Delicious Audio #2, The Best Synth Pedals, Brooklyn Stompbox Exhibit & Synth Expo
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delicious<br />
audio<br />
Issue <strong>#2</strong> Vol. #1<br />
Spring 2019<br />
delicious-audio.com<br />
the stompbox blog/video aggregator<br />
SYNTH PEDALS<br />
SPECIAL!<br />
bk Pedal & <strong>Synth</strong> <strong>Expo</strong> ’19 issue
What’s <strong>Delicious</strong> <strong>Audio</strong>?<br />
<strong>Delicious</strong> <strong>Audio</strong> is a blog entirely focused on stompboxes, whose content<br />
is driven by the videos published on YouTube by the most reputable videographers<br />
shooting demos of guitar effects.<br />
<strong>The</strong> team that runs it also organizes the <strong>Stompbox</strong> <strong>Exhibit</strong>s, free guitar<br />
pedal parties, with editions in <strong>Brooklyn</strong>, Austin, Los Angeles, Toronto and<br />
Montreal, and the shared <strong>Stompbox</strong> Booth at the NAMM shows – see<br />
pictures of our 2019 NAMM booth on pages 10-13.<br />
In 2018 we have merged the <strong>Stompbox</strong> <strong>Exhibit</strong> with the <strong>Synth</strong> <strong>Expo</strong> (which<br />
we started in 2014), since the formats are increasingly complementary.<br />
Why an Aggregator?<br />
<strong>The</strong> aggregator format allows us to amplify the content posted by expert<br />
in the stompbox sector, while allowing us to be at once informative,<br />
neutral and supportive of both the content makers and the community of<br />
pedal builders. <strong>The</strong> “aggregation” of content is not automatic but curated,<br />
which allows us to retain a voice through the website’s blog posts.<br />
Does <strong>Delicious</strong> <strong>Audio</strong> Create Any Original Content?<br />
Yes it does. We regularly work on in-depth articles focused on a specific<br />
kind of effect. Some of our most popular pieces are about the “Klon<br />
Klones”, ambient reverbs and Uni-Vibe pedals – you can easily find these<br />
articles through generic Google searches.<br />
What About the Magazine?<br />
<strong>The</strong> issue you are reading is born on the ashes of <strong>The</strong> Deli, a magazine we<br />
started in 2004 that was focused on emerging NYC bands. After we debuted<br />
the <strong>Stompbox</strong> <strong>Exhibit</strong> in 2011 and then the <strong>Synth</strong> <strong>Expo</strong> in 2014, these<br />
shows allowed <strong>The</strong> Deli’s print issue to survive until the winter of 2019,<br />
when we decided to convert it into the publication you are reading now.
delicious<br />
audio<br />
Issue <strong>#2</strong> Vol. #1<br />
Spring 2019<br />
delicious-audio.com<br />
the stompbox blog/video aggregator<br />
EDITOR IN CHIEF / PUBLISHER<br />
PAOLO DE GREGORIO<br />
EDITOR / PEDAL GURU<br />
NICHOLAS KULA<br />
ART DIRECTOR<br />
KAZ YABE<br />
( WWW.KAZYABE.SQUARESPACE.COM)<br />
ASSISTANT EDITOR / COPY EDITOR<br />
ERIN BETHUNE D’SOUZA<br />
COVER ILLUSTRATION<br />
CHRISTOPHER WILLIAMS<br />
( WWW.PLASTICFLAME.COM)<br />
WEB DEVELOPER<br />
BINOD LAMSAL<br />
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS<br />
BRANDON STONER<br />
SHIPPING COORDINATORS<br />
MAIA AND HANA DE GREGORIO<br />
INTERN<br />
RENE COBAR BUSTOS<br />
With our events for musicians approaching their 10th anniversary,<br />
we thought it was time to introduce an educational<br />
component consisting in a number of presentations and<br />
workshops. Since there’s a lot more to be said and learned<br />
about synths than pedals, we decided to team up with popular<br />
synth blog <strong>Synth</strong>opia to curate a program of panels and<br />
presentations that we thought local synth and pedal lovers<br />
might find interesting. A last minute, unexpected change of<br />
venue - and the scrambling of our lives that ensued - didn’t<br />
allow us to finalize the schedule of the presentations in time<br />
for it to be included in this issue. But even without that, we<br />
are still able to publish the list of all the panels and workshop<br />
here on the right. Thanks to the magic of the internet those<br />
interested in knowing the times will be able to find the updated<br />
schedule at this link: bit.ly/bk-xpo-schedule.<br />
See you at the show!<br />
Paolo De Gregorio<br />
Advertising Inquiries:<br />
paolo.dg@thedelimag.com<br />
<strong>Synth</strong> & Pedal <strong>Expo</strong> 2019<br />
PROGRAMMED EVENTS<br />
(For times go to: bit.ly/bk-xpo-schedule)<br />
Saturday 6/8<br />
6:30pm LISA BELLA DONNA LIVE<br />
sponsored by Moog & EarthQuaker Devices<br />
Weekend Presentations and Seminars<br />
(co-curated with <strong>Synth</strong>topia.com)<br />
• Basic and intermediate Eurorack classes (by STEM Modular)<br />
• Classes about synthesis (by 343Lab.com)<br />
• MPE and the new frontiers of musical expressions (by ROLI)<br />
• Understanding FM synthesis, (by Yamaha)<br />
• Performing with <strong>Synth</strong>s and <strong>Pedals</strong> (by Lisa Bella Donna)<br />
• Making killer bass patches (by Omnisphere)<br />
• Eurorack Patch Show-Off!<br />
• New synth presentations by several manufacturers<br />
ALL EVENTS ARE FREE<br />
BUT REQUIRE RSVP<br />
DIRECTLY AT THE SHOW
OSCILLATOR<br />
Every sound is a wave.<br />
An oscillator is a device<br />
that generates a constant<br />
electric wave, or a note.<br />
WAVE SELECTOR<br />
Different waves sound different,<br />
this is the switch that selects<br />
the wave’s shape, creating<br />
smoother or buzzier sounds.<br />
FILTER<br />
A heavy handed EQ that<br />
lets you cut the wave’s<br />
frequencies.<br />
RESONANCE<br />
A boost in EQ applied just<br />
before the frequency cut.<br />
Oscillator<br />
Wave<br />
Selector<br />
Filter<br />
Resonance<br />
LFO<br />
LFO<br />
Another name for modulation,<br />
appied through a slower<br />
oscillator.<br />
OCTAVER<br />
A device that transposes<br />
the original’s note picth<br />
one or two octaves higher<br />
or lower.<br />
OCTAVE SELECTOR<br />
It lets you choose what octave<br />
is played by the octaver.<br />
SUB<br />
Another name for the lower<br />
octave generator.<br />
Octaver<br />
Octave<br />
Selector<br />
SYNTH 1<br />
Sub<br />
SYNTH 2<br />
Envelope<br />
FOOT SYNTH<br />
A TYPICAL SYNTH PEDAL<br />
Mix<br />
ENVELOPE<br />
It controls the way the wavenote<br />
is shaped when and after<br />
you trigger it, giving it percussive<br />
or droney qualities.<br />
MIX<br />
Blends clean and synthesised<br />
signal.<br />
10 delicious audio Spring 2019
STOMP ON THAT<br />
SYNTH!<br />
UNDERSTANDING SYNTH PEDALS<br />
BY CHRISTOPHER SCAPELLITI, PAOLO DE GREGORIO AND NICHOLAS KULA<br />
In September 1963, as the Beatles convened in Abbey Road Studios to record “Don’t Bother Me” for their<br />
second album, With the Beatles, George Harrison was curious to know if it was possible to make his guitar<br />
sound like another instrument. “Can we have a compressor on this guitar?” he asked audio engineer Norman<br />
Smith. “We might try to get a sort of organ sound.”<br />
Poor George was born a few decades too early. Had<br />
he made such a request today, he’d have a wealth of<br />
effect pedals from which to choose, several of which<br />
are designed explicitly to make a guitar sound like<br />
an organ. Advances in digital signal processing have made it<br />
possible for effect makers to package this sophisticated circuitry<br />
into stompboxes, allowing guitarists to emulate everything<br />
from a Hammond B-3 to a Moog modular synthesizer.<br />
If adding some strange sonic brew to your guitar tone sounds<br />
enticing, the pedals we’ve gathered here should spark your<br />
interest. <strong>The</strong> range is pretty vast, containing everything from<br />
pedals designed to emulate specific vintage synths to octave<br />
dividers and full-blown experimental devices.<br />
WHAT DOES A SYNTH PEDAL DO?<br />
Those of you who have already ventured into synth-pedalresearch-mode<br />
may have realized that things can get a little<br />
confusing. <strong>Stompbox</strong> manufacturers like to attach the word<br />
“synth” to pedals that do very different things, so we thought<br />
it would be useful to start with a little recap of the most common<br />
subcategories:<br />
ANALOG-STYLE SYNTH PEDALS THAT TRACK<br />
YOUR SIGNAL AND FEED IT INTO AN OSCILLATOR<br />
<strong>The</strong>re is no analog synthesizer—at least the real thing—without<br />
an oscillator, i.e. a device that generates an electric wave<br />
whose pitch can be changed depending on how quickly it<br />
oscillates. <strong>The</strong> stompboxes that come closer to being true<br />
analog synths are the ones that track your signal and convert<br />
them into a similar sound generated by an oscillator. <strong>The</strong>se<br />
devices will then process that resulting tone through other<br />
circuits typically found in traditional analog synths, such as<br />
resonating low and high-pass filters and an LFO (modulation).<br />
A filter that cuts some of the signal’s frequencies (like a wah<br />
pedal) is the foundation of “subtractive synthesis,” upon<br />
which an overwhelming majority of analog synths are based.<br />
SYNTH PEDALS THAT USE PITCH MULTIPLIERS<br />
Many digital stompboxes billed as “synth pedals” don’t actually<br />
have any oscillators under their hoods, but simply use<br />
octaving or multi-note pitch shifting to create a resulting tone<br />
that sounds “synthetic.” This is more or less the basis of additive<br />
synthesis, in which new timbres are created by adding<br />
