Is there an extreme wide range LFO module that permits a full sweep with one knob? (Is this a silly question?)

Hello everyone,

I'm just starting my modular delirium, I've always used conventional synths, but after purchasing a pair of Bastl Kastle and a Neutron from Behringer I went down into the rabbit (or pork) hole and decided I wanted something similar but with more and better oscillators and filters, and more LFO's (yeh, and VCA's, FX, ADSR's, etc... WTF).
While getting my setup I've come across the fact that I can't find an LFO module with a range as big as the Neutron's, which is about 0.01 hz to 10 khz, and in which you can do the full sweep with one knob, no extra "range" knobs (Neutron's LFO is very nice by the way, don't like the oscillators and filter that much though).
I need an LFO module with these characteristics -wide range and complete sweep with one knob- but can't find any, does anyone know of one? Or should I just forget about it and use wide range VCO's as LFO's? (Neutron's VCO's go from 0.7 hz to 55 khz... awesome, but not slow enough).

BTW, I am a knob enthusiast, so I really like good knobs and I like them large for wide modulation.

Thanks in advance,

Cheers!

Pricto.

EDITED Aug 20th 2020, 07:25

I think you might be best off with a VCO that has LFO mode - or just goes deep down. Doepfers A143-9 might be a good contender as well, and it’s really cheap! But it only does sine waves and its derrivates.
If that’s what you need - recommended! It’s very modulatable, I use mine as FM modulator with v/oct into cv1 and a nice slider into the cv2 for playability :)

EDITED Aug 20th 2020, 13:33

I think you might be best off with a VCO that has LFO mode - or just goes deep down. Doepfers A143-9 might be a good contender as well, and it’s really cheap! But it only does sine waves and its derrivates.
If that’s what you need - recommended! It’s very modulatable, I use mine as FM modulator with v/oct into cv1 and a nice slider into the cv2 for playability :)
-- LYFoulidis
That's a cool modulator, 4 sines at different phase is very nice... But I have a problem, I've got a skiff case at the moment. Hope I'll get another one in the near future for Doepfer only, aaaargh! At the moment I would be blessed if I had at least one 0.01 to 10 hz LFO with just one knob for the whole frequency range. Thanks for the recommendation!

Intellijel Dixie II+ is a pretty solid VCO/LFO and only 40mm.

Intellijel Dixie II+ is a pretty solid VCO/LFO and only 40mm.
-- troux

Yes I saw this one, this is the closest option, but it has the switch that cuts the range in half, making it imposible to make a full frequency sweep across the whole register... Thanks for the recommendation anyway!

I don't know any.

But many LFOs accept a wide range of control voltages, so you could patch a +/-10v CV source in the form of a big knob or a fader into one and get the result you're looking for.

There are many such CV sources, and they're usually cheap. My favorite one is the Antumbra Fade. (It also doubles as an attenuverter.)

I don't know any.

But many LFOs accept a wide range of control voltages, so you could patch a +/-10v CV source in the form of a big knob or a fader into one and get the result you're looking for.

There are many such CV sources, and they're usually cheap. My favorite one is the Antumbra Fade. (It also doubles as an attenuverter.)

Man, I LOVE the Neutron's 3340 VCOs! haha The blending and cv mod of the waves... Magnificent! My favorite part of the synth actually. Was sad to see them go once I sold it but felt the Dreadbox Hysteria was a better replacement. The morphing LFO was very cool too.

By the way, the Neutron's LFO is digital so you might want to keep that in mind when shopping around.

I don't know any.

But many LFOs accept a wide range of control voltages, so you could patch a +/-10v CV source in the form of a big knob or a fader into one and get the result you're looking for.

There are many such CV sources, and they're usually cheap. My favorite one is the Antumbra Fade. (It also doubles as an attenuverter.)
-- fredeke

Oh... This could be a really nice way to solve this single knob problem, Antumbra Fades are quite cool... THANKS!

Man, I LOVE the Neutron's 3340 VCOs! haha The blending and cv mod of the waves... Magnificent! My favorite part of the synth actually. Was sad to see them go once I sold it but felt the Dreadbox Hysteria was a better replacement. The morphing LFO was very cool too.

By the way, the Neutron's LFO is digital so you might want to keep that in mind when shopping around.
-- catwavez

Have to agree, the wave blending and cv mod of these 3340 is really nice, haven't seen anything like it either... What I don't like is the stability of the knobs, I'm avoiding keyboards and other non-knob controllers, just fell in love with knobs I guess. My experience is that in my Neutron one of the VCO's jumps and wiggles at some area of the range when I tweak it. The same with the freq knob of the filter. Maybe is that I have to clean it or something, but is a weird wiggle, and Behringer its so cheap that who knows... but the other one is fine. All in all, I'll never sell my Neutron, I would even buy another one if I could.

Didn't know the LFO of the Neutron was digital... I'll keep this in mind! Many Thanks!!!

