Intellijel put a MEMS mic in a 2HP Eurorack module

Nope, this is not a contact mic. Intellijel added an omni microphone inside a 2HP module — the same microphone type as you’ll find in phones and other mobile gadgets. And that turns out to be a good idea.

I’m keen to try this one, as it’s a clever idea. MEMS are omni mics with a flat frequency response — that’s the thing that makes them incredibly forgiving when you use your phone or camera mic. Intellijel says this one is flat across a full ~ 6hz to 20kHz. I love contact mics, but honestly, this design is more versatile in more situations (even if contact mics and other devices have unique creative applications).

Of course, one of the secrets of contact mics is that you can do some of the things you do with contact mics with mics that are not contacts mics — and that’s true here, too. Think of these as being specialized by frequency response.

And as they often do, Intellijel has added a lot of smart design features:

You can control output level via the generous slider on the device or via CV input
…or do both; run CV input for output level, and use the slider as an attenuator
LED indicators for signal (green) and overload (red)
Roll-off low frequencies so you can control rumble, etc. — 180 Hz, 6dB/octave switch
And a cute design (the mic is presumably there under those concentric circles; MEMS use a mechanical cover, while the mic is on a circuit board

They also point out that if you buy two, you can do stereo. Of course, if you buy eight, you can have eight signals; you can also buy 16 Intellijel cases and position them in 16 rooms. Uh… yeah, the two modules does make some sense.

Here it is in action: