This is EP.3 of our Mordax DATA guide series. EP.1 and EP.2 covered the programs that measure and visualize voltage. This time, we'll look at DATA's signal-generating side — the Waveform Generator, Clock Output, and Voltage Monitor programs.
DATA is a measurement tool, but it also works as a source that puts out oscillators, clocks, and CV/Gate. With these programs, a single module handles both generating signals and monitoring them.
Waveform Generator
The Waveform Generator program provides two high-precision waveform generators. Each one works as a modulation source like an LFO or as an audio-rate oscillator, and both support 1V/octave CV pitch tracking across eight octaves.
Amplitude and Offset
Each generator's waveform can be shaped with AMP (amplitude) and OFFSET (center voltage). In the demo video, a +5V to -5V sine wave is scaled to half its amplitude to make a 5V peak-to-peak waveform, and then the offset is moved to create a 0V to +5V signal centered on 2.5V. That shape is handy when you're using the waveform as a CV source, like an LFO.
Waveform Types
There are four base waveforms to choose from: SINE, SQR (square), SAW, and TRI (triangle).
The AMP control doesn't just attenuate — it can add gain as well, and when you push the gain far enough that the waveform exceeds the ±5V limit, clipping occurs and the shape of the waveform itself changes. In the demo video, gain is applied to a saw wave to turn it into a trapezoid.
Phase and Phase Cancellation
PHASE sets the starting point of the waveform cycle. In the demo video, both generators start at the same frequency and the same phase, with their combined signal shown on channel 3 of the scope. As the phase of oscillator 1 is shifted, the two waveforms separate, and you can watch the amplitude of the combined signal change as the phases cancel each other out.
Frequency and Note Mode
You can set the frequency quickly and precisely by selecting any digit of the displayed frequency value and scrolling it. The TUNE setting under MODE also switches the frequency readout between a decimal frequency and a note value. In note mode, scrolling moves in semitone steps, and both the note name and the frequency are displayed.
The base frequency range is 0.01Hz to 9,999.99Hz when set manually, and 0.01Hz to 4,200.00Hz via CV input.
CV Control and the DVCA
Each generator's frequency and amplitude can be CV controlled from any of the four input jacks. CV control over amplitude effectively works as a digital VCA — a DVCA.
In the demo video, an AD envelope from a Make Noise Maths (CV2) controls oscillator 1's DVCA, while the pitch output of an Audio Damage Sequencer 1 (CV1) controls oscillator 1's frequency. Switching the frequency's CV source over to CV2 puts a single Maths AD envelope in charge of both pitch and amplitude.
Clock Output
The Clock Output program provides CV-controllable clock trigger outputs that either run from the internal master clock or sync to an external clock source. The current firmware supports four outputs. Each output's rate can be set as a division or multiplication of the master clock (DIV/MULT), and you can offset it from the source clock by up to ±96 ticks — one quarter note.
Internal Master and External Sync
The clock can be generated internally, or synced to an external clock signal with high accuracy. In external sync mode, the pulses per quarter note (PPQN) of the incoming clock signal are shown at the top of the screen. Once DATA locks to the external clock, the BPM appears, with the clock pulse's frequency and period shown below it.
The three colored bars in the middle of the screen show the clock pulses per bar. The top bar is the resolution of the incoming clock (four pulses if PPQN=4), and the remaining two bars represent the resolution of DATA's own clock outputs, which change according to the DIV/MULT values and the offset.
DIV/MULT and Offset
DIV/MLT sets the division or multiplication of the base clock frequency. 1:1 gives you quarter notes, x4 gives you sixteenth notes (PPQN 4), and so on. OFFSET shifts the clock output from the base clock by up to ±96 ticks — one quarter note.
In the demo video, a clock externally synced to an Audio Damage Sequencer 1 drives a complex patch. It shows that changing DIV/MULT preserves the relative position of clock 1's sequencer within the bar, that this position is maintained even when the sequencer is started and stopped, and that the offset can shift the beat.
Voltage Monitor
The Voltage Monitor program has a 4-channel voltmeter with a time display, plus four output channels. At the time the demo video was recorded it was introduced as a program still in development, but it's now a proper, shipping feature.
It displays the voltage levels at the four input jacks like a simplified scope, with the current voltage shown numerically in each channel's header. About 12 seconds of input history is visible; the thick dotted center line is 0V, and the two thin dotted lines mark ±5V. This display is designed for monitoring steady or slowly changing signals — LFOs, sequencers, manual CV/Gate control, and the like.
CV / Gate Outputs
The bottom of the screen has the voltage output controls. Each output channel can be set to a constant DC voltage (CV), a momentary Gate (GATE-MO), or a latching Gate (GATE-LA). The output range is -5V to +10V.
In the demo video, pressing the Gate button sends a momentary pulse out of the clock output, and a user-defined CV output voltage is sent from the waveform output. It goes further from there, showing the Voltage Monitor's Gate output switching an effect on the main audio on and off while two CV outputs modulate parameters on another module.
Most DATA programs with outputs reset to 0V when you leave them, but the Voltage Monitor is the exception. CV voltages set in the Voltage Monitor are held even after you move over to the Tuner, Oscilloscope, or the spectrum programs — so you can keep a fixed voltage on the output while measuring something in a different program.
That's it for EP.3. This time we covered DATA's signal-generating programs: the Waveform Generator, Clock Output, and Voltage Monitor. That means we've now been through all of DATA's major programs. From measurement and visualization through to signal generation, DATA's defining trait is that one module lets you see, measure, and create voltage.
The demo video referenced throughout this article is Mordax Systems' official demo video. Do check the video itself to see the screen in motion and hear how it sounds.
Mordax DATA Product Details
You can find the product details for the Mordax DATA below.
A 16HP multi-purpose utility combining an oscilloscope, spectrum analyzer, tuner, and voltage monitor, plus a 2-voice digital oscillator and clock generator. Helps you debug patches and understand how voltages behave at a glance. Black panel version.
A 16HP multi-purpose utility combining an oscilloscope, spectrum analyzer, tuner, and voltage monitor, plus a 2-voice digital oscillator and clock generator. Helps you debug patches and understand how voltages behave at a glance. Silver panel version.