EDITED Aug 20th 2020, 20:02

Odd. Never heard of that issue. Behringer synths have a 3 year warranty so you might want to contact them. And if they ever decide to release the Neutron VCO as its own module I would gladly buy one! Hopefully they would add a 'fine tune' control though.

Hi Pricto,

Here a few frequency ranges of a few modules, at the end it's a matter of checking all the manuals of those modules you might be interested in :-)

Erica Synths - Black LFO - 0.1 Hz - 60 Hz
ACL - QLFO - "a fraction of a" 1 Hz - 20 kHz (I am just phrasing what has been mentioned in the manual)
AJH Synth - Dual LFO & VCA - in slow mode it's 0.01 Hz - 2 Hz
Doepfer - A-145 - Standard LFO but I love this thing and have a look at this copy/paste from Doepfer's website:
H: about 10Hz - 4.5kHz
M: about 0.1Hz (10 seconds period) - 50Hz
L: about 0.005 Hz (3.5 minutes period) - 5Hz

How slow do you want to go? :-)

Instruo - Ochd - 25 minute cycle till 160 Hz (even slower than the above Doepfer)
IO Instruments - Themisto VCO but can go from 0.5 Hz - 6 kHz or from 10 Hz - 130 kHz
Joranalogue - Generate 3 - VCLFO mode 0.0028 Hz - 180 Hz
Make Noise - Maths - from 25 minutes up till 1 kHz

Well that's what I could come up with in checking about a half hour the manuals from several manufacturers. Perhaps there are already one or two modules that might interest you otherwise just keep checking all the manufacturers and their manuals :-)

Good luck in finding the right LFO and kind regards, Garfield Modular.

I'd also like to toss in Pittsburgh Modular's Double Helix dual oscillator. The frequency ranges for both oscillators are absurd, from well below 1 Hz to nearly supersonic, and there's no range selection, it's all there on the same knob sweep. This makes dialing in a specific frequency a little trickier, but you'll definitely be able to cover a wider range than most modules.

Hi Pricto,

Here a few frequency ranges of a few modules, at the end it's a matter of checking all the manuals of those modules you might be interested in :-)

Erica Synths - Black LFO - 0.1 Hz - 60 Hz
ACL - QLFO - "a fraction of a" 1 Hz - 20 kHz (I am just phrasing what has been mentioned in the manual)
AJH Synth - Dual LFO & VCA - in slow mode it's 0.01 Hz - 2 Hz
Doepfer - A-145 - Standard LFO but I love this thing and have a look at this copy/paste from Doepfer's website:
H: about 10Hz - 4.5kHz
M: about 0.1Hz (10 seconds period) - 50Hz
L: about 0.005 Hz (3.5 minutes period) - 5Hz

How slow do you want to go? :-)

Instruo - Ochd - 25 minute cycle till 160 Hz (even slower than the above Doepfer)

IO Instruments - Themisto VCO but can go from 0.5 Hz - 6 kHz or from 10 Hz - 130 kHz
Joranalogue - Generate 3 - VCLFO mode 0.0028 Hz - 180 Hz
Make Noise - Maths - from 25 minutes up till 1 kHz

Well that's what I could come up with in checking about a half hour the manuals from several manufacturers. Perhaps there are already one or two modules that might interest you otherwise just keep checking all the manufacturers and their manuals :-)

Good luck in finding the right LFO and kind regards, Garfield Modular.
-- GarfieldModular

Wow! Thank You!! Yes, that's what I've being doing, checking the specifications of all the modules but none would have this really wide register that the Neutron has... 0.01 hz to 10 khz and with one knob sweep. I think the Maths has the widest range of all of the modules I've been checking, but still doesn't go as high. Curious, it seems Behringer has gone pretty extreme on this feature.

I'd also like to toss in Pittsburgh Modular's Double Helix dual oscillator. The frequency ranges for both oscillators are absurd, from well below 1 Hz to nearly supersonic, and there's no range selection, it's all there on the same knob sweep. This makes dialing in a specific frequency a little trickier, but you'll definitely be able to cover a wider range than most modules.
-- dinorrific

Haven't checked this one... going to give it a look! Thanks!!!

My goodness, the Double Helix is quite a monster oscillator, heheh. Can't find the range in hz in the manual though...

This: https://www.modulargrid.net/e/4ms-company-quad-pingable-lfo

Four LFOs in that thing, with periods ranging from 500 Hz down to a ridiculous .0002 Hz (ie: 70+ minutes). And another module in a similar timebase vein that you might find useful is: https://www.modulargrid.net/e/nonlinearcircuits-triple-sloths-v2

This: https://www.modulargrid.net/e/4ms-company-quad-pingable-lfo

Four LFOs in that thing, with periods ranging from 500 Hz down to a ridiculous .0002 Hz (ie: 70+ minutes). And another module in a similar timebase vein that you might find useful is: https://www.modulargrid.net/e/nonlinearcircuits-triple-sloths-v2
-- Lugia

Very nice! Thank you!!

Has anyone tried or has one of these for sale?
https://www.modulargrid.net/e/serpens-modular-antares-dual-analog-modulator