READ THE OFFICIAL OWNER'S MANUAL HERE.
SOMA Laboratory's description of the SOMA Laboratory COSMOS drifting memory station
SOMA LABORATORY COSMOS DRIFTING MEMORY STATION.
CONCEPT.
COSMOS is a drifting memory station designed to work with meditative states through
music. The design of the controls, functions and generated soundscapes are intended to evoke, in both performer and listener, states and experiences inherent in meditation, such as limitless space, fluidity, spontaneous development, presence, the ability to hear, tranquility, the experience of subtle harmony and happiness enveloping the whole world.
The controls and functions were carefully selected and tuned in such a way that the performer can remain as focused as possible on their music and inner experiences, with minimal distraction from interactions that require the inclusion of the superficial rational mind, which inevitably leads to falling out of the meditative state.
From a functional point of view, COSMOS is a large array of sound memory, in which recorded sounds undergo constant recombinations, spontaneously generating an ever-changing soundscape. This is achieved in three ways — by a mathematical shift based on the relationships between large prime numbers (the size of all delay lines are different primes), an asynchronous operation of the LFO, and modulation with a slowly changing chaotic signal. As a result, it allows the endless layering and processing of various sounds, as in a looper, but without an intrusive, repetitive loop.
Due to the constant shifts, working with traditional music with a pronounced tempo and rhythm can be difficult. However, for those wishing to use COSMOS in rhythmic music, we have released a special version of the firmware containing a regular looper, but with the unique capabilities of COSMOS. For those interested in polyrhythms, COSMOS in its original form provides excellent opportunities for this, including for working with drums and various percussion instruments.
COSMOS generates rich, fluid and evolving soundscapes perfect for ambient music. Using COSMOS, you can play an entire meditative solo concert while being in a spontaneous flow and without using studio-prepared sequences, backing tracks and other things that can't be a reflection of the "here and now". Since COSMOS is a memory station, it requires an external sound source. This source can be synthesizer, guitar, voice or any other musical instruments and their combinations hooked up through a mixer. The guitar stomp box design lets you control the effects with your feet, freeing up your hands to play musical instruments or to control other devices. The buttons are switched with light effort so you can use it with your hands as well, as COSMOS is also intended as a desktop fx module.
Turning effects on and off makes use of cross-fades, switching algorithms makes use of fade out fade in sequence to prevent the appearance of clicks. When switching algorithms, the contents of the sound memory are transferred to the next algorithm and begin to be processed in a new way. This allows you to turn effects on and off and switch algorithms at any time during the performance, using it as expressive artistic techniques.
COSMOS is assembled with high quality analog and digital components providing high quality sound and musicality. It uses top-class Cirrus Logic audio converters and Burr-Brown's famous operational amplifiers that are highly regarded in the audiophile community. It has a sample rate of 48 kHz with 24 bit resolution, and 32-bit floating point internal digital processing.
The COSMOS software is easily upgradeable via USB flash drive and has several variations, including a traditional looper and a quad version that allows two COSMOS to be used in parallel. This quad system creates four channels of output, and when you connect each channel to its own PA, it creates very interesting possibilities for multichannel live performances.
COSMOS was inspired by the early ambient works of Robert Fripp and Brian Eno and the Frippertronic system they developed specifically for this purpose. COSMOS is a further development of these ideas and offers new possibilities for modern performers of meditative music, as well as for those sound designers whose studio work requires rich fluid soundscapes.
ALGORITHMS.
COSMOS has four types of algorithms (indicated by dashed lines), each of which has three variations (indicated by the three solid dots in different sizes). Each type of algorithm has its own unique method of mixing and shifting sounds. The three variations give different lengths of the delay lines for each of the algorithms. The larger the dot, the longer the delay.
Two delays.
Consists of two delay lines, constantly shifting relative to each other.
SETTINGS
The total repetition time is about 2.5 seconds. (due to offsets, hereinafter, the time is
indicated approximately)
The total repetition time is about 9.5 seconds.
The total repetition time is about 22 seconds.
Four delays.
Consists of four delay lines, constantly shifting relative to each other.
SETTINGS
The total repetition time is about 2.5 seconds.
The total repetition time is about 8.5 seconds.
The total repetition time is about 11.5 seconds.
Giant reverb.
Simulates an echo in a hall several kilometers in size. Due to the enormous size, early reflections sound like individual echoes, which merge very slowly into the finely dispersed noise intrinsic of a reverb.
SETTINGS
Huge hall.
Super-huge hall.
Insanely-super-huge hall.
Granular delay.
Asynchronous granular stereo-delay.
SETTINGS
Small size of delay and grains.
Medium size of delay and grains.
Large delay and grain size, plus an additional central granular delay.
SPECIFICATIONS.
Minimum input voltage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.35 V peak-to-peak
Maximum output voltage at line outputs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.3 V peak-to-peak
The maximum output voltage at the headphones output . . . . . . . . . . . 10.4 V peak-to-peak
Frequency response . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10–22000 Hz
Sound memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44.7 sec
Supply voltage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DC 12 V *
Power connector polarity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . center plus
Current consumption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.25 А
Dimensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342 x 153 x 68 mm
Weight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.2 kg
* Use only the power supply supplied with the device! In case of failure, it can be replaced with a high-quality modern switched-mode power supply with an output voltage of DC 12 volts, the center is plus and an output current of at least 0.5 amperes(more is fine). The power supply must have a wide AC input voltage range of 100-240 volts. Such power supplies have excellent output voltage stabilization required for the device. It is forbidden to use COSMOS with nonstabilized voltage from transformer power supplies. It can lead to damage to the device, which is not covered by the warranty repair!
CREDITS
Andrzej Slowik — production management and control.
Anastasia Azartsova — top and rear panel design and web design.
Arseniy Vasylenko — web administration.
Evgeny Aleynik — lawyer consulting.
Grigory Ryazanov — industrial construction for mass production.
Grzegorz Lacek — management, network, sales and communications.
Maxim Manakov — development of USB driver and firmware bootloader.
Pawel Wieczorek — production technologies.
Thomas Lundberg — customer support, communication, text editor and proofreader.
Valery Zaveryaev — manual design and layout.