Haha yeah part of me thinks of it as a bizzaro world elektron device in design, being rooted in analog knob sequencers vs tracker + x0x but attempts to have a very similar feature set, some really odd choices in spots and a weird amount of redundancy with in the menus and odd sticking points when first learning (figuring out how to page through longer than 16step sequences took me way too long to find) but once you know, you know and everything more or less falls into place. My closest reference point is probably the dsi pro2 which has an easier workflow but similar analog style sequencer… the sequencer here definitely goes beyond though.
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I almost did a partial trade with @thetechnobear but wife pulled her veto. I can not recommend the spectralis too much. It’s an awesome machine. When I switched from spectralis to Elektron it drove me crazy that I have to link a kit to pattern. In the spectralis everything you changed in your sounds was stored within the pattern itself. Much more convenient for me still today
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a little snippet from my first track with it, really cool device… kind of hope Jorg revisits it someday with a MK3, I could see it with a more modern screen making the onboarding process much easier for people.
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Wow! That is fantastic! So much better than I could manage with it. Nicely done. 
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I’m sure you could make some fantastic stuff on it if it wasn’t for all that other pesky gear in your studio calling your name 
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Well, it’s calling me names, alright.
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another little bit of spec
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as mentioned elsewhere, decided to keep my Spectralis - see how I can integrate into my setup better… and perhaps make it a bit of a project 
Inside the Specie
one thing that initially surprised me is the size/weight of the Specie…
so ages ago, I opened it up to see why… and reasons are mainly…
a) German Engineering !
the build quality is fantastic, and its built like a tank !
b) It incorporates its own PSU, no wall warts here.
But what I also learnt, is that it has quite a lot of void space where the PSU is.
so first step to decide what I might to with it as a ‘project’ was to get some measurements and pictures - which I thought I’d share here, as some may be interested.
… and also as a way for me to share/save some info
EDIT: important note: PSU is 5v and +/- 1 5v NOT +/-12v. as question above.
here we can see clearly how well built and modular the specie is built.
basically we have :
- controller board ( for encoders and buttons)
- display board
- a board for the smart media board
- IO board with DSP
- 2nd DSP board
- underneath, a PSU … looks pretty standard, dual voltage pc/eurorack like
- large void space, next to PSU
Ive not reviewed the boards with the DSP (e.g. look at chipsets),
two dsp on different boards is interesting…
given the ASYN, is an digital oscillator, then analog filter… perhaps this is all on one board.
I guess as SM card attaches to the top board, that board is doing all the sample based stuff…
(all that said, theres a chunky ribbon cable between the DSP boards, so anything is possible!)
anyway, goes to show, plenty of processing power on the Specie
Possibilities?
however, the exact layout is not really what I was after…
my eyes are really on that void space
basically, we have a 24x20x3.5cm (approx) space that we could fill … and with power easy to hand.
Im thinking for digital needs that 5v supply looks useful…
that PSU looks like it could easily supply extra power (*) to other MCUS or perhaps SoC.
my current thought is something like Axoloti/Bela/RPi as a ‘sub module’
to ‘integrate’ , my ideas are :
-
midi passthrough
take the external midi in/out of spectralis directly to these boards, passing them through ‘submodule’ then back out the existing spectralis ports.
essentially, this means the Spectralis could send/receive midi to these internal modules.
whilst still retaining the existing midi functionality.
also the sub-module could inject/mangle the midi -
audio passthrough
similarly idea, severe the audio input/output jacks, and insert the ‘submodule’ in between.
again, allow the submodule to process both input and output.
with the outputs side (specie -> submodule -> out) as we have multiple outputs, we could choose to do this on SUM L/R, or one or more ‘DIRECT’ outputs.
how to use any of this (musically)
Im quite tempted to use Bela, as its really low latency… and has really good analog io.
this would open up the concept of not only audio processing, but also CV (via analog io).
for sure, the cv would end up using cv->midi (Bela -> Spectralis) , midi->cv (Spectralis->Bela), this would still be very interesting in many scenarios to integrate with eurorack.
Axoloti is (always) interesting too, again, extremely low latency… and pulls very little power from psu.
lots of options here, and this could also be used in conjunction with another ‘sub module’ , or I could use multiple one.
RPi would take more power, as Id likely use rPI4 … as theres so much space… its the perhaps the most flexible option, but Id have to think what exactly I was going to use this for…
i.e. whilst its flexible its immediate usage is less ‘obvious’ than Bela/Axoloti.
of course, other options are things like teensy/arduino… though given the space we have, we can perhaps do more… (though their extremely low latency is appealing)
Other options?
