New Noise Engineering Ruina Versio Deep Dive

Ruina Versio is the newest edition to the Versio family, announced here on the 18th.

From the blog: https://www.noiseengineering.us/blog/...​

Playlist:

1. Blog: Ruina Versio Doom parameter

That’s right, you can finally get your very own DOOM knob on a Eurorack module! Trust us, it lives up to its name. It’s kind of like a demented overdrive, drunken suboctave generator, and overtone creator all in one knob. This is one that’s definitely better heard than talked about…

2. Blog: Ruina Versio Blend parameter

Blend is the dry/wet control for Ruina (and most of the other Versio firmwares), changing the balance between the original, unprocessed signal (dry) and the distorted signal (wet). On any effect the dry/wet balance is important, but on Ruina it’s a key feature: Ruina can distort things a LOT, so having some dry signal is really important to keep things sounding how you want. Or, just crank it all the way up and let things really drive!

Of course, it can also be CV’d. Take a listen to this clip, where we’re slowly modulating the dry/wet mix to create tension in a patch.

3. Blog: Ruina Versio UND/X/OVR and OFF/ON/TRK

The switches on RV control the internal signal routing, and the notch filter respectively. Let’s start at the top: UND/X/OVR changes the routing of the input signal through the different distortion units on RV. UND is probably the mildest, and OVR is the most extreme, with X somewhere in the middle. OVR mode actually has two separate points where signals are wavefolded.

OFF/ON/TRK gives you a notch filter: in OFF mode, it’s, um, off. Give yourself a point if you guessed that! ON mode turns it… on. More specifically, it’s a fixed-frequency notch set to 1kHz. I always ask for cuts at 1kHz because that’s a “traditional” sound design technique when making reeses and that sort of sound.

TRK mode makes the notch variable, with its frequency controlled by Center.

4. Blog: Ruina Versio 8vize parameter

This is another one that takes inspiration from the Distortion of the Month series: it’s a similar effect to the Pura Ruina, being a multistage full-wave rectifier. These sorts of distortions can create effects that sort of sound like they’re pitched up an octave, hence the name.

5. Blog: Ruina Versio Smoosh button

Smoosh. Press for INSTANT GAIN: 128dB of it, to be precise. The great thing is it can be externally triggered, too, so you can sequence your Smoosh-ing! Smoosh? Smoosh.

6. Blog: Ruina Versio Fold parameter

Finally, the famed NE Infinifold (is it really famed? We like to tell ourselves it is, at least. If you’ve ever wanted to use the fold on the BIA or other NE oscillators to process anything in your rack, BEHOLD.) breaks free! This thing can get REALLY gnarly: it’s got a lot more distortion power than a traditional wavefolder. And in a certain routing mode (yes, you can reroute the whole module’s signal path just by flipping a switch) it appears in the signal chain twice, just in case one round of folding wasn’t enough.

Let’s give this Fold thing a listen.

7. Blog: Ruina Versio Phase parameter

Phase shifts the phase of the input signal around to give you some artificial stereo effects, even if your input signal is mono. It also can sound like a phaser with the right settings and modulation, and it can even add some pitch warble and distortion in its own right if you move it fast enough. While it may seem like a simple parameter, there’s a lot to be done with it…

8. Blog: Ruina Versio Center and Drive parameters

These two sort of work together: Drive is a multiband drive algorithm, inspired by our Seca Ruina module, but with 4 bands instead of 3. The Drive knob morphs between which band is emphasized (lowest loudest to the left, highest loudest to the right) and Center changes the width and frequency of the center band. Modulating Center can give some pretty drastic changes, almost acting like a filter on its own.