Manifold Research Centre Antilope Desktop Experimental Drum Synth & Audio Processor

Manufacturer's description

Antilope is a pseudo drum and dynamics machine, a dual pingable fully resonant filter, with distortion + multiFX feedback path, all controllable through a pattern recorder with 3 cv sources switchable between morphable AD envelopes or stepped voltages.

It's a standalone instrument, but compatible with eurorack voltage levels, with midi clk/reset and sync inputs.

Has a stereo line level input for processing external sources, stereo line level out, and a headphone output.
A USB C (2.4A) power input makes antilope a portable instrument.



Sections overview



FILTER:

It's a dual filter with common cutoff, resonance and spread;
Audio inputs level control, LPF to HPF crossfaders and attenuverters for v/oct CV in.  For audio inputs we have eurorack level jacks on the front and a stereo 3.5mm line-level on back.

CV inputs are pitch and resonance.

The filters can self-oscillate in order to be treated as a dual VCO that can track v/oct up to 4 octaves.
But antilope shines when pinged, its worth to mention that its Q pot control has been shaped in order to offer a quasi-linear control of the decay length of the excited filters.




DISTORTION:

The 2 filters get summed then into the distortion section, modeled after the sunn o)) beta bass amplifier.
Its composed of a level control, distortion, Feedback and a three band equaliser with an emphasis on the low mid frequencies (dont worry, the HIGHs can scream too!).
The level and feedback are VCAs, making them CV controllable.



Also, a 2 position switch allows to decide the feedback path: 

1. The distortion output goes straight back to its input, this shapes drastically the distortion harmonics till self oscillation;


2. The distortion output goes through the FX chain, which output then goes back to the distortion input, this adds an analog feedback path for the digital FX section, also the eq allows you to shape and control the color of the FX;



FXs:

A spin fv-1 FX section runs right after the distortion, it offers 7 different stereo algorhythms, spacing from multitap echoes, flanger delays, pitch shifting delays and reverbs.

There is a dry/wet control, and 3 control parameters for the selected effect (all of them with their dedicated CV in).
As mentioned before, the analog feedback path that brings the FX out back to the distortion section adds warmth and tone control, the drive amount changes also completely the character of the fx going from smooth up to crunchy, distorted and broken textures, it also incorporates back the stereo signal into mono blending nicely the dry wet signals avoiding a complete separation between mid/side and creating a more "natural" sound.



THE CORE:

The brain of the antilope is a trigger recorder, which allows you to record events (through the cherry MX switches) for 3 independent channels. Each channel has a dedicated cv and gate outputs.

The type of output can be switched between an AD envelope (with controllable length through the faders) or a stepped voltages sequence, which will be extrapolated from the 6 faders positions.

The envelope shape is morphable from exponential to logarhithmic, and to exp/log to log/exp. The rate can go from 20ms/50Hz  to ~ 8s/0.125Hz.

Once a pattern has been recorded, channels have independent control of the following parameters: phase, shape and multiplication/division over playback speed. This parameters can be externally CV controlled, through the jack inputs on the rear panel of the antilope.

A touch/magnetic surface allows to introduce various types and combinations of cross modulations between the 3 channels, this is a great expressive tool to add embelishments, and widening the palette of possible variations of an otherwise steady and repetitive pattern.

At the moment, up to 7 patterns can be saved and recalled (only the core parameters, filter/distortion/FX are analogically controlled).

Since the pattern recorder unquantised, the external midi clock work as a reset every 4 steps.

External clock signals (gate/trig) resets every "n" ticks, with "n" selectable from: 2,4,8,10,12,16,32.



Antilope has a usb port for future CORE firmware updates.



Antilope is an instrument of experimentation and discovery, it's a condensation of manifold aresearch centre sound and interface philosophy.

Antilope is powered over USB C - a USB C cable is included in the package which will work with most "phone charger" USB power supplies.