Infrasonic Audio - Warp Core
- Order number: 230550
- Depth: 30
This module can definitely be heard! The Warp Core from Infrasonic Audio is a digital phase distortion oscillator in Eurorack format.
First a little detour: Phase Distortion (PD) is not to be confused with Phase Modulation (PM) or Frequency Modulation (FM). In 1984, phase distortion was introduced inside the Casio CZ synthesizers that quickly gained popularity, perhaps because of their sound, but especially because of their low price. Used by The Prodigy, Vince Clarke and Jean-Michel Jarre, among others, Phase Distortion Synthesis soon found its way into pop music and now also into the flexible Eurorack format.
The phase is the position of a wave in its cycle. So modulating the phase changes that position, creating new, much more complex waves. Might sound a bit complicated, but it's made very clear here by the GIF.
In Phase Modulation synthesis, one wave is called the carrier and the other the modulator. The modulator now influences the phase of the carrier and thus distorts its (sine) wave into other forms. Phase Distortion Synthesis is similar, but rather than using two waves that are synchronized to each other, Phase Distortion Synthesis instead directly modifies the phase of the carrier wave using nonlinear transformations. This basically means that the phase of the wave is swept through using unusual, sometimes drastic paths, with the overall frequency being maintained as the amount of phase distortion is changed. Of course you can try to create the analog classics like triangle, sawtooth and pulse, but there is much more to it. Resonant filter sweeps, strings, metallic beats and bells are well-nameable, while the possibilities go much further!
The Warp Core takes the principle of Phase Distortion and expands it greatly. In the module itself, the carrier is always a sine wave and the modulator is selected via one of the 8 modes. However, it is possible to send any signal into the Ext PM input to use instead. Warp Core has two outputs, one of which is the cosine, i.e. shifted by 90°. The cosine output sounds completely different and can also be detuned! The 8 different algorithms can be used serially in two slots. So you can choose two different ways in which the modulator influences the carrier and then control the amount of modulation with the Warp A & B parameters. The order definitely matters here and it's easy to get lost in constantly changing sounds. To be exact, there are 64 different combinations, which are tripled by the windowing function. The window switch allows the selection of none, a sawtooth, or triangle wave to influence the amplitude of the carrier. This makes it possible to tame the sounds, but also to create even more complex harmonies. For example, the well-known PD filter sweep is created in combination with the Sawtooth Window. Warp Core has a quantizer function, which makes tuning the oscillator easy. It is also possible to change the frequency of the modulator and to mix in a sub-octave.
Warp Core offers a lot of room for experimentation and invites you to tweak knobs. However, it also has CV inputs for all parameters. Send rhythmic envelopes for dancing harmonics, or slow LFOs and sequences for wafting drones.
Whether you lived back then or not, Warp Core makes you feel the 80s and catapults you from there straight into the future!
Features:
- Digital Phase Distortion Oscillator
- 2 audio outputs, one of which is shifted by 90° (cosine)
- 8 different PD algorithms (modulator waves)
- Algorithms serially assignable to 2 slots (64 combinations)
- CV inputs for all parameters (except algorithm selection)
- Input for external phase modulation signals
- Windowing function for amplitude modulation
- Halftone quantization
HE: | 3 |
TE: | 12 |
Depth: | 30 |
Power consumption +12V: | 145 |
Power consumption -12V: | 8 |
Warp Core @Infrasonic Audio
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