Make Noise and the DPO Supersaw Redux: Patch Alchemy in Eurorack

The video opens with a nostalgic nod to 2015, when Make Noise first tackled the challenge of wrangling a supersaw from their DPO oscillator. Rather than a straightforward recreation, the approach is rooted in the spirit of modular experimentation—less about emulating Roland and more about seeing what happens when you push the DPO and modDemix into unfamiliar territory. The creator admits the original goal wasn’t even a supersaw, but rather exploring how the DPO’s wave folder could modulate the megawave module, a rare and coveted bit of kit in Eurorack circles.

As the patch unfolds, we learn that the process was anything but linear. The journey meanders through attempts at wave shaping, signal inversion, and the use of slope detectors, all in pursuit of a convincing ramp waveform. The modDemix emerges as a key player, offering a shortcut to the desired result by using the DPO’s square wave to flip half the waveform and generate a sawtooth at double frequency. This kind of circuitous problem-solving is classic Make Noise: more about the process and the learning than the destination.

The DPO’s architecture is dissected with an eye for both its quirks and its strengths. The wave folder, a signature feature, is at the heart of the patch—used not just for timbral shaping but as a source of modulation for the megawave. The megawave itself is described as a digital wave lookup module with roots in Grant Richter’s designs, capable of acting as a wavetable oscillator or as a complex wave shaper depending on the input signal.

modDemix, meanwhile, is pressed into service as a signal inverter and mixer, exploiting its ability to flip waveforms with negative CV. The patch cleverly combines the DPO’s triangle and square outputs, using the square as a phase-locked control signal to modDemix, effectively stitching together a new waveform. The result is a thick, harmonically rich sound that stands in for a supersaw—not by imitation, but by modular ingenuity.

In the closing section, the video shifts to a more reflective tone, with insights from Tony Rolando on the DPO’s design evolution. He discusses the unusual saw shape, crafted with a sine wave to soften its edge for better synergy with low pass gates, and the intentionally offset square wave designed for easier blending and asymmetrical clipping. The shape circuit’s use of phase cancellation and the gradual phasing out of vactrols due to sourcing issues are also covered.

These design choices, often driven by practical limitations or the desire to evoke Buchla-inspired sonic territory, have shaped the DPO’s character and its role in the Make Noise shared system. The takeaway is clear: every small decision in circuit design accumulates, and it’s this accumulation that gives a module its unique voice. For the modular enthusiast, it’s a reminder that the quirks and constraints of a design are not obstacles, but the very ingredients of musical identity.