Meet the modules (part 2)
Delay
The Delay module offers a quick and easy way to add a bit of echo to your signals – especially useful for those classic Tangerine Dream-styled sequences. Delay Time of up to 2s is available, as is control over the Feedback amount. A Dry/Wet Mix knob controls the blend, and a High Cut filter allows you to roll off high frequencies for a more muted tail-out.
Oscilloscope
Oscilloscopes have been a favourite tool of modular synthesists ever since Keith Emerson first hauled his massive Moog system onstage with its kludged 'scope glowing eerily from the top row. This one gives you control over Range and Zoom, and there's a Freeze function for taking a longer look at the signals in play.
Distortion
It's crunch time! Voltage Modular Nucleus offers a handful of familiar effects modules, and we're pleased to see that distortion hasn't been left out. Unlike a typical fuzz pedal, this one allows you to select Distortion Amount as a modulation target. An Output Level knob provides a bit of compensation for any drastic gain changes imparted by the effect.
Dual VU Meter
It may not be as comprehensive a reference as the oscilloscope, but you can learn a lot at a glance with a VU Meter, especially one with the ability to track control voltage signals as well as audio signals. With two independent VU meters, this one gives users the ability to add text labels to each channel. You can also switch the Meter Colour between Amber and Black.
Spring Reverb
Reverberation is an easy way to impart a signal with atmosphere, and mechanical reverbs such as the spring-based units this module mimics were an intrinsic part of early electronic music. This one's a stereo job, with control over the reverb effect's Decay time, Input level and Mix of wet and dry signals. There's not a lot to play with here, but it can add a splash of vintage vibe to any patch.
Multiple
One of the most unassuming yet crucial modules in any modular system – so much so that many hardware semimodular synths, such as ARP's 2600 and Moog's Grandmother, have them built in. The Multiple is merely a bunch of jacks wired to one another so that any signal present at one jack will be available to the rest. It's the easiest way to send one signal to a bunch of destinations and vice-versa.