The Real World Interface is a 3 channel external processing module intended for connecting with sound sources outside the system.

The channels are oriented as vertical channel strips. The left and right channels have a built-in condenser microphone, preamp, envelope follower with variable decay and gate extractor. In addition to a preamp, envelope follower and gate extractor, the center channel also has an Automatic Gain Control (fixed high ratio compressor), fundamental extractor (tracking lowpass filter), frequency detector and locked oscillator. Internal microphones are useful for introducing electro acoustic room sound into the modular.

Envelope followers can be used to have external signal levels effect parameters such as filter cutoff or level for building dynamics processors. Gate extraction allows external sounds such as metronomes, clicks, claps or room sounds to advance sequencers, trigger sounds or initiate other events. The Frequency Detector can extract the pitch of simple monophonic sounds but is also a semi chaotic CV source in the tradition of such modules since their introduction in the 1960’s. The Locked Oscillator plays a sine wave at the same pitch as the input signal.