Plankton Electronics Spice is a standalone and modular FX unit

Plankton Electronics Spice is a standalone and modular FX unit

The new Plankton Electronics Spice is a hybrid analog/digital distortion and filter effects processor for modular and standalone application.

A few months ago Plankton Electronics were teasing their upcoming release, at first we thought it was a synthesizer – we couldn’t have been further from the mark, however there were a few key aspects we did guess correctly.

Judging by the large amount of jack connectors on the front-panel, and what looks like attenuators accompanying them – we guessed that the new Plankton Electronics Spice would be compatible with Eurorack modular synthesizers. It’s even available in two styles, one for mounting in a Eurorack case, and another one for standalone desktop use (that comes with a small case and power supply).

Plankton Electronics Spice is essentially made up of various sections that are routed internally, however you have the ability to either use the sections independently or re-route them as you please. The Filter section features a simple high-pass and low-pass filter, each with individual parameters and CV control. This is nice for taming the signal before sending it into distortion, or altering it in between the two distortion sections.

The Spice must flow…

Plankton Electronics Spice features a Digital distortion section which features a bit and sample rate reduction control, and a post filter. Due to the modular nature of Spice you’re able to patch directly from the Filter to the Analog and then to the output for a full analog signal-path. The Analog section features seven styles of drive from Nu-Tube and Stomp Box to  Hard Clip and Saturation. The Analog section also features a multimode filter with Low-Pass, Band-Pass and High-Pass modes.

There’s also an internal feedback section, allowing you to quickly route the output back into inputs from a variety of the individual sections, and an envelope follower for creating modulations out of the audio signal. The Plankton Electronics Spice is a great concept for standalone use, for guitarists and synth players – due to its wide internal capabilities, however it’s obviously also great for modular synth users.

The Plankton Electronics Spice is currently on KickStarter, for more information check out their page here.