RYK Modular sends us their latest, and it looks like a delicious combo of the stuff you often need, all in one. Envy Machine is a quad mod monster: four channels, each configurable as envelope, LFO, random voltage, and recordable knob voltage control.
I love this sort of stuff – see below for two others I’m fond of. And you always want more of it. But RYK has got some especially clever ideas for packing a lot of modulation into those four channels.
First, each of the four channels can be set to one of five modes:
- ADSR envelope
- AD envelope
- AD LFO (variable between logarithmic, exponential, sine, trapezoid, and square waves)
- Random voltage
- Recordable knob voltage control (this is almost becoming a must on new modules, so – great!)
And you can waveshape both the LFOs and envelopes, with again fully-variable log, expo, sin, trapezoid, and square. They’ve also been generous with the timeframe controls, up to a tight 1.5 ms to fully 7 minutes for that ambient procedural patch you’ve been imagining (mode-dependent).
Crucially, this module doesn’t forget inputs – so you get full CV control of time, level, waveshape, etc.
So they’ve thought through controls, indicators, and I/O:
LED indicators: modulation mode, modulation level, waveshape, output level (and separate red/green indicators for each channel)
Dedicated knobs: A, D, S, and R
I/O: CV inputs for 1-4, gate inputs 1-4, outputs 1-4
Front view of Envy Machine, showing MOD, OPT, SHAPE, and CH indicators, plus option and channel selector buttons; mod, mod level, wave shape, and out level indicators; plus modulation outputs 1-4, gate inputs 1-4, and mod inputs 1-4.
And it just looks beautiful. It’s so nice that they’ve kept some separate knobs, made clear switches and mode selector with indicators, and kept it usable by retaining a spacious 12HP design.
Let’s play:
Let the four-channel modulation and gesture recording and multimode LFO/mod flow… more
I was looking for just this kind of combined envelope/LFO, so I have something slightly like it – After Later’s Baker, which is based on Mutable Instruments Peaks but runs the Dead Man’s Catch firmware (as preinstalled option). Now, much as I love that module, it’s confusing as hell dealing with all the different firmware hacks and remembering what mode you’re in while it blinks at you. ( It’s sort of part of the fun. Even the original Peaks design is a bit hard to grok, even before more got patched in.)
So, I’m all for a module designed from scratch. Incredibly, Envy Machine is more intuitive and gives you four channels of modulation.
The gold standard in the category is probably the Intellijel Quadrax, which earns extra points for its uniquely accessible hands-on envelope and shape controls. Plus it’s a pulse generator. I don’t own one of these, but I’ve tried them. There’s also an expander if you want to go nuts with it – but that means you’re at a total of 20HP / 4+16 to RYK’s 12. RYK adds some other modes/tweaks, including that knob recording. Thanks to Jesse Beuhler for the reminder.
For Intellijel and four-channel gesture recording, look to Tetrapad or the joystick Planar2. (Thanks, Ziad Mouzarkel.) I have Planar2 and adore it. These just do the recording part, but imagine combining these modules and recording everything…
If you want to go completely crazy, it’s pricey but powerful – Industrial Music Electronics’ Kermit Quad Modulation source. (Thanks, Ziad!)
Dnipro’s ingenious Krait 3-channel LFO/random source/knob recorder seems part of the inspiration for this, even if the resulting design is quite different (including what RYK can do with twice the HP). I love all the wave options and display on Krait, so adding Krait and Envy Machine into one skiff? Hell, yes. The days of boring whoomp whoomp endless sine modulation are done, and good riddance.
RYK Modular
Launches today. More:
https://www.ryk-modular.com/product/envy-machine
Retail: £205 [ excluding VAT ].
They’ve done a sick quad complex oscillator, too – alongside some very nice kits, the FM/harmonic vector oscillator, sequential resonator, and the lower price on the sequencer sure makes it tempting. See their lineup.
