earthlink modular - FLUME

FLUME is a stereo send/return interface for effect pedals. It deals with the things that usually make patching a pedal into a rack a nuisance: levels, impedance, power and the fact that a pedal has no CV inputs. A LINE/INSTRUMENT switch sets the input to suit what you're feeding it, and the whole path runs stereo in and out.

Three points around the external effect are under voltage control — send, return and mix — each a stereo VCA with its own CV input, built from discrete transistors. So you can modulate how hard the pedal gets driven, how much of it comes back, and the dry/wet balance, which sits on a linear crossfader. The topology preserves stereo imaging, so a stereo delay or reverb stays where you put it.

Then there's the expression jack — a CV-to-expression converter with a polarity switch lets Eurorack voltages sweep a pedal parameter through its expression input, often the most crucial control a pedal has. FLUME also has its own modulation source on board: a triangle LFO, normalled to the MIX and EXP CV inputs, so you get movement without patching in an external LFO. And there's a nifty 9V DC output, so the pedal runs straight off the module — no extra adapter needed.

Nice for anyone with a pedalboard they'd rather patch than plug in, and for putting a distortion or a spring reverb under the same CV control as everything else in the case.

Features:

• Complete stereo interface between Eurorack systems and effect pedals
• Full stereo in/out, with a topology that preserves stereo imaging
• Three CV-controllable points around the external effect: SEND, RETURN and MIX
• Discrete transistor-based VCAs with CV control on both SEND and RETURN
• Stereo DRY/WET linear crossfader with CV control
• CV-to-Expression converter with polarity switch, for pedal expression inputs
• Built-in triangle LFO, normalled to the MIX and EXP CV inputs
• LINE/INSTRUMENT impedance converter switch
• Isolated, linearly regulated 9V(−) 350 mA low-noise DC output — powers the pedal directly from the module, no separate adapter needed