Cre8audio Mr. Phil Ter VCA, Envelope Generator and Filter

Mr. Phil Ter isn’t the smartest name for a module that has an envelope generator, VCA, and a filter in it. Well, we never claimed to be smart.

Mr. Phil Ter, or Phil as we affectionately call it, is a module that does a whole bunch of analog and digital stuff, in not a lot of HP.

Phil’s digital bits are solely comprised of the envelope generator, for your envelopy pleasure.

The analog bits, developed in partnership with the ultra-serious folks at Pittsburgh Modular Synthesizers (a very serious synthesizer company) and are comprised of a voltage controlled amplifier circuit (VCA) as well as an extra juicy old-school transistor ladder filter, perfect for those of you who are not afraid of ladders or transistors. (personally, we’re terrified of them).

Anyway, pair Mr. Phil Ter up with any oscillator or crank up its own filter section’s resonance and self-oscillate, get crazy. He’s just what the doctor ordered to complete (or not) any synthesizer voice.

Some Really Boring Facts About Mr. Phil Ter

• Width = 12hp

• Depth = 26mm

• Envelope facts

  • Voltage range: 0-10V

  • Gate trigger threshold voltage: +5V

  • Attack, Release, and Decay times 0-10s (slow). 0-5s (fast)

  • Easter egg mode – quantize itself to 7bit for a steppy sample & hold effect

• VCA facts – It’s a VCA, not YMCA or YWCA, but made with love. Sound or voltage goes in, and it will come out, or not. Control it with voltage or not. You can never have too many VCA’s, and this a good one.

• Filter facts – Classic low-pass transistor ladder filter design, also will self-oscillate when resonance is cranked, creating a super clean trackable sine wave

• 33mA power draw when running +12V rail

• 22mA power draw when running +5V rail

• 36mA power draw when running -12V

Here’s a document outlining the user calibration procedure of Mr. Phil Ter’s filter.