LZX Chromagnon...

[Electronicvibes]

... Pre-orders are opened

https://lzxindustries.net/products/chromagnon

[Sharktootth]

Pretending like I'm not going to get it... but know I am. The feelz.

[lud]

Wow looks so different to the Vidiot!

[Agawell]

I ordered one yesterday, to complement a VC and other video modules

[versipellis]

I'd love to see a video walkthrough of this..

[Agawell]

I think we all would - it'll appear eventually - have patience

Facebook LZX Community or LZX User Forum might be better places to watch for it

[oblis]

I just preordered the Chromagnon as my first foray into video synthesis to use with my existing audio eurorack. Am I correct in thinking that I would need a Bridge module to use my existing eurorack modules as CV sources for it?

[Agawell]

You will need something to attenuate the signals from your eurorack modules (audio and modulation) to the LZX standard

do you need Bridge - no, although it is useful as it has a fader and a mixer included - and mults

other options are:
cadet scaler - there are a few pcb/panel sets left in various shops online - more scaling channels than bridge
brownshoesonly - 5:1 - a big brother to the cadet scaler - more channels than scaler
attenuators - just use basic attenuators, set to about 20%
nothing - the signal will be clipped at 1V

[oblis]

Great, thanks for the info!

[d2ba]

how do I connect the output of this module to a monitor with HDMI?

[Agawell]

there are multiple ways

use a TV that has analog input - composite/component/svideo - as CRT is usually seen as the pinnacle for video synthesis - personally I use an older Sony flat screen (10 - 12 years old I think) which works great for me (has analog and digital inputs) - see the link in my signature to instagram for examples

use an analog to hdmi converter - there are cheap ones and expensive ones - some cheap ones work perfectly - some not so

it's possible some video mixers (available used) such as edirol v4, panasonic ave-Xs etc may also be able to do this

the opposite for getting video from computer into chromagnon - again there are cheap ones and expensive ones - some of the cheap ones are good enough

you may or may not also want upscaling/downscaling as appropriate - depends which resolution you are running the chromagnon at

there is also an lzx hdmi i/o module planned - sometime in the next 2 years...

[dsant]

I also want to get into video synthesis, and this looks like to me a good piece of gear to start with. I'm sure examples will pop up when it's released, but what kind of visuals is this unit, together with an audio eurorack, able to produce? (Not interested in processing external video at the moment)

As an aside, any resources to learn more about module components and functions. I don't really know anything about video, but am excited to try. It feels like my first dive into euro all over again. The only resource I've been using is the lzx website...

Your stuff on instagram is very cool too, Agawell. Love it.

Edit: I found this video from Look Mum, No Computer from awhile back featuring the VIDIOT. You can see it here here. On the LZX site for it, it says their new standalone is the Chromagnon, so I guess a (spiritual) successor? Anyway, the demo in that video is exactly what I'm interested in, so I hope the Chromagnon can do some similar stuff.

[Agawell]

Your stuff on instagram is very cool too, Agawell. Love it.

Thanks!!! - will probably have some more up this weekend - I'm really liking my new Doepfer a-137-2! and probably by next weekend there will be some syntonie modules in the mix (inverter, multiplier and cbv001) - just waiting on a few components that I didn't have in stock...

go look at the videos in the lzx youtube channel

no one exactly (well almost no one) knows what the chromagnon is capable of at the moment - we are all waiting for the demo videos - I suspect these will be coming in the next month or so... fingers crossed!

the 3 patches series for the expedition modules (specifically staircase, mapper, navigator and shapechanger) are good starting points as chromagnon incorporates elements from all these modules

there are also some basic intro to video synthesis videos - in fact just watch everything on their channel - it's all good

other good places for research are the lzx community forum (accessible from their website - so maybe you already saw this) and the lzx facebook group

[cannonball swandive]

I would love to preorder but it’s a lot of cash to drop without even a demo of what it will be capable of. Is there any time frame for a demo?

[Agawell]

time frame for demo - sometime before it is released!

don't hold your breath, but boards are currently in SMT production - so soonish! fingers crossed

and release is scheduled to be spring - so in the next 3 months or so - demos should be about a month before release - so within the next 2 months, hopefully

I pre-ordered mine almost as soon as it was announced (its been a long wait, understandably), but I already have an lzx rig - and have faith in the quality of LZX products - plus I wanted the shapechanger/navigator functionality - and Chromagnon is much cheaper than those 2 modules combined!

yes it is an expensive module - but, considering it's pedigree and feature set it looks to be very good value for money

admittedly all we know is - it will do XY and laser, it will do video processing (colourisation etc) and it will do shape generation and manipulation and that almost all of it is a stepwise refinement of what has gone before - ie elements of (iirc) Mapper, Navigator, Shapechanger, Staircase and Cyclops - then the 3 patches videos for those modules should give you a very good idea of what Chromagnon is capable of - way, way more than any previous core module and for about the same price

if you want a "high end analog video synth solution" (either as a starter module or standalone) - this is it - and it is highly likely that the price will go up after pre-orders are filled - as it did for Vidiot!

[Hovercraft]

I would love to preorder but it’s a lot of cash to drop without even a demo of what it will be capable of. Is there any time frame for a demo?

