Part Four of Synth Month is here, and things are getting weird – in the best way possible.
We’re diving into the wildest Eurorack modules of 2025, from plasma-fried distortion to electro-acoustic oddities that sound like they’ve been dragged out of a Lynchian dream.
Modular heads, this one’s for you.
The Folktek Resonant Garden isn’t just an instrument, it’s an invocation. A swirling mess of contact mics, resonating metal plates, delay lines, and feedback paths, it feels less like a piece of gear and more like a haunted sculpture someone dared to plug into an amplifier. And we are so glad they did.
At its heart, the Resonant Garden is an electro-acoustic instrument. You get two spring-loaded “garden beds”, metal plates you tap, bow, scrape, or coax into singing, with piezo contact mics picking up every micro-gesture. Those signals then run through two highly characterful delays with feedback paths that can drift from atmospheric to apocalyptic. Add in onboard distortion, feedback routing, and a deeply interactive layout, and you’ve got something that feels alive, like it’s collaborating with you more than responding to you.
This is not a “tight” or “predictable” instrument. It howls, it moans, it pushes back. Every session becomes a conversation with the machine, and sometimes the machine argues. But that’s the whole point. The Resonant Garden excels at textures, drones, noise experiments, and eerie sound design that would make David Lynch raise an eyebrow.
Want it to sit politely in a mix? It won’t. Want it to produce clean sine waves on command? Absolutely not. But if you want an instrument that feels tactile, unpredictable, and deeply expressive, like you’re literally sculpting sound with your hands, this is it.
The Weston Audio SF1 isn’t here to reinvent the filter, it’s here to do it right. This dual/stereo analog filter module is precision-built, surprisingly flexible, and ridiculously clean when you want it to be, and absolutely savage when you don’t.
Each side of the SF1 is a multi-mode state-variable filter, giving you lowpass, bandpass, and highpass outputs per channel. The magic, though, is in how these two filters can be used: independently, linked, or in true stereo. That makes it just as comfortable doing polite stereo widening as it is diving into complex, interwoven filter modulations with wildly different CVs on each side.
Where a lot of stereo filters either lock you into a fixed path or don’t give you enough control, the SF1 walks the sweet spot, tons of modulation options, no overcomplication. Each channel has its own cutoff, resonance, and CV inputs, plus dedicated outputs for every filter type. Want to run a complex stereo voice through it and modulate each side independently? Easy. Want to slap a mono synth into both filters and modulate them in opposite directions for a huge, animated stereo field? Also easy.
Sound-wise, it’s buttery smooth at low resonance, snappy and vocal when pushed, and can self-oscillate into beautifully clean sine waves, perfect for use as a pair of sine VCOs if you’re into that sort of thing (you should be). It doesn’t have to scream unless you want it to, but when you do, it delivers with controlled aggression.
VCAs are the unsung heroes of any modular system, but the Weston Audio SV1 isn’t content with staying in the background. This dual/stereo analog VCA brings rock-solid functionality, ultra-clean signal handling, and just enough flexibility to make it feel like a real part of your sound design, not just a utility.
At its core, the SV1 offers two high-fidelity linear VCAs, with options to run them independently or as a stereo pair. Each channel features dedicated CV inputs, audio ins and outs, plus an offset knob for manual control, perfect for ducking, blending, or dialing in static gain when you’re not patching CV.
What really sets the SV1 apart is its build quality and transparency. This isn’t some scratchy, character-add-on VCA (though we love those too), it’s pristine. Your signals go in sounding good and come out sounding better, especially in stereo, where this thing really shines. The stereo linking mode is beautifully implemented, making it an excellent choice for stereo synth voices, FX returns, or final-stage dynamics shaping.
The layout is clean, intuitive, and built for performance. Whether you’re automating a stereo pad, dynamically controlling filter peaks, or just cleaning up your gain structure, the SV1 handles it like a champ – no fuss, no color, no compromise.
If you’re looking for subtle, creamy distortion, keep walking. The Plasma Voice by Gamechanger Audio is not here to make friends, it’s here to incinerate your signal and leave a trail of scorched earth in your Eurorack case.
This isn’t just a port of the infamous Plasma Pedal, it’s a full-blown Eurorack voice module that takes their signature xenon discharge distortion and injects it with voltage control, CV modulation, and total modular chaos. At its core, the Plasma Voice still converts your signal into high-voltage lightning bolts, making every sound feel raw, broken, and absolutely alive.
Where it goes next is what makes it special. This is no simple distortion box, it’s a full synth voice. It includes a built-in oscillator with waveshaping, pitch tracking, and CV-controllable parameters like discharge level, frequency, and blend. Want to use it as an audio processor? No problem, throw external signals into the audio input and let the lightning fly. Want to modulate the arc in real time with LFOs or envelopes? Absolutely. The Plasma tube responds to CV like a sci-fi instrument, giving you visual feedback with every sputter, scream, and wail.
There’s a surprising amount of musicality here, beneath the violent exterior is a module that rewards creative patching and careful modulation. But don’t be fooled: Plasma Voice lives to misbehave. Whether you’re making industrial techno, glitchy noise, or cinematic drones, this module brings a texture and aggression you simply can’t get anywhere else.
