Knobula has introduced Echo Cinematic at SUPERBOOTH24 in Berlin

Electronic music innovator Knobula unveiled Echo Cinematic as the latest Eurorack module to embody its no-screen, no-preset philosophy — presented as a fully-featured, practical stereo effects unit that draws its inspiration from the influential dub music culture that emerged from Jamaica and made its mark on the London music scene in the early Eighties.

Actively appreciating Echo Cinematic as a fully-featured, practical stereo effects Eurorack module — as alluded to by its front panel-positioned descriptive (Eq + Delay + Reverb) wording — that draws its inspiration from the influential dub music culture that emerged from Jamaica and made its mark on the London music scene in the early Eighties surely benefits from digging deeper into what, technically, made that scene sound so unique. Ultimately, then, analogue tape delays were routinely connected to mixing consoles via a spare channel strip in those iconic recording setups, so engineers were able to manipulate the resultant sound using EQ and effects send controls to create ever-evolving rhythm textures from feedback loops delicately balanced on the brink of self-oscillation.

On the face of it, Echo Cinematic clearly eliminates the need for a complex mixing console; instead, it expands on those early-Eighties-developed dub music principals by beautifully integrating a versatile resonant filter with five distinct sources of automation. As such, Echo Cinematic consists of two independent LFOs (Low Frequency Oscillators) for both Eq and Delay modulation; looping 30-second Knob Record functionality, capable of simultaneously controlling every knob on the module’s clear-cut front panel; and two external CV (Control Voltage) inputs — CV A and CV B — for instant assignment to any control upon insertion of a patch cable.

Creatively, Echo Cinematic’s Eq section boasts three selectable filter types — namely, Shelf (high-/low-pass), Peak (peak/notch), and classic Comb; each can be patched into the Fback (feedback) loop (in so-called Dub Mode), Delay (output), or All (entire signal path), including the self-explanatory Dry or Effect signal. Simultaneous to that, the Delay section offers up to two seconds of stereo delay time, complete with Tap delay and grid Snapping functionality to ensure precise synchronisation with the beat or clock signal, while Reverb duties are handled by the same, lush-sounding 24-bit stereo processing found in Knobula’s other cinematic-sounding Eurorack modules — think: no screens, just big-screen sounds!

Says Knobula Technical Director Jason Mayo: “Before Knobula was founded, even, Echo Cinematic was intended to be our Eurorack debut. Duly envisioned as the ultimate dub-style echo module, its development was paused due to Poly Cinematic’s unexpected success; Echo Cinematic nonetheless now represents the culmination of a meticulous three-year developmental journey, the result of which has turned out to be even better than my original concept, so I’m immensely proud to finally introduce it to the Eurorack community.”