Rozzbox review
Rozzbox review
De volgende review werd op een ander forum geplaatst door Sneak-Thief (
www.sneak-thief.com) en leek me interessant om ook op dit forum te vermelden.
Het is wel engelstalig, maar dat lijkt me geen probleem:
I got my Rozzbox!! Serial Number: 00035. i placed my order in march or april. haha. i paid 294 euros including the optional analog filter board.
INTRO
to put it simply, the Rozzbox is very deep and very strange one moment it can sound moogish, the next moment it can sound like a classic FM synth - and at the flip of a switch, you can get the absolute nastiest lo-fi crunch aliasing noises from hell. the other thing that struck me is that it's very compact. it weighs about 1kg and isn't much wider than 25 cm's across.
CONSTRUCTION
the rozzbox is pretty well built and the knobs feel good. the fit and finish isn't perfect, but it's decent overall. mine only had a couple of small blemishes. not bad for a first synth from a one-man company.
INTERFACE
the user interface is very nice and immediate. as a result it's really fun to program this sucker.
the most important stuff is all on the front. there's also a menu that uses the 2 -character led display - it's actually really easy to dive into the menu and change parameters. i was surprised when i saw the menu names scrolling by, marquee-style. i've never seen anyone do this before on this kind of display.
saving and loading patches is really easy and there are 100 internal slots to save patches, as well as the ability to use external memory sticks.
MIDI
everything is midi controllable via CC. every last parameter. everything. what more could you ask for?
CPU
so i had to open it up. the rozzbox is driven entirely by just two tiny surface mount microcontrollers. no DSP in here. it's quite ingenious if you ask me. the benefit of this is that it keeps the price low.
OSCILLATORS
there are 4 oscillators, and each can be set to SAW/PULSE/TRI or WAVE. there are 14 pre-programmed wavetables, and two slots for you to upload your own wavetables. they can be 256 samples long at 8-bits. in SAW mode, you can sync the other 3 oscillators to the first one. yay! in pulse mode, you can sweep thru the pulse width manually or with an lfo.
how do they sound? on their own, the regular osc's are fine - not spectacular, just plain and ordinary. but that's not what the Rozzbox is about; the interesting stuff comes from the filters, modulation and fx. so i wouldn't consider this a negative point.
the wavetable osciallators are dirty and somewhat aliased. you can even automatically cycle through them with an LFO or midi CC, but you won't find any smooth Waldorf-style wavetable transitions. this is raw and dirty stuff here. to be honest, it's really quite charming.
FM + MODULATION
first of all, there's one LFO that can be set to TRI/PULSE/SAW/S+H. there are also two modulation matrices.
- Mod1 source: LFO/ENV1/ENV2/VEL
- Mod1 destination: OSC1/PW2/FILT/VOL
- Mod2 source: LFO/ENV1/ENV2/LFO*MODWHEEL
- Mod2 destination: OSC1/PITCH/FILT/PW1
this seems a bit simple at first, but then i realized that osc's 1 to 3 can each have their own frequency modulators. woohoo!
there are 7 FM algorithms to choose from and the implementation is very simple and easy to use. osc's 1 to 3 can be used as Modulators, while osc 4 is always a Carrier (audible).
after you pick the algorithm, then you can choose the modulation depth of each osc. the cool part is that osc's 1-3 also have their own frequency modulation sources: LFO/ENV1/ENV2/VEL
you can't choose osc ratio's, but this isn't a big problem considering the other modulation capabilities.
for starters, the FM algorithms can make some nice bell and electric piano sounds, but the fun comes from venturing into the wild metallic ear-slicing noises. and what will blow your mind is when you start creating your own wavetables and use them as FM modulators!!!
FILTERS
you can choose between the digital and analog VCA+filter. the analog filter looks like a moog transistor ladder and it sounds a bit like it, but unfortunately the analog VCA is very slow. but this isn't a big deal because the digital filters also sound very nice.
the digital filter comes in both LP24 and HP24, while the analog lopass sounds like it's 18dB/octave. it was definitely worth the extra 42 euros to get the analog filter board.
sometimes there is audible stepping if you sweep through the cutoff and resonance. it isn't that bad though.
DIRT AND GRIME
one of the reasons it gets the name Rozzbox (aka Snot or dirt box) is that the wavetable oscillators can sound pretty digital and have some nasty aliasing artifacts at times. the simple microcontrollers are being pushed to their limits and there are often digital grunts and squeaks as you tweak knobs and explore. but the REAL snot comes from the setion called ROZZ. here you get:
- Bit Depth knob (to control between 1 and 16 bit operation)
- Hi/Lo sample rate switch (think 44 vs. 11Khz)
- Aliasing on/off switch
- Filter Chaos switch (this works only for the digital filter and it's absolute mayhem when you turn it on!!!!)
these are wonderful additions and what make this synth so special. among other grimy beauties, you can basically get instant C64-style sounds at the flip of a switch. enough said.
CONNECTORS
there's one mono 1/4 output, and one mono 1/4 input. the input can be routed through the analog filters as well as the digital filters and fx. it has one midi input and a plug for a little memory stick that holds 100 extra patches.
it comes with a 14VAC wallwart adapter. the power connector is a bit crappy: on mine i had to use a small screwdriver to bend the metal plate inside the connector the keep the jack from falling out.
AUDIO SAMPLES & PICTURES
http://www.groovepark.de/index.php?id=36,31,0,0,1,0
http://www.neoncoil.de/e-stuff-demos.htm (thanks Neoncoil!)
- Dutch Review and samples:
https://www.synthforum.nl/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=26207 https://www.synthforum.nl/forums/showthread.php?threadid=31568
http://www.sequencer.de/moogulatorium/moogulatorium_specials.html#rozzbox
WHAT'S NEXT?
there is a possibility that there's going to be a polyphonic expansion board for the rozzbox. i would get one in a heartbeat. nevertheless, there would still only be one global analog filter - instead of one VCF per note. that's no big deal. according to a friend of the developer, the next rozzbox is in development right now, with features such as polyphony and a built-in sequencer.
NOTE: you can't order a rozzbox until the current batch is finished and shipped out. also, the price will go up a little bit for the next batch. just be patient and you'll eventually get one.
Ik heb die van mij in juni/juli besteld en ik heb sinds september niks meer gehoord van onze groote rozz vriend.
Maar goed als ie er maar komt.
