MEET MANIC! // VCAs with SUPERPOWERS! - New Eurorack module from DivKid & Apollo View Modular

MEET MANIC! The new DivKid & Apollo View Modular Eurorack module. Designed to be a precise and flexible VCA with SUPERPOWERS!
Manic is built for stereo at it’s core, crossing VCA, ring modulation, wavefolding (in both Serge and Buchla variants), and saturation (TanH soft clipping and hard clipping) with a host of features in a compact 8HP interface ready to ignite your audio and CV patching and processing.
Manic is out now in all good modular stores.
Manic manual and links on the DivKid website // divkidvideo.com/manic/
SUPPORT //
If you'd like to support work like this and the wider range of what I do, considering heading over to Patreon at bit.ly/DK-patreon and supporting for as little as $1 a month to gain access to the DivKid Discord community, plus lots of exclusives such as PDF patchbooks, videos and more. bit.ly/DK-patreon
AFFILIATE LINKS //
use these to support my channel! I get a small kickback at no expense to you when you shop.
Clockface Modular // bit.ly/DK-clockface
Patchwerks // bit.ly/DK-patchwerks
Perfect Circuit // bit.ly/DK-perfectcircuit
Thomann // bit.ly/DK-thomann
*TIMING INDEX // CHAPTERS*
INTRO
00:00 Check this out! The badger’s nadgers, bee’s knees & ant’s pants
00:24 Hello and patch previews
LEARN ABOUT MANIC
01:25 Shout outs to Apollo View Modular & the Glasgow Synth Guild
01:44 A pair of precision VCAs
02:09 Bipolar VCAs - Ring Modulation
02:40 Input normalising - for easier mono to stereo behaviour
03:03 Shape outputs - super power processing
03:51 How most waveshapers work and what makes Manic more flexible
04:23 Manic as a stereo processor
PATCHES
04:55 We all need VCAs! With a superior? sidechain CV processing idea
07:56 Ring Mod as a VCO expander & pushing beyond classic west coast tones
10:57 Two flavours of clipping - drum bus energy & bass distortion
13:49 Stereo wavefolding - ACE!
*THIS VIDEO IS SPONSORED BY ME - GO BUY A MANIC!* joking aside this is of course a DivKid module. Any questions just ask.
Join the amazing growing community on Discord by supporting at / divkid
Subscribe for more DivKid videos: bit.ly/DivKidYTSub
divkidvideo.com
/ divkidvideo
/ divkid

[@DivKid]

Manic is out now in good modular retailers! Find it at the following stores Control www.ctrl-mod.com/products/apollo-view-manic-stereo-wavefolding-vca?_pos=1&_sid=b29ff7ba0&_ss=r Escape from Noise escapefromnoise.com/modular/apollo-view-divkid-manic/ Perfect Circuit bit.ly/Manic-PerfectCircuit Moog Audio moogaudio.com/products/apollo-view-manic-divkid-collab Nightlife Electronics nightlife-electronics.com/products/apollo-view-divkid-manic?_pos=1&_sid=dc2ef8c71&_ss=r Signal Sounds www.signalsounds.com/apollo-view-divkid-manic-stereo-wavefolder-vca-eurorack-module/ Boutique Pedal NYC, Elevator Sound, Noisebug, Schneiders Laden all have stock too and should have pages online to order very soon.

[@CinematicLaboratory]

Only DivKid can bring out a new VCA in 2024. Excellent work.

[@DivKid]

thank you :)

[@oscidigi7357]

Intro hits hard, great work Div & Apollo View 👏👏

[@DivKid]

Thanks 💯

[@Jonas_Mikkelsen]

This module looks awesome. You can never have too many VCA's, but then you have distortion when you don't need the extra VCA's.

[@DivKid]

Exactly, it's simple VCAs if you need them, AM or RM stuff, a CV modulation and shaper, folders, distortions ... thanks!

[@apeirogonmusic]

This is pretty brilliant and very well thought through module Great Job Ben and Apollo

[@DivKid]

Cheers, appreciate it!

[@LukeKillen]

What a smart VCA. Amazing work.

[@DivKid]

Thanks Luke! VCAs are at the core of a lot of wave shaping, as I say in the video 'fold CV' input on a folder is just increasing the level into a folder, so we've exposed all that for further patch options. Really happy with it.

[@alanc6752]

Always clever modules optimised with features from Divkid.

[@ericcheslak1138]

Nice work mate! Lots of options there.

[@DivKid]

Absolutely, we've crammed a good few modules worth of functions into it.

[@ErisFairbanks]

Ben this looks incredible!!

[@DivKid]

Thank you, plenty of credit to Apollo View for how we managed to get this to what it is. We're really happy with it.

[@vincentprimault4380]

Ok, now i want one.

[@PatternRecognitionMusic]

I love working in stereo. Most of the time, that means recording multiple passes and panning them in post. I've been gradually working on ways to incorporate more stereo spread into my rack; some of the options seem prone to issues with phase cancellation when summing to mono, so it's cool to see options that hold up well to mono listening. Right now, it'll be hard for me to swing this one both price-wise and space-wise, but it'll definitely stay on my radar for the time being!

[@stujay]

Amazing - congrats! Definitely snagging this one asap.

[@DivKid]

thank you! Looking forward to hear how you're using it

[@real_anxst]

Fantastic looking and sounding module! Super flexible, looking forward to having one in my rack.

[@DivKid]

Thank you :) exciting to see people use it.

[@immersiveworlds]

Such a brilliant idea!!!!

[@DivKid]

thanks, appreciate it.

