Manufacturer's description
ACRONYM stands for Analogue CoRe Oscillator New tYpe: Morphing. It combines a solid-tracking triangle core analogue VCO with some unique waveshaping circuits, and packages it all with a user-friendly interface that allows precise control by hand or with CV.
The key parts of ACRONYM are:
- Triangle core VCO
- Waveshaping circuits
- Two-octave sub-oscillator
- Five-way voltage-controlled waveform morpher
- Audio outputs
VCO CORE
The triangle VCO core features linear through-zero phase modulation for clean and tuneful FM tones, and is the basis of all outputs from the module. The core accurately tracks 8+ octaves, even while being modulated, and includes hard sync. The Sync input detects a rising edge and resets the core to its negative peak. The volt per octave input is marked V/8 and is accurately calibrated in the factory.
Some may wonder why the Fine Tune control is large and the Coarse is smaller, as these are often the other way round on modules from other companies. This design choice was made as a larger control makes it easier to make a finer adjustment, as it has a larger circumference than a smaller control. This allows the Coarse tune to quickly get you in the general range of where you want your frequency to be, and then use the Fine tune for accurate final control. This is particularly effective for Phase Modulation, where accurate frequency ratios between the VCO and modulation source are important.
WAVESHAPING
Waveshaping creates additional Sine and Sawtooth waves from the Triangle core, and a Pulse to drive the sub-oscillator circuit. The Sine is then fed through an additional Wavefolder circuit to create rich and complex harmonic overtones. Note that the Wave Morph CV is used to subtly modulate the Bias of the Wavefolder circuit to create interesting shifting fold behaviour as the folded wave is blended into the Saw.
SUBOSCILLATORS
The sub-oscillators are specifically shaped to create a hybrid square/saw shape which has a more characterful chewy sound than a typical perfect square shape. This also allows them to be used as modulation sources which give a wider range of voltage rather than just the on/off of a square wave. The triangular frequency indicator on the panel is not driven directly by the core, but by the -2 oct suboscillator. This makes it easier to detect frequency changes, as well as the distinctive behaviour of the suboscillators while the core is being phase modulated.
Because the suboscillators run from a comparator which is triggered by a level detector in the VCO core, when the core is being phase modulated through zero it may cross this threshold multiple times as the core rapidly reverses direction, leading to periodic higher frequency outputs from the suboscillators. This more complex phase modulation doesn’t exactly follow the core which is what makes it interesting, but can seem chaotic at times. You’ll find that using a modulation source which is tuned to a multiple of the core frequency will tame this behaviour somewhat if needed, and using sync between two even more so.
WAVEFORM MORPHER
This output morphs between the Triangle, Square, Saw and Folded Sine waves with the Wave control or Wave CV input. Additionally, a combination of the -1 octave and -2 octave sub oscillator waves can be mixed into the Wave output with the Sub Lvl control. This allows you to get a complex mixture of waveforms as the basis of your synth voice without the use of external mixers, as well as use voltage controlled morphing to generate more complex waveforms.
The Morph CV input is designed to accept a voltage from -5V to +5V and is attenuverting so it can be swept fully with a typical Eurorack audio signal. Of course this means if you have a stronger signal, for example a +10V envelope, turning the input attenuvertor to 50% will give the full range of modulation. Because it’s a 100% analogue circuit the input can be pushed outside those bounds and instead of clipping at the edges it will continue giving interesting outputs as it’s pushed.
AUDIO OUTPUTS
The Triangle and Sine waves, as well as the one and two octave Sub-oscillator outputs, are available as outputs on the bottom of the module. The final output is the Waveform morpher output, marked Wave on the panel.
The design choice was made to provide the simpler, less harmonically rich waveforms on their own outputs both so they could be used as modulation sources and as a clean output to create more complex waves via phase modulation. The more complex and harmonically rich waveforms are available via the Morpher on the Wave output.
How much is my shipping?
Shipping is automatically calculated before you submit your payment information. Simply add items to your cart and proceed to the checkout page, where you'll be offered shipping options and their prices. In the UK, 'next working day' shipping is free if the order value is over £150, and £5 otherwise. We can also ship on a 'next working day before 12pm' service, which costs £6 for orders over £150 and £7.50 for orders under £150.
Shipping to mainland EU typically costs between £7 and £20, depending on the shipping method and the size and weight of the order.
Do you ship to my country?
Almost certainly - the site will give you an estimate of shipping costs if you add an item to the cart and then enter your country and postcode. If you have specific requirements (such as if you prefer UPS over FedEx, for example) then let us know in advance and we'll try to work something out for you.
