bastl-instruments-dark-matter

Bastl Instruments Dark Matter

Positive feedback loop processor for controlled audio chaos

13 HP Eurorack module

Dark Matter is a Eurorack feedback processor that uses a positive feedback loop — a VCA fed back into itself through a 2-band EQ — to generate resonant tones, harmonic distortion, and controlled chaos from any audio source. It features a drive preamp, envelope follower, crossfader, and external feedback loop jacks, making it equally useful as a savage distortion unit, a self-oscillating drone machine, or a rhythmically reactive feedback beast. Its musical character ranges from subtle tonal coloring to full-blown screaming feedback oscillation.

Features

  • Positive feedback loop using FBK VCA re-feeding TONE output back to TONE input
  • DRIVE VCA preamp with x3 gain, soft clipping at +/-5V, and CV modulation
  • Hyper Drive switch for extra amplitude into TONE section
  • 2-band equalizer (Bass and Treble) with independent boost/overdrive pots per band
  • Voltage controlled Bass Boost and Treble Boost with +/-8V CV range
  • DYNAMICS envelope follower tracking INPUT signal, outputting 0-5V CV envelope
  • DYNAMICS envelope normalised internally to FBK CV and X-FADE CV inputs
  • Pre or post DRIVE source selection for DYNAMICS envelope follower
  • Short and long decay time switch for DYNAMICS envelope
  • DYNAMICS envelope follower input low pass filtered for kick/bass tracking (jumper selectable to all pass)
  • Voltage controlled FBK VCA with attenuverter CV pot, +/-5V CV range
  • FBK CV input normalised to DYNAMICS envelope output

Controls & Jacks (22)

  • Input— Main audio input.
  • Dynamics— Dynamics/compressor sidechain input.
  • X-Fade— Crossfade CV input between dry and driven signal.
  • FBK Out— Feedback send output. Route through external processors and back to FBK In.
  • FBK In— Feedback return input from external processor chain.
  • Drive CV— CV input for drive amount.
  • X-Fade CV— Attenuator for crossfade CV input.
  • FBK CV— CV input for feedback amount.
  • HF— High frequency warning indicator. Lights when excessive high-frequency content is present.
  • Dry/Drive— Switches monitoring between dry input and driven signal.
  • Dynamics— Enables/disables the dynamics processor.
  • Decay— Sets dynamics processor decay time (fast/slow).
  • Out Polarity— Inverts output polarity (normal/inverted).
  • CV Control— Selects which parameter the CV inputs control.
  • Bass— Bass boost/cut EQ for the distortion tone.
  • Treble— Treble boost/cut EQ for the distortion tone.
  • Drive CV Attenuator— Attenuator for drive CV input.
  • X-Fade CV Attenuator— Attenuator for crossfade CV input (large Boost knob).
  • FBK CV Attenuator— Attenuator for feedback CV input.
  • X-Fade/Dry— Switches between crossfade mode and dry bypass.
  • Hyper Drive— Engages extreme distortion mode for maximum saturation.
  • Dynamics LED— Shows dynamics processor activity.

How-To Guides

  • Feedback Drum Processing
  • Self-Oscillating Feedback Drone
  • VCO-Synced Feedback Oscillator
  • Melody-Synced Drum Feedback Gate
  • Echo Feedback Loop
  • Feedback Harmonic Distortion
  • Dynamics-Reactive Mix Gate
  • CV-Animated Bass Saturation
  • Dual Input Tone Shaper
  • LFO-Synced Feedback Throb

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

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