Utilities

Button

A big chunky button. Press for a gate, a clean trigger pulse, or both at once.

What is a Button?

Button is the simplest possible source of intent in a rack: a single big push button with two outputs. While you hold it, GATE outputs 10V; each press also fires a 1ms TRIG pulse on the rising edge. There are no knobs, no inputs, no settings - the button itself is the entire module. Use it to teach the difference between a held gate and a one-shot trigger, or any time you need to fire something manually with your hand. The second module of the Basic series, designed to pair naturally with Basic AD for hand-played plucks. When you outgrow it, Gates gives you eight independent gate outputs and Compare adds CV-driven gate generation.

In a patch

The two outputs serve different jobs. Patch TRIG into anything that wants a one-shot pulse - Basic AD's GATE for a single pluck per press, a clock's RESET to start over, a sequencer's RESET to step back to step 1, or sample-and-hold trigger inputs for stepped modulation. Patch GATE into anything that responds to held gates - a VCA's CV input to open it manually, an envelope's sustain stage, a mute input, or a logic AND for "press to enable". You can patch BOTH at the same time: TRIG fires the envelope while GATE simultaneously opens a parallel VCA, or TRIG resets a sequencer while GATE freezes another LFO. The pedagogical first lesson is "press to play one note": Button TRIG -> Basic AD GATE -> VCA CV, with a VCO into the VCA and the VCA into Output. Each click plays one pluck. Then introduce GATE as the "hold to keep open" alternative.

Outputs

GATE (gate) — Held-gate output. 10V while the button is pressed, 0V otherwise. Patch into any input that wants a continuous "on" signal: VCA CV inputs to open them manually, ADSR GATE for held-sustain notes, mute inputs that pass signal while high. Has ~3-5ms latency on press and release due to the engine's parameter smoothing - inaudible for any musical use, but worth noting if you're measuring timing precisely. Use this when "while held" is what you mean.
TRIG (gate) — Trigger pulse output. Fires a 1ms 10V pulse on every press (rising edge), then returns to 0V regardless of whether you keep holding. Patch into anything that wants "do this once, exactly now": Basic AD GATE (hand-played plucks - one click = one pluck), Clock-Div RST or SEQ8 RESET (start over from step 1), sample-and-hold trigger inputs (re-sample). Holding the button does NOT continuously re-fire TRIG - you must release and press again. 1ms width matches Basic AD's EOC and survives downstream CV-rate (100Hz) sampling.

Controls

Pressed — The big black button on the panel. Press and hold with the mouse or your finger; the button glows blue while held. There are no parameters to tweak - the button is purely a "press = fire" affordance. Backed by a 0/1 param under the hood so the press is visible to the engine; you cannot externally CV-control this (that's what Compare and Gates are for).

Inspired by

A button on a panel is the simplest possible source of intent. Press = thing happens. Used in lessons to teach what a gate is, what a trigger is, and the difference between the two.

Make Noise Pressure Points
Doepfer A-150 / A-160
4ms QCD Manual Gate

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