Overview
The Disting EX is a Eurorack module from Expert Sleepers that runs one large algorithm or two smaller ones side by side, with a MicroSD card for samples, presets and wavetables. Its biggest wavetable instrument is Poly Wavetable, added in firmware 1.6: an eight-voice polyphonic synth with two envelopes, a filter and an LFO per voice, plus delay and chorus, chord generation and an arpeggiator. It plays from CV and gate or MIDI, and can send each voice to its own output. Later firmware added MPE, with per-note pitch bend and the option of letting pressure or CC 74 replace either envelope, plus MIDI Tuning Standard support and tap tempo for the delay.
The dual-mode algorithms inherited from the disting mk4 also use tables: Wavetable VCO, Clockable Wavetable LFO, Wavetable Waveshaper, Clockable Wavetable Envelope and Pulsar VCO, along with the Dream Machine. In Poly Wavetable the position comes from Wave offset and a wave input, and can be pushed around by velocity, pitch, the envelopes and the LFO. The display shows the current wave of the loudest voice.
Wavetables on the Disting EX
Tables live in a top-level folder called wavetables, either as a single WAV with all the waves end to end or as a folder of one-wave WAVs. From firmware 1.6.1, a single-file table whose length is a multiple of 2048 is read as 2048 samples per wave, and 32-bit float files load, which together means Serum tables work as they are. Any other length is read as 600 samples per wave unless a playlist-wavetable.txt file lists it with a -wavelength setting.
The manual still reproduces the disting mk4’s rule that waves must be 16-bit mono, but the firmware notes say later versions load stereo and 24-bit files by ignoring the right channel and the low 8 bits. Mono at 16-bit or 32-bit float is the safe choice. The card must be FAT32.
Memory is the limit people hit first. For the dual-mode wavetable algorithms the manual gives a ceiling of 1000 files in a wavetable folder and 2 million wave samples in total. A full 256-frame table at 2048 samples is 524,288 samples, so three of them nearly fill it. A 64-frame table is a quarter of that size.
WaveStack’s Disting EX target writes a mono, 32-bit float WAV with 2048-sample frames into wavetables, resampling any other frame size to 2048 so the module’s default rule applies and no playlist is needed. Frame count is left alone, so if you’re working toward that two-million budget, trim the table in WaveStack before you export. With the card linked, the folder view marks older files that would load at the wrong size, and Convert all rewrites them.
Specifications
| File type | WAV, one file per table or a folder of single-cycle WAVs |
|---|---|
| Samples per frame | 2048 when the length is a multiple of 2048 (firmware 1.6.1+), otherwise 600 or a playlist -wavelength |
| Frame size detection | File length, or playlist-wavetable.txt |
| Bit depth | 16-bit, or 32-bit float from 1.6.1; 24-bit loads with the low 8 bits ignored |
| Card folder | wavetables |
| Limits | 1000 files in a wavetable folder, 2,000,000 wave samples in total (dual-mode wavetable algorithms) |
| Card format | FAT32 MicroSD |
From WaveStack to the Disting EX
- Check the module runs firmware 1.6.1 or later, which is when 2048-sample frames became the default and 32-bit float files started loading.
- Take the MicroSD card out of the Disting EX and put it in your computer.
- In WaveStack, open Export (⌘E), choose Disting EX, and under Save to click Link a folder and pick the card.
- Click Save to Disting EX. The table lands in the card’s
wavetablesfolder. - Put the card back, load Poly Wavetable (or a dual-mode wavetable algorithm), select your table with the Wavetable parameter and press to confirm.
Frequently asked questions
Does the Disting EX read Serum wavetables?
Yes, from firmware 1.6.1. That update added 32-bit float WAV support and made the module read any single-file table whose length is a multiple of 2048 as 2048 samples per wave. Expert Sleepers’ release notes say these two changes together mean Serum tables are natively supported. On older firmware, single-file tables are read at 600 samples per wave unless a playlist says otherwise, so update first if Serum tables sound scrambled.
How many wavetables fit on the Disting EX?
The manual gives the dual-mode wavetable algorithms a limit of 1000 files in a wavetable folder and 2,000,000 wave samples in total, up from 100 files and 29,000 samples on the disting mk4. A 256-frame table with 2048-sample frames uses 524,288 samples, so three of those take most of the budget. A 64-frame table uses 131,072, so around fifteen fit. Fewer frames is the easy way to keep more tables loaded.
Why does my wavetable sound wrong on the Disting EX?
Check the frame size. The EX reads a single-file table as 2048 samples per wave only when its length divides evenly by 2048; everything else is read as 600 unless a playlist-wavetable.txt sets -wavelength. A 256-sample WaveEdit bank or a 1024-sample table is cut in the wrong places. Firmware older than 1.6.1 reads even Serum tables at 600. Exporting with WaveStack’s Disting EX target resamples to 2048, which avoids the playlist entirely.
What is playlist-wavetable.txt for?
It’s an optional file in the wavetables folder that sets the order of tables and, for single-file tables, how many samples make up one wave through the -wavelength setting (default 600). Without a playlist, the module simply uses every WAV and subfolder it finds. You only need one to reorder tables or to load a table whose frame size isn’t 2048 or 600. Tables exported from WaveStack are 2048 and don’t need an entry.