Shipping methods
We use a combination of DPD, Royal Mail and Parcelforce for the UK, and for international orders it's either DHL, FedEx, UPS, Royal Mail or Parcelforce depending on where you are in the world. If you have a particular preference then try to let us know BEFORE you order so we can look into it for you. Please note that there may occasionally be additional shipping charges if you live in a remote area, depending on what surcharges are applied by the shipper. We'll get in touch to discuss this with you in such cases.
Dispatch times
For UK orders, we aim to dispatch the same working day if we get the order before 16:00. If you have a really urgent situation then of course drop us an email before ordering and we'll always do our absolute best to accommodate you.
For international orders, we normally dispatch the same day if we get the order before 13:00 but again, occasionally it might be the next day before we can send it out, and sometimes the couriers may come to collect a little earlier than scheduled which would also push an order into the next day.
Saturday/Sunday shipping
If you're in the UK and you order before 16:00 on a Friday then we can send something for a Saturday or Sunday delivery with DPD. This is FREE for order values over £350, £5 for order values between £75 and £250, and £7 for order values under £75. (NB: this applies to UK mainland addresses only). Please note that any orders placed after 16:00 on a Friday will ship on the Monday.
International shipping times
Since April 2020, the couriers we use have suspended guarantees for shipping times, so even though we're paying them for priority services - 24-48 hours for most of the world - in practice it's often an extra day on top and sometimes it can be longer. There is absolutely nothing we can do about this, unfortunately. If you are outside the UK and it's a life-or-death situation where you absolutely MUST have that passive mult for the next day then... it may be better to find a local supplier.
Pre-orders
If a product is listed as a pre-order, it means we've ordered it from the supplier but it's not physically in stock yet. The product listing will include an estimated shipping date based on the best information we have from the supplier, but do bear in mind this is subject to change and is not a guaranteed date.
If you place an order containing a mixture of in-stock and pre-order items, we'll normally hold off on shipping anything until the pre-order item(s) have arrived, rather than splitting it into multiple shipments. If you need the in-stock items sooner, we'd recommend placing separate orders. As always, please get in touch if you have questions.
Product Overview
Manufacturer's description
ACRONYM stands for Analogue CoRe Oscillator New tYpe: Morphing. It combines a solid-tracking triangle core analogue VCO with some unique waveshaping circuits, and packages it all with a user-friendly interface that allows precise control by hand or with CV.
The key parts of ACRONYM are:
- Triangle core VCO
- Waveshaping circuits
- Two-octave sub-oscillator
- Five-way voltage-controlled waveform morpher
- Audio outputs
VCO CORE
The triangle VCO core features linear through-zero phase modulation for clean and tuneful FM tones, and is the basis of all outputs from the module. The core accurately tracks 8+ octaves, even while being modulated, and includes hard sync. The Sync input detects a rising edge and resets the core to its negative peak. The volt per octave input is marked V/8 and is accurately calibrated in the factory.
Some may wonder why the Fine Tune control is large and the Coarse is smaller, as these are often the other way round on modules from other companies. This design choice was made as a larger control makes it easier to make a finer adjustment, as it has a larger circumference than a smaller control. This allows the Coarse tune to quickly get you in the general range of where you want your frequency to be, and then use the Fine tune for accurate final control. This is particularly effective for Phase Modulation, where accurate frequency ratios between the VCO and modulation source are important.
WAVESHAPING
Waveshaping creates additional Sine and Sawtooth waves from the Triangle core, and a Pulse to drive the sub-oscillator circuit. The Sine is then fed through an additional Wavefolder circuit to create rich and complex harmonic overtones. Note that the Wave Morph CV is used to subtly modulate the Bias of the Wavefolder circuit to create interesting shifting fold behaviour as the folded wave is blended into the Saw.
SUBOSCILLATORS
The sub-oscillators are specifically shaped to create a hybrid square/saw shape which has a more characterful chewy sound than a typical perfect square shape. This also allows them to be used as modulation sources which give a wider range of voltage rather than just the on/off of a square wave. The triangular frequency indicator on the panel is not driven directly by the core, but by the -2 oct suboscillator. This makes it easier to detect frequency changes, as well as the distinctive behaviour of the suboscillators while the core is being phase modulated.
