The synth named after a Controlled Substance

That's sorta what I did. I bought it because it makes those big orchestra-like sounds that I don't really have in my setup .. and yes, the bizarre sequencing method which is designed to perplex & surprise. Normal CV sequencers work on a one-step-at-a-time principle. You can change the length of the pattern but the device will always output the voltage you've selected for the currently active step. Normal percussion sequencers are usually based on a set of parallel timelines (one for each "drum") where each beat can be turned on or off to create patterns. By making the steps interdependent, and allowing multiple steps of a single sequence to be active at the same time, Mescaline adds a layer of complexity (without cluttering up the control interface) that makes the instrument feel unfamiliar and strange. It's fun to coax music out of a device that you don't fully understand, because you will get unexpected results, things you would never have come up with if you knew what you were doing .. as opposed to playing an instrument you're familiar with, when everything you play sounds like YOU and there are no surprises. Mescaline is not random though; it's merely complex - and fully controllable, so once you understand it you can make it do what you want it to. If you keep careful notes of what you connected to what, you should be able to recreate any patch. I do have a few synth instruments that are non-repeatable (the Stereo Field for example) where every performance is unique and you'll never be able to get that exact same sound again.

hmmm... oay... let's see if i understood: you purposefully bought something that perplexes you in order to force yourself to experiment with rhythms, by basically allowing you to add and subtract stuff to a beat in order to see what comes out? If that is what's happening i don't know if i have to call you a genius or a madman. Getting stuck in a comfort zone is something of an high risk and finding unpredictable ways to be exposed to new stuff... is something interesting... but in this way you won't be able to reproduce what you obtain... unless the machine is predictable, in its unpredictability and will reproduce the same output given a forced input. 🤔 But i might have misunderstood everything... In any case i like the result a lot. and patch #3 was interesting, despite lacking shadow puppets 😂👍💖

Simone Spinozzi