In a small booth tucked away on the main floor of the convention center was eowave, a company that is expanding their line of stomp box effects. This French outfit is dedicated to creating �Alternatives to the Musical Instrument Globalization�, and all their products are handmade in the EC.
The �Bug� series are stereo stomp boxes for keyboard players. The set features a Filterbug, Sci-fiBug, Ring�oBug and SpaceBug. These small metal boxes are sturdily built, with all metal chassis and faceplates and are about the size of guitar stomp boxes, except slightly wider. They look like fun, and look good too. The units have interesting and functional designs on their faceplates. Nice enough for display on your table top, definitely.
The only �bug� working was the Sci-Fi Bug, which is an eight step sequencer with 12 dB low pass filter, variable resonance, variable LFO speed, and it has an external modulation input and bypass switch. Like the other �bugs� in the series, it is powered by a 12v external adapter.
The upper portion of the faceplate features LFO speed and resonance knobs, and the lower half sports eight frequency cutoff knobs. It was quite a simple matter to dial in the speed and then adjust the eight steps of the sequence with the eight cut off knobs. The box was quite effective with tearing up rhythmic patterns like drum tracks and the like, and was dead simple to operate.
The other units in the series were not up and running, although eowave says they�ll be available soon. I was interested in trying out the space bug delay box, but I guess I�ll have to wait. Also, eowave apparently does not have distribution yet, so you need to buy direct from their site. Not a problem, as they accept credit cards, PayPal, electronic money transfers, and checks in Euros from France.
http://www.eowave.com
Hopefully eowave will finish this product line and get them into a larger distribution channel, as these keyboard stomp boxes seem like bite sized bits of fun. The �bugs� will list for $249, except the SpaceBug delay, which will list for $299.
Albert