Because the suboscillators run from a comparator which is triggered by a level detector in the VCO core, when the core is being phase modulated through zero it may cross this threshold multiple times as the core rapidly reverses direction, leading to periodic higher frequency outputs from the suboscillators. This more complex phase modulation doesn’t exactly follow the core which is what makes it interesting, but can seem chaotic at times. You’ll find that using a modulation source which is tuned to a multiple of the core frequency will tame this behaviour somewhat if needed, and using sync between two even more so.
WAVEFORM MORPHER
This output morphs between the Triangle, Square, Saw and Folded Sine waves with the Wave control or Wave CV input. Additionally, a combination of the -1 octave and -2 octave sub oscillator waves can be mixed into the Wave output with the Sub Lvl control. This allows you to get a complex mixture of waveforms as the basis of your synth voice without the use of external mixers, as well as use voltage controlled morphing to generate more complex waveforms.
The Morph CV input is designed to accept a voltage from -5V to +5V and is attenuverting so it can be swept fully with a typical Eurorack audio signal. Of course this means if you have a stronger signal, for example a +10V envelope, turning the input attenuvertor to 50% will give the full range of modulation. Because it’s a 100% analogue circuit the input can be pushed outside those bounds and instead of clipping at the edges it will continue giving interesting outputs as it’s pushed.
AUDIO OUTPUTS
The Triangle and Sine waves, as well as the one and two octave Sub-oscillator outputs, are available as outputs on the bottom of the module. The final output is the Waveform morpher output, marked Wave on the panel.
The design choice was made to provide the simpler, less harmonically rich waveforms on their own outputs both so they could be used as modulation sources and as a clean output to create more complex waves via phase modulation. The more complex and harmonically rich waveforms are available via the Morpher on the Wave output.
Technical Specs
Shipping Details
How much is my shipping?
Shipping is automatically calculated before you submit your payment information. Simply add items to your cart and proceed to the checkout page, where you'll be offered shipping options and their prices. In the UK, 'next working day' shipping is free if the order value is over £150, and £5 otherwise. We can also ship on a 'next working day before 12pm' service, which costs £6 for orders over £150 and £7.50 for orders under £150.
Shipping to mainland EU typically costs between £7 and £20, depending on the shipping method and the size and weight of the order.
Do you ship to my country?
Almost certainly - the site will give you an estimate of shipping costs if you add an item to the cart and then enter your country and postcode. If you have specific requirements (such as if you prefer UPS over FedEx, for example) then let us know in advance and we'll try to work something out for you.
Shipping methods
We use a combination of DPD, Royal Mail and Parcelforce for the UK, and for international orders it's either DHL, FedEx, UPS, Royal Mail or Parcelforce depending on where you are in the world. If you have a particular preference then try to let us know BEFORE you order so we can look into it for you. Please note that there may occasionally be additional shipping charges if you live in a remote area, depending on what surcharges are applied by the shipper. We'll get in touch to discuss this with you in such cases.
Dispatch times
For UK orders, we aim to dispatch the same working day if we get the order before 16:00. If you have a really urgent situation then of course drop us an email before ordering and we'll always do our absolute best to accommodate you.
For international orders, we normally dispatch the same day if we get the order before 13:00 but again, occasionally it might be the next day before we can send it out, and sometimes the couriers may come to collect a little earlier than scheduled which would also push an order into the next day.
Saturday/Sunday shipping
If you're in the UK and you order before 16:00 on a Friday then we can send something for a Saturday or Sunday delivery with DPD. This is FREE for order values over £350, £5 for order values between £75 and £250, and £7 for order values under £75. (NB: this applies to UK mainland addresses only). Please note that any orders placed after 16:00 on a Friday will ship on the Monday.
International shipping times
Since April 2020, the couriers we use have suspended guarantees for shipping times, so even though we're paying them for priority services - 24-48 hours for most of the world - in practice it's often an extra day on top and sometimes it can be longer. There is absolutely nothing we can do about this, unfortunately. If you are outside the UK and it's a life-or-death situation where you absolutely MUST have that passive mult for the next day then... it may be better to find a local supplier.
Pre-orders
If a product is listed as a pre-order, it means we've ordered it from the supplier but it's not physically in stock yet. The product listing will include an estimated shipping date based on the best information we have from the supplier, but do bear in mind this is subject to change and is not a guaranteed date.
If you place an order containing a mixture of in-stock and pre-order items, we'll normally hold off on shipping anything until the pre-order item(s) have arrived, rather than splitting it into multiple shipments. If you need the in-stock items sooner, we'd recommend placing separate orders. As always, please get in touch if you have questions.
