The Modstar Oscillation module is a top notch VCO designed by design guru Tim Caswell. Taking inspiration from the circuits of classic Arp and Oberheim hardware and the wave shaping circuits of the 2nd Generation Minimoog Model D, the result is a hybrid beauty!
The Modstar VCO has such a great sound that you'll immediately notice the difference. As such a fundamental part of your modular setup, getting the basic sound right is a priority. The Modstar Oscillation module has such a wide range of tones, you would be forgiven to think that the raw tone was part of a bigger setup. With everything from a massive sub that you feel rattling round your chest to the sweet highs at the top, this oscillator has got you covered.
Designer Tim Caswell notes,
"What's nice about our OSCILLATION stunner is that the waveforms are DC-coupled, so they keep their shape even at sub-Hz speeds. The outputs are also buffered, so the amplitude is independent of the load they are driving. The waveform levels on some modern eurorack OSCs are often all different, and they vary depending if they go into the mixer or directly to the filter!"
This design of direct circuitry coupling without in-line capacitors frees up the whole frequency spectrum and ensures a near identical response for years to come as it protects the transistors. A perfect balance which makes this gorgous sounding oscillator one of the best of the best!
Specifications
Potentiometer Potential
Three attenuation, and three attenuverter pots control the FREQUENCY, TUNE, PW CV IN, PUSLE WIDTH, FM CV IN, and SUB LEVEL, delivering smooth, detailed, and complex expression.
Switch it Up
NORMAL and LOW RANGE - wide sweeping audio frequencies, or clicks (respectively) for creating a rhythmic pulse or sweep; SINE, TRI, SAW, SQR - your friendly waveform on and offs.
Patch it Up
Eleven patch points: 1 V/O, FM IN, WAVE MIX, SYNC IN, PW IN, SUB OUT, SINE OUT, TRI OUT, SAW OUT, RAMP OUT, SQR OUT direct the deepest manipulation.
All Controls and Patch Points
FREQUENCY – Oscillator frequency attenuator.
NORMAL / LOW RANGE – Oscillator domain switch.
TUNE – Oscillator fine-tune attenuverter.
PULSE WIDTH – Variable pulse wave width control.
SINE – Sine wave on/off.
TRI – Triangle wave on/off.
SAW – Sawtooth wave on/off.
SQR – Square (pulse) wave on/off.
FM CV IN – Frequency Modulation control voltage input attenuverter.
SUB LEVEL – Sub (one octave down) level attenuator.
1 V/O – One volt per octave control voltage input.
FM IN – Frequency Modulation control voltage input.
SYNC IN – Oscillator Sync control voltage input.
PW IN – Pulse Width control voltage input.
SUB OUT – Sub Oscillator output.
SINE OUT – Sine Oscillator output.
TRI OUT – Triangle wave output.
SAW OUT– Sawtooth wave output.
RAMP OUT – Ramp (reverse sawtooth) wave output.
SQR OUT – Square wave output
Vitals
Size - 16hp
Depth - 39.7mm with ribbon cable attached
Power Usage - 44mA, 39mA (+12 / -12)
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 Modstar Oscillation module is a top notch VCO designed by design guru Tim Caswell. Taking inspiration from the circuits of classic Arp and Oberheim hardware and the wave shaping circuits of the 2nd Generation Minimoog Model D, the result is a hybrid beauty!
The Modstar VCO has such a great sound that you'll immediately notice the difference. As such a fundamental part of your modular setup, getting the basic sound right is a priority. The Modstar Oscillation module has such a wide range of tones, you would be forgiven to think that the raw tone was part of a bigger setup. With everything from a massive sub that you feel rattling round your chest to the sweet highs at the top, this oscillator has got you covered.
Designer Tim Caswell notes,
"What's nice about our OSCILLATION stunner is that the waveforms are DC-coupled, so they keep their shape even at sub-Hz speeds. The outputs are also buffered, so the amplitude is independent of the load they are driving. The waveform levels on some modern eurorack OSCs are often all different, and they vary depending if they go into the mixer or directly to the filter!"
This design of direct circuitry coupling without in-line capacitors frees up the whole frequency spectrum and ensures a near identical response for years to come as it protects the transistors. A perfect balance which makes this gorgous sounding oscillator one of the best of the best!
Specifications
Potentiometer Potential
Three attenuation, and three attenuverter pots control the FREQUENCY, TUNE, PW CV IN, PUSLE WIDTH, FM CV IN, and SUB LEVEL, delivering smooth, detailed, and complex expression.
Switch it Up
NORMAL and LOW RANGE - wide sweeping audio frequencies, or clicks (respectively) for creating a rhythmic pulse or sweep; SINE, TRI, SAW, SQR - your friendly waveform on and offs.
Patch it Up
Eleven patch points: 1 V/O, FM IN, WAVE MIX, SYNC IN, PW IN, SUB OUT, SINE OUT, TRI OUT, SAW OUT, RAMP OUT, SQR OUT direct the deepest manipulation.
All Controls and Patch Points
FREQUENCY – Oscillator frequency attenuator.
NORMAL / LOW RANGE – Oscillator domain switch.
TUNE – Oscillator fine-tune attenuverter.
PULSE WIDTH – Variable pulse wave width control.
SINE – Sine wave on/off.
TRI – Triangle wave on/off.
SAW – Sawtooth wave on/off.
SQR – Square (pulse) wave on/off.
FM CV IN – Frequency Modulation control voltage input attenuverter.
SUB LEVEL – Sub (one octave down) level attenuator.
1 V/O – One volt per octave control voltage input.
FM IN – Frequency Modulation control voltage input.
SYNC IN – Oscillator Sync control voltage input.
PW IN – Pulse Width control voltage input.
SUB OUT – Sub Oscillator output.
SINE OUT – Sine Oscillator output.
TRI OUT – Triangle wave output.
SAW OUT– Sawtooth wave output.
RAMP OUT – Ramp (reverse sawtooth) wave output.
SQR OUT – Square wave output
Vitals
Size - 16hp
Depth - 39.7mm with ribbon cable attached
Power Usage - 44mA, 39mA (+12 / -12)
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.
