Noise Engineering Ataraxic Iteritas Alia
Unapologetically digital oscillator from bit tables to broken fax machines
10 HP Eurorack module
Ataraxic Iteritas Alia is a digital oscillator based on bit-table synthesis with variable interpolation, amplitude modulation by white noise, comb filtering, and asymmetric soft folding. It starts with one of three bit tables shaped via variable interpolation that is then scrolled through, amplitude modulated, folded, and distorted. The module produces everything from subby basses and metallic drones to aggressively digital timbres. Part of the Alia platform, allowing firmware swapping to other Alia firmwares via USB. Adds a suboscillator output and Hold button compared to the original Ataraxic Iteritas.
Features
- Three switchable bit-table modes (L/FSR, SQR, SQR2) producing unique digital waveforms
- Shape control morphs interpolation from triangle to saw to square character
- Waveform control blends between waveforms in the selected bit table
- Noise control displaces samples in time and amplitude modulates by white noise
- Asymmetric soft fold using quintic polynomial for gentle waveform folding
- Comb filter with bidirectional harmonic emphasis — high harmonics left, low harmonics right
- Time Mod creates PWM and hard-sync-like phaser sounds
- Hold button freezes incoming CV for sustained pitch
- Suboscillator saw output one octave below the main oscillator
- Hard sync input for oscillator reset
- Pitch encoder with press-and-turn coarse semitone adjustment and fine-tune mode
- Bass/Alto/Treble range switch with two-octave offsets per position
Controls & Jacks (22)
- Pitch — Encoder for adjusting pitch. Press and turn for coarse semitone adjustments, or just turn for fine tuning. Calibrated for 1V/octave tracking
- Shape — Adjusts the interpolation between waveforms in the selected bit table. Sonically morphs from triangle to saw to square character.
- Waveform — Blends between waveforms in the bit table selected by the Mode switch.
- Noise — Displaces samples in time and amplitude modulates the signal by white noise. Adds an aggressive, broken edge to the output.
- Soft Fold — Applies an asymmetric soft fold using a quintic polynomial. Adds interest to simple waveforms and works well with the Noise control.
- Time Mod — Similar in sound to PWM or hard sync. Modulates the passage of time in the waveform interpolation, creating phaser-type sounds.
- Comb — Changes the emphasis of the harmonic structure. At 12:00 the filter is off. Left brings out high harmonics, right brings out low harmonics.
- Mode — Selects between three different sets of waveforms arranged in bit tables: L/FSR, SQR, and SQR2. Each mode produces unique digital timbres mo
- Range — Three-position switch (Bass/Alto/Treble) that sets the lowest note. Each position is two octaves above its left neighbor.
- Hold — Ignores incoming CV while the button is held down, freezing the current pitch.
- Pitch CV In — CV input for pitch control. Range: -2V to +5V, calibrated for 1V/octave tracking.
- Waveform CV In — CV input for waveform blend control. Range: 0V to +5V. Knob offsets this input.
- L/S/2 — CV input for mode selection between L/FSR, SQR, and SQR2 bit tables.
- B/A/T — CV input for range selection between Bass, Alto, and Treble octave settings.
- Noise CV In — CV input for noise amount. Range: 0V to +5V. Knob offsets this input.
- Shape CV In — CV input for shape/interpolation control. Range: 0V to +5V. Knob offsets this input.
- Time Mod CV In — CV input for time modulation. Range: 0V to +5V. Knob offsets this input.
- Sub Out — Suboscillator saw output one octave below the pitch of the main oscillator. Range: 0V to +10V.
- Comb CV In — CV input for comb filter control. Range: 0V to +5V. Knob offsets this input.
- Soft Fold CV In — CV input for soft fold amount. Range: 0V to +5V. Knob offsets this input.
- Sync — Hard sync input that triggers oscillator reset. Threshold around +1.8V.
- Out — Main audio output. Variable output level depending on settings, up to approximately 14V peak to peak.
Explore the interactive Ataraxic Iteritas Alia panel on BleepDex — tap any control to learn what it does.
