We were inspired by a few prominent Cyclops users to enhance our digital Eurorack modules to support lasers more directly. The result is laserbox. It pairs nicely with the LZX cyclops and your ILDA laser.
Laserbox is free, alternative firmware for our toolbox module. It provides three ways to work with vector images:
Pattern generation using X/Y oscillators or polar oscillators
Playback of 5 channel WAV files, with XY and RGB data
Live input manipulation: Use any +/-5V XY signal and modify the color, size, scale, rotation, and other parameters with internal and external modulation.
Welcome to the forum @1010music and thanks for posting this!! I really enjoyed the KnobCon demo, and this implementation of the Toolbox platform. When we made Cyclops I was slightly hesitant, since its use would rely on companionship of a good oscillographics/analog console setup – either through patching quadrature oscillators or some dedicated implementation like a 2D wavetable VCO. So it’s wonderful to have a sensible companion module like this to recommend and I look forward to seeing what everyone does with it.
Wow that sounds phenomenal, I wish this had come to my attention sooner. Does the Laserbox firmware have realtime CV sampling/playback functionality? My ultimate goal is to create drawn laser animations using an Escher Sketch.
Laserbox doesn’t do sampling–but the toolbox firmware does. You can capture a two channel WAV file from the 24-bit 48kHz inputs. We do realize that this misses the RGB or blanking information. That would be an obvious next step.
Excuse me if I’ve missed any details on this. In addition to XY outputs (for driving laser position) is there a facility for a reset trigger output at the top of each refresh interval? If so, this could be used to reset analog modulators in time with the pattern, in the case you wanted to mix in external oscillators synchronized with the Laserbox generated XY outs (for colorization purposes or otherwise.)
I hope this is the right thread to post this question - correct me if I´m wrng.
I´m looking for an input source to Cyclops that won´t just give me lissajoux (is that the right spelling?) or oscilloscope type output. I want to draw boxes. RIngs. SImple, clean shapes. Then I wanna twist them and give them som slight variations, but nothing crazy - and nothing to lissajouxy…
I have been looking at the videos of the laserbox, but it´s har to decipher how to manipulate cues/output in real time. Do you have control of scan rate? What can you actually control live?
Lissajous
have you tried sine waves in different phases? like a quadrature VCO / LFO
Try different waveforms for other shapes. make combinations.
Use synced VCO’s with different frequencies and amplitudes
then use FM on those pure VCO shapes for modulations
tutorial with a scope.
very analog, but at the start he shows this phase / speed diagram which is very helpful
Thanks reverselandfill! Lissajous
Very cool videos, and very explanatory in terms of what the variables are! I´ll try to dig further into what modules I should get.
I´m bank here, but I´ve understood I need to invest time and effort into building something that works as hoped.
I woulda loved to have hands on with the laserbox though, to see if it has flexibility and function as needed.
Follow-up here, after noodling around.
Suggestions for modules that deliver “synced VCO’s with different frequencies and amplitudes”
and “FM on those pure VCO shapes for modulations”
Don´t have too many modules, so not so easy to figure stuff out
Synthesis Technology E370 comes to mind. Four oscillators, all syncable, all independently tunable (with option to quantize to several scales no less), FMable, and there’s a phase modulation mode too.
I have an E352 which is like 1/3 of an E370 and I’ve been looking to upgrade myself…
I’ve also tried the WMD PDO mk2 which comes up a lot but didn’t quite get where I wanted to go. Currently selling mine.
Ornament & Crime has a wonderful quadratic oscillator/LFO mode, but gets a little low resolution at higher frequencies. Still pretty useful and can be synced.
Batumi is a fantastic quadrature source and I use it in all of my vector patches. Also syncable but only up to about 100Hz I think? Not super high at least. I often sync my other modules to Batumi since it has the square/pulse outs.
Thanks! The E370 looks amazing, but also large and maybe too complex for my use?
Will look into the E352, if that can create basic shapes. I´m struggling to find a module setup that will let me basically output a still line, still circle, still box, still point.
WMD PDO2 looks cool too, but haven´t seen it do still frame stuff, so IDK…
Yeah, I bought Polygogo, but as awesome as it is, it can´t create a still beam/point. Always something moving and glitching
Beautiful instrument, though!
With existing 1010music hardware would it be possible to create a firmware that allows for output of typical video/image files? Especially in a format that could be manipulated by LZX Modules?
