Algorithmic Mega Module

The disting NT is the latest in the line of modules from Expert Sleepers that started with the original disting in 2014, which performed one of 16 very different functions at the turn of a knob. This concept has evolved through the disting mk3 (2015) - which added the possibility of firmware updates, and so a continually improving selection of functions - and the disting mk4 (2017) - which added a display, and brought the MicroSD card slot onto the front of the module, emphasizing its increased importance for functions such as sample playback - to the disting NT’s predecessor, the disting EX (2020).

Ever since the mk3 was released, the modules’ firmwares have been continuously updated with new features, making them even more useful and better value.

Expert Sleepers aims to continue this legacy with the disting NT.

Whereas the disting EX built directly on the selection of functions in the mk4, and then added some of its own, with the disting NT ES has taken everything back to square one. They anticipate (eventually) adding every function ever offered by the previous distings, but every algorithm has been reconsidered and reappraised in the light of the possibilities offered by the new hardware platform. Often things have been streamlined and simplified - for example, a disting EX algorithm that offered a polysynth, a chorus, and a delay would be implemented on the NT as three separate functions, which you could combine as you choose - each function therefore being smaller and easier to deal with.

While the exact future of this module is yet to be written, one thing is certain - it will be driven by user feedback. ES has an active user community, and suggestions made by users have often made it into the firmware.

What does it do?

The module takes audio and/or CV input, runs a bunch of software processing, and generates audio and/or CV output. It does this continuously.

The chunks of software processing are called algorithms. You can think of them much as you would think of plug-ins in your DAW. The module has a number of algorithms to choose from, and you can add the ones you want in a big list and the module will run them all.

What is it not?

The disting NT is not a “virtual modular”. There are no virtual cables flying around. It simply collects together a variety of functions that are useful in the context of a modular synthesizer and makes it possible to use a number of them at once.

It is not a “patch player”. It is not the intention that you do all the complex setup on a computer and then copy it over to the module. The module is designed to be used in a modular, with a UI that makes it fluid to do everything in the module itself.

It is not only useful via MIDI. The large number of inputs (and outputs) makes it possible to use it entirely via CV, interfacing with the rest of your modules in a natural way. (That said, it does also make a really good MIDI polysynth.)

Specifications:

Inputs: 12, DC coupled
Outputs: 6 (+2 via breakout), DC coupled
Expansion:

• Header for TRS/DIN MIDI via a compatible breakout
• Header for connecting an ES-5 expander
• Header for an I2C bus connection to compatible devices
• Compatible with the Select Bus

In the Box

• 1x disting NT module
• 1x MicroSD card
• 1x power cable (16 way, indexed)
• 1x Tiny MIDI Breakout (TMB) module
• 10x DuPont jump wires for TMB