Ciat-LonbardeRolzer Analog Rhythm + Relabi Synthesizer

Ciat-Lonbarde Rolzer

The most distilled source of Relabi pseudo-rhythms in the modern Ciat-Lonbarde catalog, Rolzer generates an array of orderly and disorderly rhythms from its even and odd geometries. A descendant of the earlier Rolz-5 instrument, Rolzer was designed as a companion to Plumbutter, but can easily stand on its own or support other Ciat-Lonbarde instruments.

Please note: Rolzer's brown jacks have the ability to generate intense negative voltage spikes. These are safely patched within the Ciat-Lonbarde ecosystem, but caution and attentiveness are required when patching externally to avoid damaging other modules, synthesizers, and instruments. Use attenuators and rectifier circuits where necessary.

Visually identical, each column of the Rolzer contains individual pulse generators, known as roll, arranged into groupings of three, four, five, and six. Even-numbered rolls are considered to be stable, while the odd-numbered rolls rotate the active pulse between their outputs. The term "output" is used loosely here, because all brown jacks are what Ciat-Lonbarde calls sandrodes: androgynous nodes which function both as inputs and outputs. Because a roll consists of multiple stages of transistors charging and discharging capacitors, these patch points may transmit or receive voltages at different stages of this process. The orange jack, however, is consistent pulse output safely patchable to all instruments.

The ambiguous nature of the rolls is what makes patching Rolzer so exploratory. By cross-patching the brown jacks between the various generators, a variety of stacked rhythms pushing and pulling against each other are achieved. This ties back into the concept of Relabi: loose "rhythms" with suspended or erased pulses; simultaneous musical timelines occurring all at once.

Unlike the Plumbutter, which features knobs to tune the rate of its rolls, Rolzer's are fixed-rate generators. Borrowing the E6 tuning scheme from the Tocante line, each column of Rolzer uses different capacitor values to cover a wide range of tempi, ranging from the traditional descriptive names of tempo such as slow grave and lento through fast allegro and presto. Of course, patching between various rolls will quickly dissolve any semblance of tempo, and like on the original Rolz-5, ultrasonic territories are possible to impart their influence on slower rhythms.

Rolzer is perhaps one of the most perfect examples of how unpredictable Ciat-Lonbarde instruments can be. Any semblance of expectation should be left behind, for the organic nature of its rolls may never produce the same result twice—even when using the same patch connections.

Rolzer Features

• Fixed-rate rhythm and relabi generator
• Seven columns containing 3, 4, 5, and dual 6-part rhythm generators
• Different tempo zones per column: grave, lento, adagio, andante, moderato, allegro, presto
• Numerous brown jack sandrodes per roll, functioning both as inputs and outputs
• One orange pulse output per roll
• Smeared, slipping rhythms available via cross-patching
• Excercise caution in patching brown jacks among other non-Ciat-Lonbarde synthesizers and Eurorack modules to avoid damaging them