Mutable Instruments Ears

Descrizione prodotto

Mutable Instruments EARS is our take on Tom Whitwell’s Mikrophonie module – a Contact Microphone and Amplifier in Eurorack Modular format allowing you to generate a large palette of sounds by scratching, tapping, and more generally collecting any kinds of acoustic wave surrounding your modular case, even speaker feedback.

Mutable Instruments EARS is a perfect match for physical synthesis modules like Rings or Elements, but it can also be the gateway between external audio sources and your modular system.

Its built-in amplifier section can provide up to 40dB of gain, with a high impedance input suitable for guitars or other electro-acoustic instruments. It will effortlessly deliver clean amplification for line level signals or external contact microphones. Compared to the original Mikrophonie, Ears has been augmented with an envelope follower, and its amplification section has been redesigned from scratch for low noise and low distortion.

A large palette of organic, physical sounds can be generated by scratching, tapping, and more generally collecting any kind of acoustic waves surrounding your modular case – even speaker feedback.

With its built-in envelope follower and gate detector, Mutable Instruments EARS can also be the gateway between external audio sources and your modular system.

Technical characteristics:
– Audio amplifier with 1M input impedance, up to 40dB of gain.
– Envelope follower with 3 preset attack and release times (adjustable by jumper).
– Gate detector with 3 preset sensitivity levels (adjustable by jumper) and +8V gate output.
– Three indicator LEDs: amplifier clipping (red), envelope follower level (white), gate detector activity (orange).
– 4-HP.
– Current consumption: +12V: 5mA ; -12V: 5mA.
– Open-source hardware.

EARS for your modular
– Built-in contact microphone soldered right under the front panel, turning the panel and your entire case into a microphone.
– Increasingly spaced ridges on the panel, generating sonically interesting pulses or impulse combs when rubbed. Strike, pick or scratch digital resonators like Rings, Elements or the 4ms SMR.
– High-quality amplification stage suitable for external contact microphones, electro-acoustic instruments like guitars, or plain line-level signals.

Extending the Mikrophonie
Compared to the Mikrophonie, Mutable Instruments EARS has additional outputs:
– Envelope follower, translating the decaying amplitude profile of a tap into an envelope CV.
– Gate detector, translating taps into gate signals.
– Envelope follower and gate detector can process external signals.

Mutable Instruments EARS Specifications:
– Audio amplifier with 1M input impedance, up to 40dB of gain.
– External input bypassing the built-in contact microphone.
– Envelope follower with 3 preset attack and release times (adjustable by jumper).
– Gate detector with 3 preset sensitivity levels (adjustable by jumper) and +8V gate output.
– Three indicator LEDs: amplifier clipping (red), envelope follower level (white), gate detector activity (orange).

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