A eurorack synthesizer has appeared in all of the The Smile’s rehearsal videos since December, but only the latest footage has revealed the guts of the synth. Originally kept on a shelf of its own, the case is now mounted on a rolling stand just above the band’s Dave Smith Instruments Prophet ‘08 synthesizer. The eurorack is configured in a really capable setup with four independent synth voices, each going to a dedicated balanced output. The Elektron Octatrack MKII to the left of the case is used for sequencing via MIDI, outputting four channels of CV+Gate through a Mutable Instruments Yarns module. Three of the synth voices follow the East/West-coast hybrid approach championed by Make Noise, but the fourth is an powerful percussion voice. There’s also some random modulation and a delay effect to keep things interesting.
A shot of Jonny playing his Fender Precision bass. The Tiptop Audio Mantis case can be seen on the shelf above the band’s DSI Prophet ‘08 synthesizer. The bits of purple tape on the Prophet show that it’s the same one used for Radiohead touring.
The modules are housed and powered by a 104HP Tiptop Audio Mantis case with green legs, which isn’t a surprise as Thom previously used one for Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes shows in 2019. More surprising is the pair of Make Noise 0-Coast synths mounted in the case, which would require the band’s techs to minorly modify the units.
Top Row (from left to right):
- Make Noise 0-Coast*
- TipTip Audio Tiptop Audio Z3000 Smart VCO
- Make Noise 0-Coast*
Bottom Row: (from left to right):
- Mutable Instruments Yarns MIDI-to-CV
- unknown ~10hp module with black panel
- Make Noise Richter Wogglebug random generator
- Steady State Fate Entity Percussion Synthesizer
- Make Noise Contour* envelope
- Make Noise Dynamix* lowpass gate
- Make Noise Echophon delay
- Vermona twinOUT dual balanced output*
- Vermona twinOUT dual balanced output*
The * symbol indicates modules that Thom and Jonny previously have not used publicly. The rest of the modules have appeared either in Thom and Jonny’s 2014 studio setup or in one of Thom’s touring setups.
While the 0-Coast is designed as a standalone device, if it’s unscrewed
from its case it will fit in a eurorack case. The only issue is there’s
no euroack power connector on the back. However, it’s easy to connect to a case if you don’t mind soldering the power wires directly to
the circuitboard on the 0-Coast (and probably voiding any warranty).
A shot of Tom Skinner adjusting the “Dynamics” control on one of the Make Noise 0-Coast synths. Off screen, he’s also using a mallet to hit a cymbal with his other hand!
The back of the Elektron Octatrack reveals that only the MIDI output is in use, as you’d expect if it was connected to the Mutable Instruments Yarns module in the eurorack case. The wiring of the Strymon Timeline indicates it’s being used with the DSI Prophet ‘08, which makes sense as it was previously velcro’d to the Prophet.
A mock-up of the case created on the website modulargrid. Note the empty gap for the currently unknown module.