Paper Synth 401 is a three channel mixer with built in diode clipping for each channel. Saturation is a classic way to get more character out of synthesized sounds. Sometimes it is also needed to ad some edginess to waveforms in order to give some gripping surface to, for example resonant filters. The sound of the clipping is not like super harsh guitar pedal kind of distortion, instead it adds color and harmonics to the sound to make it more interesting, especially when the clipped signals are mixed together.

Features:
Each of the 3 channels has a separate volume control knob. Far left hand side is silence, middle of the turn is 0db, same volume as signal coming in. If the signal coming in is a eurorack standard 10Vpp, the mixer channel starts to clip after turning the knob right from the middle. Each channel offers a hefty 6db of clipping, so even if the signal coming in, is quieter than 10Vpp, it will get loud enough to start clipping.

The module can also be used as a normal clean mixer, if the channel knobs are kept below the middle point.

All the channels sum into a channel with separate volume control, allowing 6 db of clean gain when needed. A trimmable clip led is attached to the output of the main channel, normally trimmed to light up at 10Vpp.

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The PS401 Three To One Clipping Mixer was designed by Antti Pussinen 2017.
It is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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