bastl-instruments-timber

Bastl Instruments Timber

Dual waveshaper: overdrive meets harmonic folding chaos

7 HP Eurorack module

Timber is a dual waveshaping module featuring an overdrive/folding Wave Driver and a 4-stage Serge-style Wave Folder, with a voltage-controlled crossfader to blend between them. It excels at adding rich harmonics to simple waveforms, producing timbres ranging from warm tube-like overdrive to aggressive metallic folding and chaotic self-oscillation. Its musical character spans smooth harmonic saturation to brutal high-frequency destruction, with feedback and symmetry controls enabling pseudo-chorus, PWM, and asymmetric distortion effects.

Features

  • Dual waveshaping: I. WAVE DRIVER overdrive+fold circuit and II. WAVE FOLDER 4-stage Serge-style circuit
  • Common INPUT shared by both waveshaping circuits
  • SHAPE knob and CV for voltage-controlled input amplification (acts as VCA at low settings)
  • SYMMETRY knob for DC offset addition; becomes bipolar attenuverter when CV is patched
  • Voltage-controlled crossfader X-FADE with bipolar attenuverter on CV input
  • X-FADE switch selects between INPUT or I. WAVE DRIVER on left side of crossfader
  • X-FADE IN jack breaks II. WAVE FOLDER normalization for independent crossfade use
  • FBK CV jack for voltage-controlled feedback from II. WAVE FOLDER to input (calibrated for 5V gates)
  • Independent outputs for both I. WAVE DRIVER (I. OUT) and II. WAVE FOLDER (II. OUT)
  • 3-way DRIVE switch on I. WAVE DRIVER: SOFT, MID, HARD
  • 3-way FOLD switch on I. WAVE DRIVER: LO, NO, HI (HI threshold is 2x II. WAVE FOLDER threshold)
  • 3-way FOLD switch on II. WAVE FOLDER: OK (symmetric), NO (last stage only), KO (asymmetric metallic)

Controls & Jacks (29)

  • X-Fade CV— CV control for crossfader
  • Symmetry— Sets the amount of voltage offset added to the input signal; acts as attenuverter when CV is patched
  • X-Fade— Voltage-controlled crossfader knob to blend between input signal and wave-shaped signals
  • X-Fade In— Right side input for crossfader (normalizes to Wave Folder)
  • Shape— Sets the amount of amplification of the input signal before it enters the wave shaping stages
  • X-F IN
  • FBK CV— Feedback CV input for chaotic modulation
  • II. Wave Folder Output— Wave Folder circuit output
  • Input— Main audio or CV input signal
  • I. Wave Driver Output— Wave Driver circuit output
  • INPUT— Main audio or CV input signal
  • Shape CV— CV control for Shape amplification
  • Symmetry CV— CV control for Symmetry offset
  • X-Fade Output— Crossfader output
  • II. Fold— 3-way switch to set folding character: OK (4-stage clean), NO (last stage only), or KO (asymmetric metallic)
  • X-Fade Switch— Selects between INPUT and Wave Driver for the left side of the crossfader
  • I. Drive— 3-way switch to set overdrive character: SOFT, MID, or HARD
  • DRIVE— 3-way switch to set overdrive character: SOFT, MID, or HARD
  • FOLD Switch (Wave Driver)— 3-way switch to set folding threshold: LO, NO (off), or HI
  • FOLD Switch (Wave Folder)— 3-way switch to set folding character: OK (4-stage clean), NO (last stage only), or KO (asymmetric metallic)
  • X-FADE CV Attenuverter— Bipolar attenuator for the X-FADE CV input signal; center position mutes CV, CW adds, CCW subtracts from X-FADE knob position
  • A AC Jumper— Internal jumper; when open, AC-couples the I. Wave Driver output to remove DC offset
  • B AC Jumper— Internal jumper; when open, AC-couples the II. Wave Folder output to remove DC offset
  • INV A Phase Jumper— Internal jumper; inverts the phase of the I. Wave Driver signal
  • Norm SHPCV_TO_MIX Jumper— Internal jumper; when closed, normalizes the SHAPE CV input voltage to the X-FADE CV input
  • SYMMETRY Jack— CV control for Symmetry offset
  • I. OUT— Wave Driver circuit output
  • II. OUT— Wave Folder circuit output
  • X-FADE OUT— Crossfader output

How-To Guides

  • Parallel Harmonic Extraction
  • Tube-Style Asymmetric Warmth
  • Wavefold Filter Sweep
  • Chaotic Feedback Drone
  • Pseudo-Chorus via LFO Symmetry
  • Metallic Percussion Processor
  • Self-Oscillating Feedback Voice
  • Harmonic Dry-Wet Blend
  • PWM-Style Symmetry Sequencing
  • Two Independent Waveshaper Send-Return

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

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