Endorphin.es PLUS 3 - extra extras for your studio

Rarely, but it does happen, there are controllers that hit the nail on the head. Controllers that—in a simple way—significantly enhance highly regarded synthesizers. Controllers like the Endorphon.es / Loopop PLUS 3. Available in silver and midnight blue (replacing the—currently still available—black), it’s a real “aha” moment for us—a little box we’ve been waiting for for years.

PLUS 3 is exactly what its name implies: 3 additional (physical) elements. The fader provides a CV voltage (like an expression pedal), the small switch acts as a sustain pedal, and the “popcorn bag” button cuts off held notes or chords while keeping sustain active (simply put, it simulates lifting the pedal). The popcorn button also acts as momentary switch. Here are a few examples of how useful PLUS 3 is in practice …

Let’s start with our all-time favorite digital pad-synthesizer, the Roland JD-800. PLUS 3 adds the classic synth feature HOLD at the push of a button (SUSTAIN input), as well as—ta-daaa—a fixed modulation intensity (EXPRESSION input, set internally to MOD). First, this eliminates the need for a cumbersome sustain pedal and, second, addresses the weakness of the annoying “Roland-style pitch-mod lever”: Modulations can now be set precisely and continuously via a fader.

With the Studiologic Sledge—also one of our favorite digital synthesizers—PLUS 3 offers similar advantages. Once again, you get HOLD (without a cumbersome pedal), once again you get MOD control via fader, or—since Sledge already has a real mod wheel—CUTOFF control via fader (to be set internally via EXP PED). Ok, ok … Sledge has its own filter knob, so adding an extra cutoff slider seems redundant. Still, in practice, it’s a wonderful addendum …

… to have an additional cutoff fader on the left—where, as with the wheels, the important live performance mostly takes place. After all, the right hand is often busy playing solo lines on the keyboard, so there’s no longer any need for the awkward (crossing your hands) operation of the filter cutoff on the right side. PLUS 3 on the far left (which can also be used in conjunction with the regular cutoff control) now allows for greater physical flexibility when making music.
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Third example: PLUS 3 controls two analog synthesizers, the Korg POLY-61 and the Roland SH-101. SUSTAIN is connected to the POLY-61’s RELEASE jack and is now responsible for release times of more than 4 (!) minutes, thanks to the SSM2056 envelope chip. These extraordinary release times can only be achieved via external pedal—according to the original accessories, the Korg PS-2 footswitch is intended for this purpose—and can now be conveniently activated from the panel. What you get is not HOLD (the POLY-61 has a separate switch for that), but an ultra-long fade-out of the voices …

Since there is no extra CV-input on the POLY-61, the up to now unused PLUS 3 slider may serve as a filter control for the Roland SH-101 (we retrofitted a corresponding Kenton jack), but any other analog synthesizer with a VCF input could be used as well. Simple idea behind our example: If the instruments in the studio aren’t placed right next to or on top of each other (not everything can be set up in a central position), this would be an effective way to perform both instruments at the same time. Flexibility is the PLUS 3 keyword …

In a nutshell: You have the choice where to place the PLUS 3, how to connect the controller to the instrument / the instruments, what to do with which hand, and how and where to use each feature, depending on your needs. It gets even better: PLUS 3 is passive. No power supply, no battery. Just plug in the cables and it works. PLUS 3 is extremely rugged and built to a high standard. Thick metal, a smooth fader with just the right amount of resistance, high-quality switches, and premium jacks. PLUS 3 sits firmly on the surface (no slipping) … you can move the fader as if it were part of the instrument itself.
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The controller package includes all necessary cables for a wide variety of applications. PLUS 3 is designed for many different uses: As a controller for any keyboard or synthesizer module, as a desktop device for drumcomputers, Eurorack setups, DAW applications and much more. We’ve been waiting a long time for a controller like this, and we’d like to congratulate Endorphin.es / Loopop on this gem of a product. PLUS 3 is as well-thought-out as it is tastefully designed, offering high quality at a fair price.

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