The video, via The Free Radikal, captures a live performance featuring the often-maligned AKAI Rhythm Wolf drum machine and synthesizer.
What they shared about the technical details:
“The Rhythm Wolf is sequencing a Korg MS-20 on the bass section and a Vermona DRM1 plus itself for percussion. The Akai Timbre Wolf is sequencing an Analogue Solutions Impulse Command on 1 channel and also a Waldorf KB37 with Analogue Solutions Medic Modules on another channel.”
The Rhythm Wolf was introduced in 2014, before the renaissance of analog gear of the last few years. The Rhythm Wolf generated a huge amount of interest, because on paper it looked like it was going to be great. This was followed by a backlash when initial demo videos came out, and the instrument just didn’t sound very good in many of them.
While the Rhythm Wolf is built like a tank and has a straightforward interface, the design is let down by pots that simply do not give you enough range of control over the sounds.
This is most notable on the kick, which is pitched. The controls do not let you tune the kick over the full range of an octave, meaning that the instrument will only sound in tune if you’re playing in a key that you can tune the Rhythm Wolf’s kick to. This is the instrument’s biggest flaw, and one that you have to work around, or the results will sound bad – like most of the early demos.
Open Music Labs has an interesting discussion of this at their site, and some suggested mods that they say fix the issue. If you’ve tried them, share your thoughts on the mods in the comments!
Eurorack maker 2hp has introduced two new modules, the Swarm Hyper Oscillator, and the Lo-Fi audio degradation emulator.
Here are the details:
The Swarm is a hyper-oscillator, capable creating super-saws, ‘tonal noise hurricanes’, and thick bass and lead lines.
Features:
Hyper-oscillator
Up to 88 stacked saws, and 55 stacked pulsewaves
Create super-saws, tonal noise, and more
Sawtooth and square waveforms
1v/oct tracking
The 2hp Swarm Hyper-Oscillator is available now for $149.
The Lo-Fi module lets you emulate the sounds of old audio equipment.
What they have to say about it:
“Lo-Fi carries two degradation modes: Analog and Digital.
In the analog mode, you can control the amount of wow and flutter for anything from subtle to dynamic pitch fluctuations, tickle the sonic spectrum with ASMR hiss and crackles, and warm up the coldest sounds with tape compression and saturation. In digital mode, dial in bitcrush amount, sample-rate reduction, and the wildest distortion in 2hp to cover your sound in digital crunch, or emulate blown out speakers.”
Features:
Audio Degradation Emulator
Hi-Fidelity passthrough (48kHz, 32-bit internal) when effects are off
Synthesist Stephen McLeod – In his latest video – takes an in-depth look at the Magpie Pedals Round Robin synthesizer.
The Round Robin is a digital synth that has four voices, each of which can play a particular waveform when it is triggered.
Voices are triggered in a “round robin” order from left to right. Rotating a Voice Knob changes the waveform for the respective voice.
