FREQue II
Review by Paul Nagle, Sound on Sound
Flying in the face of the 'digital all-in-one' trend, the FREQue II unashamedly provides specialist analogue processing for the audiophile.
Ring Modulators & Frequency-shifter
While awaiting delivery of
the DACS FREQue II
review model, I decided to do a bit or research in advance. A quick trawl of the
Internet hinted at a gaudy, rather ugly-looking dual ring modulator and
frequency shifter. The on-line images left me with the impression it was a
budget unit - so I was quite surprised to learn it wouldn’t spare much change
from a thousand quid! Clearly, only first-hand experience was going to tell the
full story.
In the event, when it arrived, it wasn’t too ugly after all. True, the purple
and red paint job did resemble the efforts of a manic simian artist, but in
reality it could have been far worse. At least it wasn’t bright yellow. At two
rack units in height, this chunky module boast no less than 17 knobs, and
although of the basic black plastic variety, these are both smooth and
responsive. Furthermore, seven small red buttons (with associated LEDs) and no
less than 10 rear-panel sockets mean that there’s no LCD or multi-functionality
in sight.
This is a stereo unit, each channel featuring a separate ring modulator circuit,
two shelving filters, an internal oscillator, plus level-setting controls.
Channel two features and additional routing switch, an FM Depth control and a
FREQue
button (of which more later). In other respects each channel is the same.
Curiously, channel two is positioned above channel one.
Other ring modulators I’ve encountered offer obvious distinction between their
two signal inputs. However, the rear panel of the
FREQue II
has input connections for each channel labelled Mus and Mod. There are two
built-in sine-wave oscillators whose outputs are available at the rear panel,
though they can be routed internally to each modulator input if required. Each
oscillator’s frequency can be controlled externally from dedicated external
Hz/Volt CV inputs, making the
FREQue II
an ideal partner for a modular synth, especially one from the Korg MS Series.
You can, of course, connect audio signals to both music and modular inputs -
indeed, some of the most sonically pleasing results are achieved when the
modulation source is harmonically related to the musical input. The music inputs
and each of the main audio outputs are balanced, although unbalanced operation
is selected automatically if you insert a standard mono jack.
I was eager to get some sounds from this beast, so I started by connecting the
stereo outputs of a drum machine to each channel’s music input. I didn’t connect
anything to the modulator input, so I pushed each of the front-panel Osc
buttons, enabling me to use the oscillators as modulation sources. Next, I
adjusted the level of Music and Modulator for each channel by means of the four
small and rather closely packed knobs. LEDs on the left-hand side of the front
panel provided adequate visual feedback of signal levels, although logic might
have seen them positioned rather nearer to their associated controls than they
are.
Only then, with audio pouring through the
FREQue II,
did I start to appreciate the high quality of this processor. I have several
other ring modulators, both within my modular synthesizer and stand alone units,
and none of them come close to the clarity and smoothness that DACS’ Audio have
managed to achieve. The top end, in particular, sparkles - but not in the
annoying way that typifies cheaper ring mods. Here, breakthrough of the original
signal has been reduced to a minimum (by using phase cancellation) so that what
you hear is ring modulated output with very few unwanted artefacts.
The onboard sine-wave oscillators provide convenient modulation sources, their
range selectable from 0.1Hz - 10Hz, 0.3Hz - 30Hz, 1Hz - 2kHz or 1kHz - 16kHz.
Within each, Fine and Coarse tuning knobs allow very precise setting of
frequency, although some form of display readout would have been the icing on
the cake. An Osc 2 to RM1 button is available should you wish to use the same
modulator for both channels, and this is handy if controlling a stereo source.
However, it’s also fun for processing totally different signals, perhaps a bass
and rhythm guitar, through each channel at the same time. The FM On switch
routes oscillator one internally to the CV input of oscillator two, and the
Depth knob controls the amount of the resulting modulation. Naturally, you can
connect other modulation sources via the rear panel jacks to vary the frequency
of either oscillator, or both come to that. Each channel has an output balance
that controls the ratio of the original music signal and the processed signal.
