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The LGE603 Sloths is an officially licensed version of the popular Nonlinear Circuits (NLC) Sloths chaos generator. It produces three continuously evolving, non-repeating control voltages that bring subtle, organic movement to any modular synthesizer patch. Unlike traditional LFOs, Sloths never settles into a repeating cycle. Instead, each section slowly wanders through a unique chaotic pattern, making it ideal for generative patches, evolving timbres, and long-term modulation.
The module contains three independent chaotic generators, each operating at a different rate:
Torpor – completes a chaotic cycle in approximately 15–30 seconds
Apathy – evolves over approximately 60–90 seconds
Inertia – an ultra-slow chaos generator that can take 30–40 minutes to complete a cycle
Because each generator follows a chaotic path rather than a repeating waveform, the outputs are always changing but never exactly repeat. The result is smooth, natural modulation that adds life and movement to filters, oscillators, VCAs, wavefolders, panners, and countless other patch destinations.
Both Torpor and Apathy feature a Balance control that changes how the chaotic system behaves. Rather than simply adjusting speed, this control shifts how much time the voltage spends exploring different regions of its chaotic path, producing a wide variety of modulation characteristics. Both sections also include CV inputs, allowing external voltages to influence the chaotic behavior for even more unpredictable and expressive results.
Each Sloth provides three outputs:
X – a unique chaotic voltage
Y – a second chaotic voltage with different behavior
Z – the inverted version of the Y output
The three Z outputs are also internally combined through an analog difference rectifier, creating dedicated Positive (+) and Negative (-) outputs. These provide two additional evolving modulation sources derived from the interaction of all three chaos generators.
Manufactured by Low-Gain Electronics under official license from Nonlinear Circuits, the LGE603 Sloths faithfully preserves Andrew's original design while bringing this legendary chaotic modulation source to the 4U Serge-compatible modular format.
LGE603 Triple Sloths DIY Information: (Coming soon!)
Combined LGE603 Main + I/O Board Bill of Materials
LGE603 Main Board PCB w/ Designators (SMT Caps come pre-installed)
LGE603C I/O Board PCB Bill of Materials
LGE603C I/O Board Schematic / Wiring Diagram
LGE603C I/O Board PCB w/ Designators
LGE603 Printable Panel Art
Mechanical Parts BOM generally required for building Low-Gain Electronics Modules
** 4U Modular is a term used for the format most commonly known as “Serge Format” or “Loudest Warning Format”. Out of respect for the ever growing format, 4U Modular is the easiest way to refer to it. More Specifically it refers to the panel height and mounting hole style. 4U Modular will patch up just fine with other 4U "Serge" formats such as "Random Source", but it will not mount in RS boats or Buchla Boats (or power off Buchla power for that matter). An info page about this will be added to the website soon to make this a lot more easy to understand.
Details:
PCB Size: 3” x 2” X 2 sets
Current Draw: TBD