Manufacturer's description
Aranea is our long awaited 5×5 active matrix mixer, with precise attenuverters and a whole lot of additional outputs.
We have done a lot of prototypes. We have experimented a lot. We have tried a lot of potentiometers. It is now ready.
Aranea is more than your typical matrix mixer. It is set up as a 5×5 attenuverters matrix.
When a pot is at noon, no signal will pass. Absolutely none. This was our biggest challenge. We ended up ordering custom center detent potentiometers to do just that.
If you turn a knob to the right you will increase its volume with up to a gentle 1.2X amplification. If you turn a knob to the left you will increase the volume while inverting the phase. Useful for DC signals like LFO or envelopes, great in audio patches and specially for feedback work.
Aranea has a main AC / DC switch. A single toggle will switch on or off output DC blocking capacitors for all channels.
When in AC mode, DC blocking will happen at the output. You can still use DC signals at the input to push the audio into the soft limiter built in all outputs.
Bonus trick : when in AC mode, plug the output of a channel back in an input, twist the corresponding knob and you get yourself an oscillator.
When in DC mode, no capacitors are present in the mixer path, allowing use with all kind of slow signals, LFOs, enveloppes, gates, and so on.
Extra outputs can be particularly handy. The exclusive “/” and “\” outputs are the diagonal outs (AI, BII, CIII, DIV, EV and AV, BIV, CIII, DII and EI).
Each output has a limiter kicking at around 14Vpp to keep the gnarliest of feedback loops in check. Also useful as a distortion when the signal is “pushed” or “pulled” in the limiter.
Specifications
Controls
- 5 inputs (lines)
- 5 main outputs (columns)
- 4 additional outputs (A+B, \, / & D+E)
- 25 bipolar attenuators
Technical characteristics
- 1.2X gain per knob
- Soft clipping from 15Vpp
- Single switch AC / DC mode switching
- Width: 26HP
- Depth: 38mm
- Current: +12V 70mA / -12V 90mA
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 15:00 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
Manufacturer's description
Aranea is our long awaited 5×5 active matrix mixer, with precise attenuverters and a whole lot of additional outputs.
We have done a lot of prototypes. We have experimented a lot. We have tried a lot of potentiometers. It is now ready.
Aranea is more than your typical matrix mixer. It is set up as a 5×5 attenuverters matrix.
When a pot is at noon, no signal will pass. Absolutely none. This was our biggest challenge. We ended up ordering custom center detent potentiometers to do just that.
If you turn a knob to the right you will increase its volume with up to a gentle 1.2X amplification. If you turn a knob to the left you will increase the volume while inverting the phase. Useful for DC signals like LFO or envelopes, great in audio patches and specially for feedback work.
Aranea has a main AC / DC switch. A single toggle will switch on or off output DC blocking capacitors for all channels.
When in AC mode, DC blocking will happen at the output. You can still use DC signals at the input to push the audio into the soft limiter built in all outputs.
Bonus trick : when in AC mode, plug the output of a channel back in an input, twist the corresponding knob and you get yourself an oscillator.
When in DC mode, no capacitors are present in the mixer path, allowing use with all kind of slow signals, LFOs, enveloppes, gates, and so on.
Extra outputs can be particularly handy. The exclusive “/” and “\” outputs are the diagonal outs (AI, BII, CIII, DIV, EV and AV, BIV, CIII, DII and EI).
Each output has a limiter kicking at around 14Vpp to keep the gnarliest of feedback loops in check. Also useful as a distortion when the signal is “pushed” or “pulled” in the limiter.
Specifications
Controls
- 5 inputs (lines)
- 5 main outputs (columns)
- 4 additional outputs (A+B, \, / & D+E)
- 25 bipolar attenuators
Technical characteristics
- 1.2X gain per knob
- Soft clipping from 15Vpp
- Single switch AC / DC mode switching
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 15:00 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.
