Casper Electronics and Bastl Instruments proudly announce the SoftPop SP2 – a unique instrument in development for the past three years, and a complete rework of the original 2017 CASPERxBASTL Softpop. 

Softpop SP2 is a radical subtractive synth under the influence of unconventional digital control. It’s a rare beast excelling at both melody and noise in equal measure, ranging from bassline bangers, angelic chord progressions, distorted beats to water droplets.

Softpop’s patchbay is eurorack compatible, with the capability of processing inbound audio through the filter and VCA.

Softpop features a 16-pin eurorack power header inside the enclosure (requires +5V in the bus-board). 

Features

• Fully analog signal path with integrated digital control
• Patchbay with 37 eurorack compatible patch-points for ultra-flexibility
• Light orb for psychedelic inspiration
  
  
  
• Analog triangle core oscillator with PWM input and pulse and triangle outputs
• Or digital oscillator with several waveforms and waveshaping
• Automatic oscillator tuning and octave-wide fine-tune control (for analog VCO)
• Quantized V/OCT semitone transpose
• State variable resonant filter with lowpass, bandpass, and highpass modes
• POP control for unique subtle and distorted timbres
• Flexible attack-decay cycling Envelope with a ton of control inputs
• Drone or envelope mode switch for the VCA
  
  
  
• Musical sequencer with a lot of tricks
• 8 step sequencer with pattern chaining to extend the length
• Sequenceable scale quantizer with 8 user-editable scales
• 8 patterns per bank, 8 banks (saved on demand)
• Envelope gates per step
• Slide option per step for that acid feel
• Playback modes will turn your simple patterns on their head
• Temporary FX section (ratchets, arps, noise, and more)
• CV, gate, and clock outputs from the sequencer
  
  
  
• External input for processing audio with dynamics analyzer
• Analog sync Input
• Tempo section with divider/multiplier
• MIDI input for sync and musical control
• XY crossfader utility section and 4-way multiple for advanced patches

SOFTPOP2 DIGITAL VCO UPGRADE v1.0 (09/2022)

SP2 has officially leveled up. This free firmware update unlocks enhanced MIDI control, MIDI CC implementation, new CV and GATE output modes, and a bunch of quality-of-life improvements. But the real big news is that the original analog oscillator (bless its pitch-drifting soul) has gone digital. That means vastly improved tuning precision and stability and 8 new variable waveforms to explore and run through SP2's rich and unruly analog filter and VCA.
Detailed description of all new features in the digital VCO upgrade manual. This update requires moving a jumper on the SP2 circuit board before uploading the new firmware. Files and upgrade manual available in the Downloads section below.

New features

• Digital VCO
• Fine-tune fader mode
• ENV G and SLIDE G trigger/gate modes
• Envelope gate probability as FX8
• Triggered pitch change mode
• VCO Pitch Limiter
• CV pitch tracking mode
• MIDI clock detection
• FX controlled by MIDI notes
• Envelope triggered by Note On mode
• MIDI CC implementation
• MIDI transpose
• Improvements and bug fixes
• New button combos

• What’s in the box

  • Softpop SP2
  • Quickstart guide
  • 5 patch cables (15cm: Green, Dark Green, Brown, Black and White)
  • Micro USB cable (excl. power supply)
  • Rubber feet
  • Sticker

  Technical details

  • USB power (micro): <250mA
  • dimensions: 173 x 112 x 41 mm
  • inputs are capable of receiving eurorack signals
  • 16-pin protected eurorack power connector requires 5V from busboard: <250mA
  • eurorack size rail adaptors available as open-source files
  • all outputs are 5Vpp except for PULSE, EDGE, ENV, BP, and DYNAMICS that are 4Vpp