Modbox MKII

Modulation is what separates a patch that sits there from one that breathes. Modbox MKII gives you two serious LFOs, a digital sample & hold, and an analog noise source in one module, all of it locked to your clock. The Three Phase LFO puts out three related waves at once for movement that stays musical instead of drifting apart. The Skew LFO morphs shape and curve on the fly. The S&H does straight sampling, track & hold, or Turing Machine style looping when you want patterns that evolve on their own. Everything tracks 1V/oct and runs to audio rate, so the same tools that modulate your patch can play it. 

The Sequel to a Workhorse

The original WMD/SSF Modbox earned its spot in systems of every size and has been hard to find for years. MKII keeps the spirit and adds the depth people kept asking for: more density, smarter sync, and the phase tricks from our Phase Displacement Oscillator built into a utility you can afford to put in every case.

Three Phase LFO (3ɸ)

Three outputs that relate to each other three different ways, selected with MODE.

Phase Offset (ɸΔ). All three outs share one frequency, and SPREAD shifts OUT2 and OUT3 in opposite directions across a full 360°. Instant stereo-feeling movement from a single source.

Phase Modulation (ɸMOD). Cascading phase distortion. OUT1 modulates OUT2, which modulates OUT3, with SPREAD setting the depth. This is where the lush, unpredictable shapes live.

Frequency Spread (𝑓Δ). Start with all three in unison, then open SPREAD to push OUT2 up to 8x and pull OUT3 down to 1/8x, smoothly. One knob takes you from locked to wildly polyrhythmic.

FREQ sets base frequency, or becomes the ratio to your incoming clock when synced. WAVE morphs every output through saw, sine, triangle, and ramp. Hold SHIFT and FREQ becomes LVL for overall output level, while the RTO pots set independent frequency ratios for OUT2 and OUT3 that apply across all three modes. Tracks 1V/oct and runs to audio rate.

Skew LFO

A variable-skew LFO that morphs saw to triangle to ramp, syncs to clock, and resets intelligently.

SLOPE handles the morph. Hold SHIFT and SLOPE becomes SHAPE, bending the curve from exponential through linear to logarithmic without touching the frequency, so you can dial in the feel of a swell separately from its timing. FREQ becomes PHASE under SHIFT, setting its relationship to incoming clock and reset pulses for modulation that lands exactly where you want it. Tracks 1V/oct and runs to audio rate.

Sample & Hold

Digital, so the droop is gone. Press MODE to cycle three behaviors.

S&H. Captures whatever is at S&H IN on a rising edge of SMPL, gate or button, and holds it until the next event.

T&H. Track and hold. The signal passes while SMPL is high and freezes when it drops.

Turing Machine. A buffer holds a loop of samples for patterns that evolve slowly instead of jumping randomly. SLEW becomes PROB: centered, every SMPL event grabs a fresh sample. Turn clockwise and a loop forms, changing less and less until it locks. Turn fully counterclockwise and that same loop plays in reverse. Hold SHIFT and PROB sets loop length from 1 to 32 samples.

S&H IN is normaled to the analog noise source, and the Skew LFO generates a pulse normaled to SMPL, so you get usable random voltage with nothing patched. Using that normal, T&H tracks while the Skew LFO descends.

Clock and Reset

Modbox is built to play in time. CLOCK and RESET work with either LFO or both. Tap the CLOCK/RESET button to cycle reset modes, hold it to cycle clock modes. When synced, the rate pots give you divisions from 1:512 to 4:1 in factors of two. Pull the clock and the LFO holds its synced rate, with the pot dividing from that last tempo until you change modes.

Analog Noise

A true analog white noise generator, factory calibrated to roughly 14Vpp. It drives the S&H by default or goes wherever you need it.