I wouldn't pre-order the Chromagnon (or any other product) from LZX--wait until it's on the shelves. Speaking from experience, LZX is unrealistic about product development and delivery, and any timeline offered is unrealistic. This is a separate issue from the COVID-related delays we're seeing.

Chromagnon was announced (and orders begain) in late December 2019 for March 2020 delivery--which means it should have already been in production. Not only was it not in production, it wasn't remotely close. I can appreciate that some products take years in development, but I don't appreciate when companies aren't upfront about realistic schedules. Were they worried about cashflow into the company? Possibly, but that doesn''t justify misleading claims. I won't even go into the TBC2 debacle, but if anyone wants to defend their business practices, you'd should have a good explanation for what was going on in December 2019 with the Chromagnon announcement.

[northerntao]

I wouldn't pre-order the Chromagnon (or any other product) from LZX--wait until it's on the shelves. Speaking from experience, LZX is unrealistic about product development and delivery, and any timeline offered is unrealistic. This is a separate issue from the COVID-related delays we're seeing.

Chromagnon was announced (and orders begain) in late December 2019 for March 2020 delivery--which means it should have already been in production. Not only was it not in production, it wasn't remotely close. I can appreciate that some products take years in development, but I don't appreciate when companies aren't upfront about realistic schedules. Were they worried about cashflow into the company? Possibly, but that doesn''t justify misleading claims. I won't even go into the TBC2 debacle, but if anyone wants to defend their business practices, you'd should have a good explanation for what was going on in December 2019 with the Chromagnon announcement.

As the owner of a large LZX modular setup, and having pre-ordered both the TBC2 (ordered in July 2019) and Chromagnon (January 2020), I wish I could disagree with you but i can't. As an existing LZX customer, I'm confident they will come through, eventually. But for new LZX customers, I would caution that you are likely in for a long wait.

They have retired almost their complete product line, with a roadmap for replacements, while products announced 2.5 years ago (TBC2) are still waiting for delivery - the TBC2 "debacle" was worsened when the product was completely revised, removing considerable features, a year and a half after announced. To be fair, they did offer a refund, but claimed that the announced product features were in flux and they never actually confirmed that certain features (namely digital input) would be supported. Hmmm...

Meanwhile, month after month, they confirm it will be just a little longer...

[Agawell]

wow - I've never taken any interest in the TBC2 - so had no idea of the length of time it's been!!!

there's a lot to be said for Mutable Instruments policy of only announcing things the day they are released!

[Mr. Wiggles]

I don't really see a problem with advanced announcement (with a realistic timeline), but it is a bit of a problem that LZX discontinued Visual Cortex such a long time before releasing Chromagnon. It seems to be pretty hard to actually build a video synthesis rig with the current lineup of modules.

Of course, it also seems to be near impossible to find most LZX modules right now, so maybe it doesn't make much of a difference.

[northerntao]

I don't really see a problem with advanced announcement (with a realistic timeline), but it is a bit of a problem that LZX discontinued Visual Cortex such a long time before releasing Chromagnon. It seems to be pretty hard to actually build a video synthesis rig with the current lineup of modules.

This VC discontinuation, and the Chromagnon delays, are made worse with the retirement (replacements coming) of the Cadet line, which can be used to replace most of the functionality of the VC.

LZX has expressed that the timeline could be fluid, but when you have $2k sitting in another bank account for so long, it’s frustrating.

[Agawell]

Yeah I think I would have wanted to keep at least one core module (or set of modules) available constantly

lzx modules always appear to be scarce - few dealers and fewer with stock

the only trick is to have cash ready and pounce when you see what you want

if you hunt around there are often modules/whole rigs for sale - facebook seems to be one of the best places to look

[monads]

I wouldn't pre-order the Chromagnon (or any other product) from LZX--wait until it's on the shelves. Speaking from experience, LZX is unrealistic about product development and delivery, and any timeline offered is unrealistic. This is a separate issue from the COVID-related delays we're seeing.

Chromagnon was announced (and orders begain) in late December 2019 for March 2020 delivery--which means it should have already been in production. Not only was it not in production, it wasn't remotely close. I can appreciate that some products take years in development, but I don't appreciate when companies aren't upfront about realistic schedules. Were they worried about cashflow into the company? Possibly, but that doesn''t justify misleading claims. I won't even go into the TBC2 debacle, but if anyone wants to defend their business practices, you'd should have a good explanation for what was going on in December 2019 with the Chromagnon announcement.

As the owner of a large LZX modular setup, and having pre-ordered both the TBC2 (ordered in July 2019) and Chromagnon (January 2020), I wish I could disagree with you but i can't. As an existing LZX customer, I'm confident they will come through, eventually. But for new LZX customers, I would caution that you are likely in for a long wait.

They have retired almost their complete product line, with a roadmap for replacements, while products announced 2.5 years ago (TBC2) are still waiting for delivery - the TBC2 "debacle" was worsened when the product was completely revised, removing considerable features, a year and a half after announced. To be fair, they did offer a refund, but claimed that the announced product features were in flux and they never actually confirmed that certain features (namely digital input) would be supported. Hmmm...

Meanwhile, month after month, they confirm it will be just a little longer...

^^^^^So true!!! Hoping TBC2 is within next few months and Chromagnon by Summer/Fall 2021.