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This isn't a pedal, and though you can, technically, plug your bass or guitar into it and get some interesting results, I know it's not something that will fit into most bassists'/guitarists' setups. That said, I know some ILFers are into modular synthesis, so I thought I'd still post about it here.

Today I'm announcing the first Iron Ether Eurorack module. I'm calling it a "probabilistic rhythm generator." It can be used to create rhythms that evolve over time rather than repeating the same loop endlessly (although you can freeze a loop if you so choose).

Here's the demo video. The first half of the video explains how it works, but in case you just want to see it doing its thing, skip to 4:47 where I use it to improvise a full composition in real-time. No other sequencers or pre-written material are involved. The rhythms (including drum samples), melodies, and even timbre morphing of the oscillators are all controlled by the Pithoprakta.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_z2FY7tDqH0[/youtube]

Prototype demo focusing on drums. Notice the way the module adds subtle changes to the loop each time around, like a real drummer would while jamming.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4syxtx9-JNs[/youtube]



You can also use it to generate audio (pitched noise):

http://soundcloud.com/ironether/pithopr ... noise-demo (Can't get the Soundcloud tag to work here - is there a trick to it other than removing the "s" from https?)

And, it's available right now.

http://ironether.com/modules/pithoprakta/

Let me know what you think!

Sounds amazing!

(Soundcloud embedding hasn't worked here for a while.)

That's really sick good, the first modular eurorack thing that actually interests me.

Dude, if I even understood the whole Euro thing, I'd be on this. LOL. Sounds awesome!

Thanks guys! It's pretty esoteric so the feedback is great to hear.

jwar wrote:Dude, if I even understood the whole Euro thing, I'd be on this. LOL. Sounds awesome!

Your avatar made me think: if nobody has yet made a video of Black Elvis (Kool Keith) combined with the Tunnel Snakes, c'mon internet, get on it!

Back on topic though, and I'm not trying to hard-sell you on Euro but, in case you were interested in testing the waters, a small Euro case to check out which is already in a pedal-like format would be the Pittsburgh Patch Box. You could put together a small system like this one, which is very drum-heavy:

https://cdn.modulargrid.net/img/racks/m ... 272835.jpg

That gives 8 analog drum sounds which can be triggered with the Pithoprakta, and the Maths module would handle various utilities and modulation. Take the output of the drum module (Delptronics LDB-1E) into your pedalboard to process the sound with your distortions, filters, etc. The Patch Box lets you integrate expression pedals to control parameters on the modules (control probabilities with your foot, for example) and also control things with the footswitches.

Just some food for thought, but I know getting into modular stuff is not easy to enter into on a whim. It took me a couple of years between thinking I wanted to do it and getting my first module. This setup would be focused on rhythmic stuff, but I also think the Patch Box would be cool for getting some modular sound processors and modulators into a pedalboard setup for processing bass/guitar. You might find that you can do some things that pedals could only hint at.

DivKid rippin' it up:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NubE9qCjtg[/youtube]