4ms Triwave Picogenerator

Something with 18 knobs and 2 switches can only be so easy. But it only takes an evening or so to get the basic idea. The design is very intuitive, but also quite unpredictable. The way the LFO's and tone generators interact totally depend on the settings. The basic model is not a guitar pedal; it's an analog synthesizer controlled by knobs.

The triwave has two tone generators sharing three common LFO's. Each tone generator has a PITCH knob which gives you a range from extremely low rumble, to a very high pitch squeal almost beyond human auditory range. From there, you have 3 DEPTH knobs to control how deep the pitch will oscillate. Each DEPTH corresponds with one of the LFO's (3 of them). With the DEPTH at minimum, it is a pretty constant wavy pitch. With the DEPTH at max, it swoops at a very wide range.

The 3 LFO's have their own SPEED knobs, and both tone generators work with the same 3 LFO's. I modded mine to have both RISE and FALL speeds, which gives you a lot more possibilities. You can have it ramp up or down, which can be very cool.

There is also a MIX knob that mixes the two signals coming from each tone generator. It's nice to turn it all the way to one side, so you can listen to a tone generator by itself.

Additionally, there are tone switches for each of the tone generators, which essentially cuts the highs. It really smooths out the sound, and is a nice feature.

Additional controls is a VOLUME knob and i also modded mine to have CROSS MOD, which allows the depth controls of one tone generator to affect the other one. I have not quite figured out how to use it effectively, but the extra knobs do certainly add more possibilities.

The sound is fantastic! The tone generators will tend to sound a little different, i think. Probably you could match the FET's to make them virtually identical, but i like having slight variations in the way they behave. I made my own Triwave, so i don't know how the 3ms collective does it. Dann did say that he usually swaps out at least one FET during the tweaking process.

The sound can get quite obnoxious or smooth, depending on the settings. With the depth at minimum, you can really control the pitch knobs, and try to get some good harmonies between the two tone generators. There are definite sweet spots here and there.

With the depth at maximum, the LFO's start really doing funky stuff! It took me awhile to figure out what was happening, but it seems that the circuit prioritizes whichever LFO you have set fastest. and the othe LFO's control it's volume. This only happens at a high DEPTH setting. So you can have a quick pulse going, and have that pulse get louder and softer at the rate of another LFO. This is especially cool when you have the slow LFO's set on a ramp down. Like I said, the way the circuit behaves really depends on the settings. I absolutely love it.

I built this one, and I spent a lot of time on it. The commonsound website gives you good tips on how to construct a good pedal. I ended up using parts that I felt more comfortable with to make mine, including switchcraft jacks, a different line of Xicon/Alpha pots (they don't strip as easily), and a PCB. But for the most part, their choice of parts is very good. I think you can depend on 3ms products without a problem.

Dann Green is very responsive over email. You can also ask questions on the forum, and there are a number of helpful people that frequent the board there.

I didn't buy this Triwave, as I made it myself, but their customer support is great. I bought a Noise Swash from Dann, and we are still working out the details of it, and he has been very cordial over email and answers all my questions.

Well, this is a very unique product. I have never seen a circuit like this, and I still cannot make any sense as to how it works! Dann should hold a summit chat someday where he can discuss the design process that went into this synth! It is a very useful tool for creating noisy soundscapes, and you can spend hours just tweaking around with it. It is actually not so hard to recreate the sounds on it, once you get the hang of it. I absolutely love my Triwave and highly recommend others to buy or make one.

There is no manual at all. There are no patches to edit. It is very straight forewrd. 100% analog. It is very easy to get a good sound out of it. No two will sound the same I believe. No two are built the same either. Very personal. It is easy to use. Infinate sound possibilities.

3ms is an effects company, but this is not an effect. I do not really understand why there is an input on this at all. It is a tone generator. It is crazy sounding, and it sounds even more wild with effects. The range of sounds is nothing short of mind-boggling. The quality of the sounds is very good. The range of the knobs is awasome. The smallest tweaks cause good results. Fast sweeps can create crazy results.

Every single knob is very sturdy. 3ms is gaurenteed for life to the original owner. What more do you want?

about the best there is. 3ms is very open minded and willing to work with you to create what you actually want.

