Introducing The KissBox CVToolbox

Update: Official price is 430 Euros (~$589) including VAT. Street price may be 10% less.

"The CVToolbox is a complete standalone synthesizer control engine, much more powerful than a simple networked CV interface, which replaces up to 24 Low Frequency Oscillators, 16 Envelope Generators, and 24 modulation matrices. The CVToolbox is designed to work with any vintage or modern analog machine, modular or desktop format. You can then keep the space in your synthesizer rack for signal generation and processing modules, and control these modules directly by the CVToolbox.

The CVToolbox can be used in a completely standalone mode (controlled by a MIDI keyboard over RTP-MIDI, no computer being involved in the control scheme), but it can be used also as an expansion module for musical software like Max/MSP. You can then generate any control signal in the computer and send them to your hardware synthesizer in real-time, with full 16 bits precision. We also provide a VST control plugin, which allows you to control directly your analog synthesizer from any modern sequencer or Digital Audio Workstation.

Each output of the CVToolbox supports 14 different operating modes, and can be assigned for polyphonic usage.

• Standalone HD control engine for analog synthesizers, with integral 32 bits processing paths
• Transforms any analog machine into a fully programmable system
• No computer or extra module required to generate control signals
• Replaces 24 LFO, 16 ADBSSR EG and 24 modulations matrices
• Preconfigured matrices for VCO, VCF and VCA control
• 14 functions available on each output, with 8 voices polyphony support (VCO Control, VCF Control, VCA Control, LFO1/2/3, EG1/2, Note Gate, Resonance Control, Sequencer Clock, Sequencer Gate)
• 16 bits outputs (0V to 10V) without sample/hold for maximum signal purity
• Direct integration in Max/MSP with a dedicated object, in order to generate control signals from Max/MSP in real-time (for example, using a ~adsr object)
• VST plugin used as Editor/Librarian, for direct integration in sequencers and Digital Audio Workstations"

http://www.kissbox.nl/products_midi.html

Note this is the first KissBox post on the site.

Update: The following is some more information on the KissBox.  In the bullet point above that starts with 14 functions it mentioned VCO control, so I was curious if the box had VCO functionality.  I was also curious what connection options were available for the KissBox and whether it would work with iPad editors.  The following is what I heard back from KissBox:


"The CVToolbox does not contain any VCO, VCF or VCA by itself. It is designed to control external VCO, VCF, VCA (or any other analog module), using the internal LFO, ADSR and modulation matrices. The philosophy behind the CVToolbox is very simple : it's exactly what you found in machines like Juno or Prophet or any other classical synth from the 80's. In these synthesizers, you had an analog board to generate the sound and a digital board to control the analog one. The CVToolbox is the digital control module, and it controls external analog processing chain. You can then fill your synth rack with "high values" modules like VCO, VCF and VCA, and you do not need anymore "control" modules like ADSR, LFO, etc... since they are located in the CVToolbox.

So, it's not a standalone synthesizer by itself, but it turns any analog rack into a standalone programmable machine. You just need your analog modules (in rack or desktop format), the CVToolbox and a RTP-MIDI master keyboard (or a MIDI kayboard connected to a RTP-MIDI adapter)

And it can also be hooked to a Max/MSP patch, so you can also use an external engine and control the CVToolbox from the patch, without any real limitations (since you can make really crazy things with Max/MSP) So you can choose between internal or external modulation scheme, and you can even mix the two modes at the same time (some outputs being controlled by a Max/MSP patch and others being controlled by the internal engine)"


2. How do you connect a computer to it? The port looks like an ethernet port. Does it support wireless?

"Yes, it's connected over Ethernet, using RTP-MIDI open protocol. If you want details about this protocol, you can take a look to the wikipedia page : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RTP_MIDI
And yes, it supports wireless. If you take a look to the user's manual, you will see how WiFi can be involved in the CVToolbox control scheme

Just note a nice point : RTP-MIDI is public and it is even part of Mac OS since version 10.4 (and part of iOS too). This is not a proprietary protocol created by KissBox, so anybody can implement a RTP-MIDI device freely

By the way (and this has nothing to see with the CVToolbox itself), if you MIDIBox : just take a look to their forum : they have now included RTP-MIDI support in their latest firmware (and they provide test figures, which show the RTP-MIDI performances. These are independent measurement figures, not provided by KissBox in any way"


3. Would it be possible to use an iPad to edit it with something like Lemur?

"Yes, and we even have a TouchOSC patch specifically made to edit the CVToolbox from the iPad"