acid jam from my small minicase modular build

Well, I have been talking about my return to modular synthesis, and building a modular from scratch, as a way to chronicle the journey of small beginnings, and hopefully potential grand future. I did this partially as a way to encourage others like myself, who felt like an initial purchase of a preconfigured modular system from Doepfer where a “Mini System” costs $1649 and a “Basic System with MIDI” costs $2599 of being too big a first step in an arena that often seems a little foreboding and uncertain. Since my last post on this topic, I have already outgrown the diminuitive minicase with the addition of a TipTop Z3000 VCO, & a Doepfer A-140 ADSR Envelope Generator. Now that I am regularly reading the Eurorack support forum on Muffwiggler, I am glad I am going slow, stepwise and deliberate in my purchases. The reason being, there are so many product offerings from so many different manufacturers, that to go with a preconfigured system from any single manufacturer would create too much homogeneity, and postpone my discovery of alternate offerings from other vendors that in many cases surpass those same functional units from Doepfer. Don’t get me wrong, Doepfer was my original motivation to go this direction, and they are still the most complete line of modules out there. This makes it easy initially to ignore a module maker that only makes a handful of modules, but what I am already discovering is that when a synth manufacturer only makes a few modules, they are often quite powerful or specialized to a certain subinterest in the modular world. If you are going with Eurorack modulars because you want to make Buchla type sounds, then there are modules catered to feeding that specific craving like the Make Noise QMMG and its 8 “vactrols”. I find that reading up before I buy, allows me the chance to minimize or eliminate buyer’s remorse by reading other people’s experiences and making the best choice for my needs the first time around, rather than replacing one module with another one, and having to sell the old one off used for a loss. I already wish I had forgone the A-120 VCF and had made the TipTop Z2040 my first VCF since it also contains a VCA, and as a dual function module, would have been a more efficient choice in such a tiny case. I have tweeted a lot of things to the effect that a tiny minicase system was more satisfying a small beginning than many would think, but of course when you say something like that, people want to HEAR the results, which up to this point have been zero, as far as public posts on the internet are concerned. That is precisely why I did this:

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new namm 2010 gear from doepfer roundup

Well its January 2010 so you know what that means? Its NAMM time again, so the flood of new product offerings and announcements is underway. Looks like Doepfer has several new products, some of which look quite promising. Remember of course, that none of these are shipping, and the designs of some of these modules are still in flux, and could end up being very different, if and when they do get released.

Voltage Controlled DIY Effects A-187-1

Doepfer A-187-1 Voltage Controlled DSP Module

Some analog only purists may take issue with a digital effects module, but if you wanted something beyond a spring reverb in your rig, this may be the ticket. This module almost seems like Doepfer’s answer to the TipTop Z-DSP module. I figure most people with a modular are going to end up recording it somewhere eventually, and most likely will end up adding DAW or hardware based external effects to the sounds anyway, so the advantage this gives you is the ability to route your control voltages to it to control one of the selected effect’s parameters. It will have 16 selectable effects with 4 parameters each that can be controlled via knob or control voltages from a modulation source. Imagine a sample & hold modulation source sending random voltages to the reverb time parameter clocked to an analog sequencer with a repeating theme, creating a result that would be much more difficult to automate via a software DAW than by using a tool like this. The fact that 4 parameters could be controlled simultaneously from 4 different modulation sources probably has some of you creating patches in your head already. Other effects include, but are not limited to: reverb, delay, flange, distortion & pitch shift. A complete list of effects and control parameters per effect can be found here.

Quad VCLFO/VCO A-143-4

Doepfer A-143-4 Quad VCLFO/VCO

Doepfer seems to like these economical quad “whatever” modules, and there are definitely advantages to this approach. You can get more functionality in a smaller footprint, and add more routing permutations quickly to your rig. It has 4 sections that can be either VCOs or LFOs. On the page on Doepfer’s site there are two potential versions: either with the low/high toggle switches and LEDs or without. Hopefully they’ll go with the former design since the switch would make it easier and more clear when you go between LFO and VCO functionality. There are two CV inputs for each voice and each voice can be either a triangle or square wave pulse. This unfortunately is a little limiting, since most VCOs are going to offer saw and sine waves in addition to these, but if you find yourself using primarily these two waveforms, it may still work out for you. Each voice has its own dedicated output, but you also have a Sum section to give you an option to use this module as a mixer if you lack an external 4-channel mixer module or want to control all 4 voices the same way. By controlling them each separately, you could build some interesting morphing drone sounds.

