You won’t fit more synths into 6HP of Eurorack (or VCV Rack module) than the newest ALM/Busy Circuits module, MCO v2. It’s a wavetable synth, an additive synth, a Roland JP8000 voice, a vocoder, a 90s VA, a bass and drum synth, and a SID chip emulation all in one.
Packing a bunch of synths into a single module was the idea of the first VCO, but this goes way further – and adds a cute little color display, reminiscent of a pocket gaming system or OP-1. If you want hands-on control with a bunch of knobs, this is absolutely not that. You get one multifunctional push-button macro knob for everything, though the color display makes that easy to manage. Everything else, you’ll do via CV input – four are freely assignable – or the internal envelopes and LFOs. But that makes the MCO v2 a programmer’s dream – and you still can use the CV inputs to control it via other modules if you choose.
You can also add CV input with Axon expanders and assign up to eight additional CV inputs. Hands-on, knobby, it is not. But this is an exceptionally patchable module – and the internal envelopes and LFOs will also go a long way.
I’m late in writing the news item because I got lost last night just playing with it in VCV Rack. I do sort of wish ALM would make a VCV-only expander so we get more hands-on control in software, as there is a whole lot of mode switching to go through parameters. But it was a decent training for what it’d be like to use the real module – especially since this is a digital VCO, anyway. In Rack, you also get the advantage of polyphonic patching. (It’s a paid module purchase, but it might be the first of the Rack modules I’d say is pretty much a must-buy for Rack users.)
I can sum up this module pretty quickly:
It does more than you think. Each of those engines is the equivalent of having a separate module – and that’s just the start, as the parameters each provides offer a huge amount of range on top of it.
It sounds brutally good. On paper this looks like an interesting range of 1990s and 2000s synths, yeah – a little SID, a little JP8000, etc. But in practice, again with those parameters, it’s even better. The drum model alone is massive. Mixing chip and lush VA and Japanese favorites is fantastic. And it’s about time for a multi-function module with a different approach. I love, love Emilie’s designs for Mutable Instruments, but we’ve gotten to the point where every app, module, keyboard, and synth repurposes them. Finally, you get something different. It’s inspired by some existing synths, sure (what isn’t?), but you get a ton of unique character once you dial in your own settings.
Modulation and CV input make it exceptionally versatile. Even in Rack, I’m finding this one worth playing around with because of all the assignable action from envelopes and CV inputs. There’s some extra work to configure at the start, but it remains useful. I imagine I’ll keep a version of this at the ready for Rack running in my DAW, even.
The modes
It’s these different voices that make this package, of course, and the key is variety:
DigiWave dual morphing wavetabl voice with pulse width modulation – excellent.
ToneSum additive synthesis (12-part), which covers its own range of unique organic tones.
BC8000 is Roland JP8000-inspired, including Supersaw, Triangle Mod, Noise and Feedback modes. (So yeah, this one module is itself a multi-module.)
Sylon vocoder gives you an FFT voice, patched to external input. (Kind of wish they’d included some internal voice on this one, though.)
Oomph bass tone / drum synth is kick drum and bass FM. By far, this is my favorite mode; it covers a wide range of FM percussion, voiced and otherwise, basslines, kicks, leads, the lot.
Virtana is like a 90s virtual analog synth. (Virtual VA?) Very Alesis-ish.
SID Guts – a C64-style chip emulation, even more useful since the company’s SID GUTS and SID GUTS DELUXE are out of production. Aliased waves, pitched digital noise, digital ring mod, and sync. If Oomph didn’t sell you on this module, SID Guts should.
$289 USD MSRP. Available now.
And I’d be into both the hardware and VCV Rack software, honestly. I’d love to see them expand on this in a plug-in form, even, as they did their drum synth/sequencer. It’s that good.
Going a bit crazy with this one already – also enjoying the artificialcolors Pick6, which was just updated, as a sequence source: