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New Systems Instruments Harmonic Shift Oscillator Eurorack Module

New Systems Instruments

£389.00
In stock.
Shipping info

The Harmonic Shift Oscillator (HSO) produces harmonic and inharmonic spectra through all-analog electronics. It provides similar capabilities to FM synthesis, but with a more direct relationship between the parameters and the resulting spectrum. You can separately control the tuning, the level of the harmonics, and the harmonic stride—the spacing between consecutive harmonics. When the harmonic stride is integer valued, you can get tones that sound similar to the traditional sine, triangle, square, and sawtooth, although the waveform will be different. If harmonic stride is non-integer valued, you'll get a complex inharmonic waveform.
The Harmonic Shift Oscillator has CV control over all parameters, with carefully chosen ranges. It responds well to self-modulation. With frequency, harmonic stride, and harmonic level modulation available, even a single HSO can produce extremely complex, evolving soundscapes with no other input. See the drone video, below, for a demonstration.
The HSO produces two outputs with all frequency components one quarter turn out of phase, making different wave shapes for the same harmonic content. However, because they reach their peaks differently, they'll distort differently. At higher harmonic levels, the HSO itself will produce warm and gentle distortion. While you have to be a little careful of phase issues, these two outputs are a great starting point for stereoizing a signal.

Size 12HP
Depth 25mm
Power Consumption +12V 80mA
−12V 75mA
Tuning Range 7Hz–50kHz
Tuning Accuracy ~7 octaves
Output Range ~+9dBu–~+12dBu,
−8V–+8V peak<

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

The Harmonic Shift Oscillator (HSO) produces harmonic and inharmonic spectra through all-analog electronics. It provides similar capabilities to FM synthesis, but with a more direct relationship between the parameters and the resulting spectrum. You can separately control the tuning, the level of the harmonics, and the harmonic stride—the spacing between consecutive harmonics. When the harmonic stride is integer valued, you can get tones that sound similar to the traditional sine, triangle, square, and sawtooth, although the waveform will be different. If harmonic stride is non-integer valued, you'll get a complex inharmonic waveform.
The Harmonic Shift Oscillator has CV control over all parameters, with carefully chosen ranges. It responds well to self-modulation. With frequency, harmonic stride, and harmonic level modulation available, even a single HSO can produce extremely complex, evolving soundscapes with no other input. See the drone video, below, for a demonstration.
The HSO produces two outputs with all frequency components one quarter turn out of phase, making different wave shapes for the same harmonic content. However, because they reach their peaks differently, they'll distort differently. At higher harmonic levels, the HSO itself will produce warm and gentle distortion. While you have to be a little careful of phase issues, these two outputs are a great starting point for stereoizing a signal.

Technical Specs

Size 12HP
Depth 25mm
Power Consumption +12V 80mA
−12V 75mA
Tuning Range 7Hz–50kHz
Tuning Accuracy ~7 octaves
Output Range ~+9dBu–~+12dBu,
−8V–+8V peak<

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.