antimatter-audio-brainseed

Antimatter Audio Brain Seed

Real-time CV step recorder with cycle modes, quantizer, and CV scrub

4 HP Eurorack module

The Brain Seed is a 4HP real-time CV step recorder. It samples whatever voltage is present at Seed In each time it receives a Cycle clock, building a sequence of up to 1000 steps that it plays back through Seed Out. Variable or fixed (8/16/32) length, four cycle traversals (forward, bounce, random, CV-addressed), and three quantizer scales make a tiny module that acts as sequencer, sample-and-hold, motion recorder, mono arpeggiator, and quantizer.

Features

  • Real-time CV step recorder with up to 1000 steps in Variable Length mode
  • Three fixed length modes: 8, 16, 32 steps
  • Four Cycle traversal modes: Normal, Bounce/Pendulum, Random, CV-addressed scrub
  • Built-in quantizer with three scales (Semitone, Major, Minor) plus pass-through
  • CLIP LED warns when summed output exceeds +/-5V rails
  • Trig Out fires per Cycle step in all modes — vital in CV-addressed mode
  • Freeze input halts sequence (or resets, via internal jumper)
  • Shift CV input transposes the entire sequence at the output stage
  • Generates random 0-5V steps when Seed In is unpatched and ReSeed is armed
  • Hold Length 1s to save state to non-volatile memory
  • 4HP — extremely compact for a step recorder
  • Bicolor Seed Out LED shows polarity (red negative, green positive) and level

Controls & Jacks (17)

  • Seed In— -5V to +5V CV input recorded by the Brain Seed. Can be sourced from LFO, sequencer, MIDI-to-CV, controller, etc. With nothing patched and Re
  • Shift In— -5V to +5V CV input that transposes the Seed Out. Sums with the recorded sequence; if the result exceeds +/-5V, the Clip LED lights.
  • Length— Sets sequence length mode (4 LED states): Off=Variable up to 1000 steps, Green=8, Orange=16, Red=32. Hold for 1 second to save everything to
  • Length LED— Indicates the active Length mode: Off (Variable), Green (8 steps), Orange (16 steps), Red (32 steps).
  • ReSeed In— Gate input: any signal over +1.5V toggles the ReSeed recording state (momentary action — flips the latch). Use a clock/gate to automate when
  • ReSeed— Toggles/latches recording arm. When armed, every Cycle clock the module samples Seed In and stores it as the next step. Disengage to play th
  • Cycle In— Clock input. Accepts triggers (>+1.5V) in trigger-based Cycle modes; in CV-addressed mode (Red), accepts -5 to +5V to scrub the sequence pos
  • Cycle LED— Step indicator. Green = a regular step. Orange = the start of the sequence. Red = ReSeed is armed (recording).
  • Mode— Cycles the Cycle jack behavior (4 LED states). Off=Normal trigger, Green=Bounce/Pendulum trigger, Orange=Random step selection, Red=CV-addre
  • Mode LED— Indicates the active Cycle mode: Off (Normal), Green (Bounce/Pendulum), Orange (Random), Red (CV addressed).
  • Quant— Cycles the quantization applied to Seed Out (4 LED states). Off=Unquantized, Green=Nearest semitone, Orange=Major intervals, Red=Minor inter
  • Quant LED— Indicates the active quantization: Off (None), Green (Semitone), Orange (Major), Red (Minor).
  • Seed Out LED— Output level indicator. Green = positive voltage, Red = negative voltage. Brightness scales with magnitude.
  • Seed Out— Main CV output. Carries the playing-back step sequence (post-quantization) plus any Shift In offset. Patch to V/Oct of an oscillator, filter
  • Freeze In— Gate input: any signal over +1.5V halts the sequence (it freezes on the current step). A solder jumper inside the module reconfigures this j
  • Trig Out— Outputs a trigger pulse for every Cycle step. Patch to an envelope generator to articulate filters or VCAs in time with the sequence — espec
  • Clip LED— Lights when the sum of recorded data + Shift In exceeds +5V or drops below -5V, signaling that the output is clipping at the rails. Reduce S

How-To Guides

  • Record a manual CV performance, then loop it
  • Capture an LFO into a stepped sequence
  • Live random quantizer (no recording)
  • CV-addressed scrub for evolving melodies
  • Freeze-and-shift stutter trick

Explore the interactive Brain Seed panel on BleepDex — tap any control to learn what it does.

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