There are a few builtin envelope types right now - ADSR, a Skewed Sin (kind of an AD envelope with parabolic shape), and an envelope follower. You can also use the sample players to play back CV. So you could record an envelope from something else or even hand wiggle one into a one of the looper/recorders, then trigger it and play it back at different speeds.

You can have a pretty large number of envelopes and VCAs. One thing to keep in mind is that the ER-301s outputs are AC coupled, so you can’t output low frequency CV signals. However you can bring audio signals in through the many inputs, and use the internal envelopes/vcas to control the signal. It’s also a great mixer.

As far as the generated oscillators go, the sine oscillator is really nice and fully featured with sync, linear and expo FM, phase modulation. The saw and triangle waveforms are not anti-aliased at this point. I like the sound of them but they could be too digital for you depending on your tastes.

The firmware is less than half finished (currently on v0.4) so I think there’s a good chance we’ll see more generated oscillator types and anti-aliased versions at some point. Then again, I don’t recommend buying something for what it may do in the future. Make sure there’s enough to make it worth it for you as is, and anything added will just feel like a bonus.

The sample players can loop any single cycle waveform you care to import, though, and you get V/Oct control of the pitch. So in that respect your choice of oscillators is pretty unlimited. Any single cycle waveform you can download or sample yourself can become an oscillator and it sounds as good as the source. The manual grains unit also turns samples into an interesting oscillator.

The filters are digital obviously. I like them a lot. RIght now there are 24db low and high pass resonant ladder filters, a 3 band parametric EQ, and a convolution unit that can handle short (<0.5sec) IRs - very usable for filters, but only very short reverbs.

I think one of the huge strengths of the ER-301 is that just about everything can be CV controlled.

Hope that helps some. Happy to answer more questions.

6 Likes

Wow, didn’t know the ER-301 could use single cycle wave forms as oscillators, that changes everything.

1 Like

One thing worth adding is that as a granular synth, it’s pretty great, too.

1 Like

How do the granular possibilities and sounds compare to clouds? Or is it not comparable at all?
And is it capable of providing (separately) a decent reverb and delay?

With the 301, everything is up to the person doing the virtual patching. For instance, with granular, it’s easy to set an external offset knob to control the amount of randomness introduced to the selection of each new grain. But you have to patch it yourself (for this, I’d select the Start parameter of the granular unit, insert a S&H feeding random numbers to the Start parameter, and then have the range of the S&H controlled with a VCA ā€˜unit’ within the 301, controlled by the external, physical offset knob).

It’s possible to build very refined units and to save them for later recall, or to use those that others have used.

To answer the specific Clouds question: The fabulous @rbeny built Ultraviolet, which is basically Clouds within 301. But unless you take the time to map the parameters of a given unit to external offset knobs or other controls, it won’t be very tactile. For me, the main draw of dedicated units over doing it in the 301 is the tactility and purpose-built control scheme, complete with labeling. Also, I wouldn’t try and emulate characterful analog modules, because it’ll be a compromise. My thinking is that I just patch and experiment with the 301, and once I start ā€˜reaching’ for a given unit/function within the 301 all the time, I might as well buy it as a dedicated module.

There are also things that seem like they could only reasonable exist within the 301 – for instance, user Mudlogger on the O|D site has done a fantastic collection of small units that bleep, belch, scream and tick – random or semi-random. You won’t find such a collection in module format, or at least it would get big, expensive and crazy :slight_smile:

Concerning reverb and delay: There’s Freeverb on the unit, which is passable – I wouldn’t buy a 301 for the reverb. Then there’s a bunch of delay units, which allow for crazy flexibility, but again, you need to build it yourself or use those others have built. There’s Trash Tape, a really really nice lo-fi delay built by @scttcmpbll , so you’re not forced to do it from scratch.

6 Likes

I probably shouldn’t mention that you can assemble a collection of single cycles, put them in the wave table oscillator, and interpolate between them then. :wink:

7 Likes

(i might be repeating myself but) one thing i use the 301 a lot for, is to have 3 or 4 different manual grains units, with different sample buffers, triggered and modulated by signals that are related but not in unison. Add some panning and you can get rich particle trails.
(i used this method for almost everything in this track)

I have a clouds that i wanted to use to offload the 301 from granular duties but in the end i use clouds in a different way. It’s quite difficult to compare.

3 Likes

It can also use single cycle waveforms as waveshapers. :smiley:

2 Likes

I couldn’t edit and update my old post here so here’s a link to 28 custom units I made for the er301. These have been upgraded to the latest firmware and were originally 15 units. There are clips of the newer units higher in the thread

9 Likes

Oh, very interesting- how do we do that!?

There’s a Sample Mapping unit, or something like that. It treats a selected sample as a 1-dimensional table of values, and uses the input signal as the index into the table. So if you use a linear rising ramp for the sample it has no effect, but give it a curve and it will act as a waveshaper. If you use a sine for the sample, and add a VCA in front that can amplify the gain, it can act as a wavefolder :slight_smile:

5 Likes

Hello here !

Here’s a little track made with the ER-301. Such a great unit. Track is made with only one sample and of course JF is making his apparition in it !

Have a good sunday

5 Likes

@Starthief do you remember what the sample mapping unit is called? I’m looking for something that I can automate the start points of the sample based on CV (similar to how on an Elektron box you can parameter lock the sample start point, direction, etc).

I appreciate it!

That wouldnā€˜t work with that unit I believe, what youā€˜re looking for is probably something like the variable speed player where you can scan through slices of a sample using CV.

I thought it was called ā€œSample Mapā€ or something very similar, but it may have had its name changed with a newer firmware version.

gotcha. I know in the Octatrack you can slice up a sample, but you can also just automate the start (or end) points, thus not constrained by the slices you create (or don’t create).

That should also be possible in the sample player units. You might possibly also need to look at the granular units but it’s definitely in there.

the Manual Loops unit allows you to CV control the start point and length of the portion of a sample that is played.

2 Likes

you’re awesome, thank you! I just got the ER-301 last week so I’m still a n00b!

1 Like

you can modulate the ā€œshiftā€ parameter of the variable speed player:

http://wiki.orthogonaldevices.com/index.php/ER-301/Variable_Speed_Player

Screen Shot 2019-12-16 at 4.50.05 PM

3 Likes