Mine is pictured on the 3ms site. It is the Seven Seven Silver. It has 25 knobs and 6 switches. It is modded about as heavy as possible. I am into sonic sound exploration, and crazy alalog contraptions. 3ms is a god sent for me. Their units are killer. It took about 3 months to recieve my Triwave. I am waiting on another product from 3ms, and when I recieve that, i will order yet even another. I am sold on the sound as well as the quality. Plus, you are getting such a unique product. It turned out absolutely beatuiful. It is easy to tell alot of pride goes into these. The triwave Picogenerator is not for everyone. It s crazy sounding. So many sounds can be made with it that I just love messing with the knobs. I would definataly replace it if stolden. There is absoluly nothing at all I would change on it, it s built perfect. Exact to the agreed specs. I will continue to expand my music with the help of 3ms.

My triwave was a complete custom job built by Dann but designed by myself. For that reason it is perfectly easy for me to use, a few bits are a bit awkward but thats my own fault for designing it that way!
(Me and Dann spent about two months designing then three months building this thing, check out www.commonsound.com/3ms/triwave/timmy.html)

My box is a combination of the Triwave and the Phaseur Fleur, and has all the features I requested. It has been designed like a semi-modular patchable synthesiser (including CV/Gate control). Very cool things are the waveshapers on the two oscillators and Dann setup the Phaseur to act in a similar way to a band-pass filter (the Phaseur's input can be overloaded in a very beautiful way).

I think this epitomises Danns dedication to building personal instruments that actually sound musical. (The Phaseur's LFO can be sync'd to the one of the Triwav's, this produces some very obscure sounds.

The Phaseur can be used independantly as an effects unit, the only thing that is a little awkward is the LFO, when slowed down it doesn't quite do that silky phasey thing that guitarists seem to love (however, this is specific to my box, examples on the website do it fine.)

Unfortunately the CV/Gate for the main oscillators doesn't track properly at the moment, however I'm using it with a VP-9000 and it doesn't get much better. Because of the three modulating LFOs, it is a very rythmical machine, although one of my LFOs can be controlled by CV it is hard to sync them up or get them all in time. This is why a sampler could be very useful if you want to play it as a pitched instrument (which it is very capable of.)

To conclude, it sounds unique, yet is very controlable.
NB: Whilst it isn't supposed to have patches, if you know what you are doing you can usually recreate previous sounds on it, they usually turn out better than you ever remembered!

Everone who uses it creates a different kind of sound, it is a very personal machine.

A tricky one. These things are just a mass of wires (no PCBs or digital stuff), and they feel very homemade. This is of course part of it's charm, though I shall be especially careful with it.
As far as taking it on stage, it's unique sound easily outweighs its build quality.

I'm sure it will be fine, i'm not expecting it to break :)

As I said, Dann spent about five months on this project. It is a complete custom job, I think he had to design some of the circuitry specifically.

We had lots of communication via e-mail, he'd reply within two or three days.

He'll also do free repairs for as long as I own it which is really good. I can't complain at all


He has been very good about suggesting different options and is a true enthusiast.

The only problem is that I live in th UK and had to pay about 20% import tax and VAT.

I make quirky electric music which this machine suits perfectly, it is combined with an 01v, a VP-9000, two VS-880s, a QY700 and a CS1x (oh and a Technosaurus Microcon which compliments the sound beautifully). So quite a 'studio' kind of set-up.

People seem abit shocked because the 'homemade' chic doesn't look like #700 however, it is a two oscillator (independantly controllable via CV) four LFO (one for the Phaseur) synthesiser with a very distinct 'filter', dual cross modulation, ring modulation, every input and output imaginable, CV control, oscliator sync and lots of quirky things (like the Phaseur input overloading, thing Sherman Filterbank). And it's completely custom made, so for #700 that aint bad. (There are waveshapers on both oscillators and the four LFOs and a rfew other things that I can't remember)

The only thing that I could compare it to is a modular system, which is essentially what it is.

If it was stolen I would get Dann to build me another one. Whilst I may change a few things, they would basicaly be little things that are personal to me.

