Hampshire Electronics Vulcan: A New Standard for Eurorack Polyphony?
If you have been waiting for a truly comprehensive polyphonic solution for your modular system, the new Vulcan from Hampshire Electronics might just be the module to end your search.
Billed as the company’s flagship product, the Vulcan is a 100% analog, 8-voice polyphonic synthesizer designed to fit directly into your Eurorack case. While digital polyphony has become easier to find in the modular world, fully discrete analog voice architecture remains a rarity—especially at this price point and size (56HP).
Hand-built in the UK, the Vulcan bridges the gap between the immediacy of a standalone polysynth and the flexibility of modular synthesis. Whether you need lush pads, complex chords, or fat stacked unison leads, this module appears to be a powerhouse.
Key Features
The Vulcan is designed with a “no-compromise” approach to analog tone and digital control. Here is what makes it stand out:
- Switchable Voice Modes:
- 8-Voice Polyphony: Offers 1 oscillator, 1 sub-oscillator, and 1 filter per voice for massive chords.
- 4-Voice “Fat” Mode: Stacks the engine to provide 2 oscillators, 2 sub-oscillators, and 2 filters per voice for a much denser sound.
- Dual Oscillator Section: Each oscillator features independent tuning, pulse width control, and waveform selection (Triangle, Saw, Square, and a Tri/Saw blend).
- Flexible Analog Filtering: Every voice has its own dedicated filter and resonance control. In 4-voice mode, you can even twin the filters for unique textures.
- Deep Modulation: The architecture includes 3 LFOs with 12 assignable destinations, plus dedicated VCA and VCF envelopes.
- Hybrid Connectivity: It integrates seamlessly with a standard DAW or keyboard via TRS-A and TRS-B MIDI, but also retains modular roots with CV/Gate inputs for every single voice.
- Preset Management: A digital brain manages the analog heart, allowing you to save and recall up to 99 presets.
Old vs New
Based on the images provided, there has been a radical redesign of the Vulcan between the original 2022 prototype/release and the finalized 2025 production model.
While the core voice architecture (8 analog voices) appears to remain the same, the 2025 version transforms the unit from a “synthesizer in a box” into a fully integrated modular component.
Here is a comparison of the key differences.
1. The “Game Changer”: Connectivity & Patching
The most striking difference is the right-hand side of the module.
- 2022 Version (Closed Architecture): The original faceplate shows almost no patch points. It features a single MIDI Input and a single Audio Output jack. This design suggests it was intended to function like a traditional standalone polysynth that just happened to fit in a Eurorack case—controlled almost exclusively via MIDI with no way to interact with other modular gear on a per-voice basis.
- 2025 Version (True Modular Integration): The new version features a massive 48-point patch bay on the right side. This provides individual access for every single voice (1 through 8).
- Inputs: Individual
1V/O(Pitch CV),GATE,FM,VCA, andVCFmodulation inputs for each voice. - Outputs: Individual Audio
OUTfor each voice. - Implication: You can now use the Vulcan as 8 separate mono-synths, break out specific voices for external processing, or modulate every voice differently.
- Inputs: Individual
2. Panel Layout & Controls
To accommodate the massive new patch bay, the control layout has been significantly condensed and refined.
- Oscillators: * 2022: Labeled “OSC A” and “OSC B”.
- 2025: Renamed to “OCT ONE” and “OCT TWO”. The layout is tighter, moving the knobs closer together to save horizontal space (HP).
- Envelopes:
- 2022: The “Filter ADSR” section was simplified, sharing a knob for “Attack/Dec”.
- 2025: The envelope section (“VCA ENV” and “VCF ENV”) appears to have discrete knobs for all stages, including a dedicated Level knob for the Filter envelope which was not as clearly defined on the previous panel.
- Knobs & Aesthetics:
- 2022: utilized uniform black knobs and a “handmade” aesthetic with large borders and the full “Hampshire Electronic Instruments” text at the bottom.
- 2025: introduces Red accent knobs for key functions (Cutoff frequencies, LFO Speed/Depth) to improve playability. The branding is shortened to “HAMEL” (vertical text) and “VULCAN”, giving it a much more professional, industrial look.
3. Feature Additions
- Master Output: The 2025 version adds a yellow Master Out volume knob at the top right, which was absent on the 2022 version (which only had a simple jack).
- LFO Destinations: The destination matrix has been relabeled for clarity (e.g., changing “A LP freq” to “1. VCF”).
Summary Comparison Table
| Feature | 2022 Version (Original) | 2025 Version (New) |
| Philosophy | Standalone Synth in Eurorack Format | Fully Semi-Modular Polysynth |
| Patch Points | ~2 (MIDI In, Audio Out) | 50+ (Full per-voice I/O) |
| CV/Gate Inputs | None (MIDI only) | 8x CV & 8x Gate (Per voice) |
| Voice Outputs | Mix Output Only | 8x Individual Outs + Mix Out |
| Filter Envelope | Shared Attack/Decay knob | Full ADSR + Level controls |
| Oscillator Labels | OSC A / OSC B | OCT ONE / OCT TWO |
| Visuals | All Black Knobs, Wide Spacing | Red/Black Knobs, Condensed Layout |
Conclusion: The 2022 version was effectively a preset-based polysynth module. The 2025 version fulfills the promise of “Eurorack” by allowing you to break the normalization and patch into the heart of the synth engine.
Pricing
Hampshire Electronics sells the Vulcan directly, and pricing is exceptionally competitive for an 8-voice analog instrument.
- UK (Official): £390.00 GBP
- Europe: ~€454.00 EUR (inc. tax)
- USA: ~$500.00 USD (Approx. conversion)
- Australia: ~$770.00 AUD (Approx. conversion)
Note: International prices may vary slightly due to daily exchange rates and import taxes. The official site supports multi-currency display.
Summary Table
| Specification | Details |
| Format | Eurorack Module |
| Width | 56 HP |
| Polyphony | 8 Voices (or 4-Voice Stacked Mode) |
| Signal Path | 100% Analog |
| Oscillators | Dual Oscillator Section (Saw, Square, Tri, Sub) |
| Presets | 99 Programmable Slots |
| Connectivity | MIDI In (TRS-A/B), 8x CV In, 8x Gate In |
| Construction | Hand-built in England |
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