Music Thing Modular - Goldfinger

Goldfinger is a passive desktop matrix mixer with six bidirectional 3.5 mm jacks and a large gold touch surface in place of knobs or switches. None of the sockets have fixed roles, so each can operate as either an input or an output. If you patch five as inputs and one as an output, Goldfinger becomes a five-input mixer; use four inputs and two outputs for stereo, or one input and five outputs to distribute a signal. The touch map contains the possible connections between them, and placing your fingers across different areas routes and mixes those signals together.

Goldfinger behaves the way it does because your skin becomes part of the circuit. Its resistance determines how much signal passes, so pressure, contact area, movement and even how dry your fingers are all affect the result. Audio and pulses work particularly well, while CV is possible but somewhat less predictable. Noise, bleed and a little distortion are also very much part of Goldfinger's character. Push things into high gain or feedback and it can even start acting like an antenna. Two fingers can make several connections at once, and two people can use it independently; touch each other and the signal can pass between you as well.

Goldfinger takes a little getting used to because the map is easier to navigate by ear than by eye. But that is also what makes it so interesting: instead of setting up a routing and leaving it there, you can actually play the connections themselves.

Features:

• Passive touch-operated matrix mixer and signal router
• 6 bidirectional 3.5 mm connections
• No fixed inputs or outputs
• Gold touch matrix covering the possible signal connections
• Uses the electrical resistance of your skin for mixing and attenuation
• Responds to finger position, pressure, contact area and skin conductivity
• Multi-touch operation
• Can be played by two people simultaneously
• Signals can pass between two users when they touch
• Suitable for audio, pulses and CV
• CV behaviour is less predictable than audio and pulses
• Characterful bleed, noise and possible distortion
• Can pick up interference like an antenna in high-gain / feedback patches
• Touch surface uses real pure gold, approximately 100 atoms thick
• Fully passive — no power supply or batteries required
• Low-profile desktop format
• Fully assembled — no DIY required