VCO B
sound-source
VCO B
Purpose
VCO B is Cascadia's secondary oscillator, providing both additional audio-rate tone generation and LFO-rate modulation. It outputs four simultaneous waveforms (sine, triangle, saw, square) and is normalled to VCO A's FM 2 and SYNC inputs.
What Makes It Special
The VCO/LFO switch makes VCO B uniquely versatile -- it can serve as either a second voice or as a complex modulation source at 1/1000th its normal frequency range (cycles as slow as ~50 seconds). This dual identity is central to Cascadia's design: with one switch flip, your detuned second oscillator becomes a slow modulator for FM, filter sweeps, or waveshaping depth. Four simultaneous waveform outputs mean you can use VCO B's sine for FM while simultaneously patching its square wave as a clock source, without any signal splitting.
The PITCH SOURCE switch determines whether VCO B tracks VCO A's pitch (PITCH A+B mode, for intervals and detuning) or runs independently (PITCH B mode, for fixed-pitch drones or modulation).
Controls
| Control | Type | Range | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| OCTAVE | Selector (8-pos) | 8 octaves | Coarse tuning, one octave per click |
| PITCH | Knob | +/- 6 semitones | Fine tuning. Surrounded by 4 calibration trim pots |
| VCO/LFO | Switch (2-pos) | VCO / LFO | VCO = audio rates. LFO = 1/1000 frequency (~50 second cycles) |
| PITCH SOURCE | Switch (2-pos) | PITCH A+B / PITCH B | A+B: tracks VCO A pitch + own PITCH IN. B: independent pitch |
| RATE LED | LED | -- | Visual rate indicator. Orange at audio rates, red/green cycling at LFO rates |
Patch Points
| Jack | Type | Normalled To | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| PITCH IN | Input | Depends on PITCH SOURCE switch | In PITCH A+B mode: follows VCO A pitch. In PITCH B mode: independent 1V/oct input |
| SYNC IN | Input | None | Hard sync input -- VCO B syncs to the incoming waveform |
| SINE OUT | Output | VCO A FM 2 IN, Ring Mod IN 2 | Sine wave output. Primary FM modulator source |
| TRIANGLE OUT | Output | None | Triangle wave output |
| SAW OUT | Output | VCO A SYNC IN | Saw wave output. Used as default sync source for VCO A |
| SQUARE OUT | Output | None | Square wave output |
LEDs
RATE LED shows the triangle core oscillation rate. At audio rates it appears orange. In LFO mode, green indicates positive voltage, red indicates negative, and brightness shows amplitude.
Normalled Connections
- SINE OUT normalled to VCO A FM 2 IN (providing the default FM modulator) and to Ring Mod IN 2
- SAW OUT normalled to VCO A SYNC IN (providing the default sync source)
- PITCH IN in PITCH A+B mode normalled from VCO A's pitch input, so both oscillators track together