Modular Monthly

Creative Limiting

You’re in a bar and in walks a slim, 6hp, seemingly simple Eurorack module and what do you do? Beyond questioning your own sanity, you probably wouldn’t think much of it. But – and we can’t say this enough – utilities are the things that totally ignite a modular system, so don’t overlook them. Why? Well the L-1 from DPW Designs may seem utilitarian in nature but it unlocks serious sound design power in the Eurorack format. The L-1 is a triple channel limiter that can be AC or DC-coupled (more on that later) and has a simple input-level-output per channel. It’s deceptively simple but distortion, compression, limiting, waveshaping, adding additional hold stages to envelopes, clipping LFOs, adding PWM to anything, asymmetrical clipping and more lies within. A lot of the power comes from the operation to work with the unit DC-coupled, which simply means it doesn’t block out sub audio signals. That’s exciting because you can use it with CV sources such as static offsets, LFOs, random or envelopes. You can clip simple envelopes by driving them into the limiter which creates hold stages, or you could clip an LFO to add square edges to the wave shapes or simply use a DC offset to push another signal further into positive or negative voltages so the limiter acts asymmetrically. When not used for more obvious shaping that we can easily hear in audio or notice in modulation, the L-1 works well as a three-channel safety net for your levels, keeping things in check within its -5V / +5V working range.