Lavendel Kranz’s lavender- and gold-colored Eurorack modules and eye-popping stand have long been a show favorite. But it’s time to free up some space to bring these home, because two must-have modules are in stock and production is ramping up. That includes ingenious ideas like a Eurorack module that outputs paraddidles.
It shouldn’t be a surprise that Schreibmaschine is a stand-out at Berlin’s Superbooth. After all, the whole point of modular is supposed to be customization and combining clever little notions into big ideas. Don’t get me wrong; I’ll happily get my mind blown by some wide module that packs a bunch of ideas into one box. But Schreibmaschine is about focusing on particular musical concepts in premium, compact modules.
Two must-have modules are available and shipping now. Discrete (in 1U and 3U) gives you all 6 Boolean operators in a compact space — AND, OR, XOR, and the inversions, NAND, NOR, XNOR. (Note to self: band name idea — “Xor and the inversions.”)
Seq 7 is another obvious top choice — a seven-step sequencer that works better for polyrhythms than a lot of the boring 1U step sequencers out there! I feel a little like someone read my mind, given my propensity to switch 8-step sequences to 7 the moment I get my hands on them.
Discrete is on a Pulp Logic power but includes the Intellijel adapter in the box; Seq 7 is on Eurorack power. And yeah, they’re powered — which is really important in this case, as you need that visual feedback. I’ll take these over some cheaper passive 1U modules for the same space.
Where do you get 1U, the narrow one-row format seen in Intellijel cases and the like? Well, you have more choices than ever — apart from DIY solutions like the ones in the booth, the mighty Doepfer is now doing a case with a 1U row, too, as seen at thse show.
If those aren’t your speed, a lot more is coming. I first wrote about these way back in 2021, including the Braniac (logic gates) and Pulsate (PWM bank), all built for the Music Thing Modular Turning Machine standard. (I forgot to ask if Schreibmaschine’s clever breadboard/prototyping system is coming back.) But now the business is ramping up, so expect some CDM check-ins through the coming months!
Paradiddle looks like a big hit. It’s a drum rudiment — the thing drummers practice while keyboardists are practicing scales. You’ve heard it even if you’re not a drummer, because this basic pattern of strokes is embedded in percussion in music. The breakthrough here is to start with a clock signal and spit out triggers and accents in that same left/right pattern. Put this together with gate logic and whatnot, and you’ve got some machine music with real musical DNA.
Speaking of fun with numbers, Schreibmaschine also wins the just-christened Greatest Blank of Superbooth. (Well, in addition to the 1HP blank to help you deal with that invariable rounding error in your rack!) It’s awesome: roll three 12-sided dice, and this Dungeon Master-slash-Oblique Strategies panel will suggest a genre and style, Madlibs-style.
Genius. Watch this space. Or go buy one of those 1U panels — plus the sports bra and the earrings are also in stock.
If you’re lucky, Lavendel will toss in one of those stickers that says “this machine kills transphobes.” Looking for a prominent position for one of those right now…
More:
https://www.schreibmaschine.berlin
The brains behind the operation; portrait by Gösta Wellmer.
