ALM Busy CircuitsPip Slope Mk II Envelope / LFO

ALM Busy Circuits Pip Slope MkII

The feature-packed Pip Slope Mk II from ALM is a great source of modulation, adding new features not found on the original. It can act as an attack/decay envelope using the trig input or as an attack/sustain/decay envelope using the gate input, which will hold the sustain period as long as the gate is active. To shape the envelope, there are controls for both attack and decay that are fully voltage controllable, plus a shape control that morphs the curve from logarithmic to exponential to linear with skewing either to the attack or decay stages.

Three loop modes have been added to allow the Pip Slope to function as a unipolar LFO. The standard loop mode simply loops the envelope like a standard LFO with the time and shape controlled by the knobs. Decreasing amplitude mode decreases the envelope's amplitude by half with each repeat, providing a pseudo-echo effect. Decreasing time reduces the envelope time by approximate 2/3rds with each repeat, creating the classic bouncing ball style envelope.

A jumper on the rear of the module determines the output range for the envelope, either 0–5V or 0–8V, depending on your needs and modulation destination. In addition, an end of stage trigger output fires a trigger signal when the envelope reaches the end of its decay stage, useful for synchronizing other modules to the Pip Slope, creating quadrature envelopes, or for use as a burst generator with decreasing time looping mode. The Pip Slope can be simple or complex in its implementation, and this new revision adds a slew of features that make it powerful and able to be used just about anywhere in a patch.

Pip Slope MkII Features

• Envelope generator
• Shape control from exponential to linear to logarithmic with variable skew to attack or decay portion
• Three looping modes
• Decreasing amplitude makes an echo like envelope
• Decreasing time creates bouncing ball patch
• Attack and decay parameters that are fully voltage controllable
• End of stage trigger output
• Trigger and gate inputs for different envelope behaviors
• Voltage range selected via jumper, either 0–5V or 0–8V