one or more harmonics to the fundamental pitch. If you’ve ever<br />
looked at a drawbar organ, such as a Hammond, and wondered<br />
what all those sliders are for, they’re for adding harmonic<br />
partials—such as 2nds, 3rds and 5ths—to the fundamental<br />
tone to create new, complex sounds. Often these pitch shifted<br />
notes are fed through subtractive synthesis circuits (filters),<br />
creating pedals using what we could call hybrid synthesis.<br />
EXPERIMENTAL, SAMPLE BASED, GRANULAR<br />
SYNTH PEDALS<br />
Digital technology has allowed the development of a new kind<br />
delicious audio Spring 2019 11
of synthesis whose sound sources aren’t based on oscillators<br />
but samples, i.e. recorded bits of sound. Some of the most<br />
edgy-sounding and experimental pedals out there belong to<br />
this category: <strong>The</strong>y take your sound and mangle it in ways<br />
that were inimaginable until a few years ago. In this field, granular<br />
synthesis is the name of the game.<br />
FUZZ BASED “SYNTH PEDALS”<br />
<strong>The</strong> grating sounding square wave is one of the most common<br />
waves an oscillator can create. Since a fuzz pedal converts<br />
your signal into something very close to a square wave,<br />
many stompboxes that present themselves as “synth pedals”<br />
use this simple trick to achieve a basic synthy tone, subsequently<br />
combining it with the usual filter-based subtractive<br />
synthesis effects.<br />
PEDALS THAT JUST REPLICATE THE EFFECT<br />
SECTIONS OF ANALOG SYNTHS<br />
(This category won’t be covered in this article). Many devices<br />
billed as “synth pedals” don’t track-and-replace, pitch shift<br />
or “square up” the signal at all, but simply feature effects like<br />
resonant filters and modulation that give a regular guitar tone<br />
one or more flavors from the synthy to the downright crazy—<br />
when more radical effects like ring modulation and bit reduction<br />
are employed. Others do include oscillators but as simple<br />
drones whose pitch can be changed with knobs (they don’t<br />
track your guitar’s notes).<br />
MONOPHONIC VS. POLYPHONIC<br />
VS… POLY-PITCH!<br />
As if the info in the previous paragraph wasn’t enough, there’s<br />
another source of confusion in the synth pedal realm: the<br />
monophonic vs. polyphonic dilemma! This is something you<br />
want to get right before you buy a synth pedal.<br />
For the uninitiated, a monophonic instrument is one that can<br />
only play one note at a time (many analog synths operate this<br />
way, and are mostly used for solo parts or basslines). A polyphonic<br />
synth is an instrument that can reproduce chords; but<br />
in the pedal world, things in this department aren’t as straightforward<br />
as one might expect.<br />
TRULY POLYPHONIC PEDALS<br />
<strong>The</strong>se are the stompboxes that can track more than a note<br />
at a time—play a chord with the guitar and get a reproduced<br />
chord that sounds like a synth. Needless to say, polyphonic<br />
pedals are also monophonic if you want them to be, since<br />
they do an equally good job on tracking single notes.<br />
PITCH-BASED POLYPHONIC PEDALS<br />
<strong>The</strong>se pedals produce chords (i.e. polyphony) out of a single<br />
note played on your instrument by splitting the signal into several<br />
notes with different pitches. But if you try to feed them a chord,<br />
you’ll get something that very closely approximates horror.<br />
MONOPHONIC PEDALS<br />
<strong>The</strong>se are unassuming pedals that can only track and play<br />
one note at a time—how refreshing!<br />
OUR SYNTH PEDAL CATEGORIES<br />
Keeping these differences in mind, we’ve compiled a list of the best guitar<br />
synth pedals and divided the market’s current offering into a few categories.<br />
POLYPHONIC, ANALOG-STYLE SYNTH PEDALS<br />
If you’re looking for deep, analog-style synthesis<br />
options with support for chord tracking (true<br />
polyphony), there actually aren’t many choices.<br />
Late in 2018, the Meris Enzo stole the show<br />
with its new technology, offering multi-voice<br />
capability, tight tracking, and a full synth palette<br />
of multimode analog-style filters, modulation,<br />
pitch shifting, and filter envelopes (among<br />
other things). Also, its sound is as good as the<br />
12 delicious audio Spring 2019<br />
real thing. <strong>The</strong> BOSS SY-300, about thrice as<br />
big, is also truly polyphonic and features three<br />
tunable oscillators, giving control over similar<br />
parameters as the Enzo plus more, while also<br />
offering a multi-effect section, step sequencing,<br />
comprehensive routing, and four footswitches to<br />
adjust the parameters on the fly. It features 99<br />
user patches, 70 factory presets and a big display<br />
to navigate it all. Electro-Harmonix, one of<br />
Meris Enzo<br />
*<br />
BOSS SY-300 *
the manufacturers most invested in pedal synth<br />
technology, released the <strong>Synth</strong>9 in 2017. This<br />
is a truly polyphonic synth pedal that emulates<br />
the sound of classic vintage analog synths, but<br />
features limited effect tweakability with just two<br />
variable “Ctrl” knobs.<br />
<strong>The</strong> BOSS GP-10 and the Roland GR-55 Gui-<br />
tar <strong>Synth</strong>esizer are also polyphonic, but based<br />
on an older technology. <strong>The</strong>y require the proprietary<br />
GK-3 pickup, which mounts to virtually<br />
any guitar and requires no modification to your<br />
instrument, but at about $220, it is an additional<br />
investment. On the bright side though, these boxes<br />
allow greater sonic manipulation.<br />
Electro-Harmonix <strong>Synth</strong>9 *<br />
MONOPHONIC, ANALOG-STYLE SYNTH PEDALS<br />
But do you really need real polyphony in your<br />
synth pedal? If you don’t, your options widen<br />
considerably, and if you’re looking for deep<br />
sound mangling for lead-only or bass parts<br />
(monophonic tracking), these devices could be<br />
just the thing. Unlike many other synth pedals,<br />
these devices feature an onboard oscillator<br />
triggered by the guitar, which then feeds any<br />
number of extras such as octave circuits, filters,<br />
LFOs and more.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Pigtronix Mothership 2 and the Electro-Harmonix<br />
Microsynth both feature multiple<br />
synth voices created via octave dividers, and<br />
also add on extra features for flexible sound synthesis.<br />
Each pedal starts with the same core, but<br />
the differences are in the details: the Microsynth<br />
gives you extensive filter options while the Mothership<br />
serves up more traditional synth controls<br />
like Timbre and glissando (“Glide”).<br />
<strong>The</strong> DigiTech Dirty Robot offers similar features<br />
in a stereo synthesizer emulation pedal,<br />
offering a fair amount of control over the various<br />
parameters to create filter sweeps, talk box effects<br />
and much more. Two different synth types<br />
await prospective users, one of which is a formant<br />
style—unique to this list.<br />
<strong>The</strong> TWA Great Divide 2.0 seems like an octave<br />
pedal on steroids, but what it does is wholly<br />
unique: It provides five independent voices, including<br />
a Syn[th] voice with four waveforms and<br />
a Sub[octave] voice, plus 12 internal controls to<br />
adjust various voice parameters. It achieves its<br />
tones by reading an onboard clock signal, splitting<br />
the signal, processing it and recombining<br />
it for a powerful multi-voice synth experience.<br />
Some of the Sub voices also allow harmonic<br />
intervals—that is, intervals other than octaves—<br />
for more complex tones.<br />
For a different type of analog synth pedal experience,<br />
the Electro-Harmonix Mono <strong>Synth</strong><br />
does just the trick. Featuring a sample-based architecture,<br />
the Mono <strong>Synth</strong> serves up extremely<br />
convincing models of several classic analog<br />
synth boxes, along with mode-specific control<br />
knobs to recreate all the idiosyncrasies of these<br />
legacy machines.<br />
Subdecay’s Octasynth gives players every<br />
single parameter of an analog synth—because it<br />
is one! Your guitar signal triggers an internal oscillator,<br />
which gets fed through a filter and sent<br />
right to a VCA. It sounds extremely synthlike...<br />
because it is. For those that crave the real experience,<br />
accept no substitutes.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Red Witch <strong>Synth</strong>otron is a simple but<br />
very original pedal with two switchable synth<br />
channels, modulation, envelope filter and a<br />
unique sample-and-hold filter. Its oscillators<br />
can be finely tuned, then fed into an amplitude<br />
modulator and a sample-and-hold filter—two<br />
features rarely found in synth units.<br />
For lack of a better classification, we would be<br />
remiss not to mention the Zoia, from Empress<br />
Effects. Essentially comprising a guitar effect<br />
computer, the Zoia is what amounts to a modular<br />
synthesizer, letting you build a whole pedalboard<br />
on one device. <strong>The</strong> Zoia serves up oscillators, filters,<br />
LFOs and about 80 other things which can<br />
be mixed and matched to your liking.<br />
Empress Zoia<br />
*<br />
DigiTech Dirty Robot<br />
TWA Great Divide 2.0<br />
delicious audio Spring 2019 13
PEDALS USING ADDITIVE SYNTHESIS<br />
(PITCH AND HARMONIC GENERATORS)<br />
If you want a different kind synth pedal based<br />
on additive synthesis that can generate chords<br />
and layers of sounds from a single note, check<br />
out these two very different offerings from Electro-Harmonix.<br />
<strong>The</strong> HOG2 Harmonic Octave<br />
Generator lets players create new tones by adding<br />
harmonic partials to their fundamental tones.<br />
<strong>The</strong> HOG2 provides 10 polyphonic voices ranging<br />
from two octaves below to four above the original<br />
guitar pitch, as well as two envelopes to control<br />
the attack and decay of the upper and lower notes<br />
and a filter with frequency and resonance controls.<br />
Octave pedals have been around for a while, and<br />
they’ve been a good way to add a synthetic harmonic<br />
richness to any tone by taking the original signal<br />
and passing it through an octave divider to create<br />
pitches that are an octave above it, below it, or both.<br />
Two other pedals here go beyond traditional octave<br />
pedals, allowing players to add pitches up<br />
to two octaves above and below their guitar’s<br />
original signal. <strong>The</strong> Electro-Harmonix POG2<br />
adds a low-pass filter with variable attack as<br />
well as detune, while the Bit Commander from<br />
EarthQuaker Devices provides a tone control<br />
in addition to its multitude of mixable voices.<br />
<strong>The</strong>n there’s the Data Corrupter from Earth-<br />
Quaker Devices, a PLL-style circuit. It brutally<br />
amplifies your input signal into a crushing square<br />
wave fuzz tone that’s then multiplied, divided<br />
and modulated to create a wild, yet repeatable,<br />
three-voice guitar synthesizer. Its feature set is<br />
extremely streamlined and easy to digest—a rarity<br />
in a sometimes-complex category.<br />
<strong>The</strong> FTElettronica PLL takes the idea of the PLLbased<br />
synth pedal as popularized by Schumann<br />
Electronics and expands it to its fullest capabilities,<br />
featuring all the original Schumann attachments<br />
integrated right into the pedal.<br />
While the PLL-type circuit isn’t cutting-edge<br />
pedal tech, several companies have found its<br />
features a welcome addition to their lines. <strong>The</strong><br />
Swarm from Beetronics adds mixable voices<br />
and improved tracking so chordwork is now<br />
possible when the settings are tweaked properly.<br />
<strong>The</strong> newest entry in this category is the SolidGold-<br />
FX Lysis, one of the biggest hits at Winter NAMM<br />
2019. <strong>The</strong> Lysis combines a waveshaping fuzz with<br />
two voices of DSP-based polyphonic octave-down<br />
pitch tracking, before finishing up with a generous<br />
filter section and an onboard vibrato circuit.<br />
PITCH MODULATING SEQUENCERS AND ARPEGGIATORS<br />
Additional synth flavors can be found under the<br />
smaller umbrella of sequencing and arpeggiating,<br />
at which additive synthesis pedals happen to excel.<br />
<strong>The</strong>y work similarly to their big brothers but add regenerative<br />
octaving or stepped pitch modulation.<br />
Two entrants in this category that work slightly<br />
differently come from EarthQuaker Devices and<br />
do things almost no other pedal does. <strong>The</strong> Rainbow<br />
Machine is a polyphonic pitch-warping<br />
engine that creates real-time pitch shifting using<br />
digital oscillators. <strong>The</strong> pedal lets you select harmonies<br />
ranging from a fourth below your original<br />
signal to a third above it and at every atonal pitch<br />
in-between. <strong>The</strong> pedal’s Magic control is the key<br />
to its wild synthetic tones, allowing the creation<br />
of ambient drones, pitch-shifting delays, chorus,<br />
metallic digi-flanging, ascending (or descending)<br />
“pixie” trails, whale noises and much more.<br />
Also in a class by itself is EarthQuaker’s Arpanoid,<br />
an intelligent polyphonic arpeggiator<br />
that creates arpeggios from notes and chords.<br />
It takes whatever you play and transforms it into<br />
an adjustable ascending or descending scale. Its<br />
eight modes work on complex chords as well as<br />
single notes in any key.<br />
Bananana’s Tararira works in a different way<br />
but achieves a result that combines a sequencer<br />
and an arpeggiator. It gives you eight steps, each<br />
programmable with a different scale. <strong>The</strong> sequencer<br />
works with as many steps as you want<br />
from two up to eight, and offers up tap tempo,<br />
major and minor scales and a random mode.<br />
Go to <strong>Delicious</strong>-<strong>Audio</strong>.com<br />
and search<br />
“<strong>Best</strong> <strong>Synth</strong> <strong>Pedals</strong>”<br />
EarthQuaker Devices<br />
Bit Commander<br />
*<br />
Electro-Harmonix HOG2<br />
Bananana Tararira<br />
EarthQuaker Devices<br />
Rainbow Machine<br />
*<br />
14 delicious audio Spring 2019
GRANULAR SYNTH PEDALS<br />
<strong>The</strong> Electro-Harmonix Superego takes a different<br />
route by using granular synthesis to create<br />
its tones. <strong>The</strong> pedal samples a tiny segment of<br />
the signal—hence “granular”—and then uses<br />
this sample to create a range of synthesizer-like<br />
effects, including fluid glissandos, infinite sustain<br />
and more.<br />
Detroit’s Red Panda has been at the forefront<br />
of granular synthesis. Its Particle is a full-featured<br />
glitch and granular synthesis machine that<br />
masquerades as a delay. While pristine digital<br />
echoes are easy to extract from its control set,<br />
the meat of the effect lies within the Chop knob,<br />
as well as the dual-function Delay/Pitch control,<br />
which changes parameters in each mode, and<br />
which parameter depends on the type of mode<br />
in which the pedal is placed. <strong>The</strong>ir recent Tensor<br />
delay applies granular synthesis to sound<br />
reverse/stretch experiments.<br />
For the ultimate in granular synthesis, Pladask<br />
Elektrisk’s Fabrikat delivers the goods. Featuring<br />
a rather astounding 16 different algorithms,<br />
the Fabrikat serves up all kinds of sample<br />
manipulating madness, allowing you to set a<br />
buffer length, sample the signal in and then mangle<br />
that stored phrase to your heart’s content.<br />
Red Panda Particle<br />
*<br />
Electro-Harmonix Superego<br />
*<br />
FUZZ SYNTHS<br />
We all know the backbone of many synthesizers<br />
is the humble oscillator, and sometimes<br />
instead of creating one to intermingle with<br />
pickup output, it’s far more tonally conscious<br />
to amplify a signal’s gain enough until it approximates<br />
a square wave. <strong>The</strong>n, it’s subjected<br />
to all manner of synth controls including filters,<br />
octaves and more.<br />
One such unit is Keeley’s <strong>Synth</strong>-1, a fuzzbased<br />
approach to the analog synthesizer. <strong>The</strong><br />
interface is simple enough: An Attack control<br />
sets the amount of envelope-controlled swell<br />
while the Blend knob cleverly provides a second<br />
voice. <strong>The</strong> Filter control features a massive knob<br />
with a massive sound, and you can use an expression<br />
device to control it as well.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Seymour Duncan Fooz takes the kitchen-sink<br />
approach to fuzz-based synthery,<br />
achieving the waveform in the same way but<br />
serving up a generously full-featured LFO section<br />
featuring an unprecedented four knobs of<br />
control. A plethora of filter options and an envelope-generated<br />
Attack control follow, and a tap<br />
tempo control puts the cherry on top.<br />
France’s Glou-Glou burst onto the scene with<br />
the Rendez-vous, but it’s the Pralines that<br />
marks its entry into synthesis. A gated fuzz circuit<br />
compliments four parallel band-pass filters<br />
with assignable modulation effects to each one,<br />
including a bevy of envelope filters, LFOs and<br />
expression pedal options.<br />
On the opposite side of the coin, the Emma Okto-Nøjs<br />
offers two independently footswitchable<br />
channels: one richly featured fuzz that<br />
slams into a gnarly octave unit with earth-shaking<br />
subsonic potential. <strong>The</strong> Nøjs side gives players<br />
a touch-sensitive octaving fuzz while the<br />
Okto side tracks that and outputs synthy madness<br />
that’s smooth as silk.<br />
One somewhat popular classification of fuzzbased<br />
synths are ones in which a fuzzed-up signal<br />
fights for spectrum space with an oscillator,<br />
often blending the two into a soup of fuzz and<br />
synthesis. One such unit is the Industrialectric<br />
Incinerator, a device that features two separate<br />
oscillators and a highly transistorized signal<br />
path. Featuring two separate channels that<br />
can be used simultaneously, this one isn’t for the<br />
faint of heart. d<br />
Industrialectric Incinerator<br />
Keeley <strong>Synth</strong>-1<br />
*<br />
*<br />
*You’ll be able to play these pedals at the 2019 <strong>Brooklyn</strong> Pedal & <strong>Synth</strong> <strong>Expo</strong>!<br />
Emma Okto-Nøjs<br />
16 delicious audio Spring 2019
A BOUQUET<br />
OF SOUNDS<br />
A BOUQUET<br />
Rose is a modulated delay<br />
OF SOUND<br />
unlike any other. Learn more<br />
at eventideaudio.com/rose<br />
“<strong>The</strong> combination of onboard controls,<br />
built-in filter and openness to CV<br />
modulation makes EuroDDL capable<br />
of creating quite adventurous sounds.”<br />
— Ask <strong>Audio</strong><br />
Eventide is a registered trademark of Eventide Inc. © 2019 Eventide Inc.
