Percussa Launches Super Signal Processor Eurorack Module

AudioCubes maker Percussa has launched a Kickstarter project to fund production of their new Super Signal Processor Eurorack module.

The Super Signal Processor (SSP) promises to be one of the most powerful and flexible Eurorack modules ever created.  It follows the same general form factor of the Moog Mother-32, but is based around a powerful quad-core ARM Cortex A17 processor, running a Linux kernel, custom DSP software and professional audio I/O drivers.

Percussa says that the SSP’s processor offers about 10 times the power of the single core Cortex M4 and M7 processors used in many digital Eurorack modules.

The following software modules will be included in the Percussa SSP:

  • Wavetable Oscillator with true 3D Morphing (XYZ) and Cloud (Spread) features
  • LFO with Saw, Sine, Square, Triangle,
  • Step Sequencer with 64 Steps per Pattern, Length and (MIDI) Sync features,
  • Comb Filter,
  • Waveshaper,
  • Sampler with Individual Triggering and Layering features,
  • Variable Frequency Noise Generator,
  • State Variable Filter (SVF),
  • Envelope Generator (EG) with exponential A and DR,
  • Global Reverb and Delay Processors

Specifications:

Audio I/O  

  • 8 outputs via high end AKM DAC with 32 bit resolution / 192kHz sample rate (AK4458)
  • 2 inputs via high end AKM ADC with 32 bit resolution / 192kHz sample rate (AK5552)
  • Support for eurorack DC voltage level ranges on inputs and outputs (-5V to +5V)
  • Low-noise power supplies and op-amp stages, featuring 0.1% resistors

Control Voltage I/O 

  •  14 inputs via industrial ADCs or via AKM audio ADCs (see “status of project” section)
  • Support for eurorack DC voltage level range (-5V to +5V)

DSP Processing 

  • Quad core processor running at 1.8 GHz per core 32-bit SIMD and 64-bit floating point arithmetic
  • 32-bit floating point ADC/DAC input / output
  • Capable of running multiple software modules in parallel on multiple cores

Synthesis Engine 

  • Supports recording audio inputs and outputs directly to SD card for instant wavetable / sample creation or recording of live performances without the need for external software
  • Supports loading your own WAV files into the Wavetable Oscillator and Sampler software modules, via the SD card (limited only by SD card size / RAM size)
  • Coarse and Fine frequency controls on all Oscillators
  • Comes with a set of 100+ pre-recorded samples / wavetables
  • Storage and Recall of Presets and Settings with the press of a button
  • Rule-based fast 2D patching
  • Supports routing / mixing multiple inputs to multiple software modules
  • Supports routing / mixing multiple software modules to multiple outputs

Included DSP modules (see stretch goals for additional modules)

  • Wavetable Oscillator with true 3D morphing (XYZ) and cloud features
  • Sampler with Layering features
  • LFO with multiple waveforms (sine, saw, square, triangle)
  • Variable Frequency Noise
  • DC generator
  • Enveloped Generator with Exponential A and DR
  • Waveshaper
  • Comb Filter
  • State Variable Filter
  • Step Sequencer

Development Kit 

  • SDK with examples for writing your own modules in C++
  • Support on the SSP to load your modules from the SD Card

Display, Graphics and User Interface 

  • 1600×480 pixel wide format full colour LVDS IPS display
  • 2D & 3D Graphics acceleration support (see stretch goals)
  • 4x High quality Aluminium Machined Knobs
  • 4x Bourns Endless and Click-less Encoders
  • 18x Industrial Temperature MEC Switches
  • User interface design featuring shallow menus (no menu diving), large fonts for readability and signal input / output Oscilloscope features

Connectivity

  • 1 USB device port with USB Audio Class 2.0 support
  • 1 USB host port with USB MIDI class and USB ethernet adapter support
  • Serial (header) connector on PCB to access linux serial console

Storage

  • 1 microSD card slot 16 GB professional microSD card (not included in DIY pledge) with FAT partition for easy sharing of presets and samples and for software updates (OS agnostic)
  • 2GB onboard RAM

Dimensions and Front Panel 

  • 60HP width, 3U in height (eurorack compatible, see pledges for customization options)
  • 50mm depth behind front panel (estimated)
  • 2mm thick CNC machined / laser cut aluminium front panel, sandblasted and black anodized (see pledges for customization options)

Power

  • 350mA @ +12V and 50mA @ -12V consumption (estimated)
  • Standard 16-pin eurorack power connector

Audio demos are available at the project site.

Pricing and Availability

The Percussa Super Signal Processor is available to project backers for US $1,500, with a target date of initial units shipping in April 2018. The project has already reached its funding goal.

17 thoughts on “Percussa Launches Super Signal Processor Eurorack Module”

  1. The specifications are superb, as is the functionality. Yet within this range of processing power, the demos currently available simply betray the sonic depth an instrument of this caliber should be capable of and that is truly a shame.

    Bert is a very talented engineer whom has married himself to a concept that whilst promising, within the current iteration simply fails to inspire me.

    And I know this project is now funded, I shall hope that further development will be the answer as the specifications should deliver sonic depth well beyond what analogue synthesis could ever produce.

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      2. My point is that you could purchase a setup which does what the module can do + more, with a larger screen and more hands on control.

        You couldn’t do that with the car, suit or holiday.

        1. Toot- your laptop-interface-Reaktor combo being better than the SSP is a total assumption. Remember the SSP isn’t finished or on the market yet.

          Regarding the value you place on a single item- you may be technically right but that’s missing the point of what this is- an exceptional piece of Eurorack gear.

  5. Congrats Percussa. Looks like a great module. Wish I had the $1500 to support the Kickstarter campaign.
    I do hope they consider making the RAM use upgradeable. Especially since they’ve already reached their funding goals. They’ll probably surpass their stretch goals too.

  7. Wow, really awesome idea! Runs Linux, can be extended with C++ plugins, lots of inputs and outputs. Good for them building an open environment. If the right people buy this there could be some exciting developments.

    However, I thought part of the point of Eurorack was to get away from menu diving and spread your synth out over many different modules. This almost feels like a victim of feature creep. A sound processor that has a 3D morphing wavetable oscillator with spread? And a sampler, and a 64 step sequencer, and filter and envelope generators, and MIDI, and LFOs…. I love the idea but this is almost a self contained desktop workstation without effects. If the software side of things is good then it’s a pretty nice value for all the toys. Actually, maybe sound processor is a misnomer for it, it’s more like an oscillator module on steroids.

    1. “However, I thought part of the point of Eurorack was to get away from menu diving and spread your synth out over many different modules.”

      That ship done sailed, son.

      The Mutable Instruments Braids is one of the most popular modules in Euro format, and it’s digital and uses menus. And Synth Tech just sold a couple of hundred thousand dollars of their $900 quad VCO, which is digital and uses menus.

      This is a cool module that will appeal to a lot of people – but I think they’d get a hell of a lot more backers if they put together a polished demo that really shows off what it does.

      2. There’s a difference between a VCO that has a menu, and a module where you just program basically everything internally.

        I’ve had a chance to play with SynthTech’s other upcoming module (E352) and the menu thing is no big deal. It’s still definitely a VCO and you patch it like one — it doesn’t feel like you’re using a computer. A much better interface than jumpers on the PCB (some of those menu items replace the jumpers from the E340/E350) or “turn knob Q to 12 o’clock, hold down button A for two seconds, then tap button C until the LED blinks yellow four times”. No cheat sheet or manual needed.

        I expect this will be a really nice synth/workstation/thing but to me it doesn’t really fit with the spirit of modular synths. (And I’m saying that as someone who sequences everything in a DAW and uses plugin effects, which makes me a filthy casual to some modular folks.)

      3. If that ship had sailed then we would all be using Braids and most people are not. Rings and the DPO are much more popular than Braids and menu diving is often a complaint I see on muffwiggler.

        Everyone has a different view on modular though, the ER-101 is a good example of that. But to think people will be happy to dive through menus is a big oversight. People are into modular often because it is so immediate.

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