Octopus USB/MIDI to ART interface

Tiptop Audio developed its ART framework to maximize and expand the harmonic, expressive, and musical capabilities of Eurorack modular synthesis. Accordingly, Octopus bridges ART-powered Eurorack possibilities with endless MIDI modularity. Measuring in at 18HP, Octopus features a USB port and 5-pin DIN MIDI input to control your ART-infused Eurorack array with software and hardware tools, respectively, including MIDI sequencers and keyboard controllers, alongside countless DAW-based configurations. Synthesists at Sweetwater are enamored by the combinatorial explosion of expressive possibilities that Octopus and the ART paradigm support, empowering musicians to deploy monophonic and polyphonic signals through one channel, in addition to multichannel polyphony to craft immense, multi-module mayhem. Its namesake eight channels let you engage previously impossible levels of Eurorack expression, dividing incoming information across three outputs for each channel: drum triggers, velocity CV, and the ART signal. Plus, dedicated Clock and Reset outputs let you sync your sound with exacting precision while fully harnessing the creative depth of ART-based composition. Without a doubt, Octopus is your sonic shepherd through the electrifying world of ART’s limitless creative application. All that’s left is to decide how you want to express yourself.

ART control path voice dynamics

For all the creative potential the ART platform offers, a solid foundation is necessary to explore this exciting terrain, and the ART Control Path Voice Dynamics module serves as an all-in-one tool for crafting detailed ART voices. Its comprehensive architecture includes dual analog ADSR envelopes, each of which features its own velocity CV jacks alongside gate inputs to synchronize with the gate outputs of your ART oscillators. Control Path also includes a VCA that’s internally connected to the righthand envelope, but it can be used with additional modules through its EG output. Sweetwater’s synthesists have found this to be incredibly useful for sound design — specifically, patching the lefthand envelope to a filter module, then patching that module’s output to the ART Control Path’s VCA input. Of course, the patching possibilities are nearly limitless, and Tiptop Audio’s decision to outfit the module’s all-analog architecture with the iconic envelopes found in the OBX, as well as an SSI2164 VCA, augmenting its distinctive character. Finally, the 8HP module includes a pair of delay trimmers, safeguarding you from any issues that could result in your envelopes falling out of sync.

Discover the ART of next-gen synthesis

What is ART? In short, it’s the next stage of Eurorack’s evolution. More expansively, it’s the brainchild of Tiptop Audio founder Gur Milstein, marking a groundbreaking, open-spec control signal technology that expands the sonic scope of modular synthesis possibilities. Utilizing ART-capable modules allows synthesists and sound designers to explore complex modular terrains, including polyphonic Eurorack synthesis and inventive modular arrangements through paired gate or velocity outputs. Because ART modules utilize Eurorack signal levels for both oscillator audio and CV/gate controls, alongside sharing the same power connectors, these can be seamlessly intermixed with standard Eurorack gear via 3.5-millimeter patch cables. Unlike the Eurorack-standard 1V/octave model, ART signals transmit multiple dimensions of information with near-zero latency, including velocity, modulation, and pressure values, as well as precise pitch information.

At its core, the ART signal replaces the prohibitively tricky, time-consuming, and creatively stifling method of tuning modules with 1V/octave CV. Select ART modules feature innovative connectors that utilize Tiptop Audio’s custom-developed Polytip patch cables, directly enabling polyphonic performances via lightning-fast transmission of detailed information between modules. So, why create with ART? This framework unlocks the full potential of the Eurorack modular architecture by solving the artistic, harmonic, and structural woes that were an inevitable outcome of the space’s nascent technological limitations. In other words, ART expands Eurorack without compromising the spirit that’s inspired countless musicians for decades, producing exciting vectors to summit the previously insurmountable heights of modular synthesis.