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Analogue signalprocessor 'ebbe und flut' - much more than a filter!


Are you wondering about what 'ebbe und flut' is? 'ebbe und flut' is a no compromise and absolutely high end sound design machine for musicians, live performer and producers and for all people, who love high sophisticated analogue gear.

The concept is an integrated modular system, working either as a stand alone unit or as a well integrating part of a modular system.

The core of this fully analogue soundprocessor are

- two very versatile sounding 4-pole multimode VOLTAGE CONTROLLED FILTERS (VCF's) with 12 different characteristics each (lowpass, highpass, bandpass, notch, allpass)

- completed by a very effective COMPRESSOR and DISTORTION module

- all surrounded by a lot of super wide range voltage controlled MODULATORS (high speed VC-LFO / 2x high range VC-AHR - ENVELOPES / FOLLOWER / S&H).

- the super reliable and very fast AUDIOTRIGGER will surely convince you as well as every other features of this unit.
The AUDIOTRIGGER has a special position, because it is the key for producing rhythmic and synchronous modulations derived only from the audio input. This AUDIOTRIGGER is very sensitive and works dynamically, which means, that there is no dependency from the absolute level of the input signal!

EBBE UND FLUT has for sure an absolute fantastic warm and enormous powerful, clear sound.
As experience shows (and this is no lie), the sound of this machine seems to be really so unbelievable, that people won't understand what they hear.
'ebbe und flut' is really alive and it is breathing, resulting in an extraordinary spatial, clear and ubiquitous sound, which let you truly forget, that it is finally a filter you hear!





WHY EBBE UND FLUT? Everybody who ever compared analogue and digital sound processing,has made the same obvious experience: analogue sound processing is typically described in terms of warmth, clarity, presence and/or directness.

The first reason is probably the rigidity of mathematical algorithms for digital signal processing tools. The acoustic result is always predetermined, so there is no room for natural and live artefacts. The second reason is splitting the signal throughout time and value steps by A/D- and D/A- conversion. These conversions are needing time you finally maybe hear as a kind of "lowpass filter" for terms like liquidity or directness or air. The fact of the value stepping of the signal you maybe hear in terms of coldness produced by aliasing frequencies. In good studios any digital processed signal will go at any time into an analogue machine for warming up.

Analogue technique works very differently. Here, we let nature and physics do the computing. The result of many electronic components built together make up a complex structure which does its job by using natural laws. This can be compared to the strumming of a string on a guitar. This is yet another physical level - one is mechanical the other is electric- but here with both, nature is always doing the computing.

Humans are intuitive. We are able to FEEL the difference here in the same way as we are able to FEEL the difference between the SUN and a simulation of light by spectral lamps or taste the difference between natural grown food and food from the greenhouse! This is aquired knowledge from our primeval past.

With analogue instruments, nature is talking to us!



More Info

Another audio module is the softknee compressor. It is working with only one knob controlling ratio (increase), threshold (decrease) and mark up gain (increase) at the same time. The two automatic fixed attack- and release times (fast mode: 20 ms/125 ms, slow mode: 40 ms/260 ms) provides a lot of useful musical applications.

The distortion unit is a 2-way spectral unit with two change over frequencies (96 Hz/ 1050 Hz), so the audio spectrum will be split into high and low frequencies and get a separate distortion unit. Perfect function to get more fatness or heavy distortion.

The VCA is controlled either by the noisegate or by one of the two envelopes.

The modulators (2xAHR/AR-Envelopes, LFO, S&H, Follower, Audiotrigger, Noisegate) are working in extremely wide time and frequency ranges (see feature list below). 3 wave synchronizable VC-LFO with triangle, sawtooth and 50% rectangle output. The follower is scalable either linear or logarithmic (db-linear). Worth to be mentioned is the very reliable audiotrigger, producing very fast event-triggers by incoming audio signals. The noisegate controls the VCA and the threshold knob reaches from always open to always closed.

