Intellijel Planar 2
Joystick vector controller, quad crossfader, and CV gesture recorder
14 HP Eurorack module
Planar2 is a multi-axis vector controller and CV gesture recorder built around a precision joystick that simultaneously controls two independent output sets: a quadrant-based ABCD mixer/crossfader/panner and a dual-axis X/Y CV generator. It records and plays back joystick movements as complex envelopes or looping LFOs, supports external CV automation in Cartesian, Polar, and Scan modes, and generates gates from motion or manual button presses — making it a deeply expressive and tactile performance and modulation hub.
Features
- Precision joystick for hands-on two-axis vector control
- X OUT and Y OUT: switchable unipolar (0V-+10V) or bipolar (-5V-+5V) CV outputs
- Four quadrant outputs A, B, C, D with internal VCAs for mixing, crossfading, panning and routing
- MIX OUT: summed output of all four internal VCAs
- GATE OUT: gate signal from joystick motion (SENSE) or Manual Gate button
- CV Gesture Recorder: approximately 4 minutes of joystick and gate recording
- One-shot or looping playback of recorded joystick movements
- Synced recording and playback via external TRIGGER input
- Punch-in/out recording to overwrite sections of an existing recording
- Two CV inputs (CV1 and CV2) with individual attenuverters
- Three CV automation modes: Cartesian (X/Y offset), Polar (rotation/radius), Scan (scrub recording)
- Cascading normalling on inputs A-D enabling 1, 2, 3, or 4 channel crossfades
Controls & Jacks (49)
- XY — Toggles between three states: LIT (CV + joystick/recording), FLASHING (joystick only), UNLIT (CV only). Controls X/Y output routing.
- Play Button 1 — Press to start/stop playback of recorded joystick movements. Long-press (>1 sec) to erase recording.
- ABCD — Toggles between three states: LIT (CV + joystick/recording), FLASHING (joystick only), UNLIT (CV only). Controls A/B/C/D output routing.
- SENSE — When ON (up position), generates gate signal whenever joystick is in motion. When OFF, only manual gates are possible.
- MODE — Cycles through three CV automation modes: Cartesian (CV1=X, CV2=Y), Polar (CV1=rotation, CV2=radius), and Scan (CV1=position, CV2=linearity)
- Loop Button 1 — Controls playback mode: UNLIT = one-shot, LIT = continuous loop, FLASHING = one-shot with re-arm on trigger.
- IN D — Fourth audio input. Routed through quadrant D VCA to OUT D and MIX OUT. Normalled to IN C if nothing connected.
- IN A — First audio input. Routed through quadrant A VCA to OUT A and MIX OUT. Normalled to nothing.
- OUT A — Output of quadrant A VCA. Carries scaled IN A signal or acts as unipolar CV source (0V-10V) if no inputs connected.
- Loop Button 2 — Controls playback mode: UNLIT = one-shot, LIT = continuous loop, FLASHING = one-shot with re-arm on trigger.
- IN B — Second audio input. Routed through quadrant B VCA to OUT B and MIX OUT. Normalled to IN A if nothing connected.
- Record — Press to start/stop recording joystick movements and gates. Up to 4 minutes of recording capacity. Supports punch-in/out editing.
- IN C — Third audio input. Routed through quadrant C VCA to OUT C and MIX OUT. Normalled to IN B if nothing connected.
- OUT B — Output of quadrant B VCA. Carries scaled IN B signal or acts as unipolar CV source (0V-10V) if no inputs connected.
- TRIGGER — Trigger input for synchronizing recording and playback to external events (e.g., clock divider). Optional.
- OUT C — Output of quadrant C VCA. Carries scaled IN C signal or acts as unipolar CV source (0V-10V) if no inputs connected.
- MIX OUT — Summed output of all four quadrant VCAs (A+B+C+D). Used for quad mixing/crossfading applications.
