Pico Quant

Erica Synths 3HP
QUANTIZER UTILITY

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Advanced 3HP CV quantizer with 8 preset scales, quarter-tone microtonal accuracy, adjustable tolerance and glide. Supports clocked or free-running quantization and user-uploadable scales via web interface.

Patch Ideas · 3

Melodic S&H
Noise → CV IN, clock → CLK IN, CV OUT → VCO, CLK OUT fires envelope.
Walkthrough
  1. Press the SCALE button repeatedly until the LED turns dark blue (Pentatonic) — hard to play a wrong note.
  2. Patch a noise source or random/slow-chaos CV → CV IN (keep it roaming between 0 and +8V; negatives are ignored).
  3. Patch a steady clock (e.g. 1/8 notes) → CLK IN — the quantizer now samples CV IN on each rising edge instead of free-running.
  4. Patch CV OUT → VCO V/Oct.
  5. Patch CLK OUT → envelope trigger so the VCO is articulated every time the pitch actually changes.
  6. Set Tolerance around 12 o'clock and Glide fully CCW (0s) for crisp stepping.
  7. Start the clock — you get a random pentatonic melody in sync with the clock, never hitting a wrong note.
Signal out CV OUT — quantized V/Oct snapped to the Pentatonic scale (0 to +8V), updating on each CLK IN edge. CLK OUT — trigger on every CV change.
Listen for A musical random-pentatonic sequence that always sounds 'right': notes land on scale degrees, the envelope re-plucks each new pitch, and nothing plays when the noise stays inside one note's tolerance band.
▸ Show diagram
Patch diagramPatch diagram with 5 modules and 4 connections. Modules: PICO QUANT, Noise, Clock, VCO, Envelope. Signals: 1 cv, 1 pitch, 1 trigger, 1 clock.PICO QUANTNoiseClockVCOEnvelopeScale: PentatonicCV INcvCLK INclkCV OUT1v/octCLK OUTtrigOutcvOutclkV/Oct1v/octTrigtrig11. samples on clockcvpitchtriggerclock
Microtonal melody
Upload a quarter-tone scale via the web interface, then quantize a sequencer through Pico Quant.
Walkthrough
  1. On a laptop or phone, open www.ericasynths.lv/quant and click SEMI/QUARTER to switch the keyboard into quarter-tone mode.
  2. Either pick a preset from the SCALES dropdown or dot in your own quarter-tone notes on the keyboard.
  3. On the module, press and hold the SCALE button for ~2 seconds — the LED starts blinking red (upload mode).
  4. Patch the laptop/phone's headphone output → CLK IN, pick a slot from the UPLOAD dropdown (matching an LED color), and hit UPLOAD on the page. The LED blinks green once when the transfer succeeds.
  5. Unpatch the headphones from CLK IN; short-press SCALE to cycle to the slot you just filled.
  6. Patch a sequencer CV → CV IN and CV OUT → VCO V/Oct.
  7. Leave CLK IN unpatched so the module free-runs; nudge Glide up slightly so microtonal steps aren't jarring.
Signal out CV OUT — quantized V/Oct using ¼-semitone intervals (0 to +8V). CLK OUT — trigger each time the quarter-tone step changes.
Listen for Non-Western, 'between-the-frets' melodies: the VCO lands on pitches that don't exist on a 12-TET keyboard, giving maqam-like or xenharmonic colors while still following the sequencer's contour.
▸ Show diagram
Patch diagramPatch diagram with 4 modules and 3 connections. Modules: PICO QUANT, Sequencer, VCO, Envelope. Signals: 1 cv, 1 pitch, 1 trigger.PICO QUANTSequencerVCOEnvelopeScale: Custom quarter-tone (uploaded)CV INcvCV OUT1v/octCLK OUTtrigCVcvV/Oct1v/octTrigtrig11. microtonal pitchescvpitchtrigger
Tolerance experiment
LFO → CV IN, free-running; sweep Tolerance to change how the smooth LFO breaks into steps.
Walkthrough
  1. Press SCALE until you land on Diatonic or Chromatic (lots of notes = more steps to hear).
  2. Patch a slow triangle LFO (~0.2 Hz, 0 to +5V) → CV IN. Leave CLK IN unpatched so the quantizer runs freely.
  3. Patch CV OUT → VCO V/Oct and CLK OUT → envelope trigger.
  4. Start with Tolerance fully CCW (50% — wide bands): the LFO's slope is split evenly and you hear a smooth staircase climb/descend.
  5. Turn Tolerance fully CW (10% — narrow bands): notes only advance when CV IN gets very close to the next scale voltage, so the output lingers longer on each step and 'jumps' late.
  6. Turn Glide from 0 up toward max: at short glide times it acts wet/dry; at long times you get portamento between notes.
  7. Compare Chromatic vs Pentatonic with the same LFO to hear tolerance shape more/fewer steps.
Signal out CV OUT — quantized staircase from the LFO (0 to +8V) whose step timing depends on Tolerance. CLK OUT — trigger every time the staircase advances.
Listen for The same LFO becomes either an even rising scale (CCW, wide tolerance) or a pitched 'hiccup' that hangs on notes and jumps abruptly (CW, tight tolerance). Glide turns the staircase into a portamento slide.
▸ Show diagram
Patch diagramPatch diagram with 4 modules and 3 connections. Modules: PICO QUANT, LFO, VCO, Envelope. Signals: 1 cv, 1 pitch, 1 trigger.PICO QUANTLFOVCOEnvelopeTolerance: sweep CCW↔CWGlide: lowCV INcvCV OUT1v/octCLK OUTtrigOutcvV/Oct1v/octTrigtrig11. stepped melody from smooth LFOcvpitchtrigger

Behaviors

Free-running quantization CV IN (no clock)

Without a clock, quantizer continuously maps incoming CV to the nearest note in the selected scale.

Clocked quantization clock → CLK IN

Quantizer samples and outputs a new quantized value on each rising clock edge, enabling rhythmically stepped CV.

Scale upload hold Scale button 2s

Module enters upload mode (LED blinks red). Connect a device's headphone output to CLK IN and use the web interface at ericasynths.lv/quant to transmit custom scales.

Controls

global Tolerance Sets the CV range around each note at which the quantizer advances to the next step.
CCW: 50% tolerance (mid-point advance) · CW: 10% tolerance (close approach needed)
global Glide Sets glide (portamento) time between quantized notes.
0–1 second · at fast rates acts as wet/dry control
global Scale Button Press to cycle through 8 scale slots. Hold 2s to enter scale upload mode (LED blinks red).
8 scales: Diatonic, Double Harmonic Major (Arabian), Harmonic Minor, Blues, Diminish, Pentatonic, Whole-tone, Chromatic

I/O

IN · 2

  • CLK IN trigger/gate GATE
    Clock input for clocked quantization mode. Quantizer updates on each clock pulse.
  • CV IN -10V to +10V (negative ignored) CV
    Unquantized CV input. Negative voltages are ignored.

OUT · 2

  • CLK OUT trigger GATE
    Trigger output on each quantized CV change. Free-running trigger if CLK IN unpatched.
  • CV OUT 0–+8V CV
    Quantized CV output.