Erica Synths’ Fusion VCA & VCF vacuum-tube Eurorack modules are now available.
The 24dB/12dB Fusion VCF is their take on the four pole lowpass filter. Each side of double triode drives signal between 2nd and 3rd stage of the filter, while germanium diodes are used to limit output signal.
They say that the result is a ‘deep sounding VCF with unique character.’ The module offers resonance volume compensation and filter slope selection. It also offers a 3-input mixer with dedicated mixer output.
Features:
- 4 pole lowpass resonant VCF with tube drive between stages
- Three input signal mixer
- Selectable 24db/12dB filter slope
- Signal drop compensation, when resonance is increased
- Germanium diode based output signal limiter
The core of Fusion VCA is a custom circuit, built around a Russian miniature pentode. Feedback adds harmonics to the original signal and acts similar to cutoff knob on VCFs and Deform knob controls amount of distortion in germanium diodes based circuit.
Features:
- Miniature pentode based VCA
- Manual VCA bias control
- Audio signal feedback control
- Germanium diodes/tube overdrive
- Waveshaping – signal deform
- 2 input signal mixer
- Overdrive flavour select switch
Pricing and Availability
Both modules are available now, the VCA priced at 240EUR and the VCF at 290EUR.
I like the idea of tube driven eurorack, but this looks like it is pseudo-tube stuff. I mean are these tubes really running at full voltage, I bet you they are not. And we all know tubes jammed in circuits to look good that do not do much are not really a good thing.
Plus when manufacturers start throwing out words like germanium and tube driven I get very cynical because it is the same kind of crap people pull in the boutique guitar pedal world to take in the gullible. Like there is something magic about germanium diodes other then they clip far earlier in a distortion circuit, which is not always a good thing.
I dunno call my a curmudgeon, but jamming a 12AX7 into a module and backlighting it does not really get my juices flowing.
I just picked these up and can tell you that they sound great. They absolutely bring the tube vibe to the Eurorack format. The Mixer in particular imparts a very nice tube compression and saturation to the incoming signal.
Sitting side by side with other filters and VCA’s, these modules are something special.
nice demo. the sound they produce is awesome.