Available as a fully built module, a “finish-it-yourself” (with the surface mount parts pre-soldered), or a PCB set.
View the assembly instructions and bill of materials here.
Ears is a microphone preamp module with a built-in contact mic for finger drumming, scratching, and more, and will send gates and envelopes with each tap! It’s a perfect match for physical synthesis modules like Rings or Elements, but it can also be the gateway between external audio sources and your modular system.
Features
- Built-in contact microphone soldered right under the front panel, turning the panel and your entire case into a microphone.
- Increasingly spaced ridges on the panel, generating sonically interesting pulses or impulse combs when rubbed. Strike, pick or scratch digital resonators like Rings, Elements or the 4ms SMR.
- High-quality amplification stage suitable for external contact microphones, electro-acoustic instruments like guitars, or plain line-level signals.
- Envelope follower, translating the decaying amplitude profile of a tap into an envelope CV.
- Gate detector, translating taps into gate signals.
- Envelope follower and gate detector can process external signals.
Specifications
- Audio amplifier with 1M input impedance, up to 40dB of gain.
- External input bypassing the built-in contact microphone.
- Envelope follower with 3 preset attack and release times (adjustable by jumper).
- Gate detector with 3 preset sensitivity levels (adjustable by jumper) and +8V gate output.
- Three indicator LEDs: amplifier clipping (red), envelope follower level (white), gate detector activity (orange).
Technical characteristics
- Width: 4HP
- Depth: 25mm
- Current draw:
- +12V: 5mA
- -12V: 5mA