Electro Harmonix Mod Rex User manual

MOD REX

Polyrhythmic Modulator

Congratulations on your purchase of the Electro-Harmonix Mod Rex Polyrhythmic Modulator. The Mod Rex is a powerful modulation tool designed for multiple instruments and uses, and is equipped with many features, including:

• Up to 4 simultaneous modulation sections synced together in time

• MOD section offers choice of Vibrato, Flanger, Chorus, or Phaser effect

• Standalone Tremolo, Modulated Panning, and Modulated Filter sections

• 9 tempo subdivision options for each modulation section

• 4 LFO shape options for each modulation section

• 100 storable presets

• Full stereo input and output

• Tap Tempo

• Tempo-Sync to an external device with MIDI Clock or an external pulse clock

• Full MIDI control of all parameters and recalling of presets

• External expression pedal input

• External foot controller input to bank up and down presets

• 9.6VDC/200mA power supply included

WARNING: Your Mod Rex comes equipped with an Electro-Harmonix 9.6VDC-200mA power supply. The Mod Rex requires 100mA at 9VDC with a center negative plug and does not accept batteries. Using the wrong adapter may damage your unit and void the warranty. Please do not exceed 10.5VDC on the power plug.

Overview: What Is The Mod Rex? Control Diagram Top Panel Display Screen

Tempo Display Mode Presets Display Mode

Divisions Display Mode

Modulation Parameters

Tempo and Rate Knob Mode LFO Shapes MOD Section Parameters TREM Section Parameters PAN Section Parameters FILTER Section Parameters Volume

Presets

Loading a Preset Saving a Preset Blank Presets

What You See Is What You Get Mode Factory Reset

Divisions

Signal Path

– page 10

LOCK Button

Footswitches and Jacks

Bypass

Tap Tempo Power Input and Output Expression Pedal External Clock and Foot Controller

MIDI and the Mod Rex

MIDI Tempo Sync

– page 4

– page 7

– page 9

– page 11

– page 13

– page 5

– page 6

– page 7

– page 10

– page 12

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– page 15

– page 5

– page 8

– page 9

– page 3

– page 7

– page 14

– page 11

MIDI Program and Control Change Messages MIDI CC Message Assignments

Factory Presets’ Parameter List Warranty Information

– page 19

– page 16

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– page 15

Overview: What Is The Mod Rex?

The Mod Rex is a powerful modulation unit that gives you a massive toolbox of modulation options. At the core of the Mod Rex are its four modulation sections:

MOD: A choice of a vibrato, flanger, chorus, or phaser effect TREM: A tremolo effect PAN: A modulated panning effect FILTER: A choice of a modulated, low-pass, high-pass, or band-pass filter effect

Any of these sections can be on individually, and any combination of them can be on simultaneously. All four are linked to the same tempo in beats per minute (BPM), but each one can independently have one of nine tempo subdivision options. Each modulation section has multiple parameters to fine tune your sound, including four modulation LFO shape options: rising-sawtooth, triangle, falling-sawtooth, and square.

You can have a vibrato effect going at exactly twice the rate as a simultaneous tremolo effect. Have a phaser on the whole note while simultaneously having a tremolo on the quarter note and a modulated low-pass filter on the eighth note. Create a polyrhythmic effect with a quarter note tremolo and a dotted-quarter note modulated filter. These are merely a handful of examples of the nearly limitless possibilities with the Mod Rex.

In addition to these rhythmic-combination effects, you can also use the Mod Rex as a more traditional modulation effect, just with several non-traditional options. Apply falling-sawtooth flanger blasts, or use a tap-tempo stereo phaser. MIDI sync external tracks and apply a rising-sawtooth tremolo for a side-chaining effect.

The bottom left LED always blinks based on the quarter note. The tempo can be set manually with the tempo knob, via tap-tempo, or synced to an external device via MIDI clock or an external pulse clock.

The Mod Rex is designed to maximize your ability to precisely apply rhythmic effects to whatever you plug into it. Its tap-tempo allows you to continue to play while tapping, as all modulations (including any with uneven subdivisions) adjust fluidly to your tapped tempo without resetting upon each tap. Plug a drum machine, sequencer, or an audio interface from a laptop into the Mod Rex and sync the tempo with MIDI Clock to create perfectly-in-sync rhythmic effects.

The Mod Rex can store and recall 100 presets to maximize your ability to create and use a variety of effects. It features full stereo in and out. An external expression pedal or foot controller can be used to control the Mod Rex. The unit is fully MIDI controllable and integrates seamlessly into any modern MIDI setup. These options make the Mod Rex the ultimate rhythmic modulation machine.

