Cyclex VCO and Cyclex LFO are oscillator modules which synthesize waveforms using looped simplex noise. A bank of switches gives the user direct control over the seed number that’s used to generate Cyclex’s internal noise space, as well as altering certain internal parameters, giving each seed number its own characteristic timbre. This unique form of synthesis, combined with some built-in clipping, produces a range of sounds from simple waveforms to complex, somewhat FM-like, sounds. While Cyclex VCO operates in the audio-range and produces sound directly, Cyclex LFO generates useful low-frequency control voltage (CV) signals using similar techniques.

Frames is a sequencer module inspired by music tracker software used for creating retro computer music and popular with today’s chiptune artists.
At the center of Frames is the pattern editor--a grid of cells where each row represents an individual frame. Frames will step through the pattern each time its clock input is triggered. Each frame can control the note value, up to three parameter values, as well as whether the note should be treated as legato or disabled by the gate. As of now, the pattern editor is only editable using a mouse to click and drag on individual cells.
Frames can store up to 256 different patterns and switch between them using the pattern selector buttons at the lower left corner of the module, as well as by sending note-aligned voltages into the pattern input. There is also a special wrap output that emits a voltage each time the pattern wraps back to the first frame.

The Nessie modules are a set of oscillators which emulate the classic sounds produced by retro chips such as the 2A03 (Nessie Pulse, Nessie Tri, and Nessie Noise) and VRC6 (Nessie Saw). Nessie Pulse produces a pulse wave with four different duty cycle patterns. Nessie Tri produces a smooth triangle wave with an octave shift switch. Nessie Noise produces periodic, pseudo-random noise with two different modes for a variety of crunchy lo-fi sounds. Finally, Nessie Saw produces funky sawtooth wave patterns that can be warped and distorted by altering the slope parameter.

Quan is a straight-forward chromatic pitch quantizer--you decide which notes you want to hear and Quan will snap the input to one of them. That’s not all though, at the top of the module there is a switch to control the distribution of those notes across each input volt. When Quan is set to uneven distribution, the input voltage will always be snapped to the nearest pitch. However, when set to even distribution, pitches will be assigned evenly across each input volt. In effect, this can create very different rhythmic patterns when the input pitch is swept and shifted up or down.

The remaining modules are practical tools that we’ve found to be useful in our patches. First up is Const, a module for generating up to four constant voltage outputs within the expected range. Then there is X-Fade which, as the name suggests, is a crossfader with an optional input jack for control voltages.