What does it mean if a Eurorack module makes you lightheaded after only five minutes? I mean, I work out; I eat right; I get my good sleep; even so, I was way under-prepared for the respiratory tasks of using the ADDAC System 310 Pressure to CV module. With flashbacks of late nights at the hookah bar/meetup spot on Sunset in Silver Lake, 310 sports a breathing apparatus in which your respirations are converted into control voltage to modulate things like cutoff, VCA amount…pitch. It's an odd sensation, bringing your respirations into modular, and not for the faint of breath heart.
With two identical channels, and controls for shaping the incoming breathy CV (Attack, Decay), a Gate Threshold and Response controls (Log/Exp) for further shape sculpting and Offset and Gain pots to adjust how hard you'll have to breathe into the tube to render voltages from your hot dog and sour n' cheddar chip flavored breath into usable modulation, 310 definitely breathes new life into patches; hopefully. Each channel has a Hold function that can be triggered manually via the light up button, or with external CV, though you can also do some self-patching from channel to channel, and with the regular CV output along with an inverted copy of that signal, you can have some pretty good fun doing so. There are Gate outputs for each channel, so as you can see, with just a dash of some heavy (or light) breathing, you can cause a lot of change to happen across your Eurorack landscape merely by living/breathing.
Without the regret of all the hot air that normally escapes one during the day into the ears of others, 310's breathing tube is enclosed, so there's no need for Binaca, as your three-day-old sardine breath gets circulated around the back alleys of your modular rig, weaving its way through dangling Eurorack cables, congregating dust bunnies, and long lost Knurlies.
Ever since I've started playing with 310, I've had this fantasy of recording a track with it while exercising on a treadmill; up virtual hills, straining my lungs as I gasp for more air (all while rapidly opening and closing a VCA), and then noting the changes in speed or frequency as my body recovers afterwards, rewarding me with the satisfaction of knowing that I have finally—finally!—merged exercise with modular synthesis—an odd combination.
For those in top shape, your calm and steady involuntary breathing will bring about pleasant, slowly evolving changes, reminiscent of those we seem to find in the ambient music realm. For those whose sodium intake is on the high side, those who hold anger in more readily, or those heavy breathers, without any conscious effort you're dealing in more ring moddy territory when patched to a VCA! It's a good time, and also a good indication of whether some lifestyle changes are needed on the horizon. More than just reading the manual, time in front of the module, some real effort, needs to be taken to get the most from 310. Are you up for the challenge? Can your body handle it? How's your lung capacity? Not normally the questions you ask yourself as you prepare to dive into a new module, right? I was genuinely surprised how interesting I found it to explore and control my modular in this way. Granted, having a tube sticking out of my big mouth while I conjure up a patch or move things around isn't what my modular fantasy normally looks like, but the exploratory nature of 310 is exactly what I picture, time and time again. ADDAC's 310 is a fun module, definitely worth suiting up for, even if it has a penchant for making one lightheaded and feel bad about eating too many salty snacks.

Price: $399

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