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


Are you wondering about what 'ebbe und flut' is? 'ebbe und flut' is a well designed sound design machine for musicians, live performer and producers who know, that there is no alternative to high sophisticated analogue gear.

The e&f's concept is an integrated modular system, working either as a stand-alone unit or as a well integrating part of an analogue modular system/synthesizer. Comparing to digital machines, e&f provides for almost all parameters CV-inputs (Control Voltage), so, there is the capability to work in realtime with non-quantized values up to audio ranges of any modulation sources.


The core of this unit are

- two 4-pole multimode VOLTAGE CONTROLLED FILTERS (VCF's) with 12 different characteristics each (lowpass, highpass, bandpass, notch, allpass) and with an extreme tonal range

- completed by an easy controlled but very superb COMPRESSOR, a sweet sounding 2-way spectral DISTORTION unit and a final VCA for amplitude modulations

- all surrounded by a lot of super wide range voltage controlled MODULATORS (high speed VC-LFO, 2x high range VC-AHR (Attack-Hold-Release) - ENVELOPES, RMS-VOLTAGE-FOLLOWER (logarithmic/linear scale), S&H and a NOISEGATE).

- and the very fast AUDIOTRIGGER is able to deviate very reliable triggers for gating, synchronizing and controlling other modules like Envelope generators, LFO, S&H or whatever.
This AUDIOTRIGGER is very useful to produce rhythmic and synchronous modulations of your original music data. It's very sensitive and it works dynamically without dependence on the absolute level of the input signal!

EBBE UND FLUT has an absolute fantastic warm and enormous powerful and clear sound.
Using the power of the sound modules and the modulators it is able to turn every sound source into a new dimension of sound experience.







Why analogue?


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 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 our sun and a simulation by spectral lamps or between the taste of natural grown food and food from the greenhouse! This is aquired knowledge from our primeval past.

So, with analogue instruments, nature is talking to us!


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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 of VCF1, VCF2, Distortion)
-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