Malstrom Audio Wyvern is a new stereo saturation module with various distortion flavors and built-in filtering that makes your sounds a hot affair.
To bring character and warmth to sounds, music producers and sound designers often use distortions and saturations. Tools with which you can give sound volume, more bottom, and that lovely warm crackling. These harmonize particularly well with digital synthesizers, which often benefit the most from this heat.
The impact the heat has on the sound depends on the dose. You can easily infuse it to make everything crackle nicely or make audio destruction with higher or extremer values. A Eurorack module with which you can do both and also fine-tune the effect on top is the new release from Malstrom Audio, the developers of the Mandrake kick drum.
Malstrom Audio Wyvern
Wyvern is a new 12HP stereo saturation module. It’s more than that. The developers have exposed the elements of a solid saturation and made them accessible on the panel, turning it into a multifunctional processor. In this case, it offers a filter EQ, saturation, VCA, dual filter, and dry/wet balance.
This deconstruction of the saturation also allows for different combinations of the stages to achieve various results. A closer look at the different elements:
It starts with a 1v/oct trackable filter EQ with high-self, low-shelf, and bell curves to boost and diminish parts of the spectrum. When the gain is set to a minimum, the EQ curves turn into low-pass, high-pass, and notch, respectively. You can emphasize a certain frequency using the resonance control—gently but also with higher amounts for a screamy timbre.
Then, it goes into the saturation stage, consisting of three types (soft and hard clipping and allpass distortion) and a dedicated drive control. An interesting type is here the allpass distortion that adds phase shifts and distortion to your sounds.
The saturation stage also has a clip indicator, a boost switch to scale the input signal, and a level control that can function as a unipolar VCA. The boost switch is handy for adding more or less harmonics.
After the saturation, the signal goes into a dual filter with non-resonant high-pass and low-pass filters. The filter allows you to select a frequency band from the previous stages. Along with a dry/wet signal.
Whether you are looking to destroy your sound or go for subtle analog warmth; Wyvern has got you covered. Even when not used for saturation alone. It can be a Stereo Tone Controller, EQ, Filter, VCA and Phaser, all and anything in between. Making it a very fun and powerful sound design tool!
First Impression
This is an exciting analog saturation module with which you can heat up your sounds nicely. At only 12HP, it also has a very good size. A lovely release.
Malstrom Audio Wyvern is available now for 399€, incl. VAT.
More information here: Malstrom Audio
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