All Posts By

Nicolas

New module – Dual ADSR

By Main page blog

The SoundForce Dual ADSR is a feature-rich envelope generator with full CV control of each stage. It features 2 identical envelope sections, one on the top and one on the bottom. Each section has 4 manual sliders to control each stage of the envelope. The CV input signals are added to the manual sliders position allowing you to modulate the ADSR curves with external CV sources. More info on the product page.

It’s available right now to order at 199 euros (incl VAT for EU customers) in the webshop. Please note that the module is not yet in stock at all of my dealers, but I recommend customers to ask them about it, especially Perfect Circuit.

SFC-60 V2 out of stock – units left at Signal Sounds

By Main page blog

The SFC-60 V2 is now in my webshop out of stock. Signal Sounds still have some stock.

This product will come back with improved build quality (similar to the SFC-5 V2) and better functionalities thanks to the work and input of the TAL U-NO-LX programmer Patrick Kunz.
The price will be around 309 euros. Grab the unit at Signal Sounds if you’d like to have a more affordable unit.

 

Dealing with the Corona crisis – stay at home discounts

By Main page blog

The discount ran for 2 months. The coupon is now expired.

Hi friends,

Naturally all our friendly synth gatherings had to be cancelled due to the corona virus pandemic. In the meanwhile I am trying to spend my time doing so much prep as possible, in terms of development and production. Until this day, I can still ship and parcels are being delivered.

To encourage you to stay at home and be creative, I created a coupon that will give you 15 euros of discount on any product: quarantine

I hope this could help some of us to keep sanity and spend time doing something creative instead of feeling bored and weird.

I have been using some of that free time to build a “nice-to-have” module that was not on top of my to-do list. It’s a 4HP 6-channel drum sample player in its most basic form. No level control, no pitch control, etc… Only a trigger in and an audio out for each sound. The samples are the one-shot sounds from the 808 drum machine. I built this originally to accompany my analog 808 DIY kick and snare. This module won’t be DIY but still under 100 euros. Here is a preview of the panel below, the PCBs are going to the factory this week.

Stay at home and take care of each other.

Nicolas.

SFC-5 V2 out now!

By Main page blog

SoundForce is announcing the release of the SFC-5 V2 MIDI controller. The SFC-5 is a boutique MIDI controller for Prophet-5 virtual instruments such as the Arturia Prophet V and the U-he Repro-5. The 2020 V2 model offers fantastic upgrades compared to the original V1 model: 100% sheet metal case, wobble-free metal shaft pots and walnut side panels.

Features
With 32 rotary pots and 28 switches, you can finally control your virtual instrument in an instinctive and fun way. Create better synth sounds easier and improve your overall experience. A couple of extra “user” controls let you control for instance your external FX plugins. The controller sends out standard MIDI cc messages and can be used with any software that is MIDI-mappable. A web-based control panel app allows the user to change the cc messages number for each control and save or load different configurations.

Build quality
The enclosure is made of 100% sheet metal and is manufactured by Grawart in Poland (http://www.grawart.pl). The case is made of bent steel and powder coated in black. The front panel is aluminium, also powder coated and screen printed with scratch-proof white ink. Walnut wood side panels of 8mm thickness are fitted to both sides of the controller. The sides are made in Amsterdam by Rob Gould from http://www.gouldcaseworks.nl/

The SFC-5 V2 is a boutique-manufactured product assembled in small quantities in the Netherlands. A lot of operations are still performed by hand and automation is used when possible to improve quality and processes. The price is 299 euros incl VAT in the EU and 247 euros for customers outside the EU. You can order in the webshop. In the US, Perfect Circuit is selling the device for 280$ with free shipping! You can pre-order with confidence if the item is out of stock, as they always restock them quickly.

SFC-5 version 2 in development

By Main page blog

The stock of the original SFC-5 is now depleted in my webshop as well as at the suppliers. The product will come back very soon with the same front panel layout but an improved sheet metal enclosure (similar to the SFC-1) and beautiful walnut sides made in Amsterdam by Gould Case Works. A second run of test boards is being made at the moment, see image below.

A major improvement will be panel-mounted metal shafts pots that eliminates any kind of wobble. I used thousands of high quality plastic shaft pots with great succes and no failure so far. But it seemed that the user experience is highly improved when using more rigid pots. There will be a slight increase in the price due to the new metal enclosure and the metal shaft pot upgrade. The new price “should” be 299 euros incl VAT (original version was 249 euros incl VAT).

Introducing the Dual Filter

By Main page blog

I am happy to finally release the Dual Filter module for Eurorack.

The SoundForce Dual Filter is a 2-stage cascaded OTA design based on the late MS-20. The design has been fine-tuned with extended resonance control as well as a resonance CV input. Each filter can be either a 12dB/oct low-pass or 6dB/oct high-pass. To keep the module HPs on the low side, the filter mode setting is located on the back of the module. The module was designed to be a very affordable full-featured modern filter.

Highly efficient design:
This design attracted me very particularly due to its beautiful simplicity. With only 2 poles, it uses a total of 3 OTA ICs and 4 OP-AMP ICs for both filters even with the added resonance voltage control. Early on, efficiency and part counts were a focus during testing and development. In combination with automated manufacturing and a very short supply chain, the module has a very high quality standard at a very affordable price. The module uses only A-brand ICs and passive and no costs were cut during purchasing.

Price and availability:
It’s available right now to order at 149 euros (123 euros outside of Europe) on the SoundForce webshop, Signal Sounds and Mattech Modular.

Divkid DCO demo video

By Main page blog

I am super happy with Ben aka Divkid demo video of my DCO module. It really showcases the beautiful tones that the module can create. On top of that you get super creative patch ideas I would have personally never thought about. Check it out:

Control panels not working in latest Google Chrome version – FIXED

By Main page blog

EDIT:
This problem was fixed thanks to Pier, a customer with a lot of experience in front end development. Thanks a lot!

Hi there,

A customer let me know that the control panels stopped working with the latest Google Chrome version (on Mac Version 77.0.3865.90). A fix will come asap, in the meanwhile try to install the previous version (74.0.3729.169): For Mac and for windows.

And disable the automatic updates: On Mac and on Windows (Method 1).

Google has broken the MIDI API support on the new version, let’s hope the next version will fix that problem.

Nicolas.