Industrial Music Electronics Bionic Lester Mk III
Dual morphing multimode filter with overdrive and comb madness
15 HP Eurorack module
Bionic Lester Mark III is a dual digital multimode filter with a digital overdrive VCA, capable of classic subtractive lowpass filtering, multimode morphing, and advanced comb/allpass delay line effects. Its smooth mode crossfade, stereo and series routing options, and per-filter gain staging make it a versatile and characterful filter for everything from warm analog-style sweeps to gnarly digital textures and Karplus-Strong-style string resonance.
Features
- Dual 2-pole (-12dB/octave) state-variable digital filters with smooth mode morphing
- Five filter modes per filter: Low Pass, Band Pass, High Pass, Band Reject (Notch), All Pass / Comb
- Digital overdrive VCA input stage with soft and hard clipping
- Per-filter gain/overdrive control with display inversion indication when clipping is active
- Allpass and positive/negative feedback comb filter modes with delay line control
- Three CV inputs per filter section (CV1 hardwired to cutoff, CV2 and CV3 freely assignable)
- Attenuverter on CV1 with nonlinear curve for subtle or full-swing modulation without external amplification
- CV input range +/-10V, musically optimized for +/-5V typical range
- Filter Link modes: Independent, A CTL (dual peak), Series, 4POLE, Stereo
- Input A normaled to Filter B for easy parallel processing without extra patch cables
- Mix output with blend of Filter A and B outputs; center position yields 3-pole output in 4POLE mode
- 8-slot preset manager with nonvolatile EEPROM storage (survives firmware upgrades)
Controls & Jacks (29)
- Overdrive — Controls input stage attenuation and introduces soft clipping when turned past center position
- A Mode — Smooth morphable filter mode control transitioning from Low Pass through High Pass, Band Pass, Band Reject, and Comb modes
- A Resonance — Emphasizes frequencies around the cutoff frequency; in comb mode controls feedback amount
- B CV 2 Attenuverter — Smooth morphable filter mode control transitioning from Low Pass through High Pass, Band Pass, Band Reject, and Comb modes
- LINK — Enables linking modes (A CTL, Series, 4Pole, Stereo) and accesses CV assignment menu when held with encoder
- A CV 3 Input — Freely assignable control voltage input (cutoff, gain, resonance, or mode) via menu
- B Cutoff CV Input — Freely assignable control voltage input (cutoff, gain, resonance, or mode) via menu
- Preset CV Attenuverter — Emphasizes frequencies around the cutoff frequency; in comb mode controls feedback amount
- A Output — Audio input for Filter A; normaled to Filter B input when Filter B input is unpatched
- B CV 3 Input — Control voltage input for preset selection and morphing; behavior configurable via CTL preset setting
- B Output — Audio input for Filter B; receives normaled signal from Filter A output in parallel routing modes
- A Cutoff CV Attenuverter — Primary control for filter cutoff frequency; in comb mode displays delay line length
- A CV 2 Input — Filtered audio output from Filter A
- Encoder
- Mix Output — Blended output of both filters controlled by Mix knob; 3-pole output in 4Pole mode
- Mix — Controls blend ratio between Filter A and Filter B outputs
- B Cutoff — Primary control for filter cutoff frequency; in comb mode displays delay line length
- B Mode — Selects and edits menu items, presets, and parameters; press button to confirm selections
- Gain — Controls input stage attenuation and introduces soft clipping when turned past center position
- A Cutoff CV Input — Freely assignable control voltage input (cutoff, gain, resonance, or mode) via menu
- A Cutoff
- A Input — Control voltage input always assigned to Filter A cutoff frequency with attenuverter
- B CV 2 Input — Freely assignable control voltage input (cutoff, gain, resonance, or mode) via menu
- A CV 2 Attenuverter — Attenuverter for preset CV input; behavior determined by CTL preset configuration
- B Input — Control voltage input always assigned to Filter B cutoff frequency with attenuverter
- B Resonance
- Preset CV Input — Filtered audio output from Filter B
- Display — Shows filter mode position, menu options, preset number, and clipping indicator; auto-off after 10 minutes of inactivity
- Preset/Edit — Toggles Preset Manager on/off and enters Morph mode when pressed again; hold with encoder to access preset menu
How-To Guides
- Save a Preset
- Save All Presets to Memory
- Load a Preset
- Reload Presets from Memory
- Initialize Current Preset
- Factory Reset
- Randomize a Sound
- Classic Lowpass Filter Sweep
- Dual Peak Stereo Filter
- 4-Pole Aggressive Filter
- Guitar String Resonator / Karplus-Strong
- Overdrive Into Filter
Explore the interactive Bionic Lester Mk III panel on BleepDex — tap any control to learn what it does.
