Frap Tools - Brenso

With Brenso, Frap Tools rethink the concept of the Complex Oscillator, creating an excellent and inspiring module.

The Brenso is a Complex Oscillator, drawing inspiration from designs by Don Buchla. This oscillator design usually combines two oscillators into one, which then modulate each other's frequency. Often these oscillators incorporate waveshaper and wavefolding functions to make the resulting waveforms sound even more complex.
The Brenso takes this principle and extends it with useful normalizations and very extensive CV control capabilities.

Brenso may look intimidating at first glance, but it is clearly structured and easy to understand. The two oscillators with their parameters for processing the frequencies are marked in green and yellow. Here there are two inputs per VCO for frequency modulation - one for exponential and one for linear Thru-Zero FM. Both CV inputs have attenuators and share a common parameter for FM deviation, which works similarly to an FM index. Being able to use two FM inputs independently and then control their intensity creates many options for rich timbres. Brenso has many useful normalizations. In this case, for example, the sine of one VCO is always normalized to both FM inputs of the other. So you save yourself some cables!

The white section of Brenso is the waveshaper and wavefolder. There is one waveshaper for the triangle wave and one for the square wave. Both waves can then be mixed together and run through a wavefolder. All sections are CV controllable and the wavefolder is even pingable by triggering an internal decay envelope!
Finally, the wave passes through a VCA, which can have 2 or 4 quadrants. Two quadrants are used for amplitude modulation of the two waves and four for ring modulation (very cool!). Of course, everything is still controllable by CV!

In case you wonder what the big buttons in yellow and green are for: Coarse Frequency Lock! The big potentiometer for setting the frequency will be ineffective that way. Only the small fine-tuning pot is still usable. Very useful for you live artists. There is oscillator synchronization and the green VCO has a LFO mode.
Brenso is a well-thought-out and really complex Complex Oscillator. It shines when you play it with control voltages. A very exciting high quality dual oscillator.

Features:

• Complex Oscillator with triangle core
• 8 waveform outputs
• Thru-Zero FM
• Waveshaping
• Wavefolding
• 2-, or 4-quadrant VCA (AM, or ring mod)
• 8 waveform outputs
• Very wide CV control possibilities
• Coarse tune lock
• Oscillator sync
• Sensibly placed normalizations