BIONIC LESTER MARK III is a 2-channel 2-pole state-variable digital filter with an unusual amount of aggressive sonic character. The filter mode is continuously variable under manual or CV control, smoothly fading from lowpass to bandpass to highpass to notch to allpass/comb with a single motion. The resonance stops just short of self-oscillation in the first three modes. A digital VCA controls the amplitude and the distortion of the input signal pre-filter. The filters have independent inputs and outputs, and an additional Mix output with balance control. The comb filters feature negative or positive feedback, and controlled self-oscillation to generate howling feedback evolution from the most mundane input. Your modular audio signal can now be heard from the short-delay-line claustrophobic perspective of a fuel tank entry crew, an overdue addition to the Industrial Music Electronics arsenal of Low Art Enforcement Technique. The allpass and comb modes are also useful for designing primitive diffusion, phasing, chorus, or delay effects, and even crude reverberation when multiple Lester units are used together.
The audio input controls have dual behavior. When the control (or CV input) is turned from zero position to the center, it operates as a simple gain control for that input. When turned past the center position towards the maximum, the signal will begin to soft-clip, adding hard clipping as the maximum is approached. This smooth and subtle distortion adds violence to otherwise unremarkable input material, generating additional harmonic content for the filter to process. The digital VCA that controls the gain and distortion functions is aware of the input signal’s zero crossing, eliminating “zipper” noises when the gain is modulated.
Each filter section has three CV inputs. The first is a high-speed input hardwired to the filter’s cutoff frequency, appropriate for snappy envelopes and slow moving voltages alike. The other two inputs (one with attenuverter control) are freely assignable to any of the filter parameters (cutoff, resonance, mode, gain), storable in a preset. The Mark III preset system stores eight fully programmed panel setups, instantly recalling everything under the harshest demands of performance. The Morph mode allows smooth fading between all of these presets.
Activate Filter B’s LINK control for patch-free routing of the filter’s control or audio signal. You can achieve dual-peak resonance, cable-free series routing, cascaded 4-pole filtering (with two stages of distortion), and full stereo using only one set of filter controls. The input normalization, LINK settings, and parallel mix output further reduce cable clutter while rapidly patching an elaborate signal flow.
The controls are arranged for maximum tweakability and minimum cable interference, with metal-shaft potentiometers attached to the panel on the large knobs. The Mark III OLED display displays the cutoff frequency in Hertz, resonance amount, and filter type morph. The CV inputs process all input voltages between -10 to +10 volts. Panel size is 15HP.
How much is my shipping?
Shipping is automatically calculated before you submit your payment information. Simply add items to your cart and proceed to the checkout page, where you'll be offered shipping options and their prices. In the UK it's normally around £4 for order values under £150, and free above that. Shipping to mainland EU is typically between £7 and £20, depending on the shipping method and the size and weight of the order.
Do you ship to my country?
Almost certainly - the site will give you an estimate of shipping costs if you add an item to the cart and then enter your country and postcode. If you have specific requirements (such as if you prefer UPS over FedEx, for example) then let us know in advance and we'll try to work something out for you.
Shipping methods
We use a combination of Parcelforce, DPD, Royal Mail and UPS for the UK, and for international orders it's either Royal Mail, UPS, DHL or FedEx depending on where you are in the world. If you have a particular preference then try to let us know BEFORE you order so we can look into it for you. Please note that there may occasionally be additional shipping charges if you live in a remote area, depending on what surcharges are applied by the shipper. We'll get in touch to discuss this with you in such cases.
Dispatch times
For UK orders, we normally dispatch the same working day if we get the order before 15:00. If you have a really urgent situation then of course drop us an email before ordering and we'll always do our absolute best to accommodate you.
For international orders, we normally dispatch the same day if we get the order before 13:00 but again, occasionally it might be the next day before we can send it out, and sometimes FedEx or UPS may come a little earlier than scheduled which would also push an order into the next day.
Shipping times
Since April 2020 the couriers we use have suspended guarantees for shipping times, so even though we're paying them for priority services - 24-48 hours for most of the world - in practice it's often an extra day on top and sometimes it can be longer.
There is absolutely nothing we can do about this unfortunately. If you are outside the UK and it's a life-or-death situation where you absolutely MUST have that passive mult for the next day then... it may be better to find a local supplier.
Saturday shipping
If you're in the UK and you order before 15:30 on a Friday then we can send something for a Saturday delivery (NB: this applies to UK mainland addresses only). The success rate with DPD is about 95% so it's worth a punt most of the time. Please note that if you select Saturday shipping on an order placed earlier in the week, we'll wait until Friday to ship it.
Pre-orders
If a product is listed as a pre-order, it means we've ordered it from the supplier but it's not physically in stock yet. The product listing will include an estimated shipping date based on the best information we have from the supplier, but do bear in mind this is subject to change and is not a guaranteed date.
If you place an order containing a mixture of in-stock and pre-order items, we'll normally hold off on shipping anything until the pre-order item(s) have arrived, rather than splitting it into multiple shipments. If you need the in-stock items sooner, we'd recommend placing separate orders. As always, please get in touch if you have questions.
