Sophisticated Morphing Filter for Crazy Effects.
If you want a fully loaded monster filter, then this is it. Morpheus packs a total of eight filters with 14 pole options and over 190 filter combinations, but it's the way you can morph between these filter configurations in a three-dimensional environment that makes it so unique. By combining real-time controls and highly detailed sequencing, Morpheus lets you create exciting, elaborate, and rhythmic filter modulations you've never dreamed of. It's the best use of 18HP you could ask for.
The rebirth of a classic E-Mu filter machine
With 45 years of instrument design under his belt, including the co-founding of E-Mu Systems, Dave Rossum is no stranger to creating unique and groundbreaking synth technologies. He designed the original 14th Order Z-Plane filter for the E-Mu Morpheus synthesizer, which made waves in the rapidly growing electronic music world back in 1993. At that time, limited processing power restricted the Z-Plane filter to one dimension of real-time morphing and was comparatively static, but that didn't stop the Morpheus from offering a special type of dynamic sound-shaping that's still relevant today. The Morpheus Eurorack module literally takes the Z-Plane filter to new dimensions.
8 filters, 14 poles, 3 dimensions, unlimited possibilities
Rossum Electro-Music's next dimension of the Z-Plane is an environment in which you can set up eight complex frequency response filters/EQ curves — called cubes — and morph or transform between all of them. Think about it this way, a typical X-Y pad controller lets you morph between two parameters, with the extreme settings corresponding to each corner.
Morpheus takes a slightly different approach to the two-dimensional model, allowing you to seamlessly shift between four different filter shapes, one in each corner. This immediately gives you an extra dimension of sound shaping compared to a typical X-Y pad. Now, add a third dimension (four more filters in four more corners) and you have the power of Morpheus.
To be fair, this is a trivialization of what Morpheus can do. It comes with 289 cubes, each composed of specially selected filters you can use to create a wide variety of effects. The three axes are labeled Frequency, Morph, and Transform, and many cubes are set up with filters that bear some resemblance to one another in line with these labels to create specific effects. However, the corners can be wildly different from one another to create more chaotic effects. What's more, some cubes swap the Transform axis for distortion control for a completely different type of three-dimensional control. The possibilities are astonishing!
Advanced real-time manual and CV control onboard
Now that you have a good idea of what the Rossum Electro-Music Morpheus can do, the controls should make a lot more sense. Each plane (Frequency, Morph, and Transform) includes a manual setting knob and an "Attenuverted" CV input you can use to modulate the parameter. Call up your favorite cube, run LFOs or other modulation sources into these three controls, and you'll instantly experience a type of tone shaping you've never heard before.
Sequence filter configurations for automated sound shaping
If you want to add order to the chaos or create cool rhythmical effects with the Morpheus, then you'll appreciate the onboard sequencer. While there's plenty to dive into and tweak, programming sequences is remarkably simple, once you get the hang of it. The sequencer allows you to define a wide range of actions indicating the motions and key positions of the three planes, and thanks to an extremely high resolution (equivalent to 20,000 steps), programming smooth fades and swells is both easy and rewarding.
Width: 18HP
Depth: 25mm
_hp | 18 |