Tag: utility module

Reverse Landfill Noise v8 – DIY Build

Reverse Landfill Noise (v8) - DIY Build

As many of you know, Reverse Landfill is one of our favorite manufacturers. Their gritty and raw approach to synthesis brings a whole new level to making modular music or just harsh noise. Through several iterations, the NOISE module has become a staple in Martijn’s lineup.

Most recently, the v9 was released but our focus is on the Noise v8. A kindred spirit to our original Noise module which was one of our very first modules. 

According to RL, the Noise! Synthesizer is a “CMOS IC based instrument. The synth has 4 square wave oscillators that modulate each other and go through a clock divider and after all that the separate divider outputs are mixed and shaped together”.

It is very suited as a source of snares, hi-hats or as an un-pure noise texture. With anything, we were excited to get on with the build, so we grabbed our BOM, ordered up the parts and waited for everything to arrive. 

Links and more links…

Below are a series of links that have been provided by Reverse Landfill to help assist with the use, building and buying of the Noise module.

Of course, we are here for you as well if you have any questions while building the module. Just hit us up on our Contact Page.


FRUKU B0B – DIY Build

FRUKU B0B - DIY Build

While there are many 808 Kick modules on the market, none are quite like the B0B from FRUKU, a designer out of the Netherlands. The B0B is FRUKU’s first solo module and all we can say is that it packs one hell of a punch.

Now, you might be asking yourself, where have you heard the name FRUKU before? A few months back, we built and featured the Veratrum, a new module by Reverse Landfill and guess who… FRUKU! 

The B0B is unique in that even though it is an 808 kick drum, it has a clipping parameter that accepts CV to control the amount of grit you want to add. The module features a decay, tone and volume pot as well. It’s black panel mimics that of the Veratrum and a lot of the modules produced by our friends at Reverse Landfill. 

Links and more links…

Below are a series of links that have been provided by FRUKU to help assist with the use, building and buying of the B0B.

Of course, we are here for you as well if you have any questions while building the module. Just hit us up on our Contact Page.

Let’s get on with the build…


Music Thing Modular Mini Drive – DIY Build

Music Thing Modular Mini Drive - DIY Build

Music Thing Modular (or MTM as we shall call it), is a range of eurorack modules designed in Herne Hill, London by Tom Whitwell. The MTM Mini Drive is the latest module of Tom’s and it is beginning to make some waves in the modular community. Like all of Tom’s other modules, the Mini Drive is open source module that is a Drive/Distortion module inspired by the classic Minimoog input gain.

Needless to say, this thing packs a lot of punch in a tiny 4HP size. As Tom puts it “Using this module is a great way to make a polite sound source into something less polite, but always experiment with the levels!”. After seeing the debut of the module, we knew we had to pick one up and get it on the build table. 

Onward....

We ordered our kit from THONK in the UK. As many DIYers know, this is THE place to find all of the MTM kits. The Mini Drive is the first of the MTM series that only comes in a black panel and it has a bulb to show signal intensity. These two things really set the Mini Drive apart from its brethren modules.

Another thing to be aware of is that the Mini Drive kit comes with all surface mount parts come pre-soldered, making this a perfect kit for beginners. 


Neutral Labs NERMAL – DIY Build

Neutral Labs NERMAL - DIY Build

In the world of modular synthesis, there are many companies that offer distortion modules, but few of them really stand out. The Neutral Labs NERMAL is a destructive 3 layer distortion module that is able to modulate frequencies in the audio range to produce some rather unexpected harmonics. 

Known primarily for the desktop synth ELMYRA, the NERMAL is Neutral Labs first stab at eurorack and from what we can tell, it won’t be their last. We were anxious to get our hands on this build and learn all about its unique abilities. 

The Kit and where to get it (in the U.S.)

After seeing a few demos of the NERMAL, we knew we had to track one down. We ordered up from our friends over at Synthcube and within a few days it arrived safe and sound. Upon cracking the box open we were shocked to see the care in separating the components into “sections” or smaller packaging.

Neutral Labs really made it easy to keep the parts from getting all mixed up. They even state on their build document that one needs to go through one bag of parts at a time so that you won’t lose parts or have to double check resistor values. This was pretty rad that they were thinking of the builder.