KNAS Ekdahl Quad Massager – the magic joystick

Ok, ok – investing in a pure performance device is not what you want. No sound engine inside, no drum beats, so samples, nothing. But maybe concept and musical inspiration of that control unit in question might convince you. As with the KNAS Ekdahl Quad Massager …

The Ekdahl Quad Massager is a quad VCA, joystick-controlled mixer / quadrophonic panner for Audio or CV. It comes with a voltage-controlled quadrature sine LFO and no less than 18 (eighteen) in- and outputs.

As a mixer, the unit can change between four separate audio sources via joystick. The LFO controls are extremely intuitive and can oscillate across all four sources or a single axis.

What makes the Quad Massager special:

• Each VCA has a dedicated input for external CV-control
• X- and Y-Axis of the joystick have a dedicated input for external CV-control
• The internal LFO can be routed to the X / Y Axis (Sine and Cosine, for stereo-panning, for example)
• The internal LFO features a CV-input for speed control; in addition, both of its waveforms can be used for external use (CV outputs)

The Ekdahl Quad Massager is equipped with a voltage-controlled quadrature LFO that can give both sine and cosine outputs. Traditionally, the LFO is used to move the sound in circular or elliptical patterns as well as back and forth along either the X or Y axis.

The Knas Ekdahl Quad Massager is a multifunctional desktop module designed for an array of different tasks. Some hookup and usage examples (from the KNAS website):

Example:
Setup for quadrophonic panning from a monophonic source

• VCA A In – whatever sound you wanna pan
• VCA A Out – Left front speaker
• VCA B Out – Right front speaker
• VCA C Out – Left rear speaker
• VCA D Out – Right rear speaker
• Combination Out – subwoofer (optional)

Example:
Setup for mixing four audio sources to one monophonic output

• VCA A In – Audio source 1
• VCA B In – Audio source 2
• VCA C In – Audio source 3
• VCA D In – Audio source 4
• Combination Out – to your amp, mixer, stereo, whatever you got

Example:
Setup for using any or all of the VCAs as a ringmodulator

• VCA A In – Audio source to be ring-modulated
• VCA A CV In – Audio source that is the “carrier audio”, that controls the modulation
• VCA A Out – To your amp, mixer etc.

Note: This requires the “carrier audio” to be a very loud signal like that of a modular synthesizer, a preamp could be used to bring a line-level signal to the desired volume. This does not result in “true” ring-modulation but is close enough and sounds awesome, no complaining.

The Ekdahl Quad Massager is in production, the price is 450 USD per unit. See the manufacturer’s website for more information.

The following video shows the KNAS Ekdahl Quad Massager in action. It might not be the best gear demo ever, but it gives a clear impression of what you can do with this unit: