With its 4 independent digital voltage-controlled oscillators the E370 Quad Morphing VCO is a Eurorack compatible module that will allow you to really complex soundscapes. On Kickstarter this Eurorack component have just in a few days exceeded all targets and is now moving in to production. Launched by Paul Schreiber of Synthesis Technology and he calls it ‘the most technically advanced Euro oscillator available”.
As can be seen in the video above The E370 Quad Morphing VCO is marked out by its four independent digital voltage-controlled oscillators. It also features a mode that allows you to morph between 64 different wavetables per oscillator, allowing for the creation of complex polyphonic sounds. What you experience is a drone test with the E370 and E371 Expander prototype Quad VCO. According to Synthesis Technology it’s a combination of features from the E340 and the E350 using a new class of ARM processor with high-quality Cirrus Logic audio DACs. Furthermore, the audio was ran through a new Mutable Instruments module for light processing.
The four VCOs can be individually controlled, used in a set of two pairs, or ganged in “Unison”. A full-color TFT display is used in a ‘shallow depth’ menu system and can show each VCO’s output in real-time (oscilloscope mode). A micro-SD card slot allows users to load in their own custom wavetables and to save & load presets into the E370.
Of course the all-you-can-eat synth lover Richard Devine has already done a test run. The E370 uses improved versions of algorithms from three Synthesis Technology modules: the E350 Morphing Terrarium, E340 Cloud Generator and E330 Multi-Mode VCO. It’s 54HP wide and has a target power consumption of +12V @155ma and -12V @40ma.
Synthesis Technology elaborates on the background of the new component in this statement: “Two prototypes were built to test the limits of the fastest ARM processors available in non-BGA packages. These breadboards have been thoroughly tested (these are what you will be seeing in the demo videos and audio files). It was decided after testing to wait for faster ARM processors to be available and also ones with more internal memory. Now such processors are available and allow the E370 to be built with the performance our customers expect. We have now built a small test breadboard using the new DSP (STM32F746) and have the “audio core engine” 100% running.”
Synthesis Technology was founded in 1998 with the introduction of the MOTM modular synth format. This format enabled musicians and electronics enthusiasts to build their very own DIY synthesizer, one module at a time. Although the 5U size, 1/4″ jack connections, and utilitarian black front panels recalled the Moog modular synths of the 1970s, the MOTM format improved on the modular synth concept with updated components and engineering techniques. As microcontroller technology leaped forward in the early 2000s, the all-analog MOTM lineup was augmented with digital modules such as the MOTM-650 polyphonic MIDI interface.
They released their first Eurorack module, the E340 Cloud Generator, in 2010. Since then, the Eurorack modular format has exploded in popularity.
SPECIFICATIONS
The following are the design specifications for the E370. This is the guaranteed minimal set to be delivered. Additional functions may be added as time and DSP bandwidth permit.
Size: 54HP (10.8in/274.3mm) wide
Depth behind panel: 1.89in/48mm
Power consumption: +12V @155ma, -12V @40ma (based on nominal TFT brightness)
mSD card: 16GB max size supported (mSD card is not supplied)
Control voltage input range: -5V to +5V, 15Khz
Temperature drift: < 50ppm (crystal-controlled)
VCO specifications
Frequency range: 1 cycle in 22min to 18KHz in 3 ranges (set in VCO page)
Sample rate: 96KHz, 16 bits
Number of wavetable: 64 at any given time (8 x8 matrix as in the E350)
Number of samples: 256
Wavetable mode specifications
Interpolation: 1-D (Z MORPH in E350), 2-D (X-Y MORPH in E350) or none
E350 Phase Mode: yes
E350 Glitch mode: 8 levels of Glitch Energy, or none (default)
Cloud Generator Mode
Number of virtual VCOs per cloud: up to 8
E340 Sine: yes
E340 Saw: yes
Wavetable clouds: yes (any of the 64 wavetables associated with the VCO can be used to ‘Cloud’)
E340 Spreading: yes
E340 Chaos/Chaos BW: this is combined into a single control, whose parameters are set in the VCO page
LFO mode: yes (not available on the E340)
2-OP FM mode
E330 modes: yes
Additional FM modes: Non-quantized carrier ratios (variable)
Non-sine carrier (any wavetable can be a carrier)
