Pittsburgh Modular - Voltage Lab 2 – Innovative modern analog synthesis laboratory with integrated touch controller
Pittsburgh Modular's Voltage Lab 2 is a state-of-the-art synthesis lab that offers sound explorers a new palette of analogue textures and waveforms. Newly developed waveshaping functions, paired with powerful synthesis tools and a deep, performance-orientated controller, create a complete sound design laboratory. This instrument has a very physical sound. The sounds the synthesizer produces feel natural and alive, with traditional waveforms becoming the basis for unique new shapes and sounds that alternate between analogue physical modelling and more unfamiliar, abstract timbres.
Voltage Lab 2 has two oscillators. Each of them features a unique set of newly invented waveshaping tools that expand the sonic potential of analogue synthesis. Laboratory Oscillator 1 introduces centre clipping to analogue synthesis. Centre clipping allows independent control over the upper and lower parts of the waveform, enabling detailed manipulation of overtones and timbres without affecting the pitch. This is done by processing waveforms from the centre outwards, as opposed to traditional methods that work from the peaks inwards.
Laboratory Oscillator 2 offers a variety of new sound possibilities with two new waveshapers. Pulse Symmetry and Reflection. Pulse Symmetry creates a new type of pulse wave that adds a step between the top and bottom of the waveform. The resulting wave looks like a staircase where the depth of the centre step can be adjusted as well as the pulse width. Wave Reflection reflects the lower half of the waveform onto the upper half. Each waveform reacts differently to this. For example, a sawtooth wave transforms into a triangle, while triangle and sine waves lose their basic harmonics and jump up an octave.
The new Dynamics technology gives the Voltage Lab 2 a unique organic depth and presence.
In low-pass gate mode, the sounds lose harmonics and become warmer as they become quieter. This mimics how sound waves react to their environment. Because of this connection, the Voltage Lab 2 sounds more natural or complex compared to other instruments.
The Touch Controller 2 offers artists the opportunity to combine traditional pitching performances with the freedom to experiment, creating a flexible playground for music production. Two independent channels offer a combination of expressive real-time playing and in-depth sequencing. Assignable scales, step conditions, jumps, random effects, generative sequencing and a host of other tools allow musicians to create and interact with complex systems.
The Voltage Lab 2 includes a range of analogue time-based effects, Florist and Echos. Florist is a flanger/chorus hybrid that focuses on brighter, short time shifts with highly controlled feedback, allowing for maximum ringing before self-oscillation. Echos is a more traditional, darker analogue BBD delay that also uses highly controlled feedback to allow for a greater number of repeats before falling into self-oscillation. Both effects are perfect for traditional workflows and unconventional experiments.
The Voltage Lab 2 contains a variety of fully modular analogue and digital synthesis tools that support and extend its core functions. Analogue tools include flexible mixers, two complex function generators, noise, sample & hold and an LFO. Digital tools include external MIDI, arpeggiator and a robust random sequencer. The Voltage Lab 2 toolset is comprehensive enough for all kinds of sound experiments.
Pittburgh Modular Taiga Keyboard – Semi-Modular paraphonic Synthesizer
- Dual oscillator synthesiser with innovative analogue sound design elements.
- Two-channel, complex 16-note touch controller and sequencer.
- Fully modular synthesiser in Eurorack format with 101-point patchbay.
- Controllable via touch controller, sequencer, external MIDI, CV, gate.
- Two analogue Pittsburgh Modular Laboratory Oscillators with state-of-the-art waveshaping technology.
- Laboratory Oscillator 1 uses centre clipping
- Laboratory Oscillator 1 features the six-stage Pittsburgh Warped Wavefolder
- Laboratory Oscillator 2 with Pulse Symmetry
- Laboratory Oscillator 2 includes Reflection Wave Folder
- Ring modulator, frequency modulation (FM), bit crushing and bidirectional hard sync.
- Two multi-purpose function generators as voltage controllable envelope with or without sustain, slew, LFO, clock divider, gate delay and more.
- The function generators can be linked together
- Synthesis tools such as a flexible amplifier, an attenuator, a mixer/splitter, an LFO with two ranges and a signal splitter.
- Digital synthesis tools such as a MIDI-to-CV converter, an arpeggiator and a robust random sequencer.
- A pair of Pittsburgh Dynamics controllers. An advanced alternative to a filter and/or VCA.
- Noise generator and fully patchable sample & hold.
- Analogue effects: Florist Flanger Chorus and Echos Bucket Brigade Delay.
- Line level and headphone outputs.
- Two-channel touch controller for expressive real-time playing and deep sequencing.
- Touch Controller has 16 dedicated pitch knobs per channel and 16 shared CV channel knobs.
- Each channel offers 8 simultaneous outputs. Quantised pitch, unquantised CV, pressure, trigger, gate, envelope, a second unquantised CV and MIDI outputs.
- Inputs of the Global Touch Controller include a MIDI input, a clock input and a clock reset input.
- Inputs per channel include an active step scan input, a channel reset/1-shot input, a channel repeat input and a channel chance CV input.
- Assignable key and scale. Chromatic, major, minor or microtonal scales with up to 32 steps per octave.
- Touch controller pitch assignment can be chromatic or stepwise with the corresponding channel knobs.
- Range of the channel knobs can be set to 2, 3 or 4 octaves.
- Sequencer functions per step: pitch, gate length, envelope length, step conditions (1-100% chance, every second, etc.), chance, step shift, step length, step target jump and step roll.
- Global sequencer functions: First step, direction, touchpad mode, step quantiser, swing, humanize, sequence shift, Euclidean generator, sequence generator, fill generator, clock division.
- Each channel has its own random value that can be assigned to up to 4 destinations: Pitch, Trigger, Note Shift, Note Roll.
- The clock source can be set to internal, external MIDI or external gate.
- Assignable MIDI channels
- Included in delivery: 1x Voltage Lab 2, 1x Voltage Lab 2 Wall-Wart power supply, 20x Amazing Nazca Noodles Patch Cables, poster, thank you card with link to download the documentation
- Dimensions: 47.8 x 26.7 x 10.8 cm
- Weight: 4.39 kg