- CV 2 — Second control voltage input. Used for Y-axis (Cartesian), radius (Polar), or timeline linearity (Scan) control. Attenuated by CV 2 attenuve
- CV 1 Attenuverter — Scales and inverts CV 1 input. Fully clockwise = full effect, noon = no effect, counterclockwise = inverted effect.
- OUT D — Output of quadrant D VCA. Carries scaled IN D signal or acts as unipolar CV source (0V-10V) if no inputs connected.
- CV 1 — First control voltage input. Used for X-axis (Cartesian), rotation (Polar), or playhead position (Scan) control. Attenuated by CV 1 attenuve
- GATE OUT — Gate output. Sends +5V when joystick is in motion (if SENSE is ON) or when Manual Gate button is pressed. Can record and playback gates.
- X OUT — X-axis CV output. Polarity set by X Polarity switch: UNI (0V-10V) or +/- (-5V to +5V). Controlled by joystick or recording.
- Y OUT 1 — Y-axis CV output. Polarity set by Y Polarity switch: UNI (0V-10V) or +/- (-5V to +5V). Controlled by joystick or recording.
- Quadrant A — Indicates voltage level at quadrant A output.
- Quadrant C — Indicates voltage level at quadrant C output.
- CV 2 Attenuverter — Scales and inverts CV 2 input. Fully clockwise = full effect, noon = no effect, counterclockwise = inverted effect.
- Quadrant D — Indicates voltage level at quadrant D output.
- Quadrant B — Indicates voltage level at quadrant B output.
- Quadrant LED D — Indicates voltage level at quadrant D output.
- X/Y Indicator LEDs — Dual LEDs showing polarity (red=negative, green=positive) and level of X and Y outputs. Brightness indicates voltage magnitude.
- Quadrant LED C — Indicates voltage level at quadrant C output.
- Joystick — Two-axis joystick for controlling X/Y CV outputs and A/B/C/D quadrant levels. Records and plays back joystick movements.
- Trigger Indicator — Lights briefly each time a trigger is received at the TRIGGER input. Useful for sync visualization.
- Manual Gate — Press to generate a gate signal. Gate remains high while button is held. Can be recorded and played back.
- Polarity Switch X — Sets X output polarity: UNI (0V to +10V) or +/- (bipolar -5V to +5V).
- Gate Out Indicator LED 1 — Lights blue whenever a high gate signal is being sent to the GATE OUT jack.
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- Play Button 2 — Press to start/stop playback of recorded joystick movements. Long-press (>1 sec) to erase recording.
- Gate Out Indicator LED 2 — Lights blue whenever a high gate signal is being sent to the GATE OUT jack.
- Play LED
- Y OUT 2 — Y-axis CV output. Polarity set by Y Polarity switch: UNI (0V-10V) or +/- (-5V to +5V). Controlled by joystick or recording.
- MODE Indicator LEDs — Shows current CV mode: left LED = Cartesian, right LED = Polar, both = Scan.
- Polarity Switch Y 1
- Polarity Switch Y 2 — Sets Y output polarity: UNI (0V to +10V) or +/- (bipolar -5V to +5V).
- Polarity Switch (X) — Sets X output polarity: UNI (0V to +10V) or +/- (bipolar -5V to +5V).
- Polarity Switch (Y) — Sets Y output polarity: UNI (0V to +10V) or +/- (bipolar -5V to +5V).
- Quadrant LED A — Indicates voltage level at quadrant A output.
- Quadrant LED B — Indicates voltage level at quadrant B output.
How-To Guides
- Erase Internal Recording
- Record and Loop a Joystick Gesture
- Record a Clock-Synced Gesture
- Punch-In Edit a Recording
- Four-Source Vector Crossfader
- Quadraphonic Spatial Panner
- Polar Spinning CV Automation
- CV-Controlled Recording Scrubber
- Motion-Triggered Envelope
- Complex Looping Gesture LFO
- Dynamic Four-Effect Router
- Bipolar Two-Axis Modulation Hub
Explore the interactive Planar 2 panel on BleepDex — tap any control to learn what it does.