GUITAR<br />
VOYAGER<br />
TAKE THE PLUNGE<br />
INTO EURORACK<br />
BY NICHOLAS KULA<br />
Guitarists and synthesizer aficionados often<br />
stand at opposite ends of the party, eyeing<br />
one another from across the room and sizing<br />
each other up. Both are so similar, yet so different, but<br />
there is one arena that both types can agree upon,<br />
it’s little gadgets that can be connected in series to<br />
manipulate an audio signal. For you, the reader, it’s<br />
effects pedals. But for... them, it’s Eurorack modules.<br />
Now, there’s a good chance that many readers have heard of<br />
Eurorack modules—essentially, these are pedals for synth heads,<br />
but instead of mounting them on a board, they’re mounted in—<br />
you guessed it—a rack, and are connected through front-facing<br />
eighth-inch jacks and accompanying cables. Unlike guitar effects,<br />
these modules feature stunning arrays of connectors that<br />
go far beyond input and output, giving nearly every parameter<br />
what’s called “CV control” (see elsewhere in this mag), giving way<br />
to a morass of wires that is a point of pride among some circles.<br />
Because these two ideas are so topologically similar, one might<br />
think that interfacing the two is as easy as shoving an adapter-equipped<br />
cable into a Eurorack module and shredding away.<br />
Not so fast, bucko. <strong>Synth</strong> signals are much, much hotter than<br />
guitar signals, and so plugging directly in will yield awful tone.<br />
Using a pedal to boost the signal to synth levels might overload<br />
the unit, but will more than likely fall short. And what do you<br />
plan on doing once you need to run that mess to an amp?<br />
Mistakes can and will be made.<br />
I’ve touched on the idea of assembling a pedalboard featuring<br />
stompboxes with CV outs, and you can use those to control Eurorack<br />
modules, but what if you want to do more than assemble<br />
a costly Eurorack case just for one or two (or 40) effects? Luckily,<br />
there are many ways to go about it, and here’s how to do it.<br />
EURORACK GUITAR MODULES<br />
<strong>The</strong> simplest way to plug straight in is to buy a module that accepts<br />
quarter-inch inputs for this exact purpose. If you’d like to throw<br />
all your eggs into this basket, you need a module that accepts<br />
your guitar and offers an envelope follower circuit to essentially<br />
transform the signal into a type that’s usable for further processing.<br />
Many modules have this option built in, saving space in your rack.<br />
18 delicious audio Spring 2019
trol voltage so you can use your instrument to control parameters<br />
of other gear. As of the time of writing, only the Analogue<br />
Systems RS-35 offers such a feature.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Doepfer A-119 is one such module and is an excellent entry<br />
point, offering a simple lightly-crunchy overdrive in addition<br />
to an envelope follower circuit. Another such device is the Befaco<br />
Instrument Interface, offering a little more control over how<br />
you plan on serving the signal to auxiliary modules.<br />
Perhaps the best option is the Bastl Instrument Hendrickson,<br />
which essentially offers up a guitar input and output in the<br />
same module. While plenty of devices will happily accept your<br />
input signal, getting it into your guitar amp is a whole different<br />
task. Normally, this involves sending the synth signal to a separate<br />
module called a VCA, and then to an external mixer where<br />
you can tamp down the hot signal to be used with a guitar amplifier.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Hendrickson eliminates the need for such outboard<br />
nonsense in a single stroke.<br />
EURORACK PEDALBOARDS<br />
If you’d rather explore the world of modular synthesis at your<br />
feet instead of a nearby table, several options are available. <strong>The</strong><br />
absolute simplest way to integrate the worlds of pedalboard<br />
and synth rack is the Pittsburgh Modular Patch Box, offering<br />
up actual footswitches in addition to attenuated inputs and<br />
outputs. <strong>The</strong> biggest obstacle facing you is that they were discontinued<br />
a few years ago, but finding one used (or even new, if<br />
you know where to look), isn’t an insurmountable task.<br />
If the idea of chasing discontinued gear doesn’t please you,<br />
there is always the option of maintaining an actual Eurorack<br />
case on your pedalboard. If you thought that shopping for a<br />
pedalboard was tough, shopping for a Eurorack case is tantamount<br />
to overload. What’s more, potential buyers must be<br />
mindful of unused space, because holes in a Eurorack case’s<br />
facade mean exposed circuit boards, and so one must buy either<br />
blank panels, or all the modules at once. This results in poor<br />
cable management or a decidedly un-rock-‘n’-roll assembly.<br />
Here, the Eurorack setup is a little more flexible, and it opens<br />
up dramatically when you either build or purchase true bypass<br />
loopers with eighth-inch outs. Simply Google a wiring diagram<br />
for these simple utility boxes or have your pedal-building buddy<br />
take care of it. Connect the module input and output to the box,<br />
and each one will allow you to switch one module in and out<br />
of your chain just like a pedal. Build an entire switchbox—one<br />
channel per module—for an all-in-one solution.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Hendrickson module is a must in this situation by letting<br />
you interface your guitar and amp, but there are several more<br />
modules at play here. One such device is the Addac Pedal Integrator,<br />
offering up two sets of send and return jacks to run<br />
your existing gear in between synth modules. Other devices<br />
include the Strymon (yes, that Strymon) AA.1, or perhaps the<br />
best option of all: <strong>The</strong> ALM S.B.G., which gives you a wet-dry<br />
blend over the send and return.<br />
With just a little ingenuity and perhaps a little elbow grease, the<br />
world of Eurorack synth modules is yours for the taking. On a<br />
side note, if you haven’t looked at the cost of these modules<br />
before reading this, you might be a little shocked. However,<br />
many of these units are capable of effects far beyond the capabilities<br />
of many pedals—beware the rabbit hole! d<br />
If you’re feeling especially fancy, find a pitch tracker module,<br />
which converts your amplified signal into corresponding condelicious<br />
audio Spring 2019 19
EL EC TR IC<br />
FEEL<br />
CONTROL VOLTAGE,<br />
GUITAR PEDALS AND YOU<br />
Right around the same time in the late<br />
’60s, two men, each thousands of<br />
miles apart from one another, reinvented<br />
the way that folks pluck electric<br />
guitars. Bradley Plunkett of Thomas Organ<br />
Company in California and Fumio Mieda of Japan<br />
developed ways to manipulate a guitar effect<br />
in real time without the use of one’s hands.<br />
Plunkett’s invention—the wah—was originally<br />
intended for trumpet players and controls the<br />
center point of a bandpass filter, while Mieda’s<br />
one was the Psychedelic Machine, which was<br />
inspired by modulated short-wave radio circuits<br />
and eventually became the Uni-Vibe.<br />
Source <strong>Audio</strong> Reflex<br />
BY NICHOLAS KULA<br />
CV Controllers<br />
CV = Control Voltage<br />
Though the use of a large foot-controlled pedal was a novel idea<br />
in the ’60s, a sparse number of manufacturers implemented them.<br />
However, the first stone was cast: Expression pedals, as they came<br />
to be called, offered a dynamic performance arc that standard pedals<br />
just couldn’t match.<br />
Meanwhile in the world of synthesizers, CV, or “Control Voltage,” was all<br />
the rage. Bob Moog implemented it in all of his synth designs as a way<br />
to automate certain synth functions. While it differs from expression<br />
control in terms of extremital usage, its goal is nearly the same: control<br />
a parameter remotely without having to manually fiddle with the thing.<br />
For years, CV and expression control advanced in parallel, with the<br />
two paths never crossing. <strong>The</strong>y glanced in 1977 when Roland developed<br />
the GR-550 guitar synth, but it wasn’t until far later that synth<br />
players and guitarists broke bread at the auxiliary control roundtable<br />
and began offering one discipline’s mechanics on the other’s devices.<br />
While expression and CV units are nearly identical, they differ in a key<br />
way. Expression pedals operate passively and require CV to be fed<br />
into them, so that they may manipulate a parameter via an onboard<br />
potentiometer, then plug the CV back into the original box. <strong>The</strong> expression<br />
pedal does so with a stereo cable, carrying the information<br />
on the tip or ring, and back to the box it’s controlling via the other. A<br />
CV pedal is always powered and will deliver the voltage straight into<br />
an auxiliary unit, and thus it is controlled with a standard mono cable.<br />
It stands to reason then that any powered unit is capable of generating<br />
control voltage, and so that’s where we find ourselves—rigging<br />
our pedalboards up with CV devices and seamlessly controlling one<br />
another the old-school way: volts and volts alone.<br />
CV Controllers<br />
If you’re looking for an all-in-one CV distribution powerhouse, the<br />
Source <strong>Audio</strong> Reflex is the king of all expression devices. Featuring<br />
three assignable CV outputs, it’s the only guitar-centric three-CV unit<br />
on the market. Beyond the Reflex, you’re out of luck, as the next<br />
best on the market is the discontinued Moog MP-201 and now sells<br />
for around $700. Fret not, however, as many pedals output a single<br />
stream of CV, and distributing them among your thirsty inputs yields<br />
impressive results.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Mission Engineering CV-5 outputs two foot-controlled CV<br />
streams at once, letting you shift dynamic waves of change with just<br />
one foot motion. Spicy!<br />
Some of today’s expression pedals and control devices give you<br />
the option of plugging in a standard mono cable to output CV, and<br />
it is here that beginners should start their quests. Items such as the
CV Out<br />
Electro-Harmonix Expression Pedal and Selah Quartz Timer output<br />
CV in two totally different ways, via foot operation or BPM pulses.<br />
However, the smart money is on the Electro-Harmonix 8-Step<br />
Program, which allows you to sequence bursts of control voltage<br />
and deliver them unto your CV-equipped board. If you’re going to<br />
pick one CV-centric control box, this is probably the one.<br />
Dreadbox Komorebi [Left]<br />
Dwarfcraft Happiness [Right]<br />
Pigtronix Philosopher King [Bottom]<br />
WMD Geiger Counter Pro [Left]<br />
Malekko Charlie Foxtrot [Right]<br />
Endpoint of<br />
CV Line<br />
<strong>Stompbox</strong>es with Integrated CV Outs<br />
Besides a foot controller, many pedals are capable of seamlessly providing<br />
a steady source of CV despite operating within the signal path.<br />
Many of these types of pedals feature a CV output that is tied directly<br />
to the pedal’s low frequency oscillator (LFO) or, in layman’s terms,<br />
any pedal with a “speed” or “rate” control.<br />
<strong>Pedals</strong> like Dwarfcraft’s Happiness filter and Dreadbox’s Komorebi<br />
feature an LFO out, and adjusting the rate of the filter similarly adjusts<br />
the CV emitting from the unit. You can then plug this CV into a different<br />
pedal that accepts it and sync up the units with a single cable. Others<br />
such as the WMD Protostar offer up an even greater degree of CV<br />
outputs, with outputs for both the envelope and the LFO dot the unit’s<br />
