Tesseract Modular Compass
Octagonal joystick: 8 cardinal CVs + 8 directional LFOs from one analog stick
12 HP Eurorack module
Compass is a 12HP analog joystick controller that turns one spring-loaded octagonal stick into 16 simultaneous outputs: 8 cardinal CV signals (N/NE/E/SE/S/SW/W/NW) and 8 directional LFO signals tied to those same compass headings. Pushing the stick toward any direction raises that direction's CV proportionally and accelerates the same-direction LFO toward maximum rate. The eight CV outputs each have their own three-position range switch so you can match each destination (0 to +10V, 0 to +5V, or -5V to +5V) without external attenuverters. 16 bicolor LEDs around the compass plate show live activity at every output. There are no menus, modes, or firmware — every connection is a hardwired analog path, which makes it instant to play, immediate to patch, and difficult to break. Musically, Compass is a performance controller: a single hand motion can drive eight spatial parameters at once, or set up a slow, polyrhythmic LFO drift across a whole patch.
Features
- 8 cardinal CV outputs (N, NE, E, SE, S, SW, W, NW) from a single octagonal joystick
- 8 directional LFO outputs whose rates accelerate as the joystick is pushed toward each arrow
- Per-CV-output voltage range switch: 0 to +10V, 0 to +5V, or -5V to +5V
- Fixed-range bipolar LFO outputs (~5Vpp), unaffected by the Range switches
- 16 bicolor LEDs for live visual feedback at every output
- Spring-loaded mechanical joystick auto-returns CVs to 0V on release
- Compass-ring 0-360° markings around the joystick for visual reference
- Pure analog signal generation — no menus, no modes, no firmware to update
- 12HP, 25mm deep — skiff friendly
- Diagonal joystick pushes raise both adjacent cardinal CVs simultaneously for natural crossfading
Controls & Jacks (25)
- Joystick — Spring-loaded octagonal joystick. Position drives both the 8 cardinal CV outputs and the 8 directional LFOs simultaneously.
- NW CV Out — Cardinal CV output for the northwest direction. Voltage rises proportionally as the joystick is pushed NW. Range set by NW Range switch.
- W CV Out — Cardinal CV output for the west direction. Voltage rises proportionally as the joystick is pushed W. Range set by W Range switch.
- N CV Out — Cardinal CV output for the north direction. Voltage rises proportionally as the joystick is pushed N. Range set by N Range switch.
- S CV Out — Cardinal CV output for the south direction. Voltage rises proportionally as the joystick is pushed S. Range set by S Range switch.
- E CV Out — Cardinal CV output for the east direction. Voltage rises proportionally as the joystick is pushed E. Range set by E Range switch.
- NE CV Out — Cardinal CV output for the northeast direction. Voltage rises proportionally as the joystick is pushed NE. Range set by NE Range switch.
- SW CV Out — Cardinal CV output for the southwest direction. Voltage rises proportionally as the joystick is pushed SW. Range set by SW Range switch.
- SE CV Out — Cardinal CV output for the southeast direction. Voltage rises proportionally as the joystick is pushed SE. Range set by SE Range switch.
- NW LFO Out — Free-running LFO output, rate accelerates as the joystick is pushed toward NW. Fixed ~5Vpp bipolar swing.
- N LFO Out — Free-running LFO output, rate accelerates as the joystick is pushed toward N. Fixed ~5Vpp bipolar swing.
- S LFO Out — Free-running LFO output, rate accelerates as the joystick is pushed toward S. Fixed ~5Vpp bipolar swing.
- NE LFO Out — Free-running LFO output, rate accelerates as the joystick is pushed toward NE. Fixed ~5Vpp bipolar swing.
- SW LFO Out — Free-running LFO output, rate accelerates as the joystick is pushed toward SW. Fixed ~5Vpp bipolar swing.
- W LFO Out — Free-running LFO output, rate accelerates as the joystick is pushed toward W. Fixed ~5Vpp bipolar swing.
- E LFO Out — Free-running LFO output, rate accelerates as the joystick is pushed toward E. Fixed ~5Vpp bipolar swing.
- SE LFO Out — Free-running LFO output, rate accelerates as the joystick is pushed toward SE. Fixed ~5Vpp bipolar swing.
- NW Range — Voltage range selector for NW CV output: 0 to +10V, 0 to +5V, or -5V to +5V.
- NE Range — Voltage range selector for NE CV output: 0 to +10V, 0 to +5V, or -5V to +5V.
- W Range — Voltage range selector for W CV output: 0 to +10V, 0 to +5V, or -5V to +5V.
- N Range — Voltage range selector for N CV output: 0 to +10V, 0 to +5V, or -5V to +5V.
- S Range — Voltage range selector for S CV output: 0 to +10V, 0 to +5V, or -5V to +5V.
- E Range — Voltage range selector for E CV output: 0 to +10V, 0 to +5V, or -5V to +5V.
- SW Range — Voltage range selector for SW CV output: 0 to +10V, 0 to +5V, or -5V to +5V.
- SE Range — Voltage range selector for SE CV output: 0 to +10V, 0 to +5V, or -5V to +5V.
How-To Guides
- 8-Voice Spatial Modulation
- Filter Sweep + Companion LFO Modulation
- Drum Kit Performance Controller
- Stochastic Poly-LFO Drone
Explore the interactive Compass panel on BleepDex — tap any control to learn what it does.
