loopop

Pico System III review, "hack" + Patreon exclusive video download

Added 2019-10-28 16:06:41 +0000 UTC

Hi!

I'm not at all against digital synths, but I just love the raw malleability of analog. If I tried what I did here on a digital synth it would probably just die... or just reply with a puzzled look.

Let's back up a bit... Pico System III is a desktop/eurorack synth from Erica Synths - it's not necessarily an upgrade from System II - it costs less but its analog modules aren't as feature-rich as the digital ones.

As a bundle of modules, it represents an interesting value if that's what you're missing, and I'll leave the rest to the "review" portion of the video for more information.

What got me interested in this however is System III's new preset card support - in particular, whether they could be modified to do more than just store presets. It comes with 5 swappable "mini-me" versions of the patch bay layout which you can solder with simple wires, thus effectively creating analog preset patches, very similar to the Buchla Easel.

Modding analog synths is DIY 101, but what I thought was really cool was the idea of adding and swapping features built on to the preset cards, kind of like Gameboy cartridges. The preset cards give you access to ground, which made adding a simple slew limiter (called "SLOOPOP") onto the card feasible - including a blue control knob!

If the card provided power then options would be slightly more limitless - in the video, I both demo the DIY slew limiter and mention a few other ideas that are possible despite the lack of onboard power.

Aside from all that, for those interested, attached is a video download of the outro jam.

Thanks for your support!

Ziv (maker of SLOOPOP on youtube...)