top panel. Pigtronix’s Philosopher King is an envelope generating<br />
machine that similarly has a CV out—use it to let your picking dynamics<br />
do the talking as they control the action of the King and its adjacent<br />
CV-equipped pedal. Of course, many pedals with this feature also support<br />
CV in, so you can use them to chain multiple CV devices together.<br />
<strong>The</strong> End of <strong>The</strong> CV Line<br />
When assembling a CV-centric board, it’s nice to have an endpoint in<br />
mind, as throughput at the end of the chain simply squanders sonic<br />
potential. With that said, Malekko has all but mastered the art of<br />
guitar pedal control voltage. Its newest pedal platform that includes<br />
the Scrutator, Charlie Foxtrot, Downer and more offers user-assignable<br />
CV control over as many as five knobs simultaneously, and<br />
in any direction. Similarly, WMD’s Geiger Counter Pro offers two<br />
CV inputs for some serious sonic corruption. Red Panda’s pedals<br />
accept CV, and the company even sells a custom expression-to-CV<br />
adapter, or gives you plans on how to make your own. <strong>The</strong> myriad<br />
devices crafted by Chase Bliss make a great choice as well, all of the<br />
brand’s DIP switch insanity works with CV. Don’t forget—CV originated<br />
in synthesizers and is still immensely popular in that world, and so<br />
manufacturers that handle both guitar and synth products are more<br />
likely to implement CV to interface with their synth products.<br />
With just a modicum of planning, CV is easy to integrate into any setup<br />
and doesn’t require any special cables. It’s truly one of the more expansive<br />
control platforms, and it’s only becoming easier to operate. d<br />
22 delicious audio Spring 2019
<strong>The</strong> pedals of the<br />
bklyn stompbox exhibit 2019<br />
June 8: 12pm – 7pm / June 9: 11am – 6pm<br />
Lytehouse Studio (356 Devoe St., <strong>Brooklyn</strong>)<br />
FREE!<br />
NEW<br />
PEDALS!<br />
Meris<br />
Hedra Rhythmical Pitch-Shifter<br />
A 3-Voice Rhythmical Pitch-Shifter with tap<br />
tempo and impressively deep functionality.<strong>The</strong><br />
top left knob lets you choose the key, which<br />
can be micro-tuned through the center-top<br />
knob, while the three bottom knobs harmonize<br />
the fundamental with pitch-shifted notes going<br />
from minus two octaves all the way up to<br />
plus two octaves. Each voice can be delayed<br />
and fed back in 4 intricate matrices, through a<br />
smooth or hard step sweep through intervals,<br />
with the option to slides between pitches at<br />
the speed you choose in Glide Mode.<br />
Old Blood Noise Endeaver<br />
Whitecap Asynchronous Dual Tremolo<br />
A three-control analog tremolo and a multishape<br />
digital tap tremolo interact to create<br />
new, unheard trembling textures. Holding the<br />
footswitch enables ramp mode to gradually<br />
change between the two speeds. Each tremolo<br />
features a volume boost, and a series/<br />
parallel toggle lets you run analog into digital<br />
or both side by side. It is possible to control<br />
the tap via the expression pedal input.<br />
Walrus <strong>Audio</strong><br />
Slö Reverb<br />
A new, affordable take on the creative atmospheric<br />
reverb circuit, that creates lush,<br />
modulated, sleepy and ambient soundscapes<br />
through three dreamy algorithms: Dark adds a<br />
lower octave to the reverb’s trail – X controls<br />
the octave’s volume; Rise is an auto-swell<br />
reverb – X controls the length of the rise after<br />
a note is played; Dream is the lushest of<br />
the three and features a latching pad function<br />
through the Sustain footswitch – a second<br />
press will make it fade with length related to<br />
the Decay knob setting. <strong>The</strong> X knob here adds<br />
a vibrato to the effect, controlling its depth.<br />
Birmingham Sounds FX<br />
Twentyseventeen<br />
Flower <strong>Pedals</strong><br />
Dandelion Tremolo V2<br />
Mod DIY Kits<br />
Thunderdrive Deluxe LTD<br />
One Control<br />
Silver Bee<br />
Designed to be a wide range<br />
overdrive and distortion, the<br />
2017 is a “Swiss Army Knife”<br />
kind of pedal, offering a variety<br />
of tones, from a slight hint of<br />
crunch all the way up to a huge<br />
distortion. A two band Baxandall<br />
EQ allows for tone shaping and<br />
fine tuning to any amp or sonic<br />
environment. Inside the box<br />
you’ll only find high quality components<br />
used throughout as well<br />
as a soft-touch relay bypass.<br />
A tremolo offering both standard<br />
and harmonic tremolo, along<br />
with 3 voicings for the harmonic<br />
mode (triangle, sine, and square).<br />
Controls are available for Boost,<br />
Depth, Speed, and Shape. Extra<br />
footswitch acts as tap tempo as<br />
well as ramping device. A set of<br />
secondary controls are accessible<br />
by holding the footswitch.<br />
Expression jack allows speed<br />
control or external tap.<br />
A build-it-yourself kit that - once<br />
built - will give you a flexible overdrive<br />
that will work as a boost at<br />
lower setting or deliver a smooth<br />
distortion when cranked all the<br />
way up. It can overdrive the preamp<br />
section of your guitar amp<br />
or add its own layer of distortion<br />
at lower volume. This LTD version<br />
is equipped with a three-position<br />
diode selector switch for even<br />
more settings and tones.<br />
Features a retooled version of<br />
the Honey Bee’s drive engine,<br />
giving you sounds reminiscent of<br />
classic American “silvery” combo<br />
amps of the ’60s, the kind of<br />
gear that had a helping hand in<br />
crafting some of the world’s finest<br />
rock records.<br />
delicious audio Spring 2019 25
<strong>The</strong> pedals of the<br />
bklyn stompbox exhibit 2019<br />
overdrive<br />
Animals Pedal<br />
Vintage Van Driving is Very Fun<br />
An affordable, flexible and very<br />
fun looking overdrive/boost that<br />
can deliver a variety of tones<br />
from clean boost to medium<br />
gain dirt. Engineered to respond<br />
well to both single coil and humbucker<br />
pickups.<br />
Jam <strong>Pedals</strong><br />
Double Dreamer<br />
A dual overdrive housing the<br />
company’s Lucy Dreamer and<br />
the Tube Dreamer, but also incorporating<br />
an extra high gain<br />
circuit that can be triggered<br />
through the central footswitch<br />
and assigned to either overdrive<br />
or both.<br />
Mooer<br />
Micro Preamp 016 Phoenix<br />
Part of a line of pedals recreating<br />
the preamp sections of popular<br />
tube amps, this is a digital,<br />
two-channel overdrive inspired<br />
to modern, German-designed<br />
metal amps. <strong>The</strong> clean channel<br />
goes from crystal clear to crispy<br />
crunch. <strong>The</strong> gain channel provides<br />
everything from fat rock<br />
rhythms and heavy metal riffs to<br />
searing lead lines.<br />
distortion<br />
MXR<br />
Dookie Drive<br />
A pedal celebrating the 25th anniversary<br />
of Greenday’s album<br />
Dookie, and the band’s “dirty<br />
and punchy guitar sound with<br />
the perfect amount of articulation<br />
to express the musicality of<br />
their fast, melodic riffs.<br />
Nobels<br />
ODR-mini<br />
SoundBrut<br />
DRVA MKII<br />
Neunaber<br />
Neuron<br />
REVV Amplification<br />
G4 Distortion<br />
<strong>The</strong> ODR-1 was one of the first<br />
pedals to start the “transparent”<br />
overdrive craze. <strong>The</strong> Mini version<br />
packs all of the overdrive tone of<br />
its older sibling into a miniature<br />
enclosure. You can increase<br />
the headroom by running it at<br />
18v, and it features true bypass<br />
switching. Glow in the dark<br />
buttons help you find your tone<br />
even on the darkest stage.<br />
26 delicious audio Spring 2019<br />
<strong>The</strong> DRVA shines in delivering<br />
tones that are full of character,<br />
thanks to a hard clipping circuit<br />
fueled by a NE5534 opamp<br />
(the “Dr”) and a MOSFET clean<br />
boost seasoned with a modern<br />
interpretation of the Varitone<br />
tone circuit (the “Va”). MkII adds<br />
a Treble-cut pot to DRfor high<br />
gain settings and simplified EQ<br />
controls for the boost.<br />
It can dial in a variety of amplike<br />
sounds ranging from chimey<br />
cleans to the dirtiest dirt. It is essentially<br />
a preamp that includes<br />
a number of additional features<br />
like a speaker simulator, noise<br />
gate, compressor, presets, and<br />
MIDI functionality – all in one<br />
standard pedal size.<br />
<strong>The</strong> G4 is the latest pedal by<br />
Manitoba-based amp builder<br />
REVV. It’s a distortion featuring<br />
the same exact controls as their<br />
previous (and celebrated) G3,<br />
but a slightly different palette of<br />
sounds. It’s the pedal version of<br />
the red channel of the company’s<br />
120 Generator tube amp,<br />
which has more gain and saturation<br />
than the purple channel<br />
offered by the G3.
June 8: 12pm – 7pm / June 9: 11am – 6pm<br />
Lytehouse Studio (356 Devoe St., <strong>Brooklyn</strong>)<br />
FREE!<br />
delay<br />
Eventide<br />
Rose<br />
Floating Forest<br />
Drift Echo/Tremolo<br />
Strymon<br />
Volante<br />
Teisco<br />
Delay<br />
A delay that marries digital precision<br />
with the lush sound of analog.<br />
With six knobs and delay<br />
multiplier, phase invert/reverse<br />
playback and shape buttons offering<br />
five modulation sources,<br />
Rose inspires petals of creativity<br />
to bloom. Five presets, MIDI<br />
control and a fully assignable<br />
aux switch/expression pedal input<br />
offer flexible versatility.<br />
reverb<br />
A delay with an embedded photocell-controlled<br />
tremolo. <strong>The</strong><br />
bottom right switch gets the<br />
tremolo controlled by the photocell<br />
(rather than the regular LFO).<br />
It comes with a USB light that can<br />
be plugged into the USB plug<br />
on the side of the pedal, which<br />
features a rate control. When the<br />
mix knob is around 75% you can<br />
engage the momentary switch<br />
(center footswitch).<br />
A delay/looper that aims at giving<br />
the modern guitarist three of<br />
the most sought-after vintage<br />
delay sounds: tape echo, drum,<br />
and reel-to-reel. Controls allow<br />
you to fine tune the character,<br />
fidelity, brightness and age of<br />
the delay, for more or less vintage-sounding<br />
results.<br />
Lo-Fi/Glitch<br />
With its warm and dark repeats,<br />
this pedal belongs to the “colored,”<br />
vintage sounding analog<br />
delay category, but it’s also capable<br />
of wild and noisy self-oscillation<br />
at extreme Feedback<br />
settings. A fully featured Modulation<br />
section can add that<br />
pleasant liquid vintage character<br />
to the repeats.<br />
Chase Bliss <strong>Audio</strong><br />
Dark World<br />
A feature-rich reverb with a<br />
“World” channel created by Keeley<br />
that houses Hall, Plate, and<br />
Spring algorithms, and an edgier<br />
“Dark” channel designed by<br />
Cooper FX. <strong>The</strong> channels can<br />
be routed in 33 ways, creating a<br />
varied palette of reverb ranging<br />
from subtle, tasteful, and lush all<br />
the way to broken video cassette,<br />
glitch shimmer, and infinite freeze.<br />
Old Blood Noise<br />
Rêver<br />
This circuit hosts two “signal<br />
blocks” whose order can be<br />
changed using the toggle switch.<br />
Block 1 allows for a momentary<br />
reverse of the signal. Block 2 is a<br />
modulated reverb that is fed into<br />
a delay. With the reverse at the<br />
start and reverb and delay after,<br />
the sound tends to feel washier<br />
and the reverse is smoother. <strong>The</strong><br />
other way around you have a<br />
more pronounced and glitch-like<br />
reverse effect.<br />
RPS Effects<br />
Bit Reactor<br />
A bit crusher and downsampler<br />
that takes whatever signal you<br />
