MOB OF EMUS

Each channel is independently programmed with the eight shared real-time controls. Selector buttons choose which channel you are editing. Mob of Emus is organized around a harmonic control structure. When you set channel 1 to a frequency, channels 2-6 default to harmonic multiples of it, and the front-panel HARM controls address these relationships. This makes it easy to combine the channels' oscillators into rich additive timbres, to stack their LFOs into layered harmonic modulation and to build triggers that fall into polyrhythmic patterns. Because the relationships are harmonic, shifting one reference cascades through the related channels predictably. You can sculpt complex additive tones or polyrhythms with a few gestures instead of programming every channel by hand.

Hex Mode is a macro control layer that manipulates all six channels at once while preserving the relationships between their settings. For example, if channels are set to harmonic multiples, adjusting the master frequency in Hex Mode shifts all six proportionally. It is central to live performance and quick tonal adjustments.

Warp introduces detuning, phase manipulation and other modifications across the six channels at once. At low settings it adds subtle richness. At high settings it creates clangorous, swarming textures.

There are three banks: standard analog-style waveforms (sine, triangle, sawtooth, pulse and so on), envelope shapes for modulation and rhythmic patterns for trigger and clock generation. Each channel's range spans 10 octaves, from sub-audio LFO rates through the full audible spectrum.

Yes. In quantizer mode, each channel can quantize incoming CV from the six CV inputs to selectable scales. This works on both internal signals and external sources.

Pause was added in the v1.2 software. You toggle it by holding the HEX button and pressing the TAP button. As of v2.1, that button combination is the only way to toggle Pause. In earlier firmware, Pause could also be toggled by holding HEX while a pulse arrived at the TAP jack. The v2.1 Pause Jack Fix removed that. Incoming pulses at the TAP jack no longer trigger Pause. If Pause seems to engage on its own on older firmware, updating to v2.1 resolves it.

Software v2.1 added a persistent Master Tune that globally retunes Mob of Emus's origin frequency. Default parameter values then line up with a tuning standard when you use the module as an oscillator. To enter Master Tune, press and hold OPTION + HEX + TAP in that order. While holding, press HARM4 (the Channel 4 button). H.LED4 flashes, then release. Turn the FREQ pot to set the tuning, and press HARM4 again to save it to FLASH. Full counterclockwise is the original setting: a 2 Hz (120 BPM) origin, which sounds like about A=430.54 Hz at factory defaults. Turning up gives roughly A=332 to A=448, with A=440 around noon. Master Tune shifts the pitch of every preset, including factory content.

Mob of Emus stores and recalls 12 user presets. You can keep a set of complete six-channel configurations and switch between them from the front panel. It ships with a factory preset bank (v1.0_201110). If you save over the factory presets and later want them back, Rossum provides the factory preset file as a download. You restore it via the procedure in the Utilities chapter of the manual. You can also reset all panel parameters to defaults by holding Tap + Hex + Option, then holding the Preset 2 button for at least two-thirds of a second. The channel-selector LEDs strobe once to confirm.

Most multi-function modules run one algorithm at a time, selected from a menu. Mob of Emus runs six functions at once, with harmonic relationships between them. That makes it deeper and more musical to integrate. It is harder to learn at first. It suits players who want several related voices or modulators from one module, tuned to each other.

Mob of Emus has an external trigger input and six CV inputs, each able to operate in six control modes. One patch can therefore drive the module in very different ways. On the output side there are six independent channel outputs, one per channel, plus an assignable mix output that can sum any combination of channels. Eight real-time controls give hands-on access to a channel's parameters, or in Hex Mode to all six channels at once. The 6/FREQ input has one thing to note: besides its per-channel duty, it is the port you play the firmware-update WAV into.

Mob of Emus is 16 HP wide and 25 mm deep. It fits any standard Eurorack case, including shallow skiffs.

Mob of Emus draws 130 mA on +12V and 25 mA on -12V. That is a modest draw. It uses a standard 16-pin Doepfer-style connector and is reverse-polarity protected.

Mob of Emus's current software is v2.1_220820 (download: v2.1 WAV), from August 2022. The main additions and fixes across releases:

• v1.2: added CV Input Reassignment, new CV modulation destinations and a Pause feature.
• v1.3: fixed a solo bug on the Channel Selector buttons, fixed some Hex Mode parameters not being ignored when Hex Mode was off, and added a double-click-and-hold of the Hex button to reset all Hex Mode parameters.
• v2.1: Pause now toggles only by holding HEX and pressing TAP (no longer from a pulse at the TAP jack), and a persistent Master Tune was added.

Yes. The v1.2 software introduced a single CV Input Reassignment feature. You can remap a CV input instead of being locked to its default routing. It also added new CV modulation destinations. Combined with the six CV inputs and their six control modes, reassignment lets you tailor how external voltages drive the module per patch. The product page lists the feature but not the full procedure. The detailed steps are in the Mob of Emus 1.2 Software New Features Guide and the manual, both on Rossum's documentation page.

You update Mob of Emus by playing the software WAV (download: v2.1 WAV) into the module as audio. Patch your playback device's output to the 6/FREQ input. Power on while holding the HEX and Channel 5 buttons (Channel 1 and Preset 1 LEDs light, HEX LED off), and press OPTION to proceed. Play the audio file. The Preset 1-3 LEDs act as a VU meter (all three lit is best), the channel LEDs light in sequence to show progress, and all six lit means success. Press OPTION to reboot. Play at line level. Mute email, apps and notifications (Airplane Mode on a phone), since stray audio corrupts the transfer. On a Mac, avoid Safari streaming: download the zip and play the local file with QuickTime Player.

Community videos on YouTube are the best current resource for hearing Mob of Emus in action. Search for Mob of Emus demos and patch walkthroughs. The manual and product page cover its features in depth.