Quad VCA A-132-4

Doepfer A-132-4 Quad Exponential VCA

The Quad VCA is a similar concept to the A-143-4. The Doepfer page also says this module will have jumpers on the back for changing which VCAs are sent to the bottom sum output section. It also seems like this was designed to go with the quad VCLFO/VCO module to create a complete 4-voice setup for potential polyphonic uses or big stacked sounds.

16×8 Miniature Trigger Sequencer A-157-1

Doepfer A-157 Trigger Sequencer Prototype

New sequencer modules are always welcome, and this one is a trigger-only sequencer, so the obvious application would be drum pattern sequencing… so pairing with some analog percussion modules like those made by Analogue Solutions could give you TR-808 or TR-909 step programming capability. Obviously you could do more than just that. The prototype pictured is an 8×8, meaning 8 parts of 8 steps each. However, the final version is supposed to be an 8×16, for 8 parts, with 16 steps each, giving you a full 4/4 bar of music if you are working in 16th notes. Lots of moving flashing LEDs may also impress your friends who have no idea what you are doing with your cryptic looking patchable beast. The clock section has: clock, start, stop and reset inputs for triggering from external modules for more aleatory experimentation. Date of delivery is tentatively set for Summer 2010 with price TBA.

New Version of the Touch Sensor Keyboard A-100TKB

Doepfer A-100TKB Touch Sensor Keyboard

Not having any experience with touch plate control surfaces personally, there is not much I can say about this. Though called a “keyboard”, it has a “non-keyboard layout” and this unit is one of many already scrapped prototypes, not a finalized design and has no documentation as to what control voltages it will output besides pitch. So we’ll have to wait and see what details emerge as it develops.

Dark Time Sequencer

Doepfer Dark Time Sequencer

The Dark Time sequencer is a fully featured 16 step analog sequencer with MIDI & USB designed as a companion unit to the already well received Doepfer Dark Energy synth and its Eurorack format module equivalent, the A-111-5 which is now shipping, though not considered an official NAMM release since it was announced much earlier. Hopefully Doepfer will follow suit with this unit and offer a Eurorack equivalent at a later date since the current standard sequencer from them, the A-155 is only an 8-step unit. “Different modes are available: 16 steps, 2 x 8 steps and different repetition modes”, “It is equipped with an internal clock oscillator but can be synced to Midi clock as well” and “Features like transpose, direction (forward/backward/random), quantize on/off and  ranges switches are planned.” Obviously you can use it with gear other than a Dark Energy or Eurorack modular as long as the Volt/Octave of the analog gear being used is compatible.

and now for something completely different…

The Doepfer DIY Synth Board

Doepfer DIY Synthesizer Kit

Maybe I should have used the Steve Jobs tagline “one more thing…” implying the “surprise” bombshell announcement instead of the Monty Python quote… but either way, this indeed did take a lot of synthesists by surprise and it is a pleasant one. To be fair, Doepfer has had many individual DIY parts available for a long time, but never as far as I know, a complete DIY synthesizer. The picture they are releasing is a little misleading on the surface, in that it may imply to some that “DIY Synthesizer Kit” is an all inclusive one, and your synth will end up looking exactly like the picture, but this is not the case. What it actually is, is a PC Board that hosts the electronics for a VCO, VCF, VCA, LFO, Slew Limiter and Inverter, so you get all the synthesizer components needed for a fully functional unit. What it does NOT include are controls, switches, sockets and case. They are presuming that experienced electronics DIYers will know what they want to do, and have the skills and electronic parts sources to finish it themselves, in the way they see fit. The advantage here is that you are free to choose your favorite knobs, (Moog knobs from Mouser anyone?) or your favorite patch panel plug type, be it 3.5mm, 1/4″ or banana plugs.  You can also package it up in any kind of enclosure you envision, depending on your goals of how you wish to use it. In any instance, this should eventually produce some interesting variants from the user community, so there should be lots to look forward to here.

