At KnobCon 2021, IME previewed Volkmires Inferno a granular synth, the next gen. of the Stillson Hammer sequencer & Andore Jr. envelope/LPG combo.
KnobCon took place over the weekend in the US. One of the biggest events for the US-based Synthesizer community. This year it took place almost at the same time as the Superbooth, which starts on Wednesday this week. Due to the current travel situation, some developers have decided to visit KnobCon instead of SB, understandably. One of them is Industrial Music Electronics, the Eurorack company of Scott Jaeger.
Scott did not release anything new during the show but showed prototypes of three very exciting modules that will be launched in the near future.
Volkmires Inferno
First, we have Volkmires Inferno, which is a new granular Synthesizer/sampler for Eurorack. A somewhat unusual name for a granular processor, it would rather go with a fat distortion that creates sound infernos. Yeah, not here. Volkmires Inferno is made for rich textures and sonic clouds from samples from an SD card or from a live input. Thus, it’s also a real-time granular processor.
The exact features are still unknown, but the operation is very classic and many parameters seem familiar. You get controls for the pitch, speed, start/end for the sample, density, size, variation, alt, random, feedback, and more. There are also enough CV inputs. A very exciting module. Of course, I love granular synthesis in any form. Sorry, for my not-hidden love. I’m very curious to see how it differs from other existing granular modules.
Andore Jr.
We know more about the next module. That has been in development for a long time. First appeared in 2018, Andore Jr. (12HP) combines a dual ADSR envelope, and an analog low pass gate with a VCA and different filter modes. The envelope offers independent I/O, shared controls, and continuous shape control with log, linear, and expo modes. And all this can be voltage-controlled with velocity.
According to IME, it’s an alternative to the large, “expensive” Double Andore with dual envelopes, VCA, and more.
Stillson Hammer MkIII
Lastly, Scott Jaeger also gave a preview of the third version of the beloved Stillson Hammer (MkIII) sequencer. It shaped much like the 1st/2nd versions but now comes with gate keys buttons above every step making faster programming possible. Every track also has an additional CV output that goes +/- 8 volts or can alternatively act as an additional gate output for triggering events.
If you turn all new CV outs to gate, you can trigger up to 8 drum voices what is a neat new functionality. Also new are:
- OLED display
- song mode with pattern chaining
- microSD card slot for backup your tracks
- faster workflow
Looks like a big upgrade for the Stillson Hammer sequencer.
The images and informations are taken from JAde Wii’s KnobCon coverage 2021. Thanks for the video Jade.
The new IME modules (Volkmires Inferno, Andore Jr, & Stillson Hammer MkIII) are currently prototypes that are previewed at KnobCon 2021. All details and prices will follow as they are officially published.
More information here: Industrial Music Electronics
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