 

The current manual (German version) as a PDF document.
Download Manual

The current manual (English version) as a PDF document.
Download Manual

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The modules of ebbe und flut:

-Input Amplifier (0db/+20db)
-Automatic Softknee Compressor (Attack/Release times: 20 ms/125 ms or 40 ms/250 ms)
-2-way spectral Distortion with two change over frequencies (96 Hz/ 1050 Hz)
-quick Signalflow change (parallel/serial/anti-serial mode)
-2 x VCF with 12 filter functions each (6xlowpass, 2xhighpass, 2xbandpass, notch, allpass)
-VCA

-VC (Voltage Controlled)- high speed LFO
-Sample & Hold (S&H)
-true RMS Voltage Follower (linear/logarithmic (db-linear) scale)
-2 x VC-(Voltage Controlled)-Envelope Generators (Attack/Hold/Release or Attack/Release)
-dynamic (level independent) Audiotrigger
-Noisegate
-Bypass


External audio Ins and Outs:

-Main Input
-Main Output (VCA/Noisegate)
-VCF 1 Audio Input
-VCF 1 Audio Output
-VCF 2 Audio Input
-VCF 2 Audio Output
-Compressor Output
-Distortion Output

External modulators Ins and Outs:

-Voltage Follower Output
-LFO Wave Output
-ENV 1 Output
-ENV 2 Output
-Audiotrigger Gate Output

-VCF 1 Cutoff frequency CV-Input (0.5 V/oct.)
-VCF 1 Resonance CV-Input
-VCF 2 Cutoff frequency CV-Input (0.5 V/oct.)
-VCF 2 Resonance CV-Input
-Pedal Input; provides independent cutoff modulation (pos./neg.) for each filter, works with passive volume pedal or active CV pedal, switch for exchangable polarity of tip and ring for fitting with different brands
-LFO Speed CV-Input (<0.004 Hz - 19 kHz (29 kHz sawtooth), range = 1:5 million)
-LFO Sync. Input
-S&H Trigger Input
-ENV 1 Trigger/ Gate Input
-ENV 1 Attack Time CV-Input (<250 µs - 10 minutes, range = 1:2.5 million)
-ENV 1 Hold Time CV-Input (50 µs - 10 minutes, range = 1:12 million)
-ENV 1 Release Time CV-Input (350 µs - 10 minutes, range = 1:1.7 million)
-ENV 1 Amount CV-Input (bipolar multiplication Input for continous pos./neg. Env-Output)
-ENV 1 Mode Control Input (A-H-R (Trigger control) or A-R (direct Gate control) mode)
-ENV 2 Trigger/ Gate Input
-ENV 2 Attack Time CV-Input (<250 µs - 10 minutes, range = 1:2.5 million)
-ENV 2 Hold Time CV-Input (50 µs - 10 minutes, range = 1:12 million)
-ENV 2 Release Time CV-Input (350 µs - 10 minutes, range = 1:1.7 million)
-ENV 2 Amount CV-Input (bipolar multiplication Input for continous pos./neg. Env-Output)
-ENV 2 Mode Control Input (A-H-R (Trigger control) or A-R (direct Gate control) mode)


RMS (Root Mean Square) noise output levels (0 - 20 kHz, unweighted) [dbV] (0 dbV equals 1 Vrms, -120 dbV equals 1 µVrms):

· Main output (bypass): -117 dbv

· Compressor out (Input Gain = 0 db, compression knob (3) = zero / full): -99 dbv / -67 dbV

· Distortion (Input >> compressor (3) = 0, distortion (5) zero / full): -71 dbV / -60 dbv

· VCA (open / close): -81 dbv / -90 dbV

· VCF1, direct output (rear plug (18)), filter wide open (Filter input (19) shorted to ground all noise sources)
Average of all functions: resonance=0 / high resonance (just before oscillation): less than -87 dbV / -80 dbv
24db LP: -88 dbV / -94 dbv

· VCF2, direct output (rear plug (16)), filter wide open (Filter input (17) shorted to ground all noise sources)
Average of all functions: resonance=0 / high resonance (just before oscillation): less than -87 dbV / -83 dbv
24db LP: -94 dbV / -100 dbv