Here’s a demo of the new Medic Modules EKG – an 8-step Eurorack analogue sequencer – paired with 3 classic synthesizers: the RSF Kobol, the SCI Pro One, and the ARP 2600.
The EKG is a unique step sequencer with some unusual features:
- Each step has a unique Function control. Each step can be turned off, skipped, repeated or set as a reset point.
- Modes; Off (rest), x1, x2, x3, x4, Skip, Reverse, Rest
- Clock Divide /2 In; plays at half tempo when voltage applied
The Medic Modules EKG is priced at £199. See the Medic Modules site for details.
I love the classic EBM (electronic body music) bass lines in their demos.
Oh.. so thats what that acronym stands for.
I always thought it meant “Extraordinary Bowel Movement”
I can make that sound!
That only happens if someone can trigger the brown note, which none of the EBM acts I listen to can do.
…a too complex aggregate of microtones…
tasty! that mode stuff really gets quite a lot out of the 8 steps
This module does a lot with relatively few buttons.
That said, I don’t see why anyone today wants analog gear to make very limited music
– it’s just hard to sync and fiddly to change and impossible to create most kinds of song structure.
Analog electronics has its place in synthesis, but what inimitable character does it lend to timing?
You’re right, in that, technically, digital is definitely the way to go for precision timing, and in turn, sampling and completing reproducible tracks. I use a digital masterclock so i don’t have to resort to your namesake. Ha!
Analogue sequencing is more about discarding the bonds of unnaturally exact clocks for the music to gain a much more organic/unstable/evolving groove. True, they are just little quick circuits of music, (unless more complex tools, such as a shift register are introduced), but if viewed as more individual voices or arps, as evidenced in this video, their funky playability reigns.
Seems to me that most modular guys are more focused on the novelty and tech aspect of synthesis rather than making good music.
I have modular and it is great when coupled with modern sounds and tech. But 99% of the modular stuff I hear only sounds like farts and squeals.
It is rare to hear real music made with modular rather than nerds making fart sounds with toys.
Newsound, I have to say I think you are bang on the mark, there is a lot of ‘this is most complicated way of making an annoying sound you will ever see’ in the modular world. Of course there are some guys who put it to good use. But modular is great if you NEVER want to finish anything ever again.
I want to know why there is a plethora of inexpensive 8 step sequencers out there but no 16 step, which is way more musical, at least to me. And I’d love to have a hardware step sequencer.
“I want to know why there is a plethora of inexpensive 8 step sequencers out there but no 16 step”
Doepfer A155, Rene, Z8000. Or a couple of 8-step sequencers and judicious use of a sequential switch. That’s part of the point: it’s modular, so you get to put them together the way you want.
I could have been more clear. There are 16 step sequencers, but the ones I’ve seen I find to be overpriced. And I’d need a stand alone, not a modular system. The Dark Energy looks great but more than I can just justify. I hope Korg makes an affordable midi-step seq in the form of the new Volcas.