Sibilla is a DSP-based drone machine and melodic oscillator that drives sine and saw waves into constructive and destructive interferences.
Sibilla
Yes, this is a bit different. It’s a stereo oscillator that uses those two channels to generate harmonics and sub-harmonics running through intricate delay networks. These are being modulated internally, pushed about by noise, and fluctuate in phase. Actually, the website is mostly just some kind of shredded word salad smothered in a modular-speak dressing. What’s it all about?
Let’s try the video.
Sibilla starts off as a drone machine. The two outputs are the result of two audio feedback loops. The left side generates sub-harmonics from a saw wave, the right side generates harmonics. You can scan through them with the Rise and Fall knobs (these do not appear to refer to envelope functions). There’s something very delicious going on in here, but it’s not very clear. There’s something about things being created at The Common Point of Sibilla’s core where everything happens and changes continuously.
So you’ve got harmonics and sub-harmonics, you’ve got noise, LFOs and a filter. There’s also something about grains. The Climb knob affects pitch, Underwood sets the level of a sub-sinusoidal pad (I think they mean a sub-oscillator), Backdrop adds noise, Resonance does what it says and Grains sets the maximum grains sampling time.
Now, don’t get me wrong, this sounds fascinating, and I am loving the audio on the video, but the explanation is pretty incomprehensible at this point. Or maybe I’m just exhausted from my unsuccessful weekend searching for exciting things from NAMM.
Hopefully, over time, someone will do a video that’s a bit clearer about what’s going on. The person that designed a module is rarely the right person to demonstrate it. There’s definitely something interesting going on here and Sibilla is also an open platform, so many more interesting things may happen.
Otherwise, Clatters, feel free to send me one to see if I can use my powers of explanation to unpack it a little.
- Clatters Machines website.
