Meet the Maker - Modular Synths panel with 6 Eurorack Manufacturers

At this year's Winter NAMM show, Vintage King Audio presented the TEC Tracks panel: "Meet the Maker -- Modular Synths".
This short (35 minutes) panel discussion, distributed by Sound On Sound, brought together 5 well-known modular synth makers to talk about the booming Eurorack format.

Panelists included: Dieter Doepfer (Doepfer), Dan Green (4MS), William Matthewson (WMD), Ryan McGuire (Vintage King moderator), Tony Rolando (Make Noise), Brandon Ryan (Roland) and Gene Stopp (Moog Music)

They talked a bit about the history of the Eurorack standard (with it's US-based Inch-metrics... lol), and the influence of live-Eurorack performers on new modules.
William Matthewson from WMD offered an interesting insight of what to expect in the future with new controls, like tactile things, body movement, gloves, the integration of virtual reality and other new futuristic techniques that can convert all kinds of signals into control voltages.

Interesting to hear was also the process behind the whole module-design and where Dieter shared his point of view about the pros and cons of the community-input, mentioning the importance of the Yahoo A-100 Usergroup (and his annoyance about it sometimes) and the creative input from live musicians like the icelandic band GusGus when it comes to developing new modules.
It reminded me of his work with the guys from Kraftwerk in the past, with the development of the Schaltwerk, the vocoder and other projects...

Doepfer A-101-6 Six Stage VC Opto FET Filter/Phaser Update

A-101-6 Six Stage Opto
FET Filter/Phaser prototype

In march of this year Doepfer announced the
A-101-1 Six Stage VC Opto FET Filter/Phaser.
This week however, Dieter released a statement about this module:

" After playing around with the module and the comments of people who tried the prototype we are no longer sure if we will release the A-101-6.

The circuit is a bit complex (especially because of the filter mode switching which requires altogether about 20 electronic double-throw switches) and consequently the module will be a bit expensive. 

And the FETs generate a lot of distortion in the sound as they are not linear circuits (like the vactrols).

I think we will do some sound examples and then ask interested customers if they are willing to pay the price. Maybe we offer a lower priced version of the module (< Euro 100) with jumpers instead of the electronic switches.

In this case the user will be able to configure the module by means of the jumpers as lowpass, highpass or allpass.

Best wishes
Dieter Doepfer" 

Source: Yahoo Doepfer A-100 Usergroup

Doepfer Re-Designs Update

The 'old' A-166
Dual Logic Module

No exciting Doepfer announcements for the upcoming MusikMesse (The world's largest trade fair for musical instruments 12-15 March, Frankfurt/Germany) yet, but Dieter Doepfer did update the members of the Doepfer A-100 Usergroup today on a few upcoming module-plans and re-designs.

" So far there is no release date for the A-166-2 available the zero crossing comparator was also mentioned as part of the module.

The inquiries for such a module seem to be very poor.

But I will finish this module anyhow (just for myself) because I need such functions now and then (especially the flipflop)..."

The original
A-114 RingMod

Find more about the A-166-2 features in my blogpost from last November HERE

"...In addition we think about the redesign of some older modules.

Especially we think of new arrangements of some dual modules (Dual Ring Modulator A-114, Dual S&H A-148, Dual Trigger Delay A-162, Dual Slew Limiter A-170, Dual Trigger Modifier A-185 ...) as in many cases e.g. only a single ring modulator or a single Sample & Hold.

This will lead to some new combo modules (e.g. combination of S&H and VC slew limiter in one module) with a more value for money as you do not have to pay for unused second sub-units."

Source: Dieter Doepfer

 - Find a selection of Doepfer products at Musikmesse in Frankfurt from 12th - 15th March, 2014 at the booth of their European distributor Alex 4 in hall 5.1, booth nr C54. -

Doepfer A-166-2 Logic Module Announced

Via the Doepfer A-100 Usergroup on Yahoo we found out today that Dieter and his crew are working on an additional logic module (A-166-2).

Not the new, but the 'old'
A-166 Dual Logic Module

You probably remember the original A-166 Dual Logic Module, which is a double logic device that combines digital control / clock signals.
Read all about that module HERE.

A typical application of this module is the combination of digital signals of the A-100 gates, clocks and triggers to obtain "gated" clocks or rhythmic clock patterns.

The new A-166-2 "...will also include - among other functions - a flipflop.
( The output will turn high as soon as the first pulse of the "gate stream at audio rate" appears and stay high until the gate turns low.)
Sometimes I'd like to have a flipflop function in certain patches.

A simple zero-crossing comparator could be added to this module too. 

The A-166-2 will probably also include a rising edge detector (outputs a short pulse at the rising edge of a digital input signal) and a falling edge detector (outputs a short pulse at the falling edge of a digital input signal).
I think also about a pitch-change-detector (or more general CV-change-detector). 

It outputs a signal whenever a CV connected to it's input changes (probably with three outputs: positive/negative/both). 

So far there is no front panel layout available as I'm still fiddling about the arrangement of the sockets and controls, which features will be finally included and which front panel width (4/6/8 HP) is the best compromise."

Price and availability are still unknown...

Source: Dieter Doepfer

Dieter Doepfer reacts to I Dream Of Wires: Hardcore Edition Comments

Dieter Doepfer recently replied in the Yahoo Doepfer A-100 Usergroup on comments to his appearance in the I Dream Of Wires: Hardcore Edition documentary that was released last month.

Many members of the group congratulated and thanked him after seeing and hearing him about the early beginnings of the Eurorack standard in the IDOW Documentary

A few people even compared his work to that of Bob Moog and Don Buchla,

but as always, Dieter stayed humble:

I Dream of Wires: Hardcore Edition

"...I would really not place me on the same level with Bob Moog or Don Buchla.
The start of the A-100 was more a "copy job" than a new technology.
The first modules were nothing but copies of the (Doepfer) MS-404 sub-circuits and the MS-404 had its roots in the famous Moog transistor ladder filter and a common VCO circuit.

I think my main idea was to make an analog modular system affordable and to use a mechanical format (now called Eurorack) and a bus concept that was not too expensive (ribbon cables instead of fixed PCB dimensions as used in the industry standard).
This mechanical format was already an industry standard at this time in Germany.

But I really never imagined that such a huge range of A-100 compatible modules would be ever on the market (Andreas Schneider of Schneiders Laden in Berlin mentioned recently that in the meantime more than 50 manufacturers and more than 800 modules are on the market and that they have a bit lost the track)."

Personally i think Dieter underestimates what he has already done for the Eurorack community.

Doepfer was the first brand that brought affordable analog synthesis within everyone's reach and inspired a whole generation of new Eurorack manufacturers.

What is not mentioned in the IDOW Documentary is that he used this synthesizer-format for the first time on the Doepfer Sound Sampler in 1984, read all about that HERE

I Dream of Wires: Hardcore Edition DVD, Blu-Ray and accessories are now available to order at:

sciencewithsynthesizers.com

Doepfer Pre-MusikMesse 2013 Announcements

Dieter Doepfer made a few announcements today about the upcoming new modules and about the MusikMesse 2013, that will be held from the 10th to the