[@MikkelGrumBovin]

Excellent sounds - 👍😉

[@DivKid]

thank you

[@BluemanGil]

Great, It's an amazing module

[@Romaindeud]

Awesome work Ben ❤

[@DivKid]

Thank you

[@JakobHaq]

Nice work on this one!

[@DivKid]

thank you!

[@WillisZzz]

Digging the aesthetic, Ben 👌

[@DivKid]

Check out the rest of the Apollo View range, very happy this fits right in.

[@WillisZzz]

@@DivKid yeah, I meant the entire Apollo View range. They're all a treat for the eyes, which is something that matters to a visual person such as myself.

[@mrparksy]

Genius!

[@DivKid]

thank you! Fantastic work from Apollo View on this one throughout, it's been a pleasure getting this to what it is.

[@ScottofOakland]

Congrats on the release, Ben! i wish I knew of some way i could use it in my system, but i can't think of any, at the minute.

[@DivKid]

no worries, not everything is for everyone and I appreciate you checking it out. I'm sure I'd fine ways to put it into any system, but I'm not going to try and convince/push it.

[@ScottofOakland]

@@DivKid I would love some ideas for use in calm, ambient music. I feel like its good for harsher sounds. My music is pretty soft and without harsh edges. I don't use wavefolding really at all. Mostly pretty basic waveforms through filters and effects.

[@DivKid]

A few things I do in that realm is to fold sines and triangles (rather than start with saws for squares) and then filter them. For some reason (I include myself getting into it all too) we have this feeling that it's filter or folder somehow. It can be both. Either filtering a rich wave pre fold, to create movement then folding a change tone, or fold to create something for the filter to work with. Another thing I really like for ambient longer drawn out modulation is to fold CV. One LFO in, two other LFOs into the VCA levels and take the two shape outs gives two morphing but related new modulation sources to work with. You can also use a folder on symmetrical waves for slightly coloured octave up effect. That can be nice to create an additional layer/voice to then patch through it's own signal path against the source that's going into it.

[@ScottofOakland]

@@DivKid wow thank you, Ben. That gives me some great ideas!

[@jamesbtex]

Have you thought about putting this out as a DIY kit on Thonk?? I'd buy it. As a retired Engineering Technician I love working on DIY kits.

[@DivKid]

absolutely, it was out of the realms of possibility for the release but we'll be doing a DIY kit in the future. Thanks for the interest in it :)

[@effiksmusic]

I will check it out at Superbooth. Hard Sync.

[@DivKid]

hard sync, see you there!

[@samuelgeai6306]

"This video is sponsored be me"

[@DivKid]

I'll take any excuse to be stupid.

[@mastermachetier5594]

Remind me of what the ssg looks like

[@DivKid]

similar size and sliders, not functionally like it though.

[@oracle-0018]

I was interested and then I heard you made it! 🤣 say hello to your mom for me 😆🤑

[@DivKid]

She says buy a Manic

[@oracle-0018]

@@DivKid I thought I would just say as the comment was rude that a lot of these modules your putting out just aren't my taste! I wish you would do something digital like ornaments and crime or a function generator though that has your input. Either way I am neither friend nor foe. Peace☮

[@GeorgeLocke]

1:25 I have a very important question: why is the white trace so different from the others? It looks like it has a few spikes at low frequencies and another at, oh, 1kHz? I mean, obviously it's a spectrogram of unpatched inputs, so it's certainly line noise, but at those tiny amplitudes, the likelihood of some sort of interference/antenna explanation seems much higher?

[@DivKid]

That's zero input (nothing to do with Manic), not sure if it's amplifying power noise/signals to show something on the screen. Sometimes with Data going into the spectrum mode then changing which input is on show gives different readings. Different power supplies definitely look more or less active too. Not correlating as obviously in terms of audible or system noise on the outputs as it is on the screen.

[@GeorgeLocke]

@@DivKid cool. I maybe should've said "very unimportant question." I sometimes look at spectra for work and got interested in chasing shadows.

[@DivKid]

Not unimportant at all, I like these things too and could easily see myself getting lost in moving out each system and seeing what it's doing ... or just asking Mordax what it's measuring when there's no input.

[@GeorgeLocke]

@@DivKid to be a nerd is joy

[@ingokolberg263]

not in coop with instruo...?

[@DivKid]

no not this time. Like some of the others, it went Befaco, Instruo, Steady State Fate, Befaco again, Instruo again, Befaco again now Apollo View. Who knows (I do, obviously) who and what is next :)

[@DivKid]

a more serious answer though is that I often think of who the designs and ideas will suit, how the design would work within their own line up of existing modules and the roadmap of their upcoming unreleased modules too.

[@michaelgerdau5418]

HARD SYNC

[@GeorgeLocke]

Almost looks like natural gate...

[@NCheno]

Or the steady state gate

[@GeorgeLocke]

@@NCheno yes, you're right, closer to that one.

[@phelper4554]

3 days waiting is just nuts. Just release the video. I hate premieres

[@DivKid]

Apologies to keep you waiting and thank you for the interest. We're trying to create an event and hangout with this. They've been great in the past with lots of the community hanging in the chat and us available for questions and discussion at the same time. Without giving people notice, how is anyone going to come at the time the video goes live? It's ok you don't like premieres though, they're not for everyone. Hope you like the module when it's out.

[@geminidefect]

why would anyone want stereo? lol! 💌💌💌 🧠 💌💌💌

[@DivKid]

it's overrated, we should all cut off an ear.

[@FrankPSF]

Ben I’m sorry but I have to stop watching your videos. The demos and the sounds are so killer they keep me broke buying more modules for my rig. This EURORACK thing is like a drug!

[@DivKid]

Try applying the patch ideas to things you already have. Most things are applicable to loads of modules, outside of very specific modules usually combining a couple of modules or so can allow you to get similar results.