SuperKar+ is a Eurorack voice module that uses Karplus-Strong synthesis to recreate the sound of plucked or bowed strings, struck or blown pipes or tubes, or a suite of other sounds from percussive textures to legato melodies and chords with smart harmonies. This is Karplus-Strong synthesis at its most intuitive and captivating. Karplus-Strong is a form of delay feedback synthesis, where every tone and texture is constantly in a state of varying tension. SuperKar+ is an engagingly responsive instrument, as tiny changes in attack/decay time and damping create an infinite variety of subtle or dramatic timbral shifts, and variable random per-note detuning can create lifelike realism.

Strymon SuperKar+ – Audio Examples:


Two Instruments In One: Independent Melodies and Chords
SuperKar+ is divided into two halves or voices: a Solo Voice and a Chord Voice, both of which can be played simultaneously and independently of each other if desired. Both voices can be triggered and pitched independently via control voltage, while the Solo Voice can also be controlled polyphonically via MIDI.

Deep Dive with Sound Designer Pete Celi:


Independent timbre selections are available for both voices, and each voice has its own independent level control and can be routed through a separate audio output if desired.

32-Voice Polyphony
Set the polyphony on the Solo Voice to maximum and SuperKar+ can play up to 16 unique voices simultaneously. If you connect it to MIDI, the Solo Voice behaves as… read more a 16-voice velocity sensitive polyphonic sound module with stable tuning over eight octaves. Via CV the stable tuning range is six octaves.

The Chord Voice can also play up to 16 internally-generated voices simultaneously with a tuning range of five octaves. It creates harmonies based on the root note received at its pitch CV input, and can even create smart harmonies based on the root note plus a scale selection.

The Chord Voice can also be used for creating compelling basslines with doubling and octave options.

Deceptively Powerful, Invitingly Simple And Intuitive.
With an interface that can be understood at a glance, the sheer amount of music you can create with a single SuperKar+ module borders on mind-blowing. It draws you in, allowing you to generate full-sounding arrangements with as much musical and timbral variation as you can imagine via CV connections. Powerful enough to be the center of endless sonic exploration, SuperKar+ delivers all of this in a compact 12HP form factor.

Self-Contained Voice Module
The nature of Karplus-Strong synthesis means that you won't need to dedicate VCAs or amplifier envelopes to SuperKar+. Independent attack, decay and damping are included for both the Solo and Chord voices, and the module also includes an internal mixer with independent output levels for both voices, as well as multiple stereo and mono audio output modes.

SuperKar+ Values Your Input
The Solo Voice and the Chord Voice each have their own audio inputs, which can be used to not only excite the string or tube, but to transform either channel of SuperKar+ into a sympathetic resonator array for advanced or creative scenarios.

Sound Design Inspiration Karplus-Strong Synthesis:
When senior DSP engineer and Strymon co-founder Pete Celi finished tuning the monophonic Karplus-Strong voice in Strymon's StarLab Experimental Reverb module a few years ago, he immediately started thinking about how to build a standalone polyphonic instrument.

But what exactly is Karplus-Strong synthesis? In this scenario, a very short delay line with high feedback is excited by a sharp transient or burst of noise to produce a pitched sound, which is very similar to the principle of plucking a string. Longer excitations can create bowed string sounds, and when the polarity of the feedback structure is reversed a pipe or tube-like timbre can be produced instead. In SuperKar+ this method of synthesis almost seems to be alive, responding dramatically to slight changes in attack and decay times.

Features:

- Two independent Voice channels - Solo Voice and Chord Voice
- Each Voice is polyphonic up to 16 notes
- Solo Voice plays single notes capable of sustaining simultaneously
- Chord Voice plays chord structures based on the root from the received V/Oct (Volt per Octave) CV
- Chord Voice includes fixed intervals with smart harmonies available
- Selectable Wide & Narrow Stereo, Split Voice, and Mono output options
- MIDI input controls the Solo Voice for a 16 part polyphonic experience with velocity sensitivity (when using MIDI, unplug the solo Voice TRIG and Solo Voice V/Oct CVs)
- Solo Voice is tuning stable to six octaves via CV and eight octaves via MIDI, and the Chord Voice is tuning stable to five octaves
- 520MHz ARM Superscalar processor
- 32-bit floating point processing
- Rack width -- 12 HP
- Rack depth -- 1.5" (38mm)
- Power requirements -- +12V rail: 120mA, -12V rail: 120mA, +5V rail: 0mA
- Designed and built in the USA
-Audio Quality:
- Stable tuning over six octaves
- 520 MHz ARM Superscalar processor
- 32-bit floating point processing
- Designed and built in the US

read less