Developer Icaro Ferre from Spektro Audio let us know that they’ve released CV Toolkit 2.7.
CV Toolkit is software that lets you use virtual modules to control, modulate and sequence your synthesizers via control voltage (CV). The update includes a new module, support for the Expert Sleeper ES-5 module, Hz/V calibration, new Layouts features and more.
Here’s what’s new:
- New Buffer module: Buffer is a new free module included in the Factory pack that can record and play back audio or CV signals. You can use the Buffer module to record and manipulate CV modulation signals, play back audio samples and record loops and samples coming from your modular synth.
- New Compatibility Mode for the Expert Sleepers ES-5 module: You can now use an Expert Sleepers ES-5 paired with and ES-3 or ES-8 to get additional gate outputs from CV Toolkit.
- New Layouts import / export features: You can now import or export one or all Layouts as JSON files. This is useful for backing up and sharing your Layouts with other CV Toolkit users.
- New Settings save / recall method: The way CV Toolkit stores it’s settings has been completely updated
- 3 new Themes: Frozen, Flashy and Cinema.
- Added support for HZ/V calibration in the Notes module.
- Added a new Phase parameter to the LFO module.
- Added a new Output Range parameter to the Sequencer module.
- The Notes Module can now output a steady gate signal to a selected Gate Bus channel during calibration.
- Fixed bug that’d prevent Gate Bus Channel #4 from working correctly.
- Updated Ableton Link support.
- Improved default Layout.
This is a free update for all existing CV Toolkit customers.
Pricing and Availability
CV Toolkit 2 is available for U$19.99 at the Spektro Audio site. Expansion packs are also available.
Spektro is offering a 20% discount through August 9th, 2017. To get the discount, use the coupon code CVTK27.
This looks really nice! It may not have quite as much depth of Silent Way, but its modular approach is very cool. It also appears to have a much nicer UI than Silent Way, but I can’t say for sure without trying it. It’s certainly prettier!
Silent Way cost me a lot more than 20 bucks, and it’s already had a paid upgrade too.
The “Buffer” module looks a very novel way to manage complex sequences. I wonder if it can record multiple tracks of CV. I also wonder if its record and playback functions can be automated by the host DAW – could be really cool for self-generated music.
Well done, Spektro – im pretty sure I’ll be buying CV Toolkit this weekend!
CV Toolkit is actually standalone (built using MaxMSP) so it won’t work inside your DAW. It can be easily synced via MIDI though and I’m pretty sure you can send CC to control any parameter.
“While CV Toolkit can receive MIDI signals from MIDI devices, it cannot output MIDI Notes, only MIDI CC messages (via the CV to MIDI CC convertes available in the Utility Rack).”
I forgot to add one more thing: Hz/V control is absolutely essential for me, which is why I had no interest in CV Toolkit when it first came out. I wonder why products like this and Silent Way don’t offer a fully comprehensive calibration mode, which would take its time to sweep through the full voltage range and generate a table of where all the notes are. This kind of calibration algorithm would take a bit longer to do its thing, but it would work equally well for V/Oct and Hz/V, it could make musical use of tone sources that don’t track well, and possibly even add a few usable notes to the top of an oscillator’s range.
Its a great little program and well worth the money but the screen is so small and hard to read on a high resolution monitor it takes a lot of the fun out of it. The routing matrix is flexible but takes a while to get your head around.