give it and crunches it up into<br />
digital atoms. <strong>The</strong> central Crush<br />
knob selects the number of bits<br />
for the crunching, from 1 to 8,<br />
while the Sample one deals with<br />
reducing the sample rate.<br />
<strong>The</strong> King of Gear<br />
Mini Glitch<br />
Inspired by Jonny Greenwood’s<br />
random Max/MSP “stutter” effect.<br />
It does more than that,<br />
through three “glitch triggering<br />
mechanisms”: Random,<br />
Switched and Threshold. <strong>The</strong><br />
glitching sample can be set to a<br />
fixed length or randomized, while<br />
the Dry-Path switch can remove<br />
altogether the original dry signal<br />
when glitching is active.<br />
delicious audio Spring 2019 27
<strong>The</strong> pedals of the<br />
bklyn stompbox exhibit 2019<br />
June 8: 12pm – 7pm / June 9: 11am – 6pm<br />
Lytehouse Studio (356 Devoe St., <strong>Brooklyn</strong>)<br />
FREE!<br />
Fuzz<br />
Dusky Electronics<br />
Hypatia<br />
Outlaw FX<br />
<strong>The</strong> General<br />
Rabbit Hole FX<br />
‘Merkin<br />
Wampler<br />
Fuzztration<br />
A versatile fuzz/overdrive/distortion<br />
pedal with a wide gain range,<br />
an adjustable low end, a specially<br />
designed input buffer, and a<br />
MOSFET-based output buffer.<br />
It spans from ragged crunch to<br />
bludgeoning fuzz—all while remaining<br />
musical. <strong>The</strong> low end<br />
can be tailored for any instrument<br />
across a range of musical styles.<br />
A germanium fuzz that delivers<br />
’60s-era tones in a compact<br />
format. It uses only 2 simple<br />
controls (Fuzz and Level) and<br />
like all the best germanium fuzz<br />
pedals, it works well with your<br />
guitar’s volume.<br />
An original fuzz circuit that offers<br />
sustain for miles and precise<br />
fine-tuning to your gear through<br />
3 knobs and 2 switches. Clean<br />
knob adds clean tone for extra<br />
definition/low end. Wave switch<br />
adds octave effect.<br />
A flexible fuzz that packs a series<br />
of controls that allow you to<br />
get a lot of different tones out<br />
of it, including an Octave circuit<br />
with its own separate footswitch<br />
that can be applied pre- or postfuzz.<br />
<strong>The</strong> “Tone Voice” switch<br />
lets you choose between a more<br />
tight/compressed and a more<br />
open/dynamic sound.<br />
filter<br />
modulation<br />
Adventure <strong>Audio</strong><br />
Dream Reaper<br />
A “Fuzzy Feedback Modulation<br />
Machine” loaded with weird features<br />
and guaranteed to turn your<br />
tone into something unexpected.<br />
From high-gain saturated overdrive<br />
to glitchy.<br />
All-in-one<br />
Fairfield Circuitry<br />
Shallow Water<br />
Matthews Effects<br />
<strong>The</strong> Chemist V2<br />
Tech 21<br />
Fly Rig 5 V2<br />
This slim bar condenses all you need from a basic<br />
pedalboard in a superlight, portable format with<br />
Tech 21 trusted circuitry. It includes boost, tap-tempoed<br />
delay, reverb, 3 band EQ, and a choice of two<br />
overdrive flavors (Cali and Plexi-style). On top of<br />
that you get tuner and effect loop, for easy integration<br />
with your signature stompboxes.<br />
K-field (Simulation mathematics),<br />
is an undefined, two-dimensional,<br />
non-linear field where past<br />
and future forces interact at irregular<br />
intervals. Shallow Water<br />
generates this k-field by randomly<br />
modulating a short time delay<br />
to create unexpected shifts in<br />
pitch. <strong>The</strong> result is this non-cyclical<br />
vibrato/chorus/flanger-type<br />
thing favoring old tape flavours.<br />
A pedal featuring two channels of<br />
modulation that can be alternated<br />
at the touch of a footswitch (the<br />
right one). Two side switches on<br />
the side panel let you select the<br />
effect for each channel from Chorus/Vibrato,<br />
Octave and Phaser.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Reaction knob controls the<br />
dry signal, and the Catalyst and<br />
Formula knobs change depending<br />
on the algorithm you select.
<strong>The</strong> pedals of the<br />
bklyn stompbox exhibit 2019<br />
multi-effects<br />
routing<br />
June 8: 12pm – 7pm / June 9: 11am – 6pm<br />
Lytehouse Studio (356 Devoe St., <strong>Brooklyn</strong>)<br />
FREE!<br />
JHS <strong>Pedals</strong><br />
Space Commander<br />
Tomkat <strong>Pedals</strong><br />
Cloudy<br />
Analog Alien<br />
EPI Effects Pedal Interface<br />
EarthQuaker Devices<br />
Swiss Things<br />
This is the repackaged VCR after<br />
Ryan Adams’ fall from grace,<br />
featuring clean boost, chorus and<br />
reverb, plus a secret lo-fi switch.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Chorus is based around classic<br />
1980s analog chorus pedals,<br />
while the Reverb is a hall one<br />
with fixed size and decay and the<br />
knob controlling effect Level.<br />
A stompbox adaptation of the<br />
Eurorack Module “Clouds” by<br />
Mutable Instruments. It’s based<br />
on the “Parasites” alternative<br />
firmware which has 6 different<br />
digital programs including granular<br />
synthesis, pitch shifting, delay,<br />
reverb, filters, and resonators.<br />
Facilitates matching instrument-level<br />
effects boxes with<br />
line-level signals coming from<br />
and going into your studio, allowing<br />
you to use your guitar<br />
pedals as studio-quality effects<br />
processors.<br />
A “pedalboard reconciler” featuring<br />
two effects loops, an<br />
AB-Y box, a buffered tuner output,<br />
20dB of clean boost with<br />
adjustable gain, an expression<br />
pedal output for volume control<br />
and a quiet, high headroom.
<strong>The</strong> Sponsors<br />
of the<br />
BK SBE 2019<br />
A HUGE “Thank You” to<br />
these companies for letting us<br />
borrow their gear for the<br />
<strong>Brooklyn</strong> <strong>Stompbox</strong> <strong>Exhibit</strong>!<br />
PRS Guitars<br />
Founded in 1985, Paul Reed Smith Guitars<br />
has cemented its reputation for high<br />
quality guitars with an unmistakable<br />
look, and is known worldwide for being<br />
Santana’s six-string builder of choice.<br />
At NAMM 2019 they unveiled three new<br />
signature models of their SE series: the<br />
SE Santana Singlecut Trem (pictured),<br />
the SE Schizoid and SE Paul’s Guitar.<br />
<strong>The</strong> company also manufactures bass<br />
and acoustic guitars and guitar amps.<br />
Voodoo Lab<br />
(sponsor of the Mixed Board Area)<br />
Voodoo Lab has designed and manufactured<br />
professional electronics for recording and touring<br />
musicians (guitarists in particular) since<br />
1986. <strong>The</strong> North California company offers a<br />
wide array of rugged and reliable pedals, pedalboards<br />
and switching systems, but has become<br />
an industry standard with its Pedal Power series<br />
of power suppliers. <strong>The</strong>ir latest product in this<br />
line, the X4, can drive up to four battery-operated<br />
or high-current DSP effects and features<br />
multi-pole filtering to eliminate any unwanted<br />
noise. Its slim profile makes it ideal for mounting<br />
it under even the flattest of pedalboards.<br />
32 delicious audio Spring 2019<br />
MONO<br />
Already an industry leader in the instrument case realm, MONO has<br />
become a major player in the pedalboard realm since they entered<br />
it in 2017. Available in five different sizes, the MONO boards are cut<br />
from a single piece of 3mm anodized aluminum, and feature cutouts<br />
optimized to facilitate any kind of custom wiring. MONO also<br />
offers Rise elements in two different sizes to elevate key pedals.<br />
Each board comes with a sturdy padded soft case and is available<br />
in black or silver. <strong>The</strong> company just announced that small, medium,<br />
and large boards now come with our accessory case at no charge!
Two notes<br />
(sponsor of the Mixed Board Area)<br />
Specializing in digital amp and cabinet emulations, French company<br />
Two notes came to the forefront of the guitar gear world in 2010, when<br />
their Torpedo VB-101 earned them a <strong>Best</strong> of NAMM award. <strong>The</strong> company<br />
has been applying its research to both hardware and software<br />
products, receiving high praise for the quality of its emulation from<br />
musicians, producers and gear critics alike. At the <strong>Brooklyn</strong> <strong>Stompbox</strong><br />
<strong>Exhibit</strong> 2019 they will showcase their latest Torpedo Cab M by<br />
sponsoring the Mixed Board section of the event. “<strong>The</strong> C.A.B. M, a<br />
small box that features power amp modelling and uses convolution to<br />
achieve realistic cab and micing emulations, can be placed at the end<br />
of the pedalboard to have a lightweight rig to carry around, between<br />
the amp and the speaker as an amp DI. Thanks to its headphones out,<br />
it’s also ideal for home use with any pedals for quick and easy practice.<br />
Love My Switches<br />
(sponsor of the DIY Builders’ Corner)<br />
Born out of the desire of a <strong>Brooklyn</strong> based DIY pedal<br />
manufacturer’s to pay less for the components he<br />
needed to build its quirky devices, Love My Switches<br />
has slowly taken a life of its own, after founder<br />
Lawrence Scaduto started sourcing parts for pedal<br />
builders large and small, amp builders, synth geeks,<br />
luthiers, and just about every other type of maker in<br />
the DIY universe. How appropriate it is, then, for Love<br />
My Switches to be the sponsor of our DIY pedal builders<br />
corner, which we are launching this year! Currently<br />
based in Portland, Oregon, the family company has<br />
grown to include Lawrence’s wife Rebecca. Love My<br />
Switches offers same-day shipping and personalized<br />
customer service.<br />
343Labs.com<br />
Educational Partner<br />
Named after the speed of sound (343 meters per second) 343<br />
Lab has the goal to accelerate your music knowledge using the<br />
best music technology education in a beautiful, intimate space<br />
in Soho featuring production classrooms, a large performance<br />
space and a rooftop overlooking downtown Manhattan. All classrooms<br />
are equipped with the latest music technology and students<br />
are given access to the multitude of events, such as masterclasses,<br />
open mic nights and student performances.<br />
34 delicious audio Spring 2019
Scratch & Sniff<br />
Go Ahead, Try It Out!<br />
Scratch & Sniff<br />
What does it smell like?<br />
Let us know at<br />
www.deadbeatsound.com
FROM<br />
ANAHEIM<br />
TO BERLIN<br />
Superbooth 18 photos by Angela Kröll & von Bendeg.<br />
THE<br />
LATEST<br />
SYNTHS!<br />
TO BROOKLYN<br />
It’s impossible, for any synth expo, not to feel some kind of inferiority<br />
complex towards Superbooth. Even though chances are <strong>Brooklyn</strong> is<br />
way “cooler” than Treptow-Köpenick (the Berlin borough hosting the<br />
German event), it is very hard to compete with the Funkhaus, the gigantic<br />
and awkwardly stylish building Superbooth has been calling home<br />
since its 2016 launch. Those large rooms, vaguely reminiscent of the hotel<br />
from Kubrick’s <strong>The</strong> Shining, also have a fascinating history: they used to<br />
be the operational facility of GDR, East Germany’s Soviet controlled state<br />
radio. Heck, that place is so charmingly intimidating you may want to visit<br />
it even on a synthless day!<br />
Superbooth was an instant hit, and It didn’t take long for it to become the<br />
European hot spot for everything synth. Since, like it happens with NAMM<br />
earlier in the year, manufacturers are now timing their mid-year synth releases<br />
to coincide with it, we couldn’t pass on the opportunity to cover the<br />
most exciting new releases, with the help of our friends at <strong>Synth</strong>topia.com.<br />
You’ll be able to try most of these machines in person at our event!
