Colored Doepfer Knobs

Yay... Doepfer decided to produce and sell knobs in multiple colors.
The modules are still delivered with grey knobs.
Because of logistic reasons it's not possible to deliver modules with different colored knobs, but the customer is able to order the knobs separately and replace the grey knobs by the new ones as the knobs are simply plugged on the potentiometer shafts.

The colored rotary Knobs, diameter 15 mm, height 15 mm, for 6 mm axis with 18 teeth, can be used also in other products like MAQ16/3, Dark Energy or Dark Time.

You can find the new knobs on the price list in the Doepfer website's spare parts section...

Bla-Bla Blue LEDs

And again, i have been too busy lately with replacing some red LEDs by blue ones. I believe this was my final batch, but you'll never know...

As i mentioned before on this blog i like those blue LEDs a lot, but some modules weren't available with blue LEDs at the time i bought them.
I'm not considering making my whole A-100 system with blue LEDs, that would be too much, but just a few blue lights make my machine just look sooo cool. (in the dark)

This kind of work also helps me to practice my soldering-skills.
I'm (still) not the best in it, but i am slowly improving... and i do these replacements in less time.

I do not pick my LED-replacements completely at random. Most of my new blue LEDs have a  'deeper' meaning; better see it as a kind of color-coding.
Some of these LEDs need special attention, others sometimes act (slightly) different than the red LEDs next to them, and if there is no direct reason to change a red LED into blue i'll always tend to find one...

Take a look at the new overload LED of my A-126 Voltage Controlled Frequency Shifter ( that is no longer available ) for example. This little LED just screamed for attention every time i used this module.
Earlier i replaced the overload LED of the A-119 External Input, so it seemed logic to replace this one too.

The other LED that i replaced was one of the A-147 Voltage Controlled LFO.
I'm not sure why exactly, but three blinking red lights in a row... Who needs that?
I replaced the middle one, the one that displays the output of the rectangle wave.
It is the only one that does not gradually fade out and in like the other two, it is either on or off, at a CV controlled variable speed...

...I told you I'd find a reason... ;-)

A-147 VCLFO with 1 blue LED

More on replacing LEDs HERE

Arranging Modules

Like most of you all know i recently installed my 4th metal G6 frame.
It was about time that i did that, because i already had a few modules that didn't fit the old rack and that were lying loose in a drawer.
After installing the new frame i came up with the idea of this blogpost.

Of course i had to re-arrange my modules again... The old layout just didn't make any sense anymore. Some modules were so weirdly placed that patching them always resulted in a whole spaghetti of cables.
I couldn't find many guidelines for arranging modules on the web, so I just started and made a few notes during the process.

A few of my personal guidelines that work the best for me are:
-    Before you start, disconnect all racks from the power supply! Safety first!
-    Work from top to bottom. I'd almost say work from top left to bottom right. That will keep the system and the flow of signals much more 'readable'
( I'm not sure if this works for Arabic countries, where they read from right to left though... )
-    Try to keep all your multiples on the left side and the Mixers on the right side. I love distributing signals from the sides up and/or down first before i patch a new sound. This avoids cable-cluttering and keeps the overall look 'clean'.
-    Group the modules, eg: Sound Sources / Filters / VCA's / Mixers / Modifiers / Modulation sources / Switches and Sequencers / Clock/Gate/Digital Modules / Voltage Sources / Auxiliary and Special Modules
-    Keep modules that you often use in combination close to each-other ( see my PatchPierre BFF section )
-    Read the manuals of the modules regarding power consumption of each module, and make sure your busboard can handle all the modules that are connected in that row. - note that some require an additional +5V power supply with 50mA e.g. the low-cost 5V adapter - don't forget where you placed it.

-    Check the manuals again for other module-specific requirements. ( some modules should not be placed next to certain others, to avoid interference )
For example don't place oscillators next to a power supply and keep the distance between the Theremin modules at least 30 centimeters etc.
-    Working with colored cables and/or switches does help improving the readability of your system. Too bad Doepfer only sells a few colors in fixed lengths. Longer black and yellow plus shorter red and blue cables would be appreciated. Purple and orange cables too ( personally )
-    Don't forget to fill up the open spaces with blind-panels for safety and EMC reasons. ( ... i knew there was something missing in that first picture )

Okay... everyone has his own preferences on how to arrange their system, this was just a personal (short-) list of the things that i could think of at the moment.
Please leave some feedback if you have any suggestions. I might include more tips later.

A Question of Cables

Doepfer sells  patch-cables for the A-100 system (3.5 mm plug mono jack) in many different colors and sizes.
The latest addition to the Doepfer assortiment are the orange 50 centimeter patchcables with angled plug on one side. 

The prices are fairly acceptable, and the more you buy ( at once ) the cheaper they get each...
Sizes vary from 15 (yellow), 30 (black) , 50 (grey), 80 (red) , 120 (blue) to 200 (green) centimetres, but i wish they also had other lengths. (...and colors)

Let me know in the comments if you know a place where they sell patch-cables in other colors or lenghts, it will be appreciated.
Purple ones would be nice... but not too long... ;-)

Best Friends Forever IV - XL Edition

This next quick patch is a small extension of my earlier Best Friends Forever posts.

Although i don't always use this patch, i do like the simplicity of it, getting me more out of my Slew Limiter.

As blogged earlier, I use the A-182-1 Switched Multiple mainly to switch between my keyboard ( via MIDI ) and my A-198 Ribbon Controller.
For this i split up this Multiple in two halves, the upper half controls the Gate, the lower half controls the pitch ( CV )

The black cables that go into the Switched multiple are for ( quantized ) Ribbon Control if channel 2 is selected, the yellow ones are for keyboard control, via channel 1

The only advantage in this patch is that i am now using both halfs of the A-170 Slew Limiter, the lower ( and more extended half ) for the Ribbon Controller, the upper half for the incoming output of the MIDI-CV Interface.

Best Friends Forever II

Two other modules i hardly ever unwire are the A-190 MIDI-CV/Sync Interface and the A-182-1 Switched Multiple.
I use this combination to quickly switch between my Keyboard and my A-198 Ribbon Controller to control various sounds.

Like i did with my A-180, i split up the A-182-1 into a 2 x 4 Multiplier.
The lower half handles the Gate signal while the upper half handles the CV/Pitch.

The yellow cables from the A-190 go directly into the Multiplier, and the black cables that go into the Multiplier come (almost) directly from the A-198 Trautonium/Ribbon Controller's outputs, one rack lower.
With the red switches i can now manually decide what instrument i would like to use for the sound i am working on...

If i switch it to 1 it uses my MIDI keyboard, if switched to 2 i can use my Ribbon Controller.

Happy Knobbing II - Colored Switches

I finally found what i was looking for for a long time.

A year ago ( or so ) i saw an A-100 system with colored switches on it.
For a long time i have been looking for them too, and now finally i found them and ordered them. ( pretty easy after all, via Conrad )

They are just small plastic mini-sleeves, and they fit perfect on the A-100's switches.
They also provide a little bit more grip and make the switches easier to handle.
I ordered them in all the four available colors ( green, black, yellow and red ), so i can sort of 'color-code' the system as much as possible. Not sound-improving, but just nice eye-candy... again.