So, all in all a beautiful instrument. Even though it has a few niggles these are things which make it interesting to play. I would recomend that you speak to Dann about what you need and he will create something just for you.

Check out www.commonsound.com/3ms/triwave/timmy.html for pictures and sounds. (And a more concise spec.)

For a device with 18 knobs and one toggle switch, it's remarkbly easy to use and straightforward. Very well laid out controls.

This really isn't an effect, it's an electronic instrument. A two tone generator, three oscilator synth.
I can only describe this as amazing. It makes wonderful, wacky blips, beeps, drones, and squeals.

Have only had mine a week or so but mine is very solidly built by Mike Both of Custom Analog Electronics (http://commonsound.com/cae/).
I'm sure it will prove as solid and dependable as my noise swash has.

Dann and Mike are great. Both very helpful. Very good people to do business with.
Before Mike began building my triwave he e-mailed to ask my preferences in paint color, knobs, etc. Very thoughtful.

Again, an amazing device. if you love the sounds made by old analog synths you'll probably enjoy the triwave. Very well built and great customer support.

A little opaque at first, especially if you're not an analog freak,
ulitmately you'll see it's an incredibly elegant and logical arrangement
And all those unmarked knobs just adds to the mystery.

I can't overstate this: the triwave picogenerator is a
beatiful instrument. It is limited in that it will always sound
unmistakably like a triwave picogenerators; it is is infinite
in the shadings and permutations of that sound. You'll find
reasons to inlcude it in your project. Some of them will be bad
reasons.
It will become
one of your rademarks. A certain percentage of the population will
think you have flipped. If you leave this thing running in your studio
whilst you go about your business, you will flip. You will cultivate
the public persona of a mad scientist. You may need to find a device
*burbles* better than the triwave if you want to really work
the mad scientist. It sounds amazing.

Boy, features. See one of the previous reviews for the low down.
Mine's blue. 13 knobs -- two tone generators with center
pitch controls, 3 lfos, 6 or 10 other knobs. All interact.
Did I mention blue?

So far so good, but I haven't taken it out of the house yet.

Excellent, I hear.

One of a kind. Invaluable. Life-transforming even.

this thing isn't exactly easy to describe, first off... it's 2 oscillators/tone generators, controlled each by three common LFOs. to analog dudes that's easy but to someone like myself who is used to drum machines and the like it could be weird. but i have had a little analog exp so i did fine... basicaly twiddle away until you hear something cool. and then try to remember where you found that cool sound cause you may never find it again. thats why i like it! Then again if you find something cool coming out and you wanna save it, SAMPLE IT! voila! easy to use in the making-neat-stuff dept. no manual required really and there's no way to edit except by the knobs. (thank god. midi confuses me sometimes.)

the sounds this little guy generates are terrific!!!! good for spacey breaks, i run mine thru a delay and harmonizer sometimes, WHHOOA BABY thats good. The crossfading features give it a very nice quality when a good morph is needed... and if i wanted to MIDI-ize the damn thing it's only a couple seconds of sampling away... this box is specifically for frequency freqout, and it does that very well.

well these are all handmade so i'll tell you what i had put into mine. it's got the standard knobs (one each for the center pitch of each tone, and one each for the rates of the three LFOs, along with six knobs controlling how deeply each lfo affects each tone) and a bright/dark switch and a knob to crossfade between the two tones. And master volume. I had dann green (mister 3ms) also put in an input 1/4" jack and another knob, making it possible for me to run another instrument's line to it and crossfade then between the Triwave and the external instrument. wow, 14 knobs and a switch in a four-outlet-sized junction box! No expansion really but i know dann would add on anything i asked if it were feasible... i'm thinking some kind of triggering would be nice, mmmmwwwwaaaahahahahaaaaa.....

the plug jack is a little frail, but i really don't care... it's on my keyboard stand with drum machines and other fragile stuff so i'm careful...

dann is the best, whenever he has time he will help you out, ask what you need, work with you on features and prices and hell, he's even building me a custom effects unit from scratch for my rack!

i wish i could remember how much i paid for this baby..... but it's definitely worth it... as a matter of fact it's one of the first things you hear on my upcoming demo, "Project Engine: EasyOpenFeverCreature"... I'm going to send a copy to Eidos Interactive and see if the videogame world would dig it, and additionally will be dispensing copies as soon as recording is completed, to anyone interested. At any rate, it has helped me go into those cool places i've always dug by listening to odd spacey effects in movies and music. And it's got cool lights in it that fade in with the LFOs, creating a cool lighting effect in any totally dark room!!!

