May 2022 Eurorack module round-up
This month’s best new modules include a gritty filter from Animal Factory, versatile randomness from AJH, clever mixing/utility from Blood Cells Audio and an affordable DSP platform from ElectroSmith.
Animal Factory Bonesaw
With their roots in guitar pedals, Mumbai’s Animal Factory know a thing or two about distortion, but the way they apply that knowledge to more expansive Eurorack modules is always worth a look. The Bonesaw is a state-variable filter with a healthy emphasis on drive and grit. The setup is straightforward: cutoff and resonance controls, FM input (with variable phase), low-pass, band-pass and high-pass outputs, plus CV control of nearly everything. The key is the drive control, which allows you to break up the filter’s sound and, in combination with FM and resonance, push it into gritty tones and interesting self-oscillation. An added bonus is that a jumper cable allows you to connect the Bonesaw to a Vivisect mixer in order to expand the sound options into comb filtering, shelving EQ effects and added hands-on playability, all with the Bonesaw’s character. All in all, it’s really well implemented and, at £155, something of a bargain.
AJH Synth Dual RVG
Based on the extremely rare EMS Random Voltage Generator of the late 60s and early 70s, AJH’s Dual RVG is a unique take on randomness. Clocked internally, externally or triggered manually, the two channels allow you to generate ‘random’ triangle- and sawtooth-wave modulation sources with control over level and offset, plus extensive CV control. When running from the internal clock, the Time Vary control is particularly intriguing, allowing you to add a degree or randomness to the timing. At higher settings things get chaotic, but we found lower settings and a slow LFO frequency to be the sweet spot for adding movement to drones, subtly manipulating timbres on repeating sequences and adding an organic sense of life to just about anything. Limited to just 250 individually numbered modules worldwide and with the promise that it will never be reissued, don’t sleep on the Dual RVG.
Blood Cells Audio 221.x2
Blood Cells Audio’s 221.x2 might not have the catchiest name, but it’s an impressive module. It’s a pair of independent two-channel audio/CV mixers in one module, but each channel has its own controls over attenuation and inversion, allowing it to work as a utility module as well as a straightforward mixer. There are direct outputs for each of the channels, plus the option to mix all four channels into an ‘all mix’ output, with the sub-mix of the first two channels still available on its own dedicated output. All in all, not the most glamorous module around, but an impressively capable take on mixing and attenuversion. The ability to chain modules together means you can expand the channel count, feeding the ‘3+4/all mix’ signal pre-gain into the next module’s mix. Versatile.
ElectroSmith patch.Init()
Finally this month, ElectroSmith offer a more affordable entry point to their Daisy DSP development environment. At under £200, the patch.Init() is a more accessible option than the more advanced Daisy Patch module, but allows you to program the Daisy Patch Submodule DSP platform (included). It’s worth looking back at our review of the Daisy Patch for a refresher on the concept, but essentially it’s a Eurorack-friendly stereo development platform which, in this case, gives you a decent selection of CV/gate inputs and outputs plus physical controls, allowing you to create a range of custom modules. You can program it using a range of languages including C++, Max/MSP Gen~, Pure Data and Arduino, giving you plenty of scope to experiment with stereo audio processing at 24-bit, 96kHz resolution. One for the hardcore programmers, most probably, but a very powerful module in the right hands.