middle of music you create while your sounds rotate around you is like none other. I’m hooked.”

Part 1 of his look at quadraphonic music making featured an interview with Suzanne Ciani, who discussed and demonstrated her approach to spatial electronic music:

Here’s a list of what was used in each setup:

Setup #1: DAW

Touche by Expressive E

Continuum by Haken

Launchpad from Novation

AudioFuse and Piano V2 from Arturia

Maschine MK3, Bite and Reaktor from Native Instruments

Live 10 from Ableton

The jam is a cover of 09 Ghosts I by Nine Inch Nails

Setup #2: Eurorack

248 VCA and two Mixvert8rs from VoicAs

A-144 from Doepfer

ADDAC803 Quadraphonic Spatializer

PanMix from Happy Nerding

Aither from Instruo (with Parat+ from Incalcando)

Belkin splitter

Bitbox from 1010Music

Maths from Make Noise

ES-8 and Disting MK4 from Expert Sleepers

Rings and Plaits from Mutable Instruments

Z-DSP from Tiptop Audio

H9 and EuroDDL from Eventide

SBG, Beast’s Chalkboard and Pam’s New Workout (with an expander) from ALM

Hermod from Squarp

iPad by Apple

6U and 3U cases from Arturia

The 6U case is sitting on SpikeXL from Cremacaffe (you can’t see it but it’s there…)

Samples from Scar Polish

Not used in this setup but potential alternatives: Poltergeist from KOMA and the 227e by Buchla

Setup #3: VCV Rack

Quad Panner from NYSTHI

Quadraphonic patch from Omri Cohen

Set up #4: DAWless

Arcade Pocket Operator from Teenage Engineering

Digitone from Elektron

MacBook Pro by Apple

VCV Rack, audio, MIDI CC and LFOs from VCV

Quad Panner from NYSTHI

Mix 4 from BogAudio

Raspberry PI?

Topics Covered:

0:00 Intro

1:30 Hardware

2:30 ABLETON

3:00 Swirling noise

3:45 Surround panner

5:05 Synced random

5:45 Traveling notes

6:45 Manual control

7:15 EURORACK

7:25 Morph+VCA

8:20 Recording motion

9:45 Adding distance

11:25 Distance fx

13:10 Multiple motions

14:55 Mixing quad

18:00 Quad jam

19:25 VCV RACK

20:00 Quad panner

22:00 DAWless quad?

22:30 Proposed solution

8 thoughts on “4 Ways To Get Started With Making Quadraphonic Music

  1. In my naïve view, since home quadraphonic installations are very rare (to say the least), wouldn’t it be simpler to create music for surround systems such as the 5.1 standard, and obtaining results that would probably not match a true quad system, but could come close?

  2. I agree with Un Herisson; while it might not be the same, I think it would be better to pursue spatial sound using a standard that is in current practice. There is still panning within each pair, so I think the results would be similar.

  3. 5.1 might be fine for home listening but quad would be more interesting and easier to implement in a live show.
    Live electronic shows that would utilize a multichannel system are in spaces where the audience is not focused on a performer as in a theatre or band setting bit are in an immersive space. I have been involved in hundreds of electronic shows and only a few have tried an existing 5.1 or 7.1 system. It was not ideal.

  4. For musical performance, electroacoustical music or installation art, 5.1 is not the standard. The standard is simply a multi speaker array. Be it quad, octa, deca, etc. It assumes an equal number of identical speakers placed evenly apart and centred towards the listener. 5.1 is a cinema standard and not useful in musical situation.

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