Specie diet?
I did think about putting the Specie on a diet … and removing the PSU, and so being able to almost halve the depth of the Specie.
But given its a dual voltage supply, thats not so easy… we cannot just replace PSU with a DC wall wart…
I guess one option might be to use a wall wart based Eurorack power module
IF the 2nd voltage really is ±12v, and if it supplies enough power (I think it would)
cannot use eurorack module, as Specie requires ±15v not Eurorack’s ±12v.
But not sure this adds much really… just makes it a bit shallower.
Eurorack enclosure?
I did wonder about converting to a (very large) eurorack module
the faceplate though is pretty big…about 19cm… so it have to be 2 rows high. (24cm) , this would allow for some space to put the IO above it (jacks/midi)
but you could not fit that into a conventional case (obviously), so it be more like building a custom case - with the Specie at (e.g) one end, then having two rows next to it.
the main advantage is they could (hopefully) share a common power supply.
(main disadvantage is specie is line level IO, so you definitely want to use some eurorack IO boards, though I have a few spare of those)
notes on psu/power:
- Specie uses 5v and ±15v, so specie psu would need to be stepped down for Eurorack (±12v)
- if you used a eurorack power, you’d need to step up the ±12v to ±15v and ensure enough mA.
in both cases, you’d have to measure specie mA requirements, so determine what is left for PSU for eurorack modules.
What’s next?
k, so opening up was mainly about finding what we have to work with…
and providing some food for thought on options and possibilities.
I think first step though is to get the Specie hooked up to my eurorack, with a ‘template’ setup, that integrates its use with the modular setup quickly/easily… and likely driven mainly by my Hapax.
that’ll likely help me to decide (if any) what hardware mods, I feel might add more to the specie.
does Eurorack integration add more? or pre/post processing its audio/midi?
is it worth it?
as I say, food for thought… just because you can, doesn’t mean you should 
(*) I’ll likely verify the PSU specs with Jörg/Radikal
EDIT: updated above, to reflect details from Jörg about PSU used in Specie, and using 5v, ±15v (not ±12v!)
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and here I was just thinking of duct taping a CV OCD to the back of it.
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Ha, I wondered about slimming mine down by taking the PSU into an external enclosure… Ultimately I quickly talked myself out of it, because despite being absolutely incredible, it may not be here long.
A proper engineered machine though - weighs a tonne!
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yeah, apart from aesthetics, slimming down doesn’t really add anything…
(and its a bit of a pain due to the dual voltage psu to do it neatly)
so whilst, this was my initial idea, Ive cooled too it now.
I think now, if I was going to re-case it, it’d be part of a Eurorack-ing project…
edit: Jörg has got back to me, PSU is 5v / ±15v ,
the meanwell psu provides quite a bit more that spectralis needs - so that means we could tap it for power
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Wonder what the draw the speccy is using and what that leaves behind to play with?
Depending on what you want to add to it, you may need either a DC/DC converter, or further linear regulator to get clean power to your additional circuitry. Just something to keep in mind, since it sounds like it’s using a switching PSU. Some audio gear doesn’t work great with the noise that a switching supply generally provides. I’m guessing that there’s some additional power conditioning circuitry on the main board of the Spec.
This is all a guess, but something to consider with switchers.
we’d have to measure @tIB, as Jörg wasn’t sure, he just remembered it was a “bit over spec’d”
my understanding was its a pretty standard meanwell supply, so Id assume once we take it out, it’ll still have it labels for model/rating etc - so then just a matter of measuring pull on each ‘rail’.
I suspect @J3RK its very similar to the Meanwell supplies used for Eurorack, just different voltages.
in eurorack , both switching and linear are used… whilst preferable to use linear.
however, switching is ok on a budget. (Meanwell RT65B is used in many a budget rack )
my thoughts on options :
a) slimming down w/ external psu
I just don’t see this adding much…
you’d have to convert to an external wall wart, then replace the PSU a new 5v ±15v supply powered by it… too much hassle for little gain - unless you wanted it for portability.
b) adding additional processing
for something like axoloti/bela/teensy (etc) within the existing enclose (see void space) , I think this would work very well with existing PSU.
If you moved up to something like a rPI4 (esp if you plan to use power from rpi usb host) , you might want to check draw vs supply - but it’s still likely ok.
c) eurorack
If you want portable,
then yeah, check the power draw vs supply, use a ±15v to ±12v
or follow route (a) and get 2 psu’s, one to drive specie other to drive eurorack.