First of all, I'm not certain that this review belongs under "effects", since this device is NOT a sound processor, but rather a pair of adjustable tone generators with 3 modulation LFO's (low frequency oscillators) and some additional useful features; it might be more appropriate to be reviewed under "synthesizers", but since it's made by the Soundshimmer division of 3mS, an effect pedal company, I'll stick the review here. This device may look incredibly intimidating at first, since it has 13 (!) knobs and 3 buttons on it, but actual operation is very simple: 2 knobs control the center, or base, frequency of the two tone generators (oscillators) - turn the knobs clockwise and pitch goes up, ccw and pitch goes down. 3 knobs control the LFO speeds, from looooooong frequency sweeps to rapid-fire oscillations. 6 knobs (2 for each of 3 LFO's) control the amount by which the center frequencies of the tone generators are modulated by each of the 3 LFO's, ranging from a subtle vibrato to radical pitch shifts. The last two knobs control the level balance between the two tone generators, and the master volume. Even someone without experience in analog synthesizers (or ANY instruments, for that matter) can be creating weird sounds on this with only a few knob twists.

The first important thing is that the Triwave uses analog circuitry for the oscillators, so they sound FAT. The other important thing is that although it generates tones, you can't really play notes on this - in that respect, it sounds somewhat like a theremin (heck, it has two oscillators, so make that two theremins!) and is completely capable of generating the eerie glides of that instrument by using only the center frequency knobs - then, using the 3 LFOs adds a whole new dimension to the sound! Think of synth-heavy 70s space rock like Hawkwind, Gong or even Tangerine Dream. Or the sound fx -type synth noises in Steve Miller's "Fly Like An Eagle" or the Sweet's "Hellraiser". Or current bands that make extensive use of theremin or old synths like the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion or Stereolab. For extra tripiness, run it through a delay pedal (preferable analog), crank up the LFO's, sit back, and space out!

I'll admit to being intimidated when I opened up the box and saw a veritable rats nest of wiring ... but what do you expect when 13 pots are crammed into an electrical junction box (which, of course, makes for a very solid housing)? The hand wiring & soldering appeared to be of high quality, and it hasn't given me any trouble in the various jam sessions I've played it in. Unfortunately, I'll have to use it without a backup whether I want to or not (don't really think I'd need one, though), since I'd have to wait 3 months for another one. After all, I'm using it as a backup/replacement of sorts for rare and expensive (and heavy!) analog synths, which aren't exactly always paragons of reliability.

The Soundshimmer/3mS company IS Dan Green, and he has been incredibly helpful the whole way through. Before building the Triwave for me, we discussed various custom options, which he eagerly implemented (and has apparently made some standard features for future Triwaves) at a nominal additional cost. While I was on the waiting list (unfortunately, there currently is one for 3mS products), he kept me informed on where I stood. And even after I received the device, he's offered to make upgrades and adjustments to it. What more could one possibly want in customer support?

I've been interested in old analog synthesizers and odd music electronics for several years now, and I'm glad that we live in an era where people like Dan are making cool new things, while the cool old things aren't (for the most part) ridiculously overpriced (yet). I already own several old synths (Korg, ARP, SCI, etc.) that are more versatile, but none that are so inexpensive, easily portable and simple to use; yet this little box cranks out noises that have impressed people as much as any piece of "vintage" gear. This would be an ideal acquisition for someone who doesn't know how to play any instruments, but still wants to make some noise. There's really nothing else like it on the market, with the possible exception of some esoteric synthesizer modules. It's certainly not for everyone, but if you want to add experimental/electronic sounds to an existing band or project, and don't know where to start, the Triwave Picogenerator would be just for you!