Magnetosphere MK2

Magnetosphere MK2 from Eowave — saturation, filter and percussion source all in one.

The Magnetosphere MK2 is the follow-up to the original Magnetosphere, built on the foundation set by the MK1 but now with a few added features and improved sound quality. Not only that, but they’ve managed to trim down its width too. Central to its design is a resonant 24dB low pass filter that delivers a rich, phat, vintage tonal character. Thanks to the nicely executed transistor design, this filter should provide very precise control over whatever you choose to run through it.

This module is able to function as more than just a simple filter, however. In addition to its filtering capabilities, the Magnetosphere MK2 can also function as a sound source of its own making. This is due to the fact that there’s both saturation and a noise generator that is normalized to its input. If nothing is connected, it’s possible to then use this to generate and filter the noise. And since this module also comes with “Strike/Mod Input” that allows the input signal to be modulated or attenuated via the strike parameter – this can serve as an excellent source to construct percussive sounds. This can be for kicks, hi-hats, or whatever one can conjure with noise, modulation, and a filter 🙂

The reason why it works great as a source for percussion is that the strike mode employs a fixed decay envelope reminiscent of vactrols. This then enables dynamic accents and kick-style percussion when triggered. There’s a mod input for the resonance as well – expected on a filter, but nonetheless useful.

If the module is set to MOD instead of STRIKE, the input expects CV rather than gate/trig signals — meaning it’s better suited for ADSR or LFOs. Lastly, in the signal-chain, there is a VCA which only is active if there’s something plugged into the main input.

What to make of this then? This is a nice sounding filter! It’s imbued with a saturated character and also works great as a source for percussive sounds – that’s a pretty nice versatile set of features for such a small-sized filter.

Features

• 24dB low pass filter that can reach self-oscillation
• Post-filter transistor VCA
• Vactrol-like envelope mode for cutoff control
• Gain pot for signal amplification and warmth
• Integrated analog noise and saturation normalized to main input
• CV inputs for tracking, modulation, resonance & VCA