XO106r4.5 - quad oscillator drone with current starve (8HP)

These modules are built to order - please allow 2-3 working days for build/test

This is a retread of one of my oldest modules - it uses the CD40106 hex Schmitt Trigger inverter, plus a CMOS logic chip (a CD4070 quad-XOR, by default) to mash together four square-wave oscillators of wildly varying pitches and generate nice, clashy sounds which are then passed through a (non voltage-controlled) Sallen-Key low-pass filter to round off any rough edges. Or not.

So far, so boring.

What makes this module a bit more interesting is ability to starve the oscillator IC of current which can lead to some very, shall we say, interesting results. By default, I build the module with a 1k starve pot, which is probably good enough for most people, but if you want to get a bit more extreme then I can fit a 10k pot on request - much more than that and the oscillator will flat-out cease to function.

What is it good for? Well, obviously making a noise - if you want a nice, clashy-sounding drone then twiddle away to your heart's content. Alternatively, in conjunction with my Vactrol VCA and a suitable envelope generator it makes a great source of clashy percussion sounds.

There's a fair bit of modding potential as well - replacing the CD4070 with a pin-compatible logic IC (eg. 4001, 4011, 4093 etc.) can produce a load of different timbres. Do not, however, use 74-series ICs as they don't tolerate 12V very well (ie. the magic smoke will escape)

On top of that, it's a through-hole build there's potential for circuit-bending fun and games and it's eminently possible to hack voltage control onto the oscillators or break out the 'raw' unfiltered output from the oscillators. Do this at your own risk, though!

This is a limited run of 5 modules - if there's sufficient demand then there'll be more in future.

8HP wide.