It’s not just static anymore. Noise can be a source of pattern and shape, sound colors, and variety. Intellijel’s Flurry builds on the company’s previous outing in noise – and it adds a whole lot more. Here’s a first look.
I just got in the Flurry for review, so I’ll do a deeper dive soon. But I had already waxed poetic about Flurry’s predecessor, Noise Tools 1U. Honestly, I had bought up a b-stock of that module, and when I published it turned out it wasn’t available. But Flurry does all that unit did and more (meaning you might start with that review).
Flurry began with popular demand for a 3U version of Noise Tools, according to Intellijel’s Danjel van Tijn, but it grew. So you start with the combination of clock, samples and hold, basic noise sources, and slew -but then you add more.
- More noise synthesis. Now you can cycle through cymbal noise, white noise with tilt filter, a tunable white noise loop, chaotic noise, chorused and phased white noise, synthetic wind FX, Perlin noise, vinyl crackle (pops + clicks + hiss), a shortwave emulation – they clearly got carried away, in a good way.
- Pink noise is improved. Even the pink noise source is an upgrade from Noise Tools – now with a flatter response using a more complex filter.
- Morphing! In addition to all those 16 noise types, each has 2 morph parameters – and one with a modulation input.
- New sound sources. There’s also a particle generator, random frequency modulated wavelets, a bank of FM drums, 3-operator FM noise, and even a 4-op FM patch generator. So this is really a multi-functional FM oscillator.
- Slew now has direction and envelope follower. Slew is actually part of what for me makes the original Noise Tools so invaluable – you can use noise and sample & hold to generate sculpted contours for other stuff, which is the whole beauty of modular. Now it has direction – up, down, or both. Plus there’s envelope follower mode. (It’s full-wave rectified and then pre-slewed with a 75 Hz LPF, or … actually for the rest of us, let’s just stick to the “envelope follower” description).
- There’s more control of the clock. You can do fine-tuned clock control now, finally, and there’s a RUN jack for gated control. I sort of like the broad-stroke clock of the original, but it’s good to have the choice to tame it when you need.
Okay, this is yet another module with a zillion different functions packed into it that you cycle through using LED codes you may not be able to remember. Maybe that’s the lingering Mutable Instruments / custom Mutable firmware effect? (At least color is involved here – that I can probably store in my brain, even if the various blinking patterns on some modules, not so much.)
But those sources all look usable, I honestly expect an occasional happy accident as you cycle through will still be fun, and morph with modulation makes it essential.
Truth be told, if this did nothing more than stick Noise Tools in 3U as-is I’d be glad to have another module, especially with expanded slew and envelope follower. Stay tuned for a review of this one. I think the Buchla Source of Uncertainty is great, but it’s also important to have new ideas around noise sources.
Lots more details