AudioThing strikes again with Mantis, a plugin emulation of a rare BBD echo/delay from Carlsbro Mantis
Carlsbro Mantis is a rare BBD delay/echo unit from the ‘70s. If you’ve not heard of the Carlsbro Mantis, you are not alone, however, now there’s no need to pray for a hardware revival. You will soon know about AudioThing’s plugin emulation, as we are about to tell you about it.
As on the original, you get an echo section with four taps and four swell selectors. The rotafaze section, meanwhile, is designed to mimic the wow/flutter of a tape echo or turn the device into a chorus/delay. As a whole, the plugin is designed to emulate its forebear’s warm, analogue sound.
Mantis works in one of two modes: vintage or modern. The hardware version had a fixed based delay time, but in vintage mode here it can be set between 0.512ms and 51.2ms. The modern mode, has a base delay time of one second, syncable to host tempo.
The frequency response in BBD circuits changes depending on the speed of the base delay, being brighter at faster rates and darker at slower ones. Having these different settings enables you to experience this.
Mantis is available now for Windows and Mac in VST/AU/AAX/CLAP formats, and will be coming to iOS devices soon. Find out more and download a demo version on the AudioThing website
Flight of Harmony has launched a Kickstarter project to fund production of Facehugger, an all-analog, addressable, non-linear function generator in Eurorack format.
It outputs up to eight different control voltage levels, with levels set by the LED sliders, in a sequence determined by a control signal.
Depending on how you use it, Facehugger can be used as a:
Control Voltage (CV) Sequencer
Gate Sequencer
Arpeggio Generator
Envelope Generator
Burst Generator
Low Frequency Oscillator (LFO)
Multiple units can be chained together for longer patterns or for synchronizing to generate chords, via a rear chaining header.
The rear Ramp out pin can be used as a synch oscillator, or even – when using an external drive waveform – as a separate, fully-controllable LFO with adjustable curvature.
The Facehugger also has a rear expansion header for a separate expander module that provides individual level out jacks, individual gate out jacks, a master Gate in jack, and a ramp out jack.
Production of Facehugger is being funded via a Kickstarter project, and it is available to backers from $158 for a kit version or $285 assembled.
*Note: Crowd-funded projects can involve risk. See the project website for details.
Playable Technology – Edinburgh based start-up, – has introduced BeatBlocks, an iOS app that enables you use LEGO bricks to make beats.
Founded by Scottish academics and technology entrepreneurs, David Skulina and Benjaman Schogler (creators of the Skoog accessible MIDI controller), Playable says that they’ve created BeatBlocks to give children the best of both digital and real-world environments.
BeatBlocks uses your iOS device’s camera and its custom AI to scan for different bricks. When it sees a brick it plays a sound. The color of a brick defines the instrument: lead sounds, bass sounds, drums and percussion. Beatblocks can recognize 2×2 or 4×2 bricks in red, yellow, orange, blue, green and pink.
“BeatBlocks extends the scope of construction toys like LEGO , honouring the original spirit of the toys, and adding an entirely new layer of creativity,” said co-founder Benjaman Schogler, a developmental psychologist and expert in educational technology, learning and play. “The App is so easy to use there is no need for training or lessons. It really is child’s play.”
BeatBlocks is available now. It is free to download, and $3.99 to unlock the full version.
