the MoleS20r ( MOLESTER )

multimode analog resonant filter based on the MS20

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price:  $ 229 ::: SOLD OUT

 ::: DESCRIPTION :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

the MoleS20r ( Pronounced MOLESTER ) is a multimode voltage controlled resonant analog filter, the core of which is a clone of the OTA filter section of the KORG MS-20. i have made a couple slight changes to the original design to get more range of use out of it which i'll explain below, but the calibration that it ships with is nearly an exact reproduction. there have been some additions around the filter. first is a nice clean preamp with more then enough gain to allow you to plug a guitar level signal directly into it and to overdrive the input of the filter. the filter itself was modified to allow you to switch between highpass, bandpass and lowpass with the turn of a knob. the overall cutoff scale and max resonance peak ( far into self oscillation if you want ) are both adjustable via small screwdriver accessible holes in each side. after the filter section is a heavy overdrive distortion that at lower setting will act as a fairly clean makeup gain. there are both a control voltage input and an expressional pedal input and they work in parallel with the cutoff knob so they can all be used at once. the true bypass switch is setup with a toggle for use as a desktop device but i can replace it with a stomp switch if you want, no charge just give me a day or so to get to it. the power supply was intentionally overbuilt and the very small footprint AC wall supply is included

 ::: CONTROLS :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

gain:  this is the input gain, which is in phase, has little or no frequency loss, and can provide more then enough gain to allow you to plug low level or passive devices directly into it with no need for an extra pre-amp. at its lowest setting it simply acts as a buffer, there is no input attenuation. like all of my devices this has been designed to accept all synth, line level and instrument level inputs sources with no impedance issues so feel free to plug your synths and sound cards directly into it without the need for any stepdown.

cutoff: this is the frequency cutoff control, pretty simple. there are internal controls to adjust its reach - see scale adjust and the manual - it will not track 1v/o

resonance: this controls the overall resonance. not much more to say. see res peak adjust

filter mode switch: you have the option of using the filter in three modes. high pass, band pass, and low pass. each of them are in phase and there is no popping when switching between them. one thing of note is that the bandpass resonance peak is not at exactly the same point as the high and low pass. for example if you are in low pass mode and you have the res set to max before self oscillation and then you switch to bandpass mode you will have to turn up the resonance about one notch to reach the same resonance amount. its a very minor detail but worthy of note because if you flip it back then the low pass will be self oscillating. also of note is that the high pass mode will require you to bump up the gain to match the same level as the others. these two things are only an issue during live use obviously and are nothing at all once you get used to them.

distortion:  the distortion control at low settings will act as a clean makeup gain which means you can take advantage of leaving the input source quiet and letting the resonance overwhelm the audio and then add gain to the result. at high levels it will completely squarewave the output.

output:  this is just the output volume control

bypass switch:  the toggle is true bypass and if you would like it changed to a stomp switch just let me know, via email with a note or what email you used to pay for it so i don't confuse things and then give me a day or so to get it done. no additional charge

res peak adjust: there is a tiny hole in the right side of the case that allows you to insert a small screw driver to adjust an internal trim pot. this trim pot gives you control over how strong you want the resonance to be. so for those of you that play live and don't want to hit self oscillation by accident, which is very loud, you can use this little trim pot to set your max res to just under self osc and not have to worry about it ever happening, and for those of you that want to occasionally use the molester as a VCO you can turn this trim up and then turn the top res knob up and it will self oscillate giving you a sine shape that can then be turned into a squarewave with the distortion control. it will not track 1v/o

scale adjust: there is another tiny hole in the left side that will let you adjust the overall pitch scale of the filter cutoff over a small range. this will let you adjust the lowest point of the cutoff and/or the cutoff response to incoming voltage control. it will not track 1v/o - if you need it there is also one internal trim pot that will allow you to adjust the highest pitch as well - see manual - coming soon

input jack:  the mono input is on the right side and marked with a triangle pointing into the box.

expression pedal input:  the expression pedal input gives you external control over the cutoff. this control works in parallel with the cutoff and CV inputs so you can use them all at the same time and they will effect each other - just to be safe there is over voltage protection on this input too in case you accidentally plug the wrong thing in

CV pedal input: the control voltage input gives you external control over the cutoff by sending it a voltage from very small to +/-9v. this control works in parallel with the cutoff and CV inputs so you can use them all at the same time and they will effect each other - over voltage protection on this input of course

audio output jack:  the audio output is on the left side and marked with a triangle pointing away from the box

WARNING:  although i don't see it happening i just want to formally say that i am not responsible for damage to other equipment. use common sense - with self oscillation and the distortion section you can easily destroy speakers if you don't watch your levels. i've already done this myself and its incredibly inconvenient, but more my stupidity then anything

::: CALIBRATION PROCEDURE :::

 ::: SAMPLES ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

these samples a little bit of a mess, i'm still learning this thing myself, its of course capable of super clean filtering but i got bored with that and spent a lot of time overdriving the input and using the distortion along with the filter to get as many different sounds as i could.

standard disclaimer:  these samples are just me hitting record and messing around in an attempt the show you the full range of options with no musical intent whatsoever. they are all from one single pass, cut in 3min pieces for size. no effects or editing were used at all so some volumes are a little quite in places. people that make samples that have been smashed with compression or are smeared with reverb or delay are fucking morons that are trying to hide or exaggerate their results. as usual with any sample not labeled as being made by someone other then myself you can feel free to use these in your own work.

 ::: DETAILS :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

the first run had a slightly different layout