<strong>The</strong> synths of the<br />
bklyn synth expo 2019<br />
June 8: 12pm – 7pm / June 9: 11am – 6pm<br />
Lytehouse Studio (356 Devoe St., <strong>Brooklyn</strong>)<br />
FREE!<br />
Ableton CV Tool Free Add-On for Live 10<br />
With Euroracks making their way into more and more synthesists’<br />
rigs, the most popular DAW for electronic musicians was under<br />
pressure to provide a way to integrate modular synth gear with its<br />
Live platform. CV Tools, a free add-on for Live 10 Suite presented in<br />
Berlin, lets you do exactly that! CV Tools offers ten tools that allow<br />
tight communication between Live and your Modular or other Control<br />
Voltage based gear. You can send and receive Pitch, Control,<br />
Clock and Trigger CV with this set of creative Max for Live devices.<br />
You need to make sure your audio interface is compatible, though.<br />
Arturia MicroFreak<br />
Presented at NAMM 2019 and described as “a peculiar instrument<br />
that rewards the curious musician,” the MicroFreak is a hybrid analog-digital<br />
synth built around a unique, expressive touch keyboard,<br />
and propelled by 11 oscillators, four Arturia engines, and seven<br />
modes designed by Mutable Instruments. Offering various approaches<br />
to synthesis like physical modeling, wavetable synthesis<br />
and virtual analog, modes like Texturer, KarplusStrong, Harmonic<br />
OSC, and Superwave offer new takes on sound design that inspire<br />
musicians in search of new palettes of sonic possibilities.<br />
Elektron Digitone Keys<br />
A new eight-voice polyphonic digital synthesizer keyboard, the<br />
Digitone Keys is - as its name suggests - a “keyed” version of<br />
this 8 voice, multi-timbral digital synth featuring both FM and subtractive<br />
synthesis. <strong>The</strong> keyboard is a 37-key velocity and pressure<br />
sensitive keyboard with aftertouch. It features hundreds of new<br />
presets and a series of new features, including 5 controllers for<br />
hold/arpeggio/portamento/mapping/chord mode functions. On<br />
top of that, eight encoders placed on top of the keyboard can be<br />
assigned to any parameters.<br />
Gamechanger Motor <strong>Synth</strong><br />
Gamechanger takes its name seriously. Never happy with the technological<br />
status quo, this Latvian company seems to exists with the<br />
precise goal of trying the untried in the pedal and - now for the first<br />
time - synth realms. <strong>The</strong> builder’s latest creature is a synth running<br />
on little engines (“electromotors”), rather than oscillators. <strong>The</strong> Motor<br />
<strong>Synth</strong> produces sounds by accelerating and decelerating eight electromotors<br />
to precise rpm (revolutions per minute) that correspond to<br />
specific musical notes. This configuration allows for four-note polyphony,<br />
with two voices per key played. This sound source is then<br />
sculpted through familiar analog envelopes and filters alongside<br />
arpeggiation, cross and LFO modulation, sequencing, and multiple<br />
polyphonic mode facilities, as well as a looping system that allows<br />
users to layer rhythm and melodies.<br />
delicious audio Spring 2019 37
<strong>The</strong> synths of the<br />
bklyn synth expo 2019<br />
June 8: 12pm – 7pm / June 9: 11am – 6pm<br />
Lytehouse Studio (356 Devoe St., <strong>Brooklyn</strong>)<br />
FREE!<br />
IK Multimedia UNO Drum<br />
Rather new to the world of hardware synths (but a veteran in the<br />
soft synth one), in Berlin IK Multimedia launched the UNO Drum, a<br />
drum machine that offers a sonic palette combining analog sounds<br />
with digital flexibility and convenience. Its wide range of programming<br />
and live performance features and controls make it easy for<br />
musicians, producers and DJs to add drum grooves to their music.<br />
Six warm, rich, true analog drum sounds – two different kick drums<br />
plus snares, claps, and hi-hats – form the essential core kit for<br />
creating analog beats. Additional PCM elements (with 54 samples<br />
to choose from) provide deeper sonic possibilities for more realistic<br />
sounds like cymbals and toms.<br />
Korg Volca Nubass<br />
Korg’s Volca series of tiny synths celebrated the birth of a new member<br />
of the family with nubass, a bassline synthesizer implemented<br />
with Korg’s NuTube, an updated vacuum tube design roughly one<br />
tenth the size of its original counterpart. <strong>The</strong> NuTube technology<br />
is implemented into the oscillator, sub oscillator and drive circuits;<br />
creating ‘incredibly warm tones and rich distortions’ that only a<br />
tube can provide. nubass also calls upon NuTube to create classic<br />
stompbox-style analog overdrives. <strong>The</strong> tone knob controls either the<br />
distortion of the sound or its crispness. This new synth also features<br />
a 16-step sequencer that offers motion sequencing of the knobs,<br />
transpose, accent, slide and randomize.<br />
Moog Matriarch<br />
<strong>The</strong> Matriarch is a patchable 4-note paraphonic analog synthesizer<br />
that builds on the semi-modular design of last year’s Grandmother<br />
synthesizer. It features a built-in sequencer, arpeggiator, stereo ladder<br />
filters, and stereo analog delay. <strong>The</strong> company describes the new<br />
synth as ‘the pinnacle of Moog’s semi-modular family of analog synthesizers.”<br />
Thanks to its default signal path, it can also be played<br />
without any patching. <strong>The</strong> analog circuitry is based on classic Moog<br />
synthesizer modules and the default signal routing can be customized<br />
using the synth’s 90 modular patch points.<br />
Novation Summit<br />
<strong>The</strong> Novation Summit is the British company’s new flagship synthesizer<br />
that essentially combines two of their Peak rack synths into a<br />
knob-filled keyboard. It offers deep synthesis capabilities, a 16-voice<br />
two-part multitimbral engine and a hands-on workflow. <strong>The</strong> twin<br />
Peaks can be either split or layered across the keyboard. <strong>The</strong> Summit’s<br />
digital sound engines can emulate analog sounds, as well as FM<br />
and wavetable synthesis (there are 60 wavetables loaded). An analog<br />
multi-mode filter section does the rest. <strong>The</strong> 16-slot matrix allows users<br />
to change parameters on the fly for anything, including the four LFOs<br />
and envelopes. <strong>The</strong> keyboard features aftertouch, an arpeggiator, and<br />
chords with over 30 patterns, and each key can be split and layered.<br />
38 delicious audio Spring 2019
<strong>The</strong> synths of the<br />
bklyn synth expo 2019<br />
June 8: 12pm – 7pm / June 9: 11am – 6pm<br />
Lytehouse Studio (356 Devoe St., <strong>Brooklyn</strong>)<br />
FREE!<br />
Pioneer DJ Toraiz SQUID 16 Track Sequencer<br />
DJ giant Pioneer DJ entered the synth world recently with the Toraiz<br />
line and at SuperBooth 2019 introduced its first sequencer, called<br />
SQUID. Optimized for on-the-fly production, this device controls up<br />
to 16 instruments via multiple in and outs (USB, Midi, CV and various<br />
synch formats), and - among other things - can produce polyrhythmic-looping<br />
options and instantly change the playback direction and<br />
speeds. <strong>The</strong> proprietary Groove Bend feature improves your groove<br />
while you generate patterns in real time.<br />
Sequential Prophet XL<br />
Remember Dave Smith Instruments? Of course you do! <strong>The</strong> company<br />
founded by the creator of the Prophet line didn’t launch any new synths<br />
in Berlin, but it did show up with something new nonetheless: its name.<br />
New and old at once, actually, since Sequential Circuits was the company’s<br />
name at founding, back in 1974. Sequential hasn’t given up the<br />
Prophet saga, though, with the X and XL taking the line to the next level<br />
with their powerful fusion of samples and synthesis, newly developed<br />
sound engine and two high-resolution digital oscillators - all processed<br />
through the manufacturer’s celebrated analog filters. Its internal 150Gb<br />
samples can be integrated with extra downloadable sound libraries -<br />
the latest one dedicated to the sounds of the Oberheim OB-X.<br />
Spectrasonics Omnisphere 2.6 w/Hardware <strong>Synth</strong> Control<br />
A true force in the world of virtual synths, Omnisphere is Spectrasonics’<br />
flagship product that brings many different types of synthesis<br />
together into an instrument that will spark a lifetime of exploration.<br />
In Berlin the developer showcased their NAMM news to the European<br />
audience: a new version 2.6 that allows Omnisphere to be controlled<br />
by over 65 hardware synths through “personalized” patches<br />
(meaning that the controls do to the software what they do on the<br />
hardware). <strong>The</strong> new version also features improved arpeggiators<br />
with inversions, pattern modes, step modifiers and chord voicings,<br />
among other new features. Omnisphere 2.6 also features a newly<br />
expanded “Hardware Library” with 600 new patches. <strong>The</strong> latest one<br />
is dedicated to the sounds of the Oberheim OB-X.<br />
Yamaha CP73 and CP88<br />
Yamaha’s renewed focus on synths was confirmed at NAMM 2019<br />
through the release of two stage pianos that also feature classic<br />
synthesizer sounds inside them: the CP73 and CP88. Neither is exactly<br />
as affordable or compact as the Reface mini-synth series, the<br />
CP73 and CP88 are powerhouse keyboards for professional musicians<br />
and feature weighted keys, incredibly realistic piano sounds,<br />
