Common Questions

Orders will begin shipping in November 2025, starting with Kickstarter backers and fulfilled in the order they were received.

EMF is an acronym used to describe two things: electromagnetic fields and electromagnetic frequencies.

Electromagnetic fields (EMFs) are created by a current of electricity. Electric and magnetic fields oscillate perpendicular to one another. Changes in an electric field will cause changes in a magnetic field, and vice versa.

Electromagnetic frequencies are the rate at which electromagnetic fields oscillate. Electromagnetic frequencies are emitted in the radio wave spectrum by many of the devices around us: phones, computers, WiFi routers, and more.

The Demon Box, while it doesn’t emit EMF, is designed to interact with any object or source that emits electromagnetic frequencies.

Inductors store electrical current via their own electromagnetic fields. Electromagnetic fields can be disrupted by other electromagnetic fields. For example, holding a magnet next to a current producing an electromagnetic field will cause disruptions in both fields and cause new movement in the current. The energy created by these disruptions are electromagnetic frequencies; the process of capturing this energy is called induction. The Demon Box has an inductor array on its surface that picks up electromagnetic frequencies, or changes in the electromagnetic field. When an inductor reacts with another source of electromagnetism, it sends signals of different voltages corresponding to these disturbances. In the Demon Box, these signals are then processed and translated into a variety of signal output: audio, control voltage, and MIDI data.

CV, or control voltage, sometimes referred to as voltage control, is simply a current of electricity. In the world of synthesizers, modular systems use voltage to generate and shape sound. Changes in that voltage cause changes to one or more parameters, such as pitch, octave, amplitude, filter cutoff, or modulation depth. It was the first communication method for analog synthesizers, before the introduction of MIDI.

A modular synth describes a synth put together by the user, using different pieces of equipment manufactured separately from each other, often by different producers. It’s a way of creating a custom synth to your exact specifications, without relying on equipment from only one manufacturer. Some companies only make modular synth racks rather than creating entire synthesizers. Modular synths bring a DIY approach to electronic music making, requiring a certain level of technical expertise and encouraging users to experiment.

The Demon Box uses control voltage at +/- 5V, so if you’re trying to connect to a unit that uses something different, you’ll need an attenuator/attenuverter. This module changes the incoming voltage into a range that a receiving system can use, and vice versa. The Eurorack modules we’ve used at Eternal Research events operate in the range of +/- 5V. Others operate at +/- 10V, +0 to 10V, and other ranges. Many analog video synthesizers operate at +/- 1V. It’s advisable not to route one unit into another with a lower voltage, e.g. a 10V unit routed into a 5V unit–the receiving unit won’t be able to use a signal it’s not designed for, and it could potentially damage your hardware.

Different manufacturers use different standards of voltage between their products. For performance and overall longevity, it’s good to make sure you are sending the appropriate voltage recommended that that particular module is designed for.

The Demon Box outputs MIDI via the 5-pin DIN port and via the USB-C port, in two forms - continuous controller (CC) messages, and MIDI note data.

CC messages are the building blocks of MIDI data. Effects like pitch bend, brightness, and vibrato are all parameters controlled by the 128 MIDI CC values between 0-127. The Demon Box outputs MIDI CC on channels 4-6, each one having 3 CC streams (1-3) which range from chaotic to streamlined. At Eternal Research demonstrations, we showcase a custom Max/Jitter patch created by our software programmer Jordan Bortner that uses CC messages to control the distortion of live visuals.

The Demon Box generates note data on MIDI channels 1-3. Channel 1 outputs 57 notes per second, Channel 2 outputs 33 n/s, and Channel 3 outputs 13 n/s. For the Demon Box, the pitch of the note is contingent on signal amplitude - the greater the incoming EMF, or audio signal from the aux inputs, the higher the pitch becomes.

The Demon Box doesn’t have an internal clock like other MIDI instruments, and its notes aren’t set in any particular scale. It mostly outputs MIDI, and only receives MIDI during the process of sensitivity configuration discussed in our user manual. You can send note information from the Demon Box to another device, but you can’t sync those notes to a particular scale or clock.

However, we find that releasing MIDI data from the constraints of a clock function or scale creates freedoms rather than restrictions. Although it may take some exploration, we encourage users to find new ways of interacting with MIDI in ways that are textural, gestural, and experimental. And in the spirit of eternally researching, we are constantly looking for ways to add increased functionality for the Demon Box, so always check our Firmware page for the latest updates.