Eowave - Ribbon 2

Ribbon 2 is not only a USB-MIDI and CV / gate controller, but a standalone instrument with 12-bit sound engine as well. It can be played via a pressure sensitive position sensor with a length of 50 centimeters. For modulation purposes, there is a second, considerably smaller touch pad. It is pressure sensitive as well. The control elements and the digital synthesizer engine are editable via a software application. It can be downloaded for free and runs on Windows, OSX, Linux as well as iOS. 16 synthesizer and controller configurations are storable inside the Ribbon 2. Two buttons allow users to switch between presets on the fly.

Ribbon 2 features a pressure sensitive position sensor with a length of 50 centimeters for playing notes. Modulations can be added via a second, considerably smaller touch panel, the so-called tactile pad. It is pressure sensitive as well. Both control elements can be edited via software. For instance, it is possible to alter their sensitivity. The position sensitive sensor’s pitch linearity can be inverted. This feature allows musicians to play the instrument with the tactile pad on the left or right side. The position sensitive sensor can cover a range of four or twelve octaves. The root note is definable by the user. Pitch changes can be done continuously or quantized to semitones.

The Ribbon’s 12-bit synthesizer offers not only standard waveforms and noise, but simple additive, granular and bell algorithms as well. Additionally, there are AM and FM options, which can be controlled via the tactile pad. Furthermore, the synth engine features bit reduction and delay effects. Audio material is emitted via a 3.5 mm TRS socket.

In controller mode, the Ribbon 2 uses the TRS connector as a two-channel CV output:

• Channel 1: Emits pitch CV signals (1v per octave. Range: 0 V to 5 V)
• Channel 2: Emits CV signals based on the pressure sensitivity of either the position sensor or the tactile pad.

Besides control voltages, the Ribbon 2 also generates MIDI data, which is transmitted via USB. MIDI channel and CC numbers can be set by the user. The USB connector is also used for feeding power to the controller. (A power supply unit is not included.)

For configuring the control elements and the synthesizer engine, Eowave developed an editor based on the Max Runtime application by Cycling74. It can be downloaded for free and runs on Windows, OSX, Linux as well as iOS. 16 synthesizer and controller configurations can be stored. Two buttons allow users to swiftly switch between presets.