Bien Jolie Hybrid Effects Pedal + Experimental Synth

Glou-Glou Bien Jolie

The Bien Jolie from Glou-Glou is a Benjolin-inspired FX processor and chaotic semi-modular synthesizer that builds upon Rob Hordijk's beloved instrument. For fans of the original Benjolin, the first thing you may notice is the addition of a third VCO. This adds another level to the cross modulation between the oscillators, and turns it into a cascading feedback loop. Glou-Glou didn't stop there, adding the ability to MIDI sync the Bien Jolie, as well as fuzz circuit, an envelope follower, expression input, and two suboctave generators. Bien Jolie takes the spirit of the Benjolin and morphs it into something equally capable as a standalone instrument or pedal for external devices. The semi-modular interface at the top of the unit gives direct access to the CV inputs and outputs of the Benjolin-inspired circuit as well as the direct outputs of the fuzz and sub-octave FX section.

The Rungler is the circuit Rob Hordijk is best known for, and the heart of Benjolin and Blippoo Box inspired instruments like the Bien Jolie. The seemingly simple configuration of two oscillators and a shift register captivates users with its elegance and emergent complexity. One oscillator provides timing information to the shift register, and the other is the data source. On every clock pulse, the shift register checks if the data input is high or low and stores its current state into the first of eight stages. At the same time, it shifts the previously held data linearly to the next stage. The last three stages of the shift register perform two separate but important tasks. The Rungler recycles the last stage of the shift register back into the data input, XORing it with the external input. The 16 possible values of the stepped Rungler CV output come from the state of the last three stages. This CV output modulates both the clock and data oscillators, and the oscillators modulate the frequency of each other. This creates a constantly evolving and shifting chaotic pattern that is not truly random but nearly impossible to predict. It sometimes settles into repeating patterns, but any small adjustment of either oscillator controls may cause it to spiral back into chaos. The Fixed Rungler switch locks the Rungler. This mode ignores input data with the knob turned all the way up or down, great for finding and capturing loops on the fly.

Bien Jolie operates in one of six modes, selectable by the Mode switch. Banjo and Supertri come from the internal VCOs. Banjo gives you the classic sound of a Benjolin we all know and love while Supertri sums the triangle output of the three oscillators. The four other modes rely on the external input, and the VCOs and Rungler act as modulation sources. The Audio Input mode passes the input signal through the filter as is. The resonant low pass filter colors the sound and features modulation from the Rungler and an oscillator. Bien Jolie also features three flavors of distortion. Fuzz saturates your signal adding warmth and character. The two sub-octave circuits create square wave copies of the input signal, one or two octaves lower in frequency. An envelope follower gives you both a positive and inverted negative voltage that follows the amplitude of the input signal. This extra modulation source makes it easy to patch up auto-filtering or compression.

While chaotic noise is fun, Bien Jolie also features a MIDI input that syncs three patchable square wave oscillators for a little more control over the chaos. The three MIDI square knobs select one of thirteen musical subdivisions from half notes to thirty-second notes with dotted and triplet variations for rhythmic complexity. Bien Jolie from Glou-Glou is a reimagining of the Benjolin, not just copying but extending the concepts and mutating them to access new sonic realms.

Bien Jolie Features

• Benjolin-inspired semi-modular synthesizer and FX processor
• Six modes of operation, two internal oscillator modes and four external oscillator modes
• Three VCOs arranged in a self-modulating feedback ring
• Iconic Rungler circuit provides chaotic unpredictable modulation
• Three MIDI clock synced square wave generators with alternative random mode
• Resonant filter with internal modulation normalization
• Fuzz and two sub-octave distortion modes
• Semi-modular patching interface gives access to everything from Rungler clock input to sub-octave audio outputs
• Envelope follower with positive and negative outputs
• Additional VCA
• Expression pedal input
• Adjustable input gain and output level