Hungry Robot The Karman Line

Other/unknown

Delay

modulating joystick delay and oscillation device

The Kármán Line is a modulating joystick delay and oscillation device that features a heavily filtered, lo-fi delay line with vinyl inspired pitch modulation.

The repeats on The Kármán Line are dark and overdriven. The not-so-subtle grittiness provides the perfect tone for creating a deeply textured, lo-fi wall-of-sound. The Kármán Line was designed for glitchy experimentalists, but can find its place in many musical settings.

The Kármán Line features vinyl-esque pitch modulation centered on an all analog, light-based LFO. The modulation mimics the sound of slowing down a record player with your finger. The modulation can go from subtle to extreme, borderline obnoxious (in a good way) pitch bending.

The most intriguing aspect of The Kármán Line is the implementation of a joystick. The Kármán Line employs a delay chip that creates an audible warp as you manipulate the delay time, controlled by the Y-Axis of the joystick. The X-Axis controls the rate of modulation.

The "Swell" footswitch (center) and "Launch" footswitch (right) provide two methods for bringing the circuit into ramping oscillation. Both footswitches work by overloading the circuit with out-of-control repeats (a.k.a. oscillation).

The "Swell" footswitch is a momentary switch that allows you to create a ramping volume swell at any time. It lets the repeats crash into each other, getting louder and louder with each repeat. When you let go, the repeats return to their normal setting.

The "Launch" footswitch is a latching switch that creates a below the mix oscillation that can be manipulated with the joystick for outer space noises. The joystick also acts as a pitch selector. With the "Launch" switch activated, the O.Mix knob overrides the Mix knob to allow you to dampen the volume of the oscillation.