Product Overview
BIONIC LESTER MARK III is a 2-channel 2-pole state-variable digital filter with an unusual amount of aggressive sonic character. The filter mode is continuously variable under manual or CV control, smoothly fading from lowpass to bandpass to highpass to notch to allpass/comb with a single motion. The resonance stops just short of self-oscillation in the first three modes. A digital VCA controls the amplitude and the distortion of the input signal pre-filter. The filters have independent inputs and outputs, and an additional Mix output with balance control. The comb filters feature negative or positive feedback, and controlled self-oscillation to generate howling feedback evolution from the most mundane input. Your modular audio signal can now be heard from the short-delay-line claustrophobic perspective of a fuel tank entry crew, an overdue addition to the Industrial Music Electronics arsenal of Low Art Enforcement Technique. The allpass and comb modes are also useful for designing primitive diffusion, phasing, chorus, or delay effects, and even crude reverberation when multiple Lester units are used together.
The audio input controls have dual behavior. When the control (or CV input) is turned from zero position to the center, it operates as a simple gain control for that input. When turned past the center position towards the maximum, the signal will begin to soft-clip, adding hard clipping as the maximum is approached. This smooth and subtle distortion adds violence to otherwise unremarkable input material, generating additional harmonic content for the filter to process. The digital VCA that controls the gain and distortion functions is aware of the input signal’s zero crossing, eliminating “zipper” noises when the gain is modulated.
Each filter section has three CV inputs. The first is a high-speed input hardwired to the filter’s cutoff frequency, appropriate for snappy envelopes and slow moving voltages alike. The other two inputs (one with attenuverter control) are freely assignable to any of the filter parameters (cutoff, resonance, mode, gain), storable in a preset. The Mark III preset system stores eight fully programmed panel setups, instantly recalling everything under the harshest demands of performance. The Morph mode allows smooth fading between all of these presets.
Activate Filter B’s LINK control for patch-free routing of the filter’s control or audio signal. You can achieve dual-peak resonance, cable-free series routing, cascaded 4-pole filtering (with two stages of distortion), and full stereo using only one set of filter controls. The input normalization, LINK settings, and parallel mix output further reduce cable clutter while rapidly patching an elaborate signal flow.
The controls are arranged for maximum tweakability and minimum cable interference, with metal-shaft potentiometers attached to the panel on the large knobs. The Mark III OLED display displays the cutoff frequency in Hertz, resonance amount, and filter type morph. The CV inputs process all input voltages between -10 to +10 volts. Panel size is 15HP.
Technical Specs
Shipping Details
How much is my shipping?
Shipping is automatically calculated before you submit your payment information. Simply add items to your cart and proceed to the checkout page, where you'll be offered shipping options and their prices. In the UK it's normally around £4 for order values under £150, and free above that. Shipping to mainland EU is typically between £7 and £20, depending on the shipping method and the size and weight of the order.
Do you ship to my country?
Almost certainly - the site will give you an estimate of shipping costs if you add an item to the cart and then enter your country and postcode. If you have specific requirements (such as if you prefer UPS over FedEx, for example) then let us know in advance and we'll try to work something out for you.
Shipping methods
We use a combination of Parcelforce, DPD, Royal Mail and UPS for the UK, and for international orders it's either Royal Mail, UPS, DHL or FedEx depending on where you are in the world. If you have a particular preference then try to let us know BEFORE you order so we can look into it for you. Please note that there may occasionally be additional shipping charges if you live in a remote area, depending on what surcharges are applied by the shipper. We'll get in touch to discuss this with you in such cases.
Dispatch times
For UK orders, we normally dispatch the same working day if we get the order before 15:00. If you have a really urgent situation then of course drop us an email before ordering and we'll always do our absolute best to accommodate you.
For international orders, we normally dispatch the same day if we get the order before 13:00 but again, occasionally it might be the next day before we can send it out, and sometimes FedEx or UPS may come a little earlier than scheduled which would also push an order into the next day.
Shipping times
Since April 2020 the couriers we use have suspended guarantees for shipping times, so even though we're paying them for priority services - 24-48 hours for most of the world - in practice it's often an extra day on top and sometimes it can be longer.
There is absolutely nothing we can do about this unfortunately. If you are outside the UK and it's a life-or-death situation where you absolutely MUST have that passive mult for the next day then... it may be better to find a local supplier.
Saturday shipping
If you're in the UK and you order before 15:30 on a Friday then we can send something for a Saturday delivery (NB: this applies to UK mainland addresses only). The success rate with DPD is about 95% so it's worth a punt most of the time. Please note that if you select Saturday shipping on an order placed earlier in the week, we'll wait until Friday to ship it.
Pre-orders
If a product is listed as a pre-order, it means we've ordered it from the supplier but it's not physically in stock yet. The product listing will include an estimated shipping date based on the best information we have from the supplier, but do bear in mind this is subject to change and is not a guaranteed date.
If you place an order containing a mixture of in-stock and pre-order items, we'll normally hold off on shipping anything until the pre-order item(s) have arrived, rather than splitting it into multiple shipments. If you need the in-stock items sooner, we'd recommend placing separate orders. As always, please get in touch if you have questions.
