Reso Legio#

Karplus-Strong plucked-string and body resonator

Overview#

Reso Legio is a physical-modeling voice based on a Karplus-Strong algorithm fed into a parallel bandpass-bank body resonator. The pluck excitation also feeds the body resonator to emulate the sound of picked instruments. External sounds can also be fed into the stereo body resonator. Add in a chorus and three body models and you've got a physical-modeling playground in just 6 HP!

• Type: Pluck voice and resonator
• Size: 6 HP
• Depth: 1.5 inches
• Power: 2x5 Eurorack
• +12 V: 140mA
• -12 V: 22mA

Etymology#

Reso -- from Italian: “made”

Legio -- from Latin: “legion, army”

“Made of Legions”

Color code#

On boot, the Legio's LEDs will shine with this color pattern to indicate that it is running the current Reso firmware:

Power#

To power your Noise Engineering module, turn off your case. Plug one end of your ribbon cable into your power board so that the red stripe on the ribbon cable is aligned to the side that says -12 V and each pin on the power header is plugged into the connector on the ribbon. Make sure no pins are overhanging the connector! If they are, unplug it and realign.

Line up the red stripe on the ribbon cable so that it matches the white stripe and/or -12 V indication on the board and plug in the connector.

Screw your module into your case before powering on the module. You risk bumping the module's PCB against something metallic and damaging it if it's not properly secured when powered on.

You should be good to go if you followed these instructions. Now go make some noise!

Noise Engineering modules are reverse protected. If you accidentally installed it with the red stripe up, simply remove the power and place it correctly.

A final note. Some modules have other headers -- they may have a different number of pins or may say "not power". In general, unless a manual tells you otherwise, do not connect those to power.

Input & output voltages#

Legio’s CV-modulation inputs expect signals from 0v to +5v.

The Pitch input’s range is -2v to +5v.

The Sync input responds to a rising edge around +1.6v.

The audio inputs are AC coupled and respond to any Eurorack audio signals.

The audio output can reach up to 16v peak-to-peak.

Interface#

Pitch (encoder+CV input)

Sets the pitch of the voice. Turn for fine tuning, press and turn for coarse tuning.

Decay (potentiometer+CV input)

Sets the decay time of the string.

Brightness (potentiometer+CV input)

Sets the brightness of the body.

Body (switch)

Selects the body type for the resonator.

Chorus

Sets the amount of chorus on the output: none, some, or lots.

Hit

Triggers the synth voice.

Excite L/In R

Audio inputs into the resonator body. The L jack is normaled to the R jack if R is left unpatched.

Out L/Out R

Audio outputs.

Patch tutorial#

Patch a pitch CV sequence to the Pitch input, and a trigger sequence to the Hit input. All of Reso's parameters affect its timbre and interact with each other, so experimentation will be rewarded.

Try unpatching your sequence signals and patch any audio sources into the Excite inputs. The more complex and dynamic, the better!

Signal flow#

Warranty#

We will repair or replace (at our discretion) any product that we manufactured for one year after initial purchase as long as we are able to get the parts to do so. This warranty does not apply to normal wear and tear, including art/panel wear, or any products that have been modified, abused, or misused. Our warranty is limited to manufacturing defects.

Warranty repairs/replacements are free. Repairs due to normal wear, user modification, or other damage are charged at an affordable rate. Customers are responsible for the cost of shipping to Noise Engineering technicians for repair.

All returns must be coordinated through Noise Engineering; returns without a Return Authorization will be refused and returned to sender.

For immediate issues with new modules, please contact your dealer for a replacement. Otherwise, please contact us if you think one of your modules needs a repair.

Design Notes#

Way back in probably 2016, Kris asked for a banjo module. Nothing happened.

She asked again in 2018. Markus backed up the request. Nothing happened.

1. 1. 1. Nothing. You get the idea. Kris probably could have learned to program in C++ in all that time.

Patrick eventually got on board. Still nothing.

And then finally, finally...one glorious day, we wore Stephen down.

Reso is a lot more than just a banjo / plucky firmware, and we love the extra stuff it does, but let's be real, it's going to be a banjo-like module for most of us most of the time.

The name? another day of us proposing names, shooting them down, arguing on the team Slack naming channel. Patrick eventually suggested Reson but that was too similar to Reason and to Resin for us so we just cut it short. Reso it was.

Special thanks#

• Enthusiastic Electrons
• Everett Dolgner
• Frequency Divide
• itsMasterIll
• Ozon
• starthief