A Chat with Cutlasses: Makers of GLOOP

Cutlasses are creators of an innovative 4-head, loop-based eurorack module called Gloop:

"Gloop is a performance looper module for eurorack, with the ability to playback recorded loops with 4 simultaneous play heads.

Each play head can be at a different part of the loop, playing at a different speed/pitch, direction and volume. Each play head can also be playing a different area, or sub-loop of the main loop. Gloop excels at building layered textured tones and creating granular style loops.  There are 4 x CV inputs which can be assigned to modulate the speed, position or volume of individual or multiple playheads. There are also a number of built in effects including delay, reverb and bitcrush to further sculpt Gloop audio.

Playheads can be assigned to either of the two mono outputs, or sent  to both – allowing for creative effects routing or stereo control when paired with a panning mixer.  Loops can also be sliced into regions using grid mode. With grid enabled all loop positions and sizes are clamped/quantised to a grid of either 4, 8 or 16 regions. This mode works very well with rhythmic loops!

Record / overdub is activated using either the red record button or via the record trigger input. Gloop's memory can hold up to around 2 minutes of continuous audio. The module has been designed with live performance in mind and each playhead has its own physical volume control allowing for quick morphing and mixing of loops."

Intrigued by the project and (especially) the live possibilities, we spoke to Scott about his inspirations and innovations.

How did Cutlasses start, and what were the goals behind the project?

Cutlasses started as a solo music project. I was doing live gigs with a laptop and a guitar and needed a MIDI pedal to be able control Ableton with my feet whilst I played guitar. The options were fairly thin on the ground, so I ended up doing a bit of research and building my own. I'd always been interested in DIY electronics, from reading Nic Collin's Handmade Electronic Instruments. I met another indie synth manufacturer (Jason from 64 Pixels) after doing a talk on the DIY instruments I'd made, and he showed me how easy it was to get your own PCBs (printed circuit boards) manufactured, that sent me down a rabbit hole I'm yet to escape from!

So what attracted you to begin building Eurorack modules? Did you feel something was missing in the modular world?

My initial reasons were more practical than visionary. What appealed to me about eurorack was that it was really easy to get started. I built a few kits from Thonk and started to understand how they were put together. The barrier to entry is pretty low - you don't have to worry about power supplies or enclosures, it's just a PCB and a front panel. I was really just building projects as if they were guitar pedals in eurorack format. I would get bemused comments on YouTube asking why I'd put this into eurorack and not added any CV! Everything was just inspired by wanting to build something I could perform live with. I decided I was only going to use modules I'd built myself, I thought this would prevent me from spending too much money on modules, but now I have a shed filled with components and test equipment, so that didn't quite pan out. It's certainly not the fastest way to create music, you have a musical idea, and then 8 months later you can actually realise that idea! I can say that I have now discovered the joys of CV and modulation and use it all the time.

Tell us about GLOOP, what are the standout features :D

At its core, GLOOP is a looper. You can record loops, and overdub onto them, much like a guitar pedal looper. The unique feature of GLOOP is that it has 4 playback heads, rather than 1. Each head can play back the entire loop or a window within it. Each head can play at a different speed/pitch (with V/Oct), forwards or in reverse. These heads are then mixed together using the 4 pots on the module to create a final mix. There are lots of in-built effects such as delay, reverb, wavefolder, bitcrusher and tape effects. There are also many modulation options, and a grid to allow you to quantise playback. GLOOP was the culmination of my learnings from my previous DIY projects. It represented exactly what I wanted to use when performing live. Each live performance with it allowed me to hone the features and the user interface.

As an instrument maker, I imagine it's exciting to hear how people are using your designs?

For a long time I didn't really consider how other people might use the modules I was making as they were just for me. Now I have a released product, this has suddenly become very important. I do get feedback and feature requests from users, many of which I've implemented in firmware updates, but always through the lens of my vision for GLOOP. The most important thing is that GLOOP is easy to pick up and use its key features without having to dive into the menus. I do love to see people using it, often in ways I'd never imagined, which I think is testament to GLOOP's flexibility.

How can our readers purchase your modules?

You can either buy them directly from our shop https://www.cutlasses.co.uk/product/gloop/, or from Perfect Circuit in the US. DIY kits are available from Thonk. https://www.thonk.co.uk/shop/cutlasses-gloop/

Finally, any plans for the future? Any more designs in the works?

I have so many ideas in my head I want to commit to circuits. I have a couple of expanders in the pipeline for GLOOP, but also want to take some of my earlier projects, such as the Glitch Delay, and turn them into production ready modules. With a full-time job and a young family, the limiting factor is lack of time rather than ambition, but there's definitely a lot more on the way from Cutlasses Instruments.

Thanks for talking to us Scott, and best of luck with your modules!

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