So is this effectively something like a new Nord Modular? At least in theory?
can it be my poly rhythmic looping device? not that I ever will find the time to design my own instruments thoughâŚ
Mmmm I would let the resident Nord Modular experts answer definitively, but I would say definitely similar
except editor, I think less memory for modules, no pots (I donât think the buttons are velocity sensitive or anything) and probably other things
BUT with looper. Which puts it above the Nord for me. I donât see âfile playerââŚ
YET. The other advantage is that this is current while Nord has given up on theirs.
I meanâŚprobably. Multiple looper modulesâŚmaybe with multiple sequences connectedâŚ
Check out the âmodule listâ to see the ins and outs of the modules.
itâs a cool idea overall, but since it depends so much on a screen, why not:
- make a bigger, more comfortable to look at screen
- make the effort and come op with an actual UI, not just lists with text.
It may be just me, but Iâm so tired of âquirkyâ devices as this, the organelle or the new 1010 sampling box. With so much choice, in 2019 companies should focus more on comfort / usability and overall industrial design.
rant over
It would probably jack up the price. Plus that is Empressâ usual form factor. Iâll probably be fine with it. It gets the job done. The pretty colors more than make up for the boring UI.
I enjoy this guys presentation style:
Distorsions as well !
Oh my 
So this is a small multiFX with endless possibilities through free routing, and gorgeous soundingâŚ
I told myself no more synth, but this isnât REALLY a synth, is it?
Wow, this looks really good too. There really is so much good new stuff being released these days that Iâm feeling like a rabbit in the headlights⌠headlights of synthesisation!!!
The mod duo looks interesting , a newer version with more buttons / encoders is coming.
It costs more though.
I feel the same.
I understand you.
But I think of it as a pedal that can offer a phaser, a multi and distorsion, a weird reverb, or whatever the curious FX ideas I can come up with, controlled with as many MIDI control as I want (or ZOIA can digest).
In such perspective, once an FX is programmed I shouldnât spend that much time to tweak valuesâŚ
I also guess there will be an editorâŚ
But itâs true that fewer menu diving would have been ace!
It looks like the looper max record time is 16 second per looper. (4 bar loop at 120bpm). But it seems that every parameter can be sequenced.
On that note, the module index shows what parameter can be connected to what, and the amount of possibilities is crazy. Itâs almost as versatile as a custom solution (as in organelle/axoloti/norns) without the need to be a programmer to fully customize things.
it seems like a sturdy organelle with a grid - i wonder does it have a serious CPU advantage
I think the patching looks quite elegant and well thought out, given the interface and that most other devices of this nature require a computer editor to do this kind of thing.
It would be interesting to know if it can do midi processing and filtering and logic type stuff, a shame it doesnât seem to be a USB host as that would have made adding a simple knob controller like say a microkontrol easy.
I hope that audio recording/playback to/from the sd card will come later.
Looks really interesting though, Iâll be keeping my eye on this.
This. Itâs a cool idea but it looks like itâs a nightmare to use.
I spoke to the store I ordered from; should have it by the end of the month! After watching a few vids and reading the manual I am very excited to see what this magic box does in the flesh.
A nightmare with buttons â a little lucid nightmaring would be fun.
Aside on nightmares:
(Iâve been having the weirdest terrifying nightmares lately â fortunately i am always aware theyâre just nightmares so i go with 'em and fight back.)
Something i still donât know about is the performance limitations on a patch. I guess if this shortcoming were very severe it would be a no go.
In the Sonicstate Synthplex video, the Empress guy says that reverbs âof course use the most performanceâ. I notice in the âCuckoo Mega Tutorial 1â video, when he first added a reverb, the CPU usage monitor number immediately jumped up to 33%. By the end of the video Cuckoo had the meter at 70%, and while his patch was nice, i wouldnât consider it a particularly large patch.
Iâve been looking around for a metric somewhere that shows the performance usage for the 80 or 90 various modules that can be part of a patch. I havenât found it yet.
Another thing iâd like to see is how quickly a Program Change is performed. Almost certainly this will depend on the particular patch being switched to. To me if itâs less than a second typical, iâd be OK with that â more than that and iâd not be happy. Less than a tenth of a second (which seems to me possible) and iâd be ecstatic. A fast Program Change would in some ways mitigate some performance issues â instead of building a Cadillac of a patch with every function built in, you could build a series of smaller patches with separate pieces, that youâd switch to (via Program Change).
ADDED: Watched a video from Perfect Circuit they show a lot of program changes to factory patches and they go quite quickly. Thatâs good.
An idea about outboard processing (FX send):
Another thing that occurred to me is sending audio off to an external module for things that might really bog down performance. The Zoia has a stereo output and a stereo input, so potentially you could use that, if you werenât using them for other things. That creates some shortcomings, since there is only two output channels, and two input channels. You could use one output channel for a mono send and the other for a mono output, and off-load some performance sucking function. Or you could put a module in-line after, that would post process the full stereo signal. It could even be another Zoia. This seems less than optimal, so hopefully itâs not necessary. (Although using a Eventide H9 for external processing seemed like a fun idea!)
Regarding FX send: An extra stereo set of outputs would have been very nice â getting close to something iâd consider essential â certainly if needed for a workaround on performance.
Midi to CV is definitely something that would fit nicely with some Eurorack modules and the Zoia, since there is no built-in CV interface.
ADDED: I see that you can also set the Zoia up to send CV (0-5V) out using the ring of the 1/4 inch TRS Control Port. Way cool.
Itâs early on with this thing so perhaps there wonât be that serious an issue with patch size limitation based on processor performance.
ADDED: Anyone with experience on the Zoia, who can comment on how CPU hungry the Zoia is, that would be appreciated.