Ornament & Crime T4.1 O.R.N.8 is the latest evolution of the original O & C with native USB MIDI support, better hardware, audio processing, and more.
Multi-function modules offer a wide range of functions in a single module, often at the expense of usability. Besides the classic but for me unusable Expert Sleepers Disting Mk4/Super Disting, there is also the open-source Ornament & Crime.
A team of developers has recently redesigned the original Ornament & Crime so it can be used with the latest Teensy 4.1 and with the Phazerville firmware.
What Is Ornament & Crime T4.1 O.R.N.8
The T4.1 O.R.N.8 is the latest version of the open-source multi-function Eurorack module. It is powered by a Teensy 4.1.
The team behind the project went even further, including an 8MB SRAM chip alongside the new CPU, making it even more feasible. For example, you can now create 12-second delays with it.
During the redesign, they also added audio ins/outs for audio processing, native USB MIDI support, an SD card slot for storage, and more. A major step forward compared to the original O&C.
The core of the Ornament & Crime T4.1 O.R.N.8 is powered by the also open-source Phazerville firmware and the apps/applets. The latter is here the core feature, as it allows you to flexibly adapt the functionality of your O&C.
On the Ornament & Crime T4.1 O.R.N.8, you can now run four apps simultaneously, so four distinct functions at the same time. And it can do almost everything.
It can perform as a sequencer, envelope generator, quantizer, MIDI-to-CV and/or CV-to-MIDI interface, oscillator, audio FX, and more via its many apps and applets.
For example, you can find clock modulators, CV recorders, digital logic, delay, drum synth voices, effects, various envelope generator types, and classic and wild LFOs.
There are also vector morphing, pitch/trigger sequencers, quantizers, random generators, shift registers, and much more. And the list of apps/applets is constantly growing.
Useability
Yes, it offers a lot of options, and since you can run four apps at the same time, you actually have 4 modules in one. But like the Disting Mk4/Super Disting, it suffers from user-friendliness issues.
Selecting applets and using functions requires navigating a menu on a small display. It’s easier than with the two Distings, but it’s not a hands-on delight. Good: the USB-C port supports display capture.
On the connection side, Ornament & Crime T4.1 O.R.N.8 has gotten a major level-up: it has eight CV ins, eight CV outs (+/- 10V 20Vpp), four trigger inputs, stereo audio I/O, an SD card slot, MIDI in/out on minijacks, and an I2C input.
The module is offered by various manufacturers. I particularly like the one from the German shop Tunefish Modular, which also produces high-quality Mutable clones and carries assembled ST Modular modules.
A highlight of the Tunefish Modular version (12HP) is the built-in USB MIDI via USB-C and USB Host. If you take it from other developers, you have to buy an expander for it.
First Impression
The O_C is a super-powerful multi-functional module. It’s very comparable to the SuperDisting, although the latter has more powerful algorithms like spectral processing, granular, multi-samples, quad Plaits and Rings…
The new O_C version has a feature I really like called Display Capture via USB-C. This is a feature I wish the SuperDisting had, because the display on the SD is super tiny. This, on the Ornament & Crime T4.1 O.R.N.8, is a bit better.
Yes, there is an external display option for the SuperDisting, but I’m almost at my wits’ end trying to find a ready-made one in the EU. Nonetheless, this is a fantastic further development of the original Ornament & Crime.
Ornament & Crime T4.1 O.R.N.8 is available now. It ranges between 299€ and 349€, depending on the builder and brand.
More information here: GitHub / TuneFish Modular
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