( I think if I wanted smaller/portable - Id go the wall wart route + new 15v psu)
but if its not portable, then just use a second eurorack PSU using same 240v input/switch.
this means you can choose exact power rating you need for your modules.
given the size the racks going to be (to house Specie plus modules), its not really going to be a space saving issue.
(its pretty common for larger eurorack cases to use multiple supplies)
my current leaning is to build a Eurorack case which’ll also house the Specie (with existing psu) … I have a spare eurorack psu, so thats a non-issue.
(if I put the 2 PSUs at opposite ends, it’ll also perhaps nicely balance the weight a bit ;))
but for sure, it wont be light…
I had a quick think yesterday about board layouts and how it would work, within a eurorack case - and initial thoughts are, it could work out nicely - and I could build in such a way that the Specie could be restored back to its former state… that makes it a bit more attractive to do!
but, as above, Im going to first experiment on the musical side with specie + eurorack , without hardware mods.
once it becomes clear how I’ll use it musically with eurorack, then that’ll drive if I rack it or not.
generally, Id post AFTER the mods are done.
but I just wanted to share the ‘tech details’ in case others were interested … and in case, I do not get around to do it.
anyway, If I do go down this route, of course, there will be a follow up post
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Without wanting to to put you off, since our needs are probably different, the idea of modularizing the speccy seem a bit pointless to me - levels of the outs will be lower and (admittedly without looking at the rear panel) I don’t remember any pedal/cv inputs?
The sequencer is pretty fun, but without dedicated cv outs a bit pointless - the cvocd or something could add that though, but ultimately I’d personally rather keep the space in my rack and have the speccy outside, just with loads of amp and attention modules for the ins and outs.
Going back years now, I had a custom octal amp and attenuator in my rack which was very cool for interfacing. Mine was huge though - took almost a full 86hp row iirc.
So yeah, remain interested with what you decide to do with it - the b option seems a cool idea, especially if you internally normalled something like the axo to the audio ins. Ultimately though I think while huge, the speccy is such a great all in one that I’m not sure what I’d want! If the midi sequencer is useable I guess I’d probably add a cvocd internally and cv outs for the modular.
@thetechnobear see as you are currently also using the spectralis and midi, have you messed with the drums on a single midi channel? I have gotten this to work but all the drums continue to be active on all midi channels and I can’t for the life of me figure out how to deactivate that… seems like there must be the option I am missing? Been through the manual a few times with no luck searching midi as the keyword. I suppose the only think I can currently think of is to set some of the the drum channels to blank so no sound is triggered and I can pass midi through but I would want to think that is not the correct way to get it working.
Hmm, I don’t think you can turn this off… though, honestly, I’ve never tried
I can see this might be an issue if you have lots of midi thrown around your setup,
but, I always route/filter …
in my normal (everything connected ) setup everything foes through my mioXM which routes/filters midi messages. (so specie only ‘sees’ what I want it to see)
for simpler setups, I previously used a blokas midihub to do route/filtering.
though, I don’t really use much now, since my current sequencer (Squarp Hapax) has more outputs, so Specie can get its own midi output, so again a non-issue.
btw: Hapax is excellent with the Specie as its drum tracks can do both channel or notes based triggering!
I’ve come across quite a few limitations on many different instruments (e.g. fixed midi channels), and so, for me, midi routers/filters are essential - they are my Swiss army knife for midi limitations.
obviously a bit more expensive than simpler splitters/mergers (or using midi thru) - but means I can always solve (the inevitable) quirks between midi implementations.
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I see, I have considered getting a blokas but I also try to work with pretty minimal set ups which usually don’t need added routing complexity. I suppose dropping 3 drum sounds for fully midi control over my eurorack isn’t a big deal. I don’t think I have ever actually used all the Spectralis drum slots in one track anyways.
End of the day while I found a way to sort of work with drum breaks in the Spec it just really isn’t ideal, so drum breaks are back over in eurorack being sequenced from the M8 tracker and I wanted spec in the middle just incase I wanted to sequence from it. But also feeding euro back into the filter bank and that into FX.
I am actually kind of shocked how much I like the Dsynth parts the unison spread on them is just like instant beef, they are pretty limited but a great way to bring sounds out from other gear and they just sound pretty great almost instantly.
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yeah, I prefer to sequence the specie from something else… so really specie is mainly a sound source, and its sequencer is for modulation.
(I really wish you could sequence the specie filterbank via midi…)
Haha, this cool pic exactly hits the nail on it’s head!
As an very experienced Synthuser it took me some hours to get the first sound out of it. The oscillators are initially tuned to subsonic, so that you can’t hear them - very curious! - I’ve had both versions and sold them after some years. They were interesting devices but I had no fun with them. Never regretted to sell them again.