and an extensive library of samples. A big effort went into creating<br />
intuitive controls for on-the-fly sound shaping, and these keyboards<br />
feature “one-on-one” controls that only have one function to avoid<br />
confusion. <strong>The</strong> CP series also features a very creative effect section<br />
including a looper and several other effects.<br />
40 delicious audio Spring 2019
<strong>The</strong> synths of the<br />
bklyn synth expo 2019<br />
other synths<br />
June 8: 12pm – 7pm / June 9: 11am – 6pm<br />
Lytehouse Studio (356 Devoe St., <strong>Brooklyn</strong>)<br />
FREE!<br />
6<br />
3<br />
1<br />
5<br />
2<br />
4<br />
1 1010music Blackbox Sampling Workstation<br />
Blackbox is a portable sampler and groovebox that lets you record,<br />
save/load, apply effects and edit one-shot samples and beat-sliced<br />
loops. You can create sequences with samples by tapping on pads,<br />
playing a virtual keyboard, using external MIDI controllers or by<br />
drawing-in notes using a standard Piano Roll editor on a touchscreen<br />
interface. Sequences can be played back to create song sections<br />
and entire compositions. You can finish your song by mixing it,<br />
adding stereo effects. You can record hours of song ideas, jam sessions,<br />
and performances thanks to a microSD slot that enables you<br />
to expand internal memory. Blackbox comes with gigabytes of premium<br />
samples and loops by SoundTrack Loops and Loopmasters.<br />
2 Deep Space Devices Antikythera Mini <strong>Synth</strong><br />
A debut in the synth field for this edgy pedal builder, the Antikythera<br />
is a noise making box with a single octave keyboard that can produce<br />
an extensive range of tones with its “Pitch” control, along with<br />
a 4-step sequencer controlled by 4 aligned knobs, each affecting<br />
the pitch of each step. <strong>The</strong> “Chaos” button on the side takes things<br />
down a noisy and experimental route, triggering an oscillator at a<br />
certain pitch depending where the “Chaos” knob is set.<br />
3 Landscape Stereo Field<br />
<strong>The</strong> Stereo Field is an instrument that lets you manipulate and patch<br />
two analog stereo circuits directly via touch plates, using skin conductivity<br />
as new paths for the circuit to follow, creating new circuits<br />
and new sounds in relation to where your fingers are patching.<br />
42 delicious audio Spring 2019<br />
4 ROLAND Cloud<br />
As usual, Roland will be at the <strong>Brooklyn</strong> <strong>Synth</strong> <strong>Expo</strong> with a lot of<br />
hardware synths, but the Japanese company, as of late, has been<br />
focusing a lot on Roland Cloud, an evolving cloud-based suite of<br />
software synthesizers, drum machines, and sampled instruments offered<br />
through an affordable monthly subscription. Its catalog includes<br />
recreations of legendary vintage Roland synths and newer products<br />
(like the Aria series), but also sample-based virtual instruments of<br />
non-electronic instruments like piano and guitar, and some genre-targeted<br />
sound apps. Roland Cloud also provides a DAW called R-Mix<br />
to make all the instruments come together in a final song.<br />
5 ROLI Seaboard Block and Songmaker Kit<br />
ROLI’s BLOCKS system walks the line between cutting edge synthesis<br />
and super-fun, intuitive expression by offering separate, wireless<br />
controllers that can be connected to each other through a simple<br />
magnetic snap, to create larger and more powerful work stations.<br />
<strong>The</strong>se MIDI controllers can interface with desktop applications as well<br />
as mobil apps (wirelessly over Bluetooth), allowing new possibilities<br />
for both simple on the go recording and deeply expressive polyphonic<br />
sound editing. <strong>The</strong> Songmaker Kit features ROLI’s two-octave version<br />
of the company’s signature Seaboard, a Lightpad-M illuminated playing<br />
surface, and the Loop Block for production control.<br />
6 Sensel Morph<br />
A multi-touch, battery powered, programmable surface that can become<br />
a series of different controllers thanks to different overlays that<br />
can be purchased separately. Approx. 20,000 pressure sensors and<br />
5g - 5kg sensing range per touch (32,000 levels) to achieve the highest<br />
level of touch sensitivity. Connects to your device using Wireless<br />
Bluetooth LE, USB, or Serial.
<strong>The</strong> synths of the<br />
bklyn synth expo 2019<br />
Eurorack<br />
June 8: 12pm – 7pm / June 9: 11am – 6pm<br />
Lytehouse Studio (356 Devoe St., <strong>Brooklyn</strong>)<br />
FREE!<br />
1010music Music Toolbox<br />
Toolbox is a touchscreen based sequencer<br />
and function generator for eurorack. It<br />
is designed to drive signal patterns to your<br />
other modules via Midi or CV. Its 3.5″ touch<br />
screen gives immediate access to sequences,<br />
parameters, and events, providing<br />
a full overview of all the active notes and<br />
events and offering touch based scrolling<br />
and zooming, just like a smartphone, <strong>The</strong><br />
builder offers similar Eurorack units dealing<br />
with synthesis, sampling and effects.<br />
Eventide Euro DDL Delay<br />
10 seconds of pristine delay at a sample<br />
rate up to 192 kHz. Soft saturation clipping,<br />
low pass filter, feedback, insert loop, relay<br />
bypass, and +20 dB boost are all analog.<br />
Can do looping, and has reverse and tap<br />
tempo functions.<br />
Maffenzeef Møffenzeef Modular Stargazer<br />
A drone machine featuring a dual wavetable<br />
oscillator with ninety arbitrary waveforms,<br />
two resonant low-pass filters, three<br />
wavetable LFOs, sample rate reduction, bit<br />
rate reduction, amplitude modulation, and<br />
CMOS distortion. an expression pedal input<br />
allows control of the speed of all three<br />
LFOs at the same time, which frees up your<br />
hands to control other aspects of the drone.<br />
Mystic Circuits Spectra Mirror<br />
A resonant down-sampler tailored for use<br />
as a low pass gate. Incoming audio can be<br />
completely attenuated or passed through<br />
unaffected by modulating the sampling frequency,<br />
width of the sampling clock or the<br />
on board through-zero VCA. Each control<br />
voltage input can be attenuverted, allowing<br />
the user to sculpt response to CV. <strong>The</strong><br />
Spectra Mirror is also capable of an effect<br />
called “high-pass sampling,” which attenuates<br />
signals below the sampling frequency.<br />
44 delicious audio Spring 2019<br />
Stem Modular ADSR Envelope<br />
Playing with the length of Attack, Decay,<br />
Sustain, and Release - the four phases<br />
of this control voltage generator - allows<br />
synthesists to mimic a lot of different musical<br />
instruments, or make changes to the<br />
envelope of their own sounds. <strong>The</strong> ADSR<br />
lets you apply the resulting voltage to the<br />
cv input of a voltage controlled amplifier or<br />
voltage controlled filter.<br />
Strymon Magneto<br />
A stereo multi-head tape delay that can<br />
do a lot of other things. Can function as a<br />
looper, phrase sampler, vintage spring reverb<br />
unit, phase-aligned clock multiplier,<br />
chaotic oscillator, zero latency sub-oscillator<br />
and more. Adds vintage character to the<br />
signal through Tape Age, Crinkle and Wow<br />
& Flutter Knobs.
<strong>The</strong> synths of the<br />
bklyn synth expo 2019<br />
Eurorack<br />
June 8: 12pm – 7pm / June 9: 11am – 6pm<br />
Lytehouse Studio (356 Devoe St., <strong>Brooklyn</strong>)<br />
FREE!<br />
Tall Dog Electronics µBraids SE<br />
A voltage-controlled digital oscillator/sound source with a wide<br />
range of creative and useful sound generation algorithms (aka models),<br />
based on the classic Mutable Instruments Braids design Fully<br />
compatible with upstream Braids firmware. Updates and simplifies<br />
the original design with a custom brilliant orange LED display module<br />
protected by a clear acrylic lens, a low-profile rotary encoder, and<br />
a new added attenuverter for the Color control.<br />
Vinicius Elektric Lizard<br />
A powerful hybrid VCO with a 1MHz sample rate comprised of two<br />
independent modules but in total synchronism: the LIZARD and the<br />
analog wave switcher, each featuring an independent output. <strong>The</strong> first<br />
can operate as VCO (with 24 generation modes), Sequencer or External<br />
clock (with 12 different modes). It also features 8 parameter control<br />
potentiometers whose function varies with the selected Mode. Other<br />
functions include Frequency controls (FREQ & FINE) and FM Width,<br />
whose FM input functions as Clock input in External Clock mode.<br />
THE NEXT EVOLUTION OF THE PROPHET<br />
150 GB SAMPLES · FULL SYNTHESIS ENGINE · STEREO ANALOG FILTERS<br />
CHECK OUT THE PROPHET X, PROPHET-6, REV2 AND OTHER<br />
SEQUENTIAL SYNTHS AT THE BROOKLYN SYNTH EXPO!<br />
W W W . S E Q U E N T I A L . C O M<br />
Deli - Prophet X - 2019.indd 1<br />
5/10/19 2:26 PM
S<br />
Empress Zoia<br />
One Control Silver Bee<br />
Strymon Volante<br />
Eventide H9<br />
PRS Standard SE<br />
Roland SH-01A<br />
Morph<br />
Music Maker Bundle<br />
ALL THE GIVEAWAYS OF THE<br />
BK SYNTH & PEDAL EXPO!<br />
See: bit.ly/GIMMEGEAR<br />
Arturia MicroFreak<br />
Animals Pedal<br />
Vintage Van Driving is<br />
Very Fun<br />
Novation<br />
Circuit Mono Station<br />
Outlaw FX<br />
General<br />
Gamechanger <strong>Audio</strong><br />
Plasma Distortion<br />
Two notes<br />
Torpedo C.A.B.<br />
ROLI Seaboard Block<br />
Pioneer DJ Toraiz SQUID<br />
Chase Biss<br />
Dark World
Y15194 Deli Magazine Yamaha <strong>Synth</strong>.indd 1<br />
2/20/19 12:19 P