Review: Qu-Bit Scanned Eurorack Module

Qu-Bit has designed some excellent modules over the years. Personally i've only ever owned 'Chord' by them, but i've wanted several others like Nebulae and Pulsar. When I saw that they announced Scanned, I knew that I had to buy it. As a sound designer and producer i'm very interested in any kind of sound synthesis, so i'm always intrigued when a company claims to have a new spin on something. The module is available for $349 over at Qu-Bit's website (and on many other music sites).

Qu-Bit states that Scanned is an organic wavetable oscillator that uses an unexplored technique known as 'scanned synthesis' to animate wavetables that are created in real-time. Its kind of like physical modeling, but instead of modeling a physical acoustic source you're using it to create electronic sounds. Scanned can function as an entire complete voice without additional filters or VCA's, so its also a great option for those of you with small Eurorack cases.

As usual to learn the module I turn on the cameras, hit record, and just start playing. Then afterwards I see theirs anything I need to consult the manual for (and oh boy this time there was, I had no idea what I was doing). Check out the video below for an edited version of my first time playing with the module.

The first thing you might have noticed is that this is an incredibly diverse module. You can make some killer sub-bass lines, brassy lead lines, crazy alien effects, and plucky synth sounds - all without using any VCF's, VCA's, or ADSR's. In terms of cost / options, Qu-Bit Scanned is one of the better ones i've used (especially compared to something like Chord, which has somewhat niche applications, and is a relatively giant module in terms of HP).

Work In Progress

Still playing!