Notes: After five years of conceptualization, development, stress, company destruction and relocation, redesign, existential questions, prototyping, and willpower, WMD's Skorpion is ready to decimate and reanimate whatever you throw at it -- creating goosebump worthy sounds you've never heard before.
Skorpion is the epitome of WMD's ethos, "New Sounds, Maximum Experience". Painstakingly designed UI, all the CV I/O and controls you could ask for, and a broad spectrum of subtle to 100% NOT subtle swarms of harmonics, chaos, and character. This module is packed full of features to provide continuously explorable fun whether you are experimenting or meticulously crafting a sound that is 100% yours.
Skorpion builds on WMD's's long pedigree of experimental module designs, exploring a new method of wavefolding using thresholds and target voltages to control a powerful vector core. The design process has been very technically challenging, using high speed cmos and precise analog design with hybrid digital overlay for a solid UI.
Skorpion is an 8-stage analog wavefolder that allows you to precisely mangle simple waveforms into complex shapes with a fun, hands on fader interface. Taking the concept many steps further, internal modulation sources allow for macro animation of multiple parameters simultaneously, creating rich, evolving harmonic movement never heard before in hardware.
The Controls
The SHAPE and SLOPE controls allow for smoother or harsher added harmonics, and the 1V/OCT CV input is required for tracking timbre across notes.
FOLD controls the input gain of the signal, causing it to hit each of the eight THRESHOLDS causing a reversal in the output at each point. The signal can be driven towards one of three TARGETs: 5V, the Sliders, or the signal at the CLIP jack (normalled from IN).
SLOPE controls the baseline rate of the output, the higher the slope, the higher the harmonics. The overall slope rate is modified by 1V/OCT and SHAPE.
SHIFT is the classical vertical shift that makes the wavefolder sound like a chorus with subtle modulation.
SHAPE is a feedback control affecting the slope rate of the wavefolder. Eight different sources are available for feedback. The SYM switch decides whether the modulation is applied symmetrically when above or below 0V.
OUTPUT controls whats at the output jacks, the DRY signal, the WET signal, or a mid side stereo processed WIDE signal. WIDE is generated using a second vector core with a variable short delay. If all THRESHOLDS are inactive, a gate is normaled here. The intention being that if the input signal is too low to cause any folding, the OUTPUT circuit is pulled DRY so that you never get silence from the Skorpion.
The EQUALIZE THOLDs switch disables the sliders and forces an equally spaced threshold more akin to classic wavefolders. Modulation is disabled in this mode. Also controllable with a jack.
TARGET ORDER determines which slider is selected when the threshold is activated. Basically, it allows for a different order on the way up as way down producing pleasingly different timbres when using the sliders for target.
SYNC has three modes, OFF in the center. HARD which resets the vector core to 0V at every zero crossing of the input waveform. and SOFT which vectors core toward 0V at the current rate.
HALT IF TARG=0 makes the vector core draw a horizontal line if the TARGET slider for that threshold is at 0 (fully down).
ANIMATION - Sliders, Spring Action Switch, and Macro Envelope:
There are 13 total internal modulation sources. A primary MACRO ENVELOPE, eight (8) Threshold LFOs, and four (4) CV modulators that normal to the FOLD, SLOPE, SHIFT, and SHAPE attenuverters. The CV modulators can be LFOs or Envelopes.
The switch rests in the center, making the sliders control the THRESHOLDs. When held to the left, the sliders set the TARGETs. When held to the right, the sliders control the MACRO SETUP detailed below.
The MACRO ENVELOPE is an Attack/Hold/Release style envelope. A gate here will start the envelope, lighting the LED blue, while the envelopes level will glow red. The times for Attack and Release are controlled in the MACRO SETUP mode by the first two sliders.
The MACRO ENVELOPE modulates the amplitude of all LFOs. If the CV modulators are set as envelopes, then the gate will start the envelopes, but they otherwise operate independently.
MACRO SETUP:
Parameters are modified in MACRO SETUP by holding the switch to the right and moving respective sliders.
Macro Envelope's Attack Time
Macro Envelope's Release Time
Threshold LFO Amount
Threshold LFO Rates
Fold LFO/ENV Rate/Time - CV(5)
Slope LFO/ENV Rate/Time - CV(6)
Shift LFO/ENV Rate/Time - CV(7)
Shape LFO/ENV Rate/Time - CV(8)
Envelope Times are shortest at the bottom of the slider and longest at the top.
LFO Rates are slowest at the bottom of the slider and fastest at the top.
Fold, Slope, Shift, and Shape modulation
Specifications
20HP
38mm Depth (with power cable)
Power: +200mA, -160mA
LFO rate: 0.0016Hz to 6Hz
ENV time: 0.05s to 600s
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