L'ÉCORCHEUR
MANGLING DISTORTION FILTER
L’ECORCHEUR is an aggressive distortion filter with a unique character. You’ll need a few tweaks here and there to bring more presence to your sound.
Equipped with an overdrive input, a resonante distortion and a feedback glitchy sub-oscillator, a crusher and a grr-gritty diode limiter at the output.
The filter will allow you to sculpt your signal substantially without overwhelming your global mix. In focus mode : A transparent equalization is applied to the low and mid frequencies, the perfect asset for your live set.
Imagine the lead guitar of a rock band, the shredder, the rebel! “ Can y’all hear my solo?!". You get the vibe?
As a filter, L’ECORCHEUR doesn’t really have a specific pole nor a mode, it varies between a Lowpass and bandpass from -6db to -12db depending on the position of the "ZONE" knob. Furthermore, some settings combined with “ZONE DIZZ” will enable you to generate a hipass.
After extensive research and building a fair amount of prototypes, I finalized the creation of L ‘ ÉCHORCHEUR by exploiting exotic components to maximize its very full potential. This could justify the 'Happy accident' vibe that defines the unique features of L’ÉCORCHEUR!
MANTRA :
"GO HARD OR GO HARD!"
CONTROLS :
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REZ :
Adjusts the filter’s resonance and the ZONE’s Q.
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ZONE DIZZ :
Deforms the bandwidth and accentuates the level of the Q point until saturation and unveils the full power of the GLITCHZR.
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CV1 :
Attenuverter, controls the voltage of the ZONE, perfect for modulation
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CV2 :
Attenuator for the second voltage control of the zone, allows to manage the level of pitch tracking with the resonance to the maximum (oscillator mode)
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GLITCHZR/CV3 :
If nothing is plugged in the input of CV3, this potentiometer will control the level of glitches. Expect some unpredictable results above 20% of its curve, as well as granular audio slicing or…the silence !
This function is highly sensitive to ZONE DIZZ and to the combinations of different functionalities.
For example : At very low ZONE with a tiny amount of GLITCHZR, you can achieve crazy distorted effects and the infamous sovage overdriven guitar amplifier tone!
And if you turn ZONE fully clockwise, GLITCHZR is now acting as a full range low frequency cut.
When a cable is plugged into the CV3 input, it becomes an attenuator of the third voltage control of the ZONE.
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ZONE :
Adjusts the Q point of the ZONE and acts as a cutoff frequency of the filter.
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ZONE DIZZ MODE :
Circuit selector between two circuits
FOCUS : Cleans the overall low frequencies with a dip between 100hz and 250hz and excites the medium and high spectrum depending of your audio source.
LOOSE : Is the "normal" mode, it deactivates this equalization by leaving the low spectrum intact, ideal for making simple ACID bass lines or some real dirty low drone texture.
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INPUT OVERDRIVE :
Manages the volume input reaching the first stage of distortion.
Drastically changes the overall behavior of the module.
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CLIPPER/LIMITER :
Controls the depth of the diode limiter. This function also increases the level of your signal so you can lower the INPUT OVERDRIVE without activating the first saturation stage too much.
This happens to be practical for subtle results and the preservation of the source’s dynamic. However, it becomes pretty aggressive when used as a brickwall limiter. No mercy for your audio source that won’t be able to exceed a certain threshold (while being destroyed of course
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CONNECTIVITY :
INPUTS :
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CV1 : CV input for controlling ZONE.
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CV2 : Zone CV Input (Breaks the Glitchzr feature if something is plugged).
OUTPUTS :
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ZONE OUTPUT : LP Filter’s audio output pre distortion and limiter.
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OUTPUT : Main audio output.
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TECHNICAL INFOS :
Current consumption :
+12v : 20ma
-12v : 20ma
5v : 0ma
Width : 10hp
Depth : 12mm (27mm at ICs top)
Front Panel : Aluminium "Raw dusty black"
MEDIA :
MODULARGRID
Reviews
Seriously phenomenal filter. If you want it to be 'tame', it can be....sort of. Yet once you start pushing it Rez/Glitcher/Dizz/Overdrive JESUS there's literally pictures falling off of the walls. My original favorite thing to do was run Noise Engineering's LIP through it on super sustained notes over a couple of bars, just fuzzing up the whole damn track. And then I got my hands on the oh-so-rare Le Dechu and they are a perfect match for analog madness.