A modular Distortion Box with two classic resonant analog filters, Gate, ADSR and VCA
designed to be used for plucky arpeggios and sequences mixed with
self oscillation for harmonic destruction.

Open for pre-orders

Price: $849

Deposit: $449


Domestic Shipping: Free
International Shipping: $49

Does not require a power supply. Just the proper IEC C7 power cable (included with unit)


Please read:

If your here your probably curious about the new box. This page is a placeholder while I create a more content for the official release. Shipping should begin towards the second half of March. Please keep in mind I am only able to make so many of these so quickly. The box is hand build with through hole components. There are a heck of a lot of transistors and diodes to match. It is a piece of art as well as an instrument.

Concept:

I wanted something to sit next to my Moog One and Model D that didn’t feel like a cheap toy made with slave labor overseen by a mega corporation.

It needed to maintain the same sonic quality you’d expect to find in a high end music studio owned by artists that have dedicated their entire lives to the craft. Something that might be appreciated as much as a prized guitar or a vintage synth.

It needed it to be able to do sonically “clean” treatments as well as add an element of destruction and energy. And of course it needs to have a look and feel that sparks inspiration.

Purpose:

The GateKeeper was designed for fast plucky base lines, percussive sonic destruction, droning and noise making. It is designed to interface with line level instruments and eurorack instruments simultaneously. To work with other guitar pedals without having to worry about re amping.

There is an old saying” If you have something that does at least one thing very well never get rid of it.” The GateKeeper does these things very well.

Motivations:

The Moog One falls short on the aggression side. Very clean. The Model D, more rough around the edges still limited. Its immediate control makes it a little more fun to work with. They both have their place when it comes to sound design. When it comes to the envelopes Ironically both synths don’t seem to do the kind of plucky arpeggios I enjoyed growing up. Vintage synths like the Arp 2600 and the Sequential Circuits Pro One both had a feel. Filters and envelopes.

When music production is too well refined and perfect it becomes “safe” and loses the “danger”.

IMO thats why bands like Skinny Puppy and NIN captivated my attention. They were able to direct the chaos of unstable systems while embracing random elements. I’ve never enjoyed staying between the lines. When building instruments there should always be the option of “danger” and unusable ranges.

I’ve tried every soft synth and as good as they are they still fall short compared to hardware. Now is a good time to mention I’m not a noob. I’ve been doing this for 35 years. A friend brought over a Pro One and it immediately filled a missing space in the studio. I wanted something like that I could apply to any instrument, even the soft synths.

Philosophy:

But there is already a Pro One, an Arp 2600, a Sherman Filter Bank and a number of small synth voices on the market. Countless of eurorack modules. The trends are clear. So I keep falling back to this:

“Never make a clone of something unless you have something to add to it”.

I also didn’t want to follow the voice in a box trend. So with The GateKeeper you supply the source audio. I absolutely love the oscillators on the Model D. The GateKeeper is there to enhance your high end equipment. Not replace.

Design:

I took the ADSR characteristics from the Pro One, the filter from the Arp 2600 then half way through fell into the original synthacon filter. This was surprising because I did’t enjoy Arturias updated versions. But the raw 1974 version sounded amazing. It just lacked a little in the high end.

I spent a year analyzing every aspect of these designs. Prototyping and testing, adjusting. Ultimately creating my own interpretation and “fixing” a few things. Added some twists, three distortion variations and instead of an “all pass” filter created a weird distorted self oscillating mod. Eventually fitting it an into a single presentation that was uniquely different.

We needed the Model D to trigger the ADSR without using midi. So the GATE is set up with the ASDR sending to all 3 modules. (two filters and the VCA). The CV knobs individually send voltages to each module working as a contour amount.

Having the flexibility of interfacing with different gear was also a must but I still wanted the option of a direct stand alone box. The easy thing (and cost effective thing) to do would have been to eliminate 1/4″ jacks and make it all 1/8th jacks across the top. I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Seems like if Im going to plug this into a $6k-$12k synth it should have the option of 1/4″.

The 4072 IN and the VCA out 1/4″ jacks mirror the in/out of the top 1/8″ jacks. This completes the intended signal path. We have a bypass toggle on the top of the pedal. However once the intended signal path is broken it becomes a mute toggle.

Power:

I’ve been selling modules and Distortion Boxes since 2011. We have shipped all over the world. One issue we have always run into is with power supplies. For The GateKeeper we are using a built in “universal” power supply. It uses a simple IEC C7 AC cable with no wall wart. The supply can function on almost any power grid. It adds to the overall cost. For instance if you take any eurorack module and put it in a pre-built skiff box with a power supply that delivers +12/-12 volts you’re looking at a substantial increase in price.

This allows us a guaranteed a level of quality filtered power. It eliminates the use of bad or cheap switching supplies. It also eliminates the possible accidents that might happen when someone plugs something in with the wrong polarity.

Intended Audio Path:

The signal flow of the intended presentation is as thus: 4072 Filter to adjustable Gain feeding into Distortion (off,1,2,3) to the Multa Filter and finally into the VCA. “Multa” is latin for multiple. The signal flow is connected internally but can be broken, reconfigured (or added to) with patch cables. The signal flow is a mono configuration. However all four modules can be used in any way you like.

For additional patching there is a section labeled “Break Outs” You’ll find direct ins and outs for the Distortion section. The Multa Out and the VCA in. I’ve also included an alternative out for the 4072 filter that does not break the signal flow connection. This can be used as an additional output if needed. For instance routing an oscillator into the signal chain and mixing that with the output of the 4072 filter.

Also a non-inverted 4072 output before the resonant feedback compensation occurs should you need a more scientific approach to patching. Any jack with an “X” will break the signal flow.

More to come…