1991mk3 - Dual morphing wavetable oscillator with waveshaping audio inputs and unison detune

Overview

Synthesists beware, there's a new menace in town—and much to the chagrin of it's older sibling, this one doubles down on its Banzai Rush. The Piston Honda mk3 maintains the character of its previous incarnation, while incorporating some punishing new combos. Where the infamous Piston Honda mk2 features a single oscillator consisting of 4,096 8-bit waveforms organized across a 16x16x16 "cube", the mk3 houses 512 16-bit waveforms arranged in an 8x8x8 configuration. Just like its predecessor, the waveforms operate at full resolution and can be manipulated manually with sliders or remotely via CV. Unlike the mk2, which only accepts CV in the range of 0-5v, the mk3's CV inputs accept both positive and negative voltages. Another welcome upgrade is the module's preset manager, which is operable via CV. This enhancement pulls all the punches by allowing users to store and recall specific configurations then morph between those presets! Who knew the fourth dimension was so unabashedly infernal?

The Piston Honda Mark III is a dual morphing wavetable oscillator with waveshaping audio inputs and unison detune. The three axis sliders create a waveform for each selected oscillator to play from the internal “cube” of 8x8x8 16-bit waveforms, morphed at full resolution in all three dimensions (the oscillators may each play a different waveform). The voltage-controlled preset manager stores a bank of these settings to be recalled at any time, with a virtual fourth dimension of morphing when the manager is in “continuous” mode. An orange 128x32 OLED display displays the current waveform for the selected oscillator in realtime, its frequency, and the selected preset and wave selection. The rotary encoder changes system settings on the display, but it’s not necessary to interact with the display menus for any performance purpose.

I’ve heard every user suggestion about the previous MK II generation and fully modernized the design, now operating as a dual oscillator in the same 17HP space. The infamous aggressive character of the Piston Honda is fully present, with the added clarity of the 16-bit wavetable engine. The second oscillator’s frequency controls can be slaved to the first. Each oscillator has its own unison detune function as well, for a maximum of four stacked oscillators sounding at once. The oscillator can alternatively run as a nonlinear waveshaper, processing a dedicated audio input through the selected wavetable with voltage-controlled drive. When running in its normal oscillator mode, this input instead provides thru-zero frequency modulation.

In terms of visual apprehension, the mk3 adds even more precision to its ilk's well-documented cruelty with the addition of a 128x32 OLED display. More than a mere window into Cocytus, the display provides immediate visual indication of the selected waveform and its frequency, as well as preset and wave selections. When used in tandem with something like Argos Bleak, tuning and executing become insidiously simple. Another malevolent modification is the inclusion of a micro-SD slot, which offers users a quick and effective means of loading their own 16-bit waveforms into the module (much more convenient than the esoteric ROM burning ritual). The module is compatible with files created via the Synthesis Technology WaveEdit program.

Piston Honda mk3 Features

• Dual wavetable oscillator
• Sophisticated preset manager
• Integrated oscilloscope display; selectable for either oscillator
• 128x32 OLED display provides indication of frequency, current preset, and wave selection
• Voltage-controlled preset manager with space for 8 presets
• Three banks of 8 16-bit waveforms
• Menu editing executable via rotary encoder
• Osc 2's frequency controls can be slaved to Osc 1
• Each oscillator features a slaved unison detune oscillator
• FM input of each oscillator doubles as audio input for nonlinear waveshaper
• Waveform banks consist of additive harmonic formations, LFSR progressions, and waveforms derrived from renowned synthesizers
• Micro-SD slot on front panel for loading custom waveforms

Waveforms

Waveforms are selected from the internal memory of 8 collections:
* additive harmonic structures
* harsh LFSR progressions
* restored waveforms inspired by classic synthesizers
* special content from my favorite modular artists

You can load user wave data (16-bit WAV format) using the front-panel microSD card slot.

FACTORY WAVESET INSTRUCTIONS

Equipment needed: MicroSDcard.

STEPS

1. Format the microSD card using your computer to “FAT” format.
2. Copy all eight .WAV files in this collection to the root level of the SD card. Do not rename them.
3. Eject the SD card and remove it from your computer.
4. Insert the SD card into the front panel slot of the Piston Honda Mark III.
5. Hold down the Piston's black rotary encoder button and press the "LINK" button to enter the OPTIONS menu. Release both buttons.
6. Turn the rotary encoder to scroll down to "Load Waves From SD". It's on the second page of options.
7. Press the rotary encoder button. The Piston Honda will check for the presence of 8 wave files named "1.wav" ~ "8.wav". If these files are not present, the operation will fail. If the files are valid, the Piston will load each of them into memory and then restart.

You should keep a backup of your wave configurations on the SD card or your computer. If you upgrade the firmware on the Piston Honda, the onboard waveforms will be reset to this factory data, so you must reload your custom waveforms.

FILE FORMAT / CREATING YOUR OWN

Any mono 16 bit WAV file will work with Piston Honda, but it likely won't work as expected unless you've formatted the wave data correctly. Use the editors mentioned at the end of this document to create and arrange the wave banks, or generate your own through other means! Each WAV file should consist of 64 single-cycle waves measuring 256 samples each. The WaveEdit program linked below correctly generates files in this format if all 64 wave slots in that program are filled.

Each of the eight WAV files to be loaded into the Piston Honda represents one of the 8 possible positions on the Z axis slider. A group of 8 waves in sequence within the file corresponds to the 8 values of the X slider, and the collection of these 8 groups within the file correspond to the values selected by the Y slider.

IMPORTANT - When you put your waves on the SD card, you must load the entire memory of 8 WAV files at once. They MUST be named "1.wav", "2.wav" all the way up to "8.wav". The files will not load if they are not named correctly, or if any of the 8 are missing. It is OK to have other files with different names stored on the card, but only the WAV files with correct file names will be loaded into the module.

FREE EDITORS

http://synthtech.com/waveedit/ - by Synthesis Technology
http://scw.sheetsofsound.com/ - by Darwin Grosse

FACTORY WAVESET INFO

Z1: Classic Waveforms 1 - (traditional)
Z2: Lucifer Additive - Scott Jaeger
Z3: Classic Waveforms 2 - (traditional)
Z4: LFSR Vectors - Scott Jaeger
Z5: Radek Rudnicki
Z6: Joey Blush
Z7: Rodent
Z8: Surachai Sutthisasanakul[/u]

ABOUT THE MARK III SERIES

The Industrial Music Electronics Mark III series features metal shaft potentiometers secured to the faceplate (on large knob controls), shrouded power header with reverse voltage protection, and a small OLED display for each module’s edit facility. A voltage-controlled preset manager provides morphing control between 8 active presets per bank. CV inputs on digital circuits respond to positive and negative voltages.

http://www.industrialmusicelectronics.com/products/21