In his latest loopop video, host Ziv Eliraz takes an in-depth look at the PWM Mantis synthesizer, a spiritual successor to the EDP Wasp.
The Mantis is a collaboration between the late Chris Hugget (Gnat, Wasp, Oscar) and Paul Whittington of PWM.
Topics covered:
0:00 Intro
1:30 Overview
3:40 Build
5:00 Malevolent
5:35 I/O
6:00 Osc shapes
8:40 Oscillator 2
9:55 Sub & drift
10:50 Mixer
12:00 Shift’n’mix
12:30 12db filters
14:05 Width
14:50 Stereo
15:35 Duophony
16:30 24db modes
17:00 Drive
19:00 Band, Notch
20:45 Pings
21:30 Effects
23:30 Mod routes
25:35 LFOs
27:30 Envelopes
28:45 Quad mode
31:50 Arp
33:05 Misc
34:05 Pros, cons
38:15 Sounds!
Check out the video and share your thoughts on the Mantis in the comments!
Nice piece of gear.
It needs a global beat sync feature to modulate all parameters to external clock so the envelopes , lfos and arpeggios all bounce in tempo regardless of the intervals that are selected like the trigon does in the global section. It was supposed to detect all clock coming in but it really more of an advanced tap tempo. That said the sound engine is loaded with tons of sweet spots that deliver the goods sonically in bucket loads . I spent a solid two weeks designing 100 patches that I sent to Paul for his customers to use as advanced starting points sounds that range from complex playable lead sounds, evolving pads , sequenced parts , racheting sounds , huge basses , etc . This little monster should continue to be developed further by PWM so all modulation really beat syncs to external clock once that happens accurately this synth will become a classic. I had so much fun programming it I hope PWM includes those updates soon so I can make it a permanent part of my rig. Paul is a very cool guy and is very receptive to input from customers which I commend him for!