1-VOL, controls master volume of the effect (page 9) 2-Digit Display and Display State LEDs (page 5) 3-PRESET SELECT/STORE, used to store and recall presets (page 10) 4-TEMPO, used to manually set the master modulation tempo/rate (page 7) 5-LOCK, used to maintain current tempo upon recalling a preset (page 11) 6-MOD Section, section with option of four different modulation effects (page 8) 7-TREM Section, section controlling a tremolo effect (page 8) 8-PAN Section, section controlling a modulated panning effect (page 9) 9-FILTER Section, section controlling a modulated filter (page 9) 10-Shape LEDs, display LFO shape for one of the four sections (page 7) 11-Shape SELECT button, used to change LFO shape of a given section (page 7) 12-BYPASS, switch between effect mode and buffered bypass mode (page 13) 13-Status LED, shows if the pedal is in effect or bypass mode (page 13) 14-TAP, tap in quarter notes to set master modulation tempo (page 13) 15-Rate LED, shows speed of current master tempo/rate (page 13) 16-MONO/L Input, input for mono signal or left channel of stereo signal (page 13) 17-R Input, input for right channel of stereo signal (page 13) 18-EXP, input for expression pedal (page 14) 19-MONO/L Output, output for mono signal or left channel of stereo signal (page 13) 20-R Output, output for right channel of stereo signal (page 13) 21-CLK/FC, input for external pulse clock or foot controller (page 14) 22-MIDI IN, input for MIDI signals (page 15) 23-Power Jack, power input, 9V DC, center negative (page 13)

Top Panel Display Screen

At the center of the Mod Rex’s user interface is the four-digit display screen at the top of the unit. This display screen has three main modes, each displaying different information. The three modes are DIVISIONS, TEMPO, and PRESET. One of the three labeled LEDs to the left of the display screen will be lit to show you which of these three modes you are in. Switching between these three modes is quick and intuitive.

Note: There are a handful of situations where all three of these LEDs will be lit and the four-digit display is showing you something different, these situations will be discussed later in the manual.

DIVISIONS DISPLAY MODE

In DIVISIONS display mode, each digit independently represents the current tempo subdivision of one of the four modulation sections. From left to right, MOD, TREM, PAN, and FILTER. To switch into DIVISIONS display mode, simply begin turning or press and release one of the four DIVISION knobs. There are ten possible settings for each digit:

0 = Modulation section is off 1 = Tempo subdivision is set to a whole note 2 = Tempo subdivision is set to a half note 3 = Tempo subdivision is set to a dotted quarter note 4 = Tempo subdivision is set to a quarter note 5 = Tempo subdivision is set to a quarter note triplet 6 = Tempo subdivision is set to a dotted eighth note 7 = Tempo subdivision is set to an eighth note 8 = Tempo subdivision is set to an eighth note triplet 9 = Tempo subdivision is set to a sixteenth note

Consider the below example:

In this example, the MOD section has a tempo subdivision of a whole note, the TREM section has a subdivision of a quarter note, the PAN section is off, and the FILTER section has a subdivision of an eight note triplet.

The divisions are changed by turning that section’s DIVISION knob. As you increase or decrease the number, that digit will blink. To set the new division, once you get to the blinking number you want, press and release that DIVISION knob to set the new division. The digit will stop blinking and the new division is set.

TEMPO DISPLAY MODE

In TEMPO display mode, the display shows the current tempo in beats per minute (BPM). To switch to TEMPO display mode, simply start rotating or press and release the TEMPO knob. The tempo can be set manually by rotating the TEMPO knob. The tempo can also be set by tap tempo or an external device. In these cases, in TEMPO display mode the tempo shown is rounded to the nearest BPM with no decimal places, but the actual modulation will be perfectly in sync to the external source, even if it has a fractional component. The Mod Rex has a minimum tempo of 10 BPM and a maximum tempo of 500 BPM.

Note: In some scenarios when syncing the tempo with MIDI Clock, the tempo displayed on the Mod Rex may be off by one BPM, or may jump between a couple of numbers. In these scenarios the Mod Rex is still perfectly in sync with the external device.

PRESET DISPLAY MODE

In PRESET display mode, the current preset is displayed, from 1 to 100. To switch to PRESET display mode, simply start rotating or press and release the PRESET SELECT/STORE knob to the right of the display.

Similarly to changing a modulation section’s division, as you rotate the PRESET SELECT/STORE knob the display will blink. Once you get to the number you want, press and release (don’t hold down) the PRESET SELECT/STORE knob to load that preset.

In PRESET display mode you may see a dash in the first digit place. This indicates that the current preset number displayed does not actually have a preset saved to it yet.

Also in PRESET display mode, the right-most decimal place may be lit. This indicates that since the displayed preset was loaded, some parameters have changed and the preset has not been resaved with the new parameters.

For more information on recalling and saving presets, please see the Presets section on page 10.

+ 14 hidden pages

Electro Harmonix Mod Rex User manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual