Neutral Labs - Scrooge

Scrooge is a sequenced malfunction generator from Neutral Labs, available as a Eurorack module or semi-modular desktop synth. It can be coaxed into kick-ish thumps, hat-like clicks and metallic snares, that is not necessarily where it feels most at home. Its real personality lives more in the land of broken-machine percussion: crackles, growls, unstable bursts and strange little pieces of analog debris.

The five voices are fully analog, but with a nicely crooked idea behind them: they don’t use normal dedicated power supplies for the sound circuits. Instead, they scrounge power from the sequencer control signals. So the sequence is not just telling a separate drum voice what to do — it is part of the voice behaviour itself. Step voltage, shape, probability and timing all become part of the sound, which gives Scrooge that unstable, slightly hungry quality. It can even work passively from external sequencing, using the individual voice inputs and outputs.

Behind the broken-machine charm, the sequencer is actually pretty capable. You get parameter locks, per-track lengths, microtiming, pattern chaining, generative variations and a “Control All” mode for changing several steps or tracks at once while playing. It can also sequence external gear, sync to the rest of your setup and receive MIDI clock and transport via TRS. A lovely little box for rhythmic damage, noisy percussion and patterns that refuse to behave too politely.

Features:

• Sequenced malfunction generator
• Five distinct fully analog voices
• Available as Eurorack module or semi-modular desktop synth
• Voice circuits scrounge power from the sequencer control signals
• Can create kick, hi-hat and snare-like sounds, as well as glitches, crackles and distorted textures
• Can work passively from external sequencing via individual voice inputs and outputs
• Onboard performance-oriented step sequencer
• Parameter locking per step
• “Control All” mode for editing several steps/tracks at once
• Up to 64 steps per track
• Pattern chaining with up to 32 patterns
• Stores up to 128 patterns in 16 banks
• Generative/random pattern functions
• Microtiming
• Two modulation tracks, routable to voices
• Two modulation CV inputs
• Individual voice CV / POKE inputs
• Individual voice outputs
• Each voice can be routed to output A or B
• Main A/B outputs are headphone compatible
• Can sequence external gear
• Sync output, sync and reset inputs
• MIDI input via TRS Type A