Intellijel Plonk
Physical modeling percussion for the modular world
12 HP Eurorack module
Plonk is a two-voice polyphonic physical modeling percussion synthesizer that models the interaction between an exciter (mallet or noise) and a resonating object (string, beam, marimba, drumhead, membrane, or plate). It excels at realistic and fantastical percussive sounds ranging from kicks, snares, and cymbals to marimbas, bells, and entirely imagined timbres, with deep CV modulation making every strike potentially unique.
Features
- Two-voice polyphonic physical modeling percussion synthesis
- Dual exciter: mallet impulse and shapeable noise source
- Six resonator types: String, Beam, Marimba, Drumhead, Membrane, Plate
- Noise exciter with lowpass and highpass filters (series bandpass capable), amplitude envelope with AR or AHR modes
- Resonator internal pitch envelope with bipolar amount and decay
- 128 preset slots in onboard flash memory
- Preset transfer via USB-MIDI SysEx
- Four CV modulation inputs: X, Y, MOD, DECAY
- 1V/oct PITCH input with calibration and gate delay compensation
- VEL input with three modes: accent, dynamics, volume
- Preset Step MOD destination for voltage-controlled kit switching
- Randomize MOD destination for instant parameter randomization
Controls & Jacks (30)
- Preset Save — Save current preset
- Preset Up — Navigate to previous preset
- Preset Down — Navigate to next preset
- Octave Down — Decrease octave
- Resonator Decay — Control the decay time of the resonator
- Octave Up — Increase octave
- Strike — Trigger the exciter to strike the resonator
- Pitch — Primary pitch control for the resonator
- Mallet Stiffness — Control the stiffness of the mallet exciter
- Preset Load — Load selected preset
- X CV Input — CV input for X modulation destination
- Y Control — Primary Y-axis modulation control
- Resonator Position — Set the strike position on the resonator
- Menu / Encoder Up — Navigate menu or increment value
- Mallet / Noise Mix — Blend between mallet exciter and noise source
- Resonator Tone — Adjust the tonal characteristics of the resonator
- X Control — Primary X-axis modulation control
- Noise Decay CV — CV input for noise decay envelope time
- Y CV Input — CV input for Y modulation destination
- Resonator Inharmonicity — Adjust the inharmonicity of the resonator
- Audio Output — Main audio output of the module
- V/Oct Input — Pitch control via V/Oct standard
- Strike Input — External trigger input for the exciter
- Noise Decay — CV input for noise decay envelope
- Noise Highpass Cutoff CV — CV input for noise highpass filter cutoff frequency
- Status — Module status indicator
- Menu / Encoder Down — Navigate menu or decrement value
- Preset Mode — Toggles between preset banks and navigation modes
- Activity — Activity indicator for sound generation
- Display — OLED screen for parameter display and menu navigation
How-To Guides
- Save a Preset
- Load a Preset
- Export All Presets via USB SysEx
- Import Presets from Computer via USB SysEx
- Initialize Preset to Default
- Voltage-Controlled Drum Kit Switching
- Open and Closed Hi-Hat with Choke
- Melodic Marimba Sequencing
- Evolving Noise Drone with LFO Morph
- Generative Percussion with Randomize
- Physical Model Kick Drum Design
- Bowed String Pad with Gate Length
Explore the interactive Plonk panel on BleepDex — tap any control to learn what it does.
