Rare Waves has introduced a new analog synthesizer, descended directly from the Grendel Drone Commander: the DC-2e Drone Commander 2 + Expander in Eurorack modular format.
They describe it as a ‘unique and highly playable tone source for drone music, leads, bass, and sound effects.”
Here are a couple of video demos:
Grendel Drone Commander 2 is a true analog synth built, with extensive use of discrete transistor technology. Its minimalist control panel presents twelve solid metal knobs, and each one doubles as a push-pull switch to modify the tone.
Behind the panel is a newly designed all-analog sound engine with two oscillators, two filters, an envelope generator, and a comprehensive LFO section capable of producing four simultaneous waveforms.
Pricing and availability are to be announced. See the Rare Waves site for more info.
i like to complain about releases but this is just FUCK YEAH! now i can leave that nice faceplate on my ammo box grendel undrilled!
OMG!!!!!
This is one of those, “wish I had a eurorack setup” moments.
The first Drone Commander is one of the most amazing pieces of gear I’ve ever used.
This is a must buy.
nice sound!
Am I the only one concerned with the depth of this thing?! While I really want one, in fact, I’ll probably grab two.. I think the rise of the skiff and shallow cases will really work against them and this module. I’m probably going to end up making a custom little case for this.
Love the idea of a standalone case in army green!
I’ve never seen the point of skiff cases, they just limit the number of modules you can use, which seems to go against the whole purpose of eurorack.
Originally, the idea was to have a smaller enclosure that you could use for shallower, control-oriented modules in order for them to be closer to the surface of whatever you’re playing on. Over time, a lot of manufacturers adopted skiff-friendly designs, so it’s kind of come full circle now.
I’d venture a guess you haven’t hauled your modular to gigs very much if you don’t see the point of a shallower case 😉
Well, now I know….
Skiffs were made popular for early make noise modules, which are around 20hp (maths, pressure points, analog memory). Since they are so wide and not super dense, everything can fit on one board and they can be very shallow. Now, we know everyone wants to buy a skiff and fill it with tiny 2-4hp modules. The problem there is that these modules are too tiny to have a single, flat logic board, and also when you start trying to use ribbon power connectors to coordinate powering a row of tiny modules in a skiff, you will start to feel a bit of pain around the butt area. For lightweight portability, check out the 6u plastic cases that are floating around (Synthrotek, etc…), those are durable and very portable.
Looks to be a nice improvement on the original, which is a great instrument and one of my favorites. But still would prefer not to go down the eurorack path…
damnit. i just bought the last piece of gear i’ll ever need! you know … until this.
unusual thing i have heard about the grendel was the original had it’s schematic out there
A eurorack module without CV unless you buy the expander? Really??
I’ve never need CV to get amazing sounds from my original.
I’m guessing the did the inputs as an expander for those who want it, while saving others the extra cost.
The unit can be used without any other modules in a small box, I bet.
I agree that I think the idea was that you could use the new version like the original without the expander.
As much as I love the original, it has limitations when trying to sync it with other gear, especially with randomness of that LFO divided. It seems to work best as the dominant instrument if that makes sense.
They are making a standalone according to website, so that’s great news for us that don’t want a eurorack version.