Page 2: Niio Analog Iotine Core 4

Channel Three

The third and final segment on the front panel is called Post. Presumably the naming is because, in many circumstances, it is used to further process the outputs of Channels 1 and 2, but in practice it's actually more flexible than that. You can process various inputs, including the dry input 1, 2 or 1+2 (ie. 1 and 2 mixed), or the processed channels 1, 2 or 1+2.

The Post channel has three different modes: filter, octave and divider. Although only one of these can be active at once, they all use the filter to some degree. The filter has a slightly different characteristic to those found in the other channels, but it still offers resonant high-, band- and low-pass options. Octave employs a logic octave generator, which creates a square wave, and this attempts to pitch-track the input signal. The HP/BP/LP filter switch becomes an octave selector, switching between 1, 2 and 3 octaves below the original waveform. The low-pass filter is used in this circuit to tame the square wave, and by using the frequency and resonance controls you can manipulate the square wave into anything from raw filthy leads to subtle sine-wave sub-basses. The Divider circuit divides the saturated outputs of channels 1 and 2 to create a harsh sound that's entirely dependant on the two signals. The full filter is available to tame the divider circuit. The envelope and envelope follower are again available for filter-frequency modulation, allowing for all sorts of interesting movement, and this can be mixed with the other channel signals via the main volume control.

Somewhat curiously, the Post section contains the only front-panel 1/8-inch jack socket, a CV input which can be used to patch in an external signal from a modular system to modulate the filter frequency. I say it's a curious addition because there are no other front-panel inputs or outputs at all. Channels 1 and 2 have their CV inputs on the rear, so and I'm unsure why the Post channel CV input isn't there too. It's not a big deal, of course, just a curious design decision given how well thought-out the rest of this unit clearly is.

Everything really does feel like a coherent whole. Control ranges always feel well chosen and musical, and it's generally difficult to make the Iotine Core 4 sound bad.

The Sound

The Iotine Core 4's sound is all about how the different effects and modulators interact, and I'll come to that shortly. But first let's discuss the individual effects. The filters took me a little by surprise. I was expecting, for perhaps no good reason, to hear some nastiness and grime, or at least some discernible character. But these filters are actually quite reserved — they feel as if they've been selected more for tonal shaping, almost like filters on an EQ, than for the brutish-hacking sort of filter you might find on board a synthesizer. Even with the resonance at maximum, at various input levels they never started to destroy the signal in the way I'd initially hoped. Instead they added carefully controlled peaks. It's not that these are bad-sounding filters, far from it; I would describe them as warm, open and subtle, but they won't give you the raw grit of the filter on, say, a Korg MS20, for example, or the creamy hug of an SEM filter.

Perhaps this decision is because the distortion algorithms offer such a wide range of signal-destroying potential. With 14 of these to choose from, you can always find a flavour you like. They require some careful balancing of the Drive and Input controls; you can't just set a Drive level and switch between the various circuits, because each will behave differently at different input levels. This is totally understandable, though trying to find the right level of drive and tone can feel like a juggling act at times. I'd have liked an option to move the distortion circuits pre-filter, for added flexibility, but if the distortion ever gets unruly, you do still have the Post filter at your disposal, so that's certainly not a deal-breaker.

Conclusion

And so we come to the all-important question: how is all of this when it's working together? In my view, Niio Analog have done an excellent job of balancing the various filters, saturation circuits, amplifiers and so forth, and everything really does feel like a coherent whole. Control ranges always feel well chosen and musical, and it's generally difficult to make the Iotine Core 4 sound bad. It absolutely excels in adding what I perhaps foolishly think of as 'special glue' (stop sniggering): it's glue, but better than glue. Glue plus. It can, for example, take a disparate, detached group of drums and mould them firmly together, adding warmth, harmonics and movement all in one.

One aspect I wasn't expecting is just how much fun the Iotine Core 4 is to perform with. There are lots of chunky switches to flip and there's plenty of space between knobs, so you can freak out on the cutoff knob without worrying about nudging other parameters accidentally. There is plenty of fun to be had slowly tweaking the sound as a track progresses, and flipping switches at just the right moment.

Although designed as a rackmount unit, the form factor of the Iotine Core 4 means it can comfortably be used as a desktop device — as long as you don't want to keep repatching things.How you would use it in your studio is a difficult question to answer. Without modular inputs and outputs on the front panel you're going to want it permanently patched in. Having said that, it will sit nicely on a desktop thanks to the solid rubber feet and angled front panel, and that arrangement would give you more immediate access to the socketry and cables around the back. I could also envisage it living permanently on a dedicated pair of group channels on a mixing desk. Further to that, you could route a spare Aux channel to the CV input for the envelope and envelope follower triggers, which would give you an easy way to side-chain either the filter frequency or the amplifiers on any channel. This setup would give a huge gamut of processing possibilities: subtle drum-bus warming, dual-mono filters, side-chaining, expansion, compression and many combinations thereof. The only real bugbear with this plan is the lack of proper stereo processing — if you're after something to process a mix bus with, look elsewhere.

Other than the lack of stereo possibilities, perhaps my only reservation is that the filters on their own don't ooze any discernible character. In the wider context this doesn't matter, as the Iotine Core can sound sublime when all guns are blazing, but if your primary fetish is filters, I'd urge you test it before shelling out the not-inconsiderable asking price.

Overall then, the Niio Analog Iotine Core 4 is a class act. It is entirely capable of turning mediocre sounds into great ones and is one of those boxes that simply adds goodness. Its design is clever enough to offer almost modular levels of flexibility but without all the spaghetti mess of a modular system, and it's fun to perform with too. Whether its particular sound will engage you or not is always going to be a matter of taste — but I'll wager that anyone trying one will find something to enjoy here!