Erica Synths: The Best Hardware FX For Electronic Music

Producer Eraldo Bernocchi is no stranger to hardware effects. We asked him to explain how he gets his unique sound, both on guitar and other instruments, and he came back with recommendations for four Erica Synths units: Nightverb, Echolocator, Xenodrive and Rezonator.

Countless effects pedals and rack units have followed me on and off stages and in and out of studios. Yet very few of these machines have been designed with musicians in mind quite like Erica Synths’ effects. Building on the success of the Zen Delay, the Latvia-based company has gone a step further, developing four units based on DSP technology from 112dB: Nightverb, Echolocator, Xenodrive, and Rezonator. 

The point isn’t just the sound, though. It’s about being able to actually play these effects. All four units share a common design language: the same form factor, the same number of controls, an identical front panel. They also share connectivity, comprehensive MIDI control, and a settings menu that can open up other possibilities of customisation. 

Here’s how I use them.

Nightverb: Drone And Pad Generator

The first of these units to hit the market, Nightverb is a beautiful reverb with almost endless modulation possibilities. Its signal freeze function (and here’s the really interesting part – it’s controlled via MIDI) instantly turns the unit into a drone and pad generator. It captures the signal and suspends it in time, like an astronaut floating in the infinite blackness of space. Then you can play it using a standard keyboard controller and it sounds fantastic. 

It can also be a traditional reverb, too. From metal chambers to garage-style spaces, plates, halls, and infinitely modulating spaces, Nightverb sounds great across the board. Vocals sit more smoothly in the mix, while snares feel like they’re slapping you right in the face. The settings menu is extremely comprehensive, and most of its options also appear across all four units, so if you know one, you’ll feel familiar with them all.

Nightverb put through its paces:

Echolocator: An Absolute Monster

I’m crazy about delays. I’ve owned countless units in all shapes and forms, and Echolocator is an absolute monster. From digital delays to bucket brigade, tape and shimmer, and now, with the latest update, frequency shifting, there’s very little you can’t do with this machine. The signal can also be looped, effectively turning Echolocator into a real-time sampler. 

Everything stays perfectly locked to the beat. MIDI clock, as with the original Zen Delay, is incredibly precise. Honestly, I have never owned a delay that stays in sync quite like this one. 

The filter section is great too: seriously analogue, you can place it either before or after the delay. Be careful, though, as you can do some major speaker damage here. The latter is particularly useful if you want to build techno rumbles on the fly. Choose a time division, freeze the signal, close the filter, and voilà: instant wall of bass/tribal gathering. Shimmer and frequency shifting are the icing on the cake, especially for guitarists and anyone working with ambient music.

Playing a synth is one thing. Playing a delay or a reverb is another entirely

Echolocator on Elektron Analog Rytm:

And on Erica Synths Perkons HD-01:

Xenodrive: More Than Distortion

Much more than a distortion unit, Xenodrive is a fully fledged analogue channel, equally useful whether compressing, warming up, or distorting a signal. What really gets me is the analogue circuitry, which makes Xenodrive useful as a miniature analogue mastering studio. A single knob controls the compression stage: it’s simple to use, but absolutely lethal on grooves and vocals. Go from tape-like warmth to full-blown feedback madness. Pushed it too far? Tame it with a gate configured in the settings. 

The output section features a fantastic EQ with adjustable Q. The Drive control takes you from subtle, tape-like character all the way to complete sonic mayhem. You can also steer the distortion towards different parts of the frequency spectrum using the Pre control, which determines which frequencies are pushed harder into saturation. 

Add the wavefolding distortion and its signal amplitude-dependent envelope, and you’ve got a machine that can become sonically dangerous for your speakers and your neighbours. 

Driving Xenodrive:

Rezonator: A Harmony Machine You Can Play

Perhaps the most specialised and focused unit of the four, Rezonator is a harmony machine you can play in real time. It’s wonderful on guitars. In about 10 minutes, I can turn my baritone guitar into something resembling a sitar. Used the right way and through a bit of exploration and experimentation, it can almost behave like a resonant reverb. The final stage of the signal passes through a filter section that lets you shape the sound, turning it into something silky smooth or razor-sharp. 

Chords can be programmed via MIDI and played in real time. Try it on backing vocals and you’ll find yourself with vocal harmonies before you know it. For ambient and dub techno as well, this is an incredible machine to control via MIDI, using continuous controllers to make parameters evolve slowly over time. 

One of my favourite combinations is pairing it with the OXI E16, taking advantage of its ability to act as a looper while changing multiple parameters in real time, randomly, using cycles of different lengths. Try it on chords, then feed the whole thing into Nightverb with a long, slightly dark decay. Beautiful.

Razornator on electronics:

Razornator on guitar:

Using Erica Synths Effects

Ultimately, what makes these units so striking is how playable they are. This is very much in line with the Erica Synths philosophy, but here it’s been pulled off particularly well. And in a context that’s arguably more challenging. Playing a synth is one thing. Playing a delay or a reverb is another entirely. This is because the controls are immediate. As well, the settings menus are detailed and customisable down to the smallest detail. 

Full MIDI implementation makes them exceptional performance tools, both in the studio and on stage. The rear footswitch input (which is fully programmable) naturally opens them up to live use, whether you’re a guitarist, working with vocals, or making electro, techno or dub. 

If there’s one thing that’s less convincing, it’s the graphic design of the panels. Personally, I’d have preferred Erica’s classic look: perhaps a little more serious and a little less flashy. The different screen colours across the units are great though. But that’s entirely subjective. The sound, on the other hand, is excellent. There is nothing to complain about there.

In Comparison

There aren’t many units on the market that are this playable. On the more expensive end, Eventide H90 comes to mind, as does Strymon’s range. Xenodrive could be compared to Elektron’s Analog Heat in terms of control but sound-wise, the Erica Synths unit comes out on top, as it’s rougher and warmer. 

What those units don’t offer, however, is the sheer number of controls you can manipulate in real time, with the kind of musical results these Erica Synths machines make possible. They’re also much less tied to a primarily guitar-oriented approach.

Hard To Leave Behind

For years, I wouldn’t step onto a stage without my Zen Delay on my machine table. Since these four little boxes of sonic magic came along, I find it hard to do without them as well. Echolocator and Nightverb in particular have become hard to leave behind. They’re not cheap, and the price won’t be for everyone, but quality comes at a cost, and for now, Erica Synths remains a name you can trust.

Find out more at Erica Synths.

All music by Eraldo Bernocchi.

Follow Attack Magazine