Title: Doepfer modular synthesis Post by: Marc JX8P on April 20, 2012, 01:37:34 PM I've always found modular synthesizers endlessley fascinating and since a year or so I have a Doepfer A100 system which has gradually grown with additional modules to expand my options. Anyway - here's the current state:
On top: Doepfer Dark Energy, a stand alone semi-modular synth. Basically VCO, VCF and VCA in a compact package with two LFO's and an EG. Even without repatching it's very versatile but having patch points makes it double the fun! It also has a MIDI in and CV outs for gate and frequency so it makes it a great interface as well to get MIDI information to my A100. The A100 currently has these modules: On top: - Slew limiters (think slide effect when applied to note frequencies) - VCO (simultaneous output of saw, square/pulse, triangle and sine) - Frequency divider (half a frequency to get more bass to the original sound) - Noise (also has a random voltage output) - Mixer - Oberheim XP style filter (multiple modes) - Moog style ladder filter (multiple modes) - Dual ring mod (think Dalek voice!) Bottom - Clock division/Clock sequencer modules: you can use these to generate simple on/off sequences - Quad ADSR: really fun module; not only is it four seperate EG's, but the seperate stages of an envelope can be used to trigger other stuff or even itself - basically you can turn an env into a very flexible LFO! - Multiples: so you can patch one cable into multiple destinations. - Dual sample and hold: turn something like the random signal from the noise generator into a stepped random signal that can be used to create random note sequences or random stepped filter sequences. - VCA - Small-jack to big jack multiples: I use these since most audio cables use big jack connectors and I got tired of using adaptor connectors. Title: Re: Doepfer modular synthesis Post by: Oren on April 20, 2012, 04:32:02 PM Oh, that is so deliciously technical! O0
Title: Re: Doepfer modular synthesis Post by: Marc JX8P on April 20, 2012, 05:31:00 PM And it's actually more intuitive than you'd think - in a way, I think this is how guitarists approach getting the right tone and fx - by putting fx pedals in between the sound source and choosing which amplifyer and such. You start with a blank slate and you start patching in extra modules and other stuff and suddenly you find you're veering into a whole other cool direction! :)
Title: Re: Doepfer modular synthesis Post by: SLD Music on April 20, 2012, 07:00:05 PM That just looks... endlessly fun...
And an enormous potential time waster. I fear if I had one, I wouldn't actually get a whole lot of actual music made. :) I'd be constantly "What if I did this"--ing through hours and hours of patching and experiementation. :) |