Erica Synths

ManualsBrandsErica Synths ManualsKeysAnalogue Bass Synthesiser with Sequencer

atvian brand Erica

Synths have proved

quite proliﬁ c in recent

years, delivering

modules, systems and

standalone hardware at

a pace that’s tough to

keep up with at times. What’s

impressive though, is that despite

the volume, the quality has

remained high. What Erica do

especially well is analogue grit –

from their Polivoks-inspired ﬁ lters

to their tube-equipped Fusion

modules and last year’s impressive

there’s a lot of unique stuff going

on that makes the DB-01 very

much its own instrument.

Oscillators/ﬁ lters

On the oscillator front, the DB-01’s

single VCO is switchable between

square, saw and triangle

waveshapes. This comes paired

with a sub oscillator, ﬁ xed at

tracking one octave below, and a

noise generator, both of which have

their own level controls. The

oscillator section also has a Detune

control that emulates the unison

effect of multiple detuned VCOs by

using a pair of BBD lines as

frequency shifters. The effect is

pretty convincing, adding a nice

thickness to sounds that I

particularly like when using the

DB-01 as a drone machine (more

on this later).

The oscillator has a frequency

modulation control too, which dials

in modulation from the LFO. The

LFO itself has a broad frequency

range and a selection of ﬁ ve

waveshapes, meaning the effect

can range from subtle pitch drift

through vibrato and into audio-rate

pitch modulation.

The DB-01’s ﬁ lter, meanwhile,

is the same Polivoks-inspired VCF

found in Erica’s excellent Acidbox

effect units. It’s switchable between

two modes, 12db low-pass and 6db

band-pass, with a resonance control

capable of going into self-

oscillation. It’s gritty and can sound

nicely aggressive – with a resonant

LPF rolled down low over a sub

bass sound, the DB-01 can create

some serious low-end weight.

Modulation

Modulation of the amp and ﬁ lter is

provided by a pair of simple

envelope generators. The amp

envelope is sustain-release design

with just a single control for

adjusting the decay time of the

release stage. Turn it fully open and

the release becomes inﬁ nite, letting

the DB-01 act as a drone synth,

which it’s surprisingly adept at,

particularly once you throw in some

slow modulation from the LFO and

BBD detune effect. The ﬁ lter

envelope, meanwhile, is just a

decay stage, with attack and

sustain ﬁ xed at zero. Limited

though they may be – and there

were times, when using the DB-01,

that I did miss having some direct

control over the attack stage of the

sound – these simple, punchy

envelopes certainly suit the DB-01’s

USP. This is a great source of

percussive, hard-hitting bass and

lead sounds designed to cut

through a mix and add maximum

impact. The LFO can also be used

to modulate the ﬁ lter cutoff, and

being syncable to the sequencer

tempo offers an interesting tool to

offset those punchy envelopes.

The ﬁ nal element to the sound

engine is an analogue drive circuit,

with a chunky front panel rotary

Ninja Tune collab Zen Delay, Erica

are responsible for some of our

favourite go-to tools for raw, edgy

sounds. Naturally, the idea of a

standalone Erica-branded bass

synth has got us rather hot under

the collar.

At ﬁ rst glance, you’d be forgiven

for thinking the Bassline DB-01

was another 303 clone. It does

certainly bear many of the

hallmarks of its near-namesake; the

single oscillator, resonant ﬁ lter and

simplistic envelope controls are

pure acid-machine. But beyond this

THE PROS & CONS

Meaty, punchy sound

with lots of grit!

Surprisingly

deep sequencer

Built-in

pattern memory

Master volume is

hidden amongst

settings menus

We would have loved

an audio in

Erica Synths Bassline DB-01 | Reviews

FMU359.rev_erica.indd 69 13/06/2020 13:51