Steady State Fate Vortices
Vintage console and tape character in 16hp
16 HP Eurorack module
Vortices is an audio character mixer by Steady State Fate that emulates the saturation-compression effects and high-frequency roll-off of vintage analog mixing consoles and tape machines. It features dual mono and stereo mix buses with intentional gain staging, hard peak limiting, and asymmetrical distortion capabilities for adding warmth, glue, and harmonic richness to a modular mix. The module is equally suited as a compact mixing hub, a feedback processing center, or a tone-shaping device for FM and digital sources.
Features
- 14 total inputs: 4 main mono, 2 mono auxiliary, 6 stereo (3 channels L+R), 2 stereo auxiliary
- 7 outputs: Mono Mix L/R, X-Fade Direct, Stereo Mix L/R, Master Mix L/R
- Rear-facing stereo jack output copies the Master Mix signal
- Mono bus saturation-compression with pronounced high-frequency roll-off emulating vintage console/tape character
- Stereo bus with gentler saturation and brighter frequency response
- Hard peak limiter at 12Vpp per channel providing additional crunch distortion
- Master Mix output headroom approximately 23Vpp before hard clipping
- Channel 1 and 4 with manual and CV-controlled stereo panorama (PAN)
- Channels 2 and 3 with manual and CV-controlled cross-fading (X-FADE) and direct breakout output
- Unique linear pan/fade law with only -1.3dB center dip (approximately 0.86x gain reduction)
- X-Fade direct output breaks channels 2&3 out of all mix buses when patched
- Mono auxiliary inputs (M-AUX 1&2) sum equally to both L and R mono mix outputs with -3dB pad
Controls & Jacks (35)
- Channel 1 Pan — Manual panorama control for Mono Channel 1 with -1.3dB center dip. Allows stereo placement with minimal level loss.
- Stereo Channel 1 Level/Saturation — Controls input level and gentler saturation amount for Stereo Channel 1. Nominal level around 3 O'clock with additional gain beyond.
- M-AUX 2 — Auxiliary mono input with -3dB pad for external sources and feedback patching. Sums equally to both L and R outputs.
- Stereo Channel 1 Right Input — Auxiliary stereo left input with -3dB pad and L>R normalization. Accommodates direct stereo or monophonic sources.
- Mono Channel 3 Level/Saturation — Controls input level and saturation amount for Mono Channel 1. Nominal level at 12-2 O'clock, saturation increases beyond.
- Stereo Channel 3 Level/Saturation — Controls input level and saturation amount for Mono Channel 2. Nominal level at 12-2 O'clock, saturation increases beyond.
- Mono Channel 2 Level/Saturation — Controls input level and saturation amount for Mono Channel 3. Nominal level at 12-2 O'clock, saturation increases beyond.
- ST-AUX Left — Voltage control input for Channel 4 panorama. Expects symmetrical ±5V control voltage.
- X-FADE Output Right — Direct output for Mono Channels 2 & 3 with same saturation-compression but without reduced high frequency response. Breaks normalization to
- X-FADE Output Left — Left channel of split stereo output from Mono Mixer Bus. Features warmer overdrive with pronounced high frequency reduction.
- Stereo Mix Output Right — Right input of main stereophonic input 2 with level/saturation control (L>R normalization)
- Stereo Channel 2 Level/Saturation — Controls input level and gentler saturation amount for Stereo Channel 2. Nominal level around 3 O'clock with additional gain beyond.
- Stereo Channel 1 Left Input — Auxiliary stereo right input with -3dB pad and L>R normalization. Accommodates direct stereo or monophonic sources.
- Stereo Channel 2 Right Input — Left input of main stereophonic input 2 with level/saturation control (L>R normalization)
- Mono Channel 1 Level/Saturation — Controls input level and gentler saturation amount for Stereo Channel 3. Nominal level around 3 O'clock with additional gain beyond.
- M-CV 2 — Main monophonic input for Channel 1 with level/saturation control
- ST-AUX Right — Right channel of split stereo output from Mono Mixer Bus. Features warmer overdrive with pronounced high frequency reduction.
- Channel 2/3 X-Fade — Manual cross-fade control between Mono Channels 2 and 3 with -1.3dB center dip. Enables smooth fade between sources.
- M-AUX 1 — Right input of main stereophonic input 2 with level/saturation control (L>R normalization)
- ST-CV 3 — Main monophonic input for Channel 3 with level/saturation control and X-Fade capability
- Channel 4 Pan — Manual panorama control for Mono Channel 4 with -1.3dB center dip. Allows stereo placement with minimal level loss.
- Channel 4 Pan CV — Auxiliary mono input with -3dB pad for external sources and feedback patching. Sums equally to both L and R outputs.
- Stereo Channel 3 Left Input — Left input of main stereophonic input 1 with level/saturation control (L>R normalization)
- ST-CV — Main monophonic input for Channel 4 with level/saturation control
- Channel 1 Pan CV — Voltage control input for Channel 1 panorama. Expects symmetrical ±5V control voltage.
- Stereo Mix Output Left — Right input of main stereophonic input 1 with level/saturation control (L>R normalization)
- Channel 2/3 X-Fade CV — Voltage control input for cross-fade between Channels 2 and 3. Expects symmetrical ±5V control voltage.
- Mono Channel 4 Level/Saturation — Controls input level and saturation amount for Mono Channel 4. Nominal level at 12-2 O'clock, saturation increases beyond.
- M-CV — Left input of main stereophonic input 3 with level/saturation control (L>R normalization)
- Stereo Channel 2 Left Input — Main monophonic input for Channel 2 with level/saturation control and X-Fade capability
- M-CV 3 — Right input of main stereophonic input 3 with level/saturation control (L>R normalization)
- Stereo Channel 3 Right Input — Left channel of split stereo output from Stereo Mixer Bus. Features gentler saturation and brighter frequency response.
- Mono Channel 3 Input — Right channel of split stereo output from Stereo Mixer Bus. Features gentler saturation and brighter frequency response.
- Master Mix Output Left — Left channel of split stereo output summing all audio inputs (Mono and Stereo). Approximately 23Vpp headroom.
- Mono Channel 4 Input — Right channel of split stereo output summing all audio inputs (Mono and Stereo). Approximately 23Vpp headroom.
How-To Guides
- Vintage Console Warmth on Mono Sources
- Bright Stereo Effects Return
- Voltage Controlled Auto-Pan
- Cross-Fade Morphing Between Two Sound Sources
- X-Fade Breakout for Parallel Effect Processing
- Amp Biasing for Sweet Even Harmonic Distortion
- LFO Into Unused Channel for Rhythmic Distortion Bias
- Mono Saturation Into Stereo Effects Chain
- Self-Feedback Patching for Generative Texture
- Mono Source Normalized to Stereo Aux for Wide Submix
Explore the interactive Vortices panel on BleepDex — tap any control to learn what it does.
