Electro-Faustus designed the EF109 as a modern take on the hurdy-gurdy, replacing the hand crank with six free-running oscillators that create rich, evolving drone textures without any sequencing or preset memory needed.
The heart of the EF109 is its analog oscillator architecture: six voltage-controlled oscillators running independently, each with its own pitch control knob and on/off switch. The leftmost oscillator operates at a much lower frequency range, functioning as an LFO that can modulate the other five oscillators to create rhythmic interactions and subtle movement within your drones. A low-pass filter with a Tone control lets you shape the harmonic content from warm, bass-heavy textures when fully counter-clockwise to bright, harmonically rich tones when turned clockwise. The Power Starve function throttles the voltage to the oscillator chips, introducing harmonic compression and subtle distortion that ranges from barely-there coloration to aggressive white noise textures depending on how far you push it. The unit runs on standard 9V pedal power and fits a compact desktop footprint with all controls accessible from the top panel.
The EF109 has found a dedicated following among experimental musicians, ambient producers, and sound designers who appreciate its straightforward approach to drone creation. Its simplicity is its strength—there's no menu diving or complex parameter editing, just immediate sonic exploration through hands-on control. Some users note that the oscillators can be finicky to tune precisely by ear, though this unpredictability is often embraced as part of the instrument's character rather than a limitation.
