Introduction

The Disting is a many-in-1 multifunction module, offering a variety of CV and audio processes, including a selection of oscillators (LFOs/VCOs). All algorithms have two high-precision inputs and outputs, and a third control input, exposed on a front panel knob and a CV input.

Reviews

The disting mk3 was awarded an 'Excellence' award by MusicTech Magazine (June 2014 issue). “With so much functionality on offer, this unit is something of a no-brainer.” Read the full article here. The disting mk3 was also nominated in MusicTech's Gear Of The Year 2016 poll.

The disting mk3 was awarded 'Value' and 'Platinum' awards by Future Music Magazine (July 2014 issue). “Unquestionably the most useful module in Eurorack. We don’t think there’s any system that wouldn’t benefit from having at least one.”

The disting was selected by learningmodular.com to be part of their core training rack. Different modes in the Expert Sleepers Disting round out our available bag of tricks...

Functions

There are currently six 'banks' of algorithms. The first 16 ('classic disting') are:

	Group 1	Group 2	Group 3	Group 4
a	Precision Adder with integer voltage offsets	Linear/Exponential Converter	Sample and Hold with noise source and adjustable slew rate	LFO with through zero frequency control and waveshaping
b	Four Quadrant Multiplier with integer multiply/divide	Quantizer with selectable scales	Slew Rate Limiter with linear and exponential slew	Clockable LFO with multiply/divide and waveshaping
c	Full-wave Rectifier	Comparator with adjustable hysteresis	Pitch and Envelope Tracker	VCO with linear FM sine and saw outputs
d	Minimum/maximum	Dual Waveshaper wavefolder and triangle-to-sine shaper	Clockable Delay/Echo	VCO with waveshaping saw/triangle and pulse outputs

The second bank contains:

	Group 1	Group 2	Group 3	Group 4
a	Precision Adder with fractional voltage offsets	Resonator for drum synthesis		LP/HP Filter
b	Voltage Controlled Delay Line vibrato/chorus/flange effects	Vocoder 12 band	Tape Delay with voltage controlled tape speed	LP/BP Filter
c	Clockable Ping Pong Delay	Phaser up to 10 stages		BP/HP Filter
d	Clockable Ping Pong Delay with input pan control	Bit Crusher	State Variable Filter smoothly variable filter type	BP/Notch Filter

The third bank contains:

	Group 1	Group 2	Group 3	Group 4
a	AR Envelope	Dual AR Envelope	Clockable AD Envelope (with mute)	Shift Register Random CVs
b	AR Envelope (with push)	Dual AR Envelope (with push)	Clockable AD Envelope (with gate)	Shift Register Random Quantized CVs
c	AR Envelope & VCA	Euro to Buchla Converter	Clockable AD Envelope (with trigger)	Shift Register Random Triggers
d	AR Envelope & VCA (with push)	Buchla to Euro Converter	Clockable AD Envelope & VCA	Shift Register Random Dual Triggers

The fourth bank contains:

	Group 1	Group 2	Group 3	Group 4
a	ES-1 Emulation	Dual Quantizer (Z scale)	Crossfade/Pan	Dual Euclidean Patterns
b	ES-2 Emulation	Dual Quantizer	Dual Sample and Hold
c		Dual Delayed Pulse Generator
d

The fifth and sixth banks contain functions relating to playing back audio and MIDI files from the MicroSD card:

	Group 1	Group 3	Group 1	Group 3
a	Audio Playback	MIDI File Playback (Clocked)	Clocked Audio Playback	Audio Recorder
c	Audio Playback with V/Oct	MIDI File Playback (Free Running)
d	Audio Playback with Z Speed	Audio Playback with End CV

The video below was the winning entry in a video competition we held to promote the disting. It's a fun and very musical romp through the first 16 of the disting's functions.

mk3 version

The disting mk3 was introduced in November 2015. The main differences compared to the original disting are:

• Smaller - now 42mm deep (from 53mm)
• Over 50% less power consumption - now 70mA combined draw (from 148mA)
• User-updatable code - via Micro SD card
• More algorithms - no longer limited to 16
• More functionality - new encoder and push buttons give more control options

Specifications

The disting mk3's specifications are as follows:

• Panel width: 4HP
• Module depth: 42mm
• X & Y inputs, A & B outputs
  • Sample rate: 75kHz
  • ADC: 24 bit, THD+N -93dB, Dynamic range 99dB, SNR 99dB
  • DAC: 24 bit, THD+N -94dB, Dynamic range 105dB, SNR 104dB
• Z input sample rate: 75kHz
• CPU: Microchip PIC32MX at up to 50MHz
• Current draw: 50mA on the +12V rail, 20mA on the -12V rail (70mA total)

The front panel is drilled for both Doepfer and Analogue Systems mounting holes (using a 'slot' rather than a single round hole). The power connector is a Doepfer standard 16 way IDC, with -12V furthest from the top of the board.

For more detail, please see the user manual.

Pricing & Availablity

The disting mk3 is available now.

For purchasing links, please see where to buy.

Hackable

The disting is based around a PIC microcontroller, with a programming/debug header available on the board. Using Microchip's free development tools a user can easily hack the disting to perform their own functions.

We have provided an open source code framework into which developers can slot their own algorithms. This can be found here. There is a thread about disting firmware hacking on the forum here.

Below is a (rather long) video introducing the disting in some detail, filmed at a meeting of the London Music Hackspace. You may like to jump in at these times:

• 06:00 - description of the hardware
• 40:45 - description of the open source software framework
• 1:16:45 - compilation of some custom code and seeing how it sounds.