Both channels feature two shelving filters to process the incoming signal; you
can activate each of them with another of those cute red buttons. The filters
are labelled Weight and Edge, just to add a little mystery, though the labels
Bass and Treble might have been more familiar. Each offers +/- 12 dB of boost;
the centre position leaving the signal unchanged.
What the FREQue?
The unobtrusive
FREQue
button at the right-hand side of the panel activates the
FREQue II’s
frequency shift mode, and with it a whole new slant on pitch-shifting. The
amount of shift applied is set by the frequency of oscillator two (oscillator
one’s switch is deactivated when the
FREQue
button is engaged). Effectively, this process combines the two music inputs, and
creates two shifted versions of them, one shifted upwards and the other shifted
downwards by the same amount. Once
FREQue
is activated, channel one’s output produces the upward-shifted signal, whilst
channel two produces the downward-shifted one, 180 degrees out of phase. Using
Output Mix knobs, you can determine how much of the original is blended with the
shifted output.
Although this is pretty straightforward to explain, the effects it produces
range from drastic sound warping to quite subtle thickening. External control of
oscillator two’s frequency becomes even more funky with this function. I
experimented using an analogue sequencer’s CV output to produce precise
frequency shifts in sync with the musical input for some fascinating, quirky
transformations – instant Bjork! I was a little disappointed that there was no
MIDI control of oscillator frequency, nor indeed any onboard MIDI at all.
Perhaps MIDI simply doesn’t have a high enough controller resolution to do
justice to the FREQue II?
If necessary, a MIDI-to-CV converter could be employed, perhaps translating MIDI
notes into voltages to drive those onboard oscillators.
DACS offer some practical applications for the
FREQue II
in a supplementary guide that is supplied along with the Spartan eight-page
manual, and this guide is also provided on their web site. One trick I
discovered was to route an entire stereo mix through the music inputs and then
to pick just a single instrument from it (a bass or arpeggio part) as modulation
source. As the song played, I found that adding a small amount of the
FREQue’s
output produced an effect rather similar to an exciter, but with far more
harmonic wildness. Used in dance tracks, the
FREQue
can add a hard, raw distortion, although if overdone it could easily become
jarring.
The metallic fizz achieved when running the onboard oscillators at high
frequencies was surprisingly clear and worked well with drum samples as music
input. I’d also recommend using the sounds generated by other synthesizers as
modulation sources, as these can be more extensively manipulated during
playback. Similarly, I got some vocoder-like results using a slowly sweeping
string pad as a modulation source, again with a drum loop as the music input.
With my existing ring modulators, such experiments sounded altogether harsher
and crunchier, but the
FREQue II makes
it easier to find ‘sweet spots’ even within fairly complex material. Using the
frequency-shifting function and then activating FM allows you to produce
gated-style effects by setting the FM control oscillator (oscillator one) to a
low frequency. At times, you might connect the
FREQue II
like a conventional effects box (to your mixers effects sends and returns), or
alternatively you could place it directly between sound source and mixer. Both
methods spawned their own new ideas.
Conclusion
I’ve used numerous ring modulators over the years, but none have felt either as musical or as natural to use as this one. Depending on the source material and your choice of modulation input, it is possible to obtain results that aren’t instantly identifiable as ‘classic’ ring modulation. Whether it’s producing distortion effects, high-pitched sizzles, circuit-bending rumbles or supersonic screams, the FREQue II has a surprisingly wide range of applications. DACS’ Audio have added a few useful extras in the form of tonal control, FM, frequency-shifting and extensive connectivity, but, ultimately, the question will be whether anyone is going to be prepared to pay for such high quality in a stand-alone ring modulator. Though my own initial scepticism was eroded the longer I used the FREQue II, I fear the UK price will deter many. Make your own FREQue mind up ….
DACS Freque II
pros
cons
summary
superb, flexible processor, the Freque II generates a broader spectrum of sounds than other ring modulators I've heard. The frequency-shifting function is a welcome plus, the shelving filters and the frequency modulation add extra mileage, but all at a price which is not to be taken lightly