So if you have or plan to buy any Doepfer or Eurorack gear, do any of these new announcements play into your future purchase plans and why?

Related articles by Zemanta

• Doepfer Intros DIY Synth Kit At 2010 Winter NAMM Show (synthtopia.com)
• Calibrate your expectations (stretta.blogspot.com)
• The Doepfer A-100TKB Touch Sensor Keyboard (synthtopia.com)
• NAMM 2010 – Doepfer Intros A-187-1 Voltage Controlled DSP Effects Module (synthtopia.com)
• Doepfer Dark Time Step Sequencer Sneak Preview (synthtopia.com)
• Modern touch plate controllers (stretta.blogspot.com)
• NAMM 2010 – The Doepfer A-157 8×16 Step Trigger Sequencer (synthtopia.com)
• NAMM 2010 – Doepfer Intros 1-143-4 Quad Voltage Controlled LFO/VCO (synthtopia.com)
• Doepfer Intros A-111-5 Mini Synthesizer Voice, Dark Energy For Your Modular Synthesizer (synthtopia.com)

the journey begins: starting a modular synthesizer from scratch

A-119 Ext In, A-120 VCF, A-132 Dual VCA, & A-146 LFO in Doepfer Minicase

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full circle: my return to modular synthesis

Of late, I have been bitten by the modular synthesis bug. For those of you who don’t know what that exactly means, let me quickly explain. Most synthesizers whether analog, digital, or virtual are comprised of sound generation components called Oscillators (aka a VCO), Filters (VCF), & Amplifiers (VCA), and modulation sources like Envelope Generators (EG), & Low Frequency Oscillators (LFO). In addition to this there are Noise Generators, Sample & Hold Circuits (S&H), wave shapers and many other possible accessories too numerous to mention. The “VC” in many of those designations stands for “voltage controlled” which actually only applies to analog synthesis, so in a digital, it might be called a DCO, and in virtual synthesis since it is really just software modeling going on, they may choose VCO or DCO as the metaphor for what the oscillator is doing since it is literally neither. What gives any given synth its distinctively characteristic sound, is how many of these items, of what type, in what configuration you have.

Doepfer A-100 Modular System

throw your own renegade party with a rhino cube

Imagine for a minute that you had a portable DJ setup, a complete PA sound system with banging subwoofers, and a complete night club style lighting rig, but rather than having to tote a truck load of flight cases, racks, trusses, stands, gig bags and crates full of cables to be hooked up, it was all self contained in a tiny popup cube that was on a small trailer, could be driven and dropped off anywhere, the top popped up, and full lighting, sound and dj booth were prewired and immediately ready to go.  Well that is the vision that created the Rhino Cube.

redvoid throwing down in the Rhino Cube

minimalism

The term minimalism is commonly misunderstood, and often maligned. In its truest sense, minimalism was an art movement, a form of architecture, and then finally a form of music, specifically Classical or art music. Recently this label has also been applied to electronica as well, and many questions seem to arise from the use of this term, which probably needs some clarification.

The best way to think of minimalism in the broadest sense, is as a series of concepts or ideas. Ideas drive many things, and in creative endeavors, ideas become design principles, guides or even sometimes arbitrary rule sets used to steer the process. The Mies Van Der Rohe quote “less is more” gets thrown around, and did stem from the Bauhaus architecture and design movement so it is legitimately part of the true definition of minimalism, but it is possibly not clear enough to those who do not intuitively understand it at face value. Another way to say this is “doing the more with less”, as in create the most function from the least amount of form. I like to use the term “Occam’s Razor” which fundamentally means “economy of means” or what we could all just call plain simple.

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