Neutral Labs Elmyra 2 – platform for microtonal sonic exploration

[neutral-labs]

I didn't see a post about Elmyra 2 yet, so here goes.

The successor to the somewhat popular Elmyra drone synth, Elmyra 2 was released in July 2023.

It's a 4-voice digital/analog hybrid drone synthesizer and platform for microtonal sonic exploration, available as a 42 HP Eurorack module or semi-modular desktop synth. It has 31 modulation targets, 4 polymetric sequencers, delay, additional per-voice effects, a choice of various filters, and onboard LFOs and utilities which essentially turn it into a purpose-built small modular system in itself. There's a DIY option as well, both for desktop and Eurorack.



Here's a demo of some patches:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UukYc3aQF8U

The firmware is steadily growing with more features. And coincidentally, a new update just dropped a couple of days ago, and it brings chord mode, along with a bunch of other cool stuff:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V35r9Z0-8YA

If you have any questions or comments, I'm happy to hear them.

[whyterabbyt]

Check the '2023 A Year in Gear' thread. vurt's got one, you've commented on one of his YT videos I believe. He heard about it from me, but I still havent built mine yet.

[neutral-labs]

Ah, right, I remember the videos.

You should go ahead and build yours though, it's just an hour or three, and chord mode is pretty awesome, especially with modulations.

I made a bunch of videos with it on IG. Or here, if you're not on IG.

[whyterabbyt]

well, I'd started, but made a rookie mistake on the second component, the usb power connector; it dropped out, and although i spent ages on it but couldnt get the hole clear of solder. intended to come back to it the weekend after, then buggered up my hip joint, which makes it really uncomfortable to sit at my bench for any period of time.
your timing is slightly supernatural, though; i literally had the board out again this afternoon to give it another go... did a wee bit of practice on something else, then gave it ago, and voila, now its cleared.
by this point, though, my leg is stiffening up again, so i'll see how it goes.

[neutral-labs]

For next time: Solder sucker tight against the PCB on one side, apply iron to other side, and shoot. Always works like a charm. Or a sacrificial resistor leg, solder it in and pull it back out with the liquid solder. If you encounter any other issues, just reach out to me here or by email.

Unfortunately I cannot offer any similar wisdom regarding your hip, but I hope you get well soon!

[whyterabbyt]

Ah, never thought to have the iron and solder sucker on opposite sides of the board, cheers. Got the board fully populated and the faceplate on, 'just' got the soldering to do now...

[vurt]

still loving and learning elmyra here!
so much available through menus to change the sound, as well as the patch cards.
definitely recommended!

[whyterabbyt]

still loving and learning elmyra here!
so much available through menus to change the sound, as well as the patch cards.
definitely recommended!

You tried the new firmware yet?

[vurt]

nope, still going through the original manual.
nice to see its receiving updates, like new toys without the cost

[whyterabbyt]

did all the soldering today,
v e r y
v e r y
c a r e f u l l y

brief panic cos it kept going off every 30 seconds but it turned out that was because I was using a USB battery pack...

wound up with it running, making sound properly, controls seem to work...

but not quite right. predictably i f**ked up.

seems like i got all the LEDs the wrong way round. FFS.

gonna have to undo all those thonkiconn nuts and other stuff to take off the frint panel again and fix. sigh.

[serge]

The successor to the somewhat popular Elmyra drone synth, Elmyra 2 was released in July 2023.
...
If you have any questions or comments, I'm happy to hear them.

Damn you, Neutral Labs. Just when I thought I was all out of GAS for the month of November! Just feels like the right thing to do to pair it up with my Lyra 8.

[neutral-labs]

seems like i got all the LEDs the wrong way round.

Oh no! Sorry to hear that. If there are any you can't salvage, drop me an email and I'll send you whatever you need for free. Good luck with the repair!

Just feels like the right thing to do to pair it up with my Lyra 8.

Oh yeah, they go very well together. I pair mine as well, as does Oscillator Sink:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHVPRHIKsTY

[whyterabbyt]

seems like i got all the LEDs the wrong way round.

Oh no! Sorry to hear that. If there are any you can't salvage, drop me an email and I'll send you whatever you need for free. Good luck with the repair!

Cheers. The RGB LED is in fine, its just the single colour 3mm to redo. Are they something very specific?

[neutral-labs]

The ones on the left and right side are normal ones. The LEDs between the touchpads are special super bright ones though, Kingbright WP710A10SEC/J4.

[neutral-labs]

Oscillator Sink made a demo drone for the new v2.2 firmware:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uM82XdgFH5s