Malstrom Wyvern - Review
The sound-shaping module you need!
I can’t stress enough how much I love saturators. I use some kind of saturation on almost every single part of a track - sometimes mildly to thicken a sound’s body, and sometimes more aggressively to overdrive and distort a sound to add grit and texture. There are a ton of ways to do this. You can use pedals, rack saturation units, and, of course, countless plugins. When it comes to plugins, my favorite one is Decapitator by Soundtoys and when it comes to pedals, I like using the Benson Germanium Preamp (full review coming soon) to re-amp sounds.
But how about Eurorack? Well, this is where Wyvern from Malstrom comes into play! Wyvern is a 12HP, Stereo Saturator module with incredible versatility, lots of features, and different types of saturation you can choose from. This is not a simple two-three knob saturation device but a very deep and fully-fledged module that can do a lot! So, let’s go through its features and capabilities to find out if this is the module you’re looking for (it was for me).
Module Overview
First of all, I’ve got to praise the design and build quality of Wyvern. The black panel & white knobs theme looks beautiful and everything feels sturdy and solid while the knobs feel great and satisfying to play with. I’m pretty sure these are similar to the ones my friends at Ritual Electronics use and are my all-time favorite knobs (Yes, I do have a favorite knobs list lol)!
On the bottom of Wyvern, there are two inputs (Left & Right) and two outputs (Left & Right). If you use a mono signal and patch it in the Left input it will also be normalized to the Right one converting a mono signal into stereo. There are a few gain stages on Wyvern so it’s important to first understand the signal path once you patch something in. The signal flows from top to bottom so it first hits the Filter/ EQ section, then the Saturation section in the middle, and lastly, the Post-saturation section in the bottom.
Filter & EQ Stage
On top of the module is the filter section. Here, you’ll find the big Frequency knob that determines which frequencies will be increased in gain. For the Frequency, you have a V/oct input to play Wyvern Chromatically and an FM input alongside an attenuverter for the FM. The Gain is controlled by the Gain knob that’s next to the Frequency knob.
The Shape of the EQ can be set by the switch below the Frequency Knob. On the high position, you get a High-Shelf, in the middle position you get a Bell-type EQ, and in the bottom position, you get a Low-Shelf. Finally, there is a Resonance control that has a CV input for modulating it and it can make the Filter self-oscilate.
Here is the first cool thing you can do with Wyvern! Since the Gain knob can go all the way down to 0, you can essentially create a typical filter with those two knobs. If you set the Gain to 0, the high-shelf position will create a Lowpass Filter that you can control with the Frequency knob. In the middle position, you have a notch filter, and in the low-shelf position a highpass filter. So, without even touching the saturation part of the module, you can use Wyvern as a standard filter module and because there is also a Dry/Wet knob in the bottom, you can also do some parallel filtering by having both filtered and unfiltered signal coming through.
Saturation Stage
The first thing to do in this section is to set your boost using the Boost Switch by flicking it to the top for more boost. Keep in mind that the LED light next to it will light up when you’re clipping. The Drive knob controls the saturation amount of Wyvern and there are three types to choose from. From bottom to top, you have Soft Clipping, Hard Clipping, and All-pass Distortion.
To compansate for the increase in volume, there is a Level knob that allows you to adjust the overall level. Both Drive and Level also have a CV input if you want to modulate their position.
Post-Saturation
Last step of your signal is the post-saturation stage where there is a Highpass and a Lowpass filter and your Dry/Wet control. The two filters are pretty much self-explanatory and have a single frequency knob and two corresponding CV inputs. The two filters come very handy after the saturation because they allow to shape your final sound and remove some frequencies and the Dry/Wet control allows you to have your dry and wet signals mixed together which thickens your initial sound a ton!
Overall Experience
I honestly didn’t realize how deep this module was before having it in my hands. It’s so much more than your regular two-three knob saturators with a tone control. Wyvern is an amazing sound-shaping tool that allows you to get very precise and surgical with your adjustments. While at the same time, it can overdrive and distort your sound beautifully. Also, not being a full spectrum saturation module, it won’t get too distorted and messy even at more extreme settings. The clipping happening with Wyvern is very pleasant and usable with every sound I tested it. It adds color, boosts frequencies, and makes everything sound a bit better each time.
Furthermore, Wyvern is very versatile when you’re working with your modular synth because it can also become a filter module. If you run out of filters you can use Wyvern with no saturation and you’re good to go. And if you think about it, it has three filters onboard so you can do any sort of combinations with those three filters. A great way to take advantage of this would be to modulate all three of them with different modulation options and let it jump around.
I used it in numerous ways with my system but the most common use was as an end-of-chain saturation module. More of an effect if that makes sense. I made a patch and right before going into some delay and reverb, I used Wyvern to glue things together and add a bit of crunch to my sound. It’s the perfect module for this type of scenario because it’s stereo, will handle everything without overloading and clipping, and simply makes things sound better!
One thing I missed on Wyvern was a CV input for its Dry/Wet control. I would love to be able to bring the saturation in and out using modulation. Almost every other knob on this module can be modulated with CV so it would be nice to have that option too. And when it comes to its design, I would prefer having some kind of labeling on the switches but that’s probably my problem for a couple of reasons. First, I have a terrible memory and secondly, I use and test so much gear every week that it’s getting very hard to remember what everything does.
Conclusion
Wyvern is a fantastic module! Besides being beautifully built, it is very well-thought and executed. Everything is dialed in so you can freely tweak it and somehow always get great results. If you’re like me and you’re always looking for gear that saturates your sound, Wyvern is an excellent choice. It’s not an overdrive or distortion but a very detailed way to color and character to your mixes or patches.
It’s relatively mild & subtle which means it’s not going to make everything fall apart like many similar things do. And the coolest thing about it is that while it has everything you’ll need available, it’s very easy to use. You can tweak freely and find a sweet spot after a while or get very detailed and dial in your sound precisely.
Wyvern can be a very nice stereo filter module, a stereo saturation module, or even a simple VCA for when you need it. Its plethora of controls and CV options makes it a super useful tool in your setup! Once you have it, you’ll end up running any sound from your studio through your modular system just to get that sweet analog warmth by Wyvern. Wyvern is a dragon after all so you know it can bring in some heat!!
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