Enjoy Electronics The Godfather

This unique combination of mixer and effects machine can be used standalone or as part of a modular setup.

The launch of Italian company Enjoy Electronics’ new hardware effects processor The Godfather was teased for months with Mafia‑themed videos (including at SynthFest UK 2022), but finally, after a very successful crowdfunding campaign (I gather they reached their Indiegogo target in 19 minutes), the wait is over. The Godfather recently found its way into my studio, and this 3U‑high, 60HP multi‑channel processor is a very pretty piece of semi‑modular design, boasting four glorious channels of mixing, dynamics shaping, frequency sculpting and effects processing... and more.

Overview

Most of the left half of The Godfather’s panel space is occupied by the four channel strips, while the right is home to its screen and accompanying menu encoder, an effects section, a modulation matrix, some function keys and a patchbay. Each channel can be routed to one of two sets of stereo outputs, and features a large, LED‑ringed, push‑turn encoder that Enjoy refer to in the 126‑page manual as the Revolver control. Thankfully, that’s where the Mafia references end; I’ll resist adding my own!

Stylish wooden endcheeks host a backlit logo, while the top panel sits at an angle to make hands‑on desktop control easy.“We don’t play with plastic,” say Enjoy on their website, and it has to be said that the build quality of The Godfather is impeccable. Wooden side panels, smooth and firm aluminium knobs, a very smart use of LEDs and a high‑resolution OLED display all coalesce to form something that, physically, is a pleasure to operate. The LEDs (154 in total, we’re told) immediately impressed me, and most conspicuously form the sleek strips that adorn each channel. I didn’t even realise these strips were made of lights until I switched the thing on, but they are and they perform a number of different roles: they can be three‑colour VU meters; they can inversely display compression behaviour (The Godfather has brilliantly usable compression on board that also allows channels to be side‑chained from others); they can indicate a sound’s place in the stereo field; and they can denote values relating to parameter changes. As users become fluent, they might even be able to adjust The Godfather’s parameters without so much as a glance at any on‑screen values.

Each Revolver encoder adjusts the master level of its channel, just as on a conventional mixer, but it also performs a host of other functions including channel selection. Hold the Off button on the other side of the panel, for instance, and click the encoder to mute that channel. Hit the Compression button and use it to adjust the different settings of that channel’s compression. Control the input gain when used in conjunction with the Gain button. Next door to the Revolver encoder is a dedicated knob for wave‑shaping saturation, and while this doesn’t impart massively heavy grit, it does pleasingly thicken and warm its channel’s sound in just the way I’d hoped. In conjunction with the input gain control, then, there’s plenty of scope for gain staging, and there’s a generous degree of creative control over the tonal character of a channel. It’s all accessible, quick, intuitive — and impressive.

Effects & Control

Next, as you move along the channel strip to the right, are the controls for delay and reverb. I’d argue that much of The Godfather’s character stems from these effects, and it’s certainly an area that Enjoy Electronics have sought to use to differentiate The Godfather from its peers. Broadly, it’s better to think of these effects as being like ‘sends’ rather than ‘inserts’. While it is possible to tweak parameters for individual channels, the primary controls for both effects are in the global section, and The Godfather’s workflow fundamentally encourages you to adjust the reverb and delay as required and then return to the channel strip to adjust how much signal is sent to the aux.

The reverb has user‑adjustable parameters for size and amount, and a fixed‑resonance high‑pass filter. There’s no choice of algorithms (eg. hall, plate, spring), but it sounds so good that this doesn’t really matter. The reverb is placed right at the end of a channel’s signal chain but, interestingly, delay is very close to the beginning, before even the saturation — that’s a clear indication that delay lies right at the heart of The Godfather.

By default, delay parameter changes apply globally, but you can limit them to one or more channels by pressing their Revolvers. Time and feedback are joined by a useful Offset knob, which creates a lush stereo separation by introducing another delay between repetitions in the left and right output channels. At maximum settings, the feedback will loop a sound forever, but it never moves into true self‑oscillation territory; I think that’s the right call for this device.

