Neutral Labs Scrooge is a new glitchy, malfunctioning passive semi-modular analog Synthesizer from the Elmyra 2 hybrid drone synth maker.
The young German company Neutral Labs’s first big commercial success was the Elmyra 2, a hybrid digital-analog drone synthesizer with many features. Now, it’s also available in a nicer bamboo design—bye-bye plastic.
Today, we welcome the company’s second big release. It’s called Scrooge, a passive semi-modular synth with a broken, “malfunctioning” sound.
Neutral Labs Scrooge
Scrooge is probably one of the weirdest and wildest-sounding synthesizers of the year. It’s a semi-modular generator available as a 42HP Eurorack module or as a standalone desktop synth. You have the choice, and the desktop is also usable as a Eurorack module.
The core uses a newly developed analog circuit with special ingredients. It features five distinct, fully analog voices of special circuits using CMOS components, CD4069, CD4093, and more. In addition to its experimental designs, another unique feature is that its voices work without dedicated power supplies.
Instead, the voice architecture follows a passive design where they scrounge power from the sequencer control signals, giving them an organic, wobbly, and broken quality. This makes the unit passive, and you won’t have to power it if you sequence it from external gear. A concept that is reminiscent of the Landscape Noon drum synth.
Each voice then has its volume control and two parameters. The sounds are wild and range from boomy kick drums, clicky hi-hats, or metallic snares up to glitchy, crackling, distorted timbres. This is definitely not yet another classic subtractive analog Synthesizer.
The A&B function is charming. Here, you can send the sound to the A or B main output; the middle position is mute. This means you can process each output (X/Y) differently. For example, they can be routed to other modules, FX pedals, and more.
Sequencing
The built-in advanced performance-oriented sequencer is a powerful element of the Neutral Labs Scrooge, turning it into a rhythmic glitchy multifunction generator/Synthesizer.
The sequencer has five voice tracks, each with a custom step length of up to 64 steps, plus two modulation tracks. The latter can be routed to the voices individually using the X-Y switch. Also onboard is a pattern chaining option with up to 32 patterns, aka song mode. You can store up to 128 patterns in 16 banks.
Neutral Labs Scrooge also incorporates a generative algorithm that outputs random variations of patterns or creates random patterns from scratch. This is great because it is also available while performing, so you don’t have to interrupt your workflow to use the algorithm.
That’s not all. The Scrooge sequencer also offers parameter locking per step, and a unique performance-oriented control all mode. You can change parameters for several steps and tracks at once. In addition, you get micro-timing support and CV slew limiter per track.
Connectivity
Neutral Labs Scrooge is fully integrable into the modular world. A solid audio and CV connectivity set provides plenty of patching and routing options. You get individual voice audio outputs and voice CV inputs that respond well to audio signals.
The so-called Poke inputs allow you to feed the analog voices with gate signals and thus play them without power supplies. You can find sync in/out, reset input, and a TRS type A MIDI socket in the same row.
SequencerTalk did an early hands-on demo in their latest episode 221.
Neutral Labs Scrooge First Impression
A very fascinating, wild, semi-modular experimental synth. I’m sure the new Neutral Labs synth will polarize the synth community. Just like the Landscape Noon did. For many, it will be a random fart machine; for others an inspiring device that is suitable for both experimental and industrial genres.
Broken, noisy, glitchy, wobbly, industrial—that’s precisely why I like the device. There can be more crazy ideas like that. We already have enough Minimoogs and SH-101s, so bring on the unique ideas.
Neutral Labs Scrooge is available now as a 42HP Eurorack module or standalone semi-modular synth. The price will be +/- the same as the price tag of the Elmyra 2 Synthesizer, which costs 620€ and Eurorack 570€.
More information here: Neutral Labs
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