56_Krell

This is the Krell card. It is inspired by Todd Barton's Krell patching and the music of the 1956 film Forbidden Planet.

The card spits out two separate channels of random pitches and looping AD envelopes with random attack and decay per cycle as well as pulses at the end of the cycle. Each channel is independent of the other, but they share some controls. The left ins and outs and the right ins and outs are independant channels. Voltage plugged into CV1/2 inputs is sample and held. Plenty of reverb and delay at the end of chain is highly recommended!

Knobs and Switch:

Main Knob: Overall chance of higher length envelopes for both channels. Fully CCW this will produce quicker loops. Fully CW they will tend to be longer, although they are still random.

Think of this as a time/mood knob, CW is more frantic and CCW much calmer.

Knob x: This controls the length of the envelopes for the left channel.

Knob y: This controls the length of the envelopes for the right channel.

These are independant mood knobs allowing for a interesting interplay between the channels.

Switch:

Up: Pitch outputs will be quantised to octaves.

Middle: Pitch outputs are quantised to chromatic scale.

Down: Each time you press down the range of random notes cycles between roughly 1-3 octaves.

Outputs:

Audio Out 1/2: These output looping AD envelopes.

CV Out 1/2: These output pitch information. This is random and then quantised to either octaves or a chromatic scale unless a cable is plugged into their respective CV In

Pulse Out 1/2: These output pulses at the end of each cycle.

Inputs:

CV In 1/2: When plugged in the voltage will be sample and held on CV Out 1/2 and quantised to either octaves or a chromatic scale.

Suggestions

A standard patch on the Workshop System would be:

CV Out -> Osc Pitch

Osc Out -> Filter In

Filter Out-> Mix

Audio Out -> Filter FM

Pulse out to slopes and then somewhere else is a fun experiment. Oscillator FM?

Credit and Thanks

Written by Benjamin Reily // 2026

Thanks to Tom Whitwell for the wonderful Workshop System.

Thanks to Chris Johnson for the foundations of the computercard and his help in the WS community.

Thanks to Dune Desormeaux for the wonderful Blackbird Card! Without his beautiful bird I would have been at a complete loss.