Responsive and sonically rewarding, these trigger buttons are something of a secret weapon when it comes to dynamic, hands‑on performance.

The Trigger buttons (one for each channel) are not used nearly as frequently as their prime position on the strip might suggest, but their accessible placement makes sense given that they serve The Godfather’s more performative aspects. Ostensibly, each button allows for the manual control of input routing to delay lines in accordance with one of three different modes called Normal, Add or Change, and these, respectively, enable the muting, changing or replacing of the signal moving through the delay lines. Responsive and sonically rewarding, these trigger buttons are something of a secret weapon when it comes to dynamic, hands‑on performance.

Things get more complex with the introduction of DPD, or ‘double pulse delay’, which again has its own dedicated knob on each channel. This introduces two more delay lines into the main delay, for complex rhythms and stuttering, and even unpredictable behaviour. The DPD even has its own dedicated low/high‑pass filtering, so it can be tuned to perform nicely alongside the main delay line without muddying things beyond recognition.

Unlike on most conventional mixers, the main channels flow from left to right.

Last on the bill of knobs for each channel is a bipolar filter that sounds smooth and clean, and is good for broad‑strokes tone control. It makes sense, particularly when modulation is added to the picture. I will say, though, that I was disappointed not to find a more complex EQ accessible via the OLED screen; with its size and resolution the screen manages to display a full compression graph; it could surely handle an encoder‑controlled graphic EQ too.

On top of all this, The Godfather offers LFO‑based modulation. Two clock‑sync’able LFOs can be assigned to modulate a variety of destination parameters, from reverb amount to saturation, and there’s a selection of waveforms to choose from. Their outputs can also be sent externally as a control voltage from two nearby jacks. The workflow of these I found a touch convoluted, with a rather complex series of pushing and turning combinations to choose waveforms, destinations and either global or channel‑specific functions. But once routed and running it’s an excellent feature that really adds value to the whole package.

Now: a powder‑coated black aluminium faceplate, wooden side panels and patch points all down the right hand side. Sound familiar? Yes: The Godfather has been designed to nestle snugly in with Moog’s 3U semi‑modular range. They’ve even created a 60HP frame (available separately) to house five units in a hybrid semi‑modular system. It’s not that Enjoy have set out to mimic Moog, though — for example, they’ve not opted for Moog‑style knobs. Custodians of those aforementioned Moog semis should find The Godfather an ideal bedfellow for them, with its patchability and channel count pretty much tailored to suit their workflow.

I am also a big fan of Enjoy’s decision to arrange The Godfather’s channels laterally, with channel strips running left to right rather than vertically. This makes great use of The Godfather’s relatively slim 3U real estate, and Enjoy have succeeded in making it feel as spacious and tactile as anything you’re likely to find in this format. In fact, if anything, The Godfather is in danger of making nearby Moog panels appear somewhat cramped by comparison!

...even if you’re not a Eurorack user, it works as a standalone device that will interface very happily with all manner of drum machines, synths and samplers, whether CV patchable or not.

Verdict

Enjoy Electronics are certainly confident in The Godfather, proclaiming that it will “make you definitively abandon conventional mixing concepts and immediately improve your creative skills”. It’s a bold statement, but one The Godfather does more than a little to justify. Mixing comes last in the signal chain for most electronic music setups, and just as often it’s last on the list of priorities. While it might not become the overlord of your entire workflow, The Godfather seeks to change that, combining the functionality of a mixer with the creative fun of a modulation‑ready, effects‑imparting, sound‑sculpting Eurorack module. Also, this thing has its own sound, which can’t be said for the vast majority of similar mixers out there. But even if you’re not a Eurorack user, it works as a standalone device that will interface very happily with all manner of drum machines, synths and samplers, whether CV patchable or not. I’d imagine some firmware updates are on the way to help smooth out a few idiosyncrasies, but fundamentally The Godfather can already be considered a great success. An offer you can’t refuse? Argh, sorry. Couldn’t resist.