Superbooth 2022: Error Instruments reveals the Imaginary Friend experimental modular synth
“There are so many [waves] in there, the resolution of the knob is too low to be able to dial them all in by hand.”
Error Instruments
Error Instruments jumps in on the Superbooth 2022 announcements and reveals its latest digital/analogue hybrid modular monster, the Imaginary Friend.
READ MORE: Superbooth 2022: The most exciting new synths from Oberheim, Teenage Engineering and more
The experimental modular synth is available as both a standalone synth or as part of a Eurorack system. You can craft a range of sounds from raw and aggressive basslines and stabs to floaty, delicate tones.
Most notably, the Imaginary Friend centres around its fun joystick, which switches up the conventional physical process of modulating sound.
It has two outputs: The Wave Output, which holds all the combinations of cross-modulation you’ve applied to the wave, and the Sub, which throws in a pure trapezoid tone separate to the user’s tweaking.
When using the Wave knob, the Imaginary Friend flies through a variety of short looped waves. Error Instruments says: “Due to the vast amount of waves, the resolution of the knob is too low to be able to dial them all by hand.”
The Sub’s pitch can be controlled by a dedicated knob. There is also a CV control option so users can patch an external signal to change the sound in more ways.
There is an LFO section with square and sine waveforms available that can go as slow as 20 seconds and as fast as140Hz. The Random output lets you send out a random LFO, nudging its users towards experimentation.
Imaginary Friend’s effects section offers you ample tools for sound design with feedback, delay and bit reduction. These are all based on the bit redux/karplus-strong algorithms of PRNCS (+ dry/wet control), which is a resonator for Eurorack built by Error Instruments.
According to Error Instruments, feedback achieves “resonating loops”, the delay lets you build “sonic washes, terrifying drones” and “deep basses”, while the bit reduction effect can give off “destroyed arcade sounds”. There is also a low-pass gate, a duo attenuator and a clock divider.
The Imaginary Friend is available as a standalone instrument at €599 or as a Eurorack module for €550. Error Instruments is currently promoting the device at Booth Z241 at Superbooth 2022. For live updates on the festival head here.
Learn more about Imaginary Friend at errorinstruments.com
