Eowave Quadrantid Swarm Review
Long-Term Test
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Eowave, an innovative musical instrument manufacturer from France, recently released the Quadrantid Swarm, a provocative digital polyphonic synthesizer with two analog filters and several fascinating features, which provide hours of endless fun. Eowave is known for their quirky products and the Quadrantid Swarm is the quintessential example of everything that makes this small, boutique manufacturer a respected and valued part of the music industry.
When Eowave originally launched this product on Kickstarter, they touted it as a drone synth that is well suited for sound design. However, the Quadrantid Swarm goes far beyond that description and can be employed in a variety of manners, almost molding to each user’s musical personality. We used four different reviewers for this long-term review — their impressions in quotes below. Even with a variety of applications and tastes, the one word that appeared over and over again on the evaluation sheets was “fun.”
We actually had to look up the word, Quadrantid, which is yearly meteor shower that appears in early January, radiating out of the constellation Draco, if you were dying to know. After extensive time with the Quadrantid Swarm, it’s difficult to determine why the mad-hatters at Eowave decided on this moniker, which makes anyone trying to pronounce it sound like they have a mouth full of marbles. To eliminate the jaw calisthenics, we’ll mostly call it the Swarm for the rest of this review.
The Swarm is a semi-modular synth with a digital oscillator and two pole filter: one 12db high/low pass and another 12db low pass, both controlled by dedicated knobs centrically located on the top and connected in serial. The Swarm also contains one LFO with eight different waveforms, a Slew Limiter, an AD Envelope, spring reverb, a VCA, an eight step sequencer and a touch sensitive keyboard. It can be played monophonically or polyphonically based on how you set it up, but most of our reviewers employed the sequencer to free up both hands for tweaking. “And boy, does it like to be tweaked,” declared one evaluator.
Eowave Quadrantid Swarm Features and Specs:
» Triangle wave OSC with spread fold
» Percussion element with frequency
» Two pole filter, filter one high/low pass 12db, filter two low pass 12db
» AD envelope
» One LFO with eight waveforms
» Slew limiter
» Spring reverb
» Eight touch keys with Three modes – mono, poly and sequencer
» MIDI in, CV/Trig in, Clock in/Reset in to communicate with other devices
» VCA
Each key has a tone knob above the corresponding pad for changing the pitch. The “normalled” design means you don’t have to use patch cords for the synth to make sound, but the semi-modular approach opens up the Swarm to a multitude of options that provide “hours of endless sonic exploration.” Unlike other experimental table-top synths – we won’t mention any names…Moog DFAM — the Swarm comes with a full complement of connectivity, including MIDI that allows the unit to be easily incorporated into most kits. It can also be relieved of its chassis and inserted into a Eurorack.
“A Glorious Wave Of Sound”
Although we’ll give you a rundown of its technical specifications and sound generation capabilities, it should be noted that outlining these talents will do little to showcase exactly what this diminutive unit can accomplish. It contains eight different presents, including Strings, Organ, Drone, Noise Grain, Percussion, Metal and Chiptune. “It almost doesn’t matter what mode you choose to start sculpting your own sounds from the Quadrantid, since they all start to mash into one glorious wave of sound in short order,” stated one evaluator. Where the presets do come into play in when using the Character and Percussion knobs, since they change their attributes based on what preset is selected. The Perc knob is based on the fundamental frequency of the main oscillator and shapes the transient and attack of the sound, creating definition.
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As mentioned above, the Swarm features two 12dB analog filters based on Eowave’s own Fluctuations Magnétiques eurorack module. One filter can be switched to either high or low pass and the second is just low pass. By modulating the two filters together, you can create a bandpass. For modulation, there is an envelope, with Attack and Release, normalled to the Cutoff of the High/Low pass Filter and the VCA. You can also employ the LFO, which is normalled to the Low Pass Filter Cutoff, and features seven waveform options that you can choose with the Shape knob. The LFO rate is designated by the Speed knob. To curb control voltages, Eowave included a Slew Limiter. The Swarm’s mixer has three inputs: an external audio input, an oscillator input and a percussion input.
To further blow sound designer’s minds, Eowave decided to include a Spring Reverb. While our evaluators found it can “add quite a bit of noise to the sound…if overdone,” it “colors the sound in such a dynamic and unique manner,” adding “complexion and texture.” You can even throw more fuel on the fire by using the External Input as a Feedback generator to overdrive the effect even further. The volume of the Reverb can also be shaped by the Mod Input. Interestingly enough, the Quadrantid Swarm’s entire Spring Reverb section can be used separately from the main synth to provide its unique flavor to external sounds.
Conclusion
All this tweaky goodness does come at a price, currently €459 Euros, plus VAT and shipping. However, one of our evaluators put the price in perspective. “The Quadrantid Swarm isn’t cheap, but when I added up what it would take to create something similar via separate Eurorack modules, I think €459 is quite a fair price.” And that’s the thing about the Swarm. It’s actually a very cool Eurorack kit in a compact and portable package. Two of our reviewers even said they would love to use the Swarm at a live gig, “you could take people on quite the journey.” However, at the end of the day, the Quadrantid Swarm is really about sonic exploration, and there’s nothing else quite like it. Highly recommended.
Rating: 96%
Cheers:
+ Massive Fun
+ Compact, But Not Crowded
+ Fun Use Of Lighting Effects
+ Sound Design
+ Spring Reverb
+ Connectivity
Jeers:
– Not Cheap
– Minijack Output
Eowave’ Quadrantid Swarm costs €459 and is available now.
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The Future:
We’d love to see Eowave continue to expand on the Quadrantid Swarm concept with new all-in-one offerings.
