I CAN HEAR YOU…
Ears is Mutable Instruments’ take on Tom Whitwell’s open-source Mikrophonie module – a contact microphone and amplifier.
A large palette of organic, physical sounds can be generated by scratching, tapping, and more generally collecting any kind of acoustic waves surrounding your modular case – even speaker feedback.
With its built-in envelope follower and gate detector, it can also be the gateway between external audio sources and your modular system.
Ears for your modular
- 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.
Extending the Mikrophonie
Compared to the Mikrophonie, Ears has additional outputs:
- 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).
