Expert Sleepers get General MIDI sound set under creative CV control in elegant Eurorack module

Following a successful showcase at SUPERBOOTH 17 in Berlin back in April, Eurorack module-maker and audio plug-in developer Expert Sleepers is proud to launch General CV — combining a powerful General MIDI synthesizer with a multichannel CV-to-MIDI converter alongside a host processor capable of generating huge amounts of MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) data, either from the incoming CVs (control voltages) or entirely algorithmically… and all housed in an elegant Eurorack module.

By bringing the Nineties back to the Sixties, General CV’s software provides a layer of control over the synthesizer that allows adventurous users to create sounds stretching far beyond the familiar — cheesy, even — tones of General MIDI with which they may already be familiar. From making the synth behave like a VCO (Voltage Controlled Oscillator) to creating complex chords and textures — even to abusing drum sounds into pitched sources, General CV brings rich pickings of fresh flavours to Eurorack’s à la carte modular menu.

Marrying the past with the present, General CV can also be coaxed into playing MIDI files of any Eighties pop tunes that may have been ‘inadvertently’ downloaded from the web. Wise to a tee, Expert Sleepers Director Andrew ‘os’ Ostler’s outrageous General CV pitch perhaps can be taken with a pinch of (synthesized) salt. “For too long, Eurorack users have been denied important sounds, such as ‘Voice Oohs’, ‘Orchestra Hit’ and ‘Shakuhachi’," says the Eurorack expert, before adding: ”We’re delighted to finally bring these classic tones under CV control where they belong."

But jesting apart, General CV has a number of modes of operation, including: behaving like a modular VCO, but using a massively multitimbral and polyphonic synthesizer engine as its tone source; automatically creating chords and arpeggios from a pitch CV; playing MIDI files from an MicroSD (Secure Digital) card, including special support for playing loops synchronised to a clock pulse; and acting as a drum machine with up to nine independent drum trigger inputs. Each mode also benefits from internal four-band EQ, as well as stereo chorus and reverb effects.

Connectivity comes courtesy of nine inputs and two outputs — all on 3.5mm mono (TS) jack sockets. The outputs are labelled L and R, respectively, and are simply the stereo audio outputs from the General MIDI synthesizer with a maximum output level of  around ±8V (16V peak-to-peak). X- and Y-labelled inputs are digital, typically used for gates or clocks — simple on/off signals (with an expected voltage range of 0 to +5V); inputs 1, 2, and 3 are analogue, 10-bit unipolar CV connections (with an expected voltage range of 0 to +5V); inputs 4 through 7 are high-resolution analogue, 14-bit bipolar CV connections (with an expected voltage range of -5V to +5V) — all are protected from damage due to voltages outside the recommended range (so long as they remain within the Eurorack standard ±12V).

Five front panel-positioned rotary encoders also serve as push buttons, enabling easy access to various functions dependent on the current mode of operation, but, generally speaking, set to work as follows: A (navigate the system); B (turn to adjust parameter; push to advance to next parameter page; push in, hold, and turn to scroll through parameter pages); C (turn to adjust parameter; push to return to first parameter page); D (turn to adjust parameter; push to display mode-specific information); E (turn to adjust parameter; push to show input key).

General CV users need not ‘fly blind’, however. Helpfully, a small, but perfectly formed, display screen perfectly in keeping with the 12HP module makes eagle-eyed navigation a much more straightforward proposition than the 4HP-smaller-sized SUPERBOOTH-showcased prototype preceding the finished article. “Under the hood it remains basically the same thing,” its creator concludes on a more serious note: “It’s a General MIDI-based module, but completely CV controlled, with a general concept that you access the tremendous synthesis power of a General MIDI sound chip, but through CV in a very creative way.”

Guiding General CV creativity still further, the ‘General MIDI’ module follows in the footsteps of Expert Sleepers’ similarly-distinctive disting mk4 — the latest (fourth) improved iteration of its award-winning ‘many-in-one’ multifunction Eurorack module successfully showcased at The NAMM Show 2017 in Anaheim, California — by also including the company’s eye-catching red and blue backlit sockets… surely sealing the deal for anyone wishing to take the 1991-vintage General MIDI standardised specification for electronic musical instruments that respond to MIDI messages kicking and screaming into today's wonderful world of Eurorack with creative CV control possibilities that are out of this modular world!

General CV is launching at SynthFest UK (http://synthfest.co.uk) in Sheffield on October 7, 2017 and available thereafter from Expert Sleepers resellers (http://expert-sleepers.co.uk/store.html) worldwide with an MSRP of £269.00 GBP (inc. 20% VAT)/€299.00 EUR (inc. 19% VAT)/$349.00 USD.

For more in-depth info, please visit the dedicated General CV webpage here: http://expert-sleepers.co.uk/generalcv.html

About Expert Sleepers (www.expert-sleepers.co.uk)
As a one-man (Andrew Ostler a.k.a. ‘os’) operation, British brand Expert Sleepers started life back in 2002 as an audio plug-in developer — its amusingly-named Augustus Loop tape-based delay effect emulation (with extra features to facilitate its use as a looping device) quickly found favour with ambient music pioneer Brian Eno, who was moved to kindly comment: “When I hear anything by ES, I get excited by what I’m hearing.” 2009’s Silent Way suite of plug-ins designed for use with analogue synthesizers — especially as part of a modular analogue synthesizer system — soon led to a move towards the ever-expanding Eurorack modular marketplace with the first hardware product — the (now-discontinued) ES-1 audio/CV interface module designed for use with software such as Silent Way — making an appearance in 2010. Since then, the company continues to innovate in its core business of computer-synth interfacing, albeit admittedly going off-tangent in 2014 with the award-winning disting — a ‘many-in-one’ multifunction module based around a PIC® Microcontroller (MCU) offering a variety of CV and audio processing algorithms, including a selection of oscillators (LFOs/VCOs), alongside a sample (WAV) file and MIDI file player with a variety of options for sample triggering and playback speed — that continues to be Expert Sleepers’ best-seller by far, now in its improved mk4 iteration.
© 2017 Expert Sleepers Ltd