Dnipro modular from Ukraine makes perfect modules – now with a deeper modulator

If you don’t know Dnipro modular, this maker originally from Ukraine is producing three utterly essential Eurorack devices. And now their excellent Krait knob recorder – LFO – random generator – modulator just got some major enhancements in a 1.7 update.

Krait and Dot have quickly become two favorite modules for me, thanks to their elegant design and compact functions. I don’t have my hands on Metamorph, but that looks terrific, too. (I should add, too – Dnipro is currently shipping from Leipzig, so the modular operation continues even as Ukraine this week faces still more attacks on its infrastructure. I hope CDM can also continue the conversation of how to get support into the country – this has been another hellish day and week.)

Here’s what makes each of these three designs special:

Dot is a 3-channel pattern generator that can do Euclidean power generation. Now, there are a few devices that do that – particularly once you include various alternate firmware and apps. But Dot also lets you do real-time manual recording and XOX step recording, with quick-swapping between modes. You can even start with a Euclidean pattern and make it editable. It’s all great for live work and improvisation.

https://www.dnipro-modular.net/dot

Metamorph is a polysequencer / controller with 4 stages x 3 channels – and actually complements DOT nicely. What’s great about this is, it’s really set up for easy modification of other parameters. So yeah, it looks like the familiar analog sequencer interface, but you also have the ability to create wide-ranging glide / morphing between steps, and you can control everything both manually and with external inputs. It’s honestly reminiscent of stuff I’ve gotten hooked on with software, but that’s harder to find in hardware. And it’s a very economical US$240, too – without being massively wide.

https://www.dnipro-modular.net/metamorph

Krait is an all-in-one modulation source. It’s a random generator, it’s an LFO, and it’s a knob recorder – for gestural phrase control. There’s also tap tempo and syncable, morphable waveforms – again, the kind of stuff you might get used to in software but that is tougher to find in hands-on Eurorack form.

https://www.dnipro-modular.net/krait

I love stuff like this, and somehow wound up with two of them, as I also have the Intellijel Planar2, a joystick with recording capability. That joystick requires tons of HP, though, so Krait is a worthy choice for smaller skiffs – and you can’t have too much of this, anyway.

The 1.7 firmware is a big deal, though, in this month of little updates that make a big difference. There’s now an internal clock, which makes this even more essential in your rig. The LFO now has both available amplitude and phase offset parameters. And while you could already use this as a random loop generator, now there’s a parameter for random loop length.

Combine this with that very attractive screen, and it’s really one of the best modulators available – even before you realize it fits into 6 HP.