New intellijel wavefolder/crossfader: bifold

[megarat]

I can’t say for certain, but it appears that this update to MG was not done by an Intellijel employee, so alas, its appearance may not have any bearing on how soon the module will be released. (And this is in spite of the fact that MG indicates the module as being “currently available”.)

[sempervirent]

Looks awesome, I will get one of these for sure. Love the built-in crossfader and the dual "West Coast" lineages.

With a clear website-ready photo of the front like that, I would expect that it will be released very soon.

Tried to check https://intellijel.com/shop/eurorack/bifold for a stealth product page but they're too clever for that

[hawkfuzz]

Gravy

[megarat]

To repeat an earlier question, which I don't think got answered: I'm unfamiliar with the specific differences between these two wavefolding paradigms. How do they differ (or not) from what I think of as "traditional" wavefolding, such as what is done by the uFold II?

(I.e., would the Bifold complement the uFold II, or replace it?)

Any insight would be appreciated.

[MikeLeeBirds]

I can’t say for certain, but it appears that this update to MG was not done by an Intellijel employee, so alas, its appearance may not have any bearing on how soon the module will be released. (And this is in spite of the fact that MG indicates the module as being “currently available”.)

I put Bifold on MG and set the status to available since it can be pre-ordered at Schneiders.

https://schneidersladen.de/de/intellijel-designs-bifold

But since it‘s not actually available, yet, I now changed the status to prototype for the time being.

[Prunesquallor]

Interesting! I'm wondering how different the two circuits are in practical use. I always thought the Buchla and Serge wavefolders sounded fairly similar. Here's an old thread about it: viewtopic.php?t=78534

[Xtheunknown]

Does the Intellijel uFold use either the P or S found in the Bifold, or is the uFold a completely different animal?

[megarat]

Does the Intellijel uFold use either the P or S found in the Bifold, or is the uFold a completely different animal?

That’s currently the unanswered question. In the old thread cited above, someone said, “As Aaron Lanterman wrote in a DIY forum thread (somewhere!), the circuits are different but the sonic results are similar (timbre/ middle). From what I can tell the difference happens in the last 10%. The Buchla goes dome-shaped while the Serge squares up.”

I’ve run my uFold II through the paces with my oscilloscope, and the waves looked more dome-like than square-like to me, which implies that the uFold II is more Buchla In spirit. But I would love to hear more from an authority on this subject.

EDIT: the fact that the uFold II is now discontinued also implies that the Bifold is a functional replacement, as opposed to a complement. I do wonder if the Bifold will be analog or digital, as Intellijel seems to be moving in more of a digital direction.

[1960strat]

Nice!

Now on MG:
https://www.modulargrid.net/e/intellijel-bifold

257x826_28738.jpg

[pugix]

Last week I spent hours viewing and listening to Eurorack wave folder demos. There are a lot of interesting ones out there. Will check out the BiFold. I have an Instruō athrú.

As I was looking over all the Eurorack wave folders, it dawned on me that my first experience with wave folding was Ken Stone's CGS29 Wave Multiplier (built in MOTM format), which is based on the middle section of the Serge Wave Multipliers (which I also have, and love, in another format). I checked my CGS29 and found it's built with a 1.0 circuit board. It so happens that less than an hour ago I finished soldering up a rev 2.2 CGS29 board, that I'll swap into the existing MOTM module.

But I'll keep looking at wave folders in Eurorack.

[Rex Coil 7]

Last week I spent hours viewing and listening to Eurorack wave folder demos. There are a lot of interesting ones out there. Will check out the BiFold. I have an Instruō athrú. ..... but I'll keep looking at wave folders in Eurorack.

Same here. Currently using a WMD/SSF Ultrafold .. the Intellijel uFold2 .. the Happy Nerding FM-Aid .. and the Doepfer dual ring modulator (A-114). VCOs used are the Intellijel Dixie II+ and the Rubicon2. Mated with the bunch are four Doepfer Quad VCA/Voltage Controlled Mixer modules. Since wave folders are so sensitive to input gain levels the VCAs are quite useful, especially the way the A-135-1(v2) works with the normaling and switching jacks and all of that.

As it stands I believe all four wave shapers in my system are staying. Between what can be done with the DixieII+/Rubicon2 pairing in regards to wave-warped sounds and the four wave folders/shapers ... combined with those VCA/Mixers ... there's a lot of stuff that I can get done with all of that. I've also got plenty of modulators (EGs, LFOs, and the like). I've got the Doepfer A-138m Matrix Mixer as well .... I've not used it yet .... the potential!

The time spent on sound design is highly satisfying so far. I'm excited.

[Rex Coil 7]

Nice!

Now on MG:
https://www.modulargrid.net/e/intellijel-bifold

257x826_28738.jpg

... $265. ... man .. they're proud of that fucker. Demos should be able to tell us whether there is $265 bucks worth of ~wave folder~ going on or not.

[intellijel]

It is $229 not $265. The module has not officially been released yet but I guess some dealers leaked photos of it by accident. We’ll post official details very very soon!

[Black_Materia]

i'm considering getting this or the serge wave multiplier.
Very different sound as far as i can tell. i wish he'd used an anlog sine instead of that digital module. Hard to compare. The serge has this round smoothness, whereas the bifold seems more rough, agressive and modern.

[closedLoop]

i'm considering getting this or the serge wave multiplier.
Very different sound as far as i can tell. i wish he'd used an anlog sine instead of that digital module. Hard to compare. The serge has this round smoothness, whereas the bifold seems more rough, agressive and modern.

It's hard to go wrong with the Serge stuff, and the Wave Multiplier is just amazing - but it's big, if you're short on room in your case.

The Bifold seems more edgy/aggressive by comparison in the limited evidence so far.

[autopoiesis]

looking forward to a basic demo (of the P vs. S folders) with a sine and an oscilloscope ...

[Rex Coil 7]

Gravy

no .... frosting.

[Rex Coil 7]

It is $229 not $265. The module has not officially been released yet but I guess some dealers leaked photos of it by accident. We’ll post official details very very soon!

Ah! Yes, I see. Precisely why I try to avoid these types of threads .... nothing but conjecture and speculation.

[kons]

That is a ridiculously pointless demo by Ricky, there!
I think intellijel should demand their preview copy back because ricky has not produced media that in anyway demos the product properly.
Intellijel make better videos themselves...

[intellijel]

There is a lot more to demonstrate and explore with the Bifold and we will post some official videos soon. We specifically set out to make something that was warm, organic and especially worked well on bass tones. This should become evident when we show some processing of more conventional waveforms like an analog sine wave.

With dynamic sounds sources (like a decaying bass tone) the folds change over time as the amplitude drops and it creates a pretty distinct sound that may not be everyone's cup of tea. For this reason, I personally prefer to feed steady amplitude sound sources to the folder and then apply amplitude modulation post folder. Also folders usually work best on simpler, low harmonic waveforms.

One of my favourite things to patch are two different waveforms from the same VCO e.g. Sine into one folder and Saw into the other side and then use the xfader to find a balance between the two sides. I have gotten really warm and fizzy analog lead riff tones this way.

The two fold CV attenuators are normalled to +5V so with nothing patched you can use them to offset the fold amount for each channel. This can help set a default level when the FOLD knob is full CCW. It is also handy when balancing the stereo image if you are using both outputs panned L/R.

One of the most interesting things to explore is noise generation patterns. If you patch Out P into In S and the Out S into in P you create a serial feedback patch (feedback through two folders in series) and adjusting folds will vary the amount of texture noise generated at the MIX output. With just a simple modulation source like an LFO or cycling envelope patched into the xfade cv or fold amount for a channel you can get really complex cycling patterns.

Lot's to explore!

More soon....

[megarat]

Thanks for the details, I'm excited to learn more.

[broken diodes]

That is a ridiculously pointless demo by Ricky, there!
I think intellijel should demand their preview copy back because ricky has not produced media that in anyway demos the product properly.
Intellijel make better videos themselves...

I thought it was great to see it in the context of actual use. I'm sure there will be other videos that show every knob being turned ever so slightly and slowly (Don't get me wrong I do enjoy those videos too). I'm also sure Ricky's video will be watched a bazillion more times.

[tigersi]

That is a ridiculously pointless demo by Ricky, there!
I think intellijel should demand their preview copy back because ricky has not produced media that in anyway demos the product properly.
Intellijel make better videos themselves...

In the greater good of the sale it Doesn’t matter who makes the better video. Ricky will have a gazillion followers who will buy anything he says is useful or perfect for ...
Intellijel are not stupid in the marketing game. They have created some incredible modules and enlisted the help of the person who will shift more than you or I could ever dream of.

[brandonlogic]

Do we know when this will be up for preorder at the other dealers?

[megarat]

“Soon,” they say enigmatically. “Soon.” And theIr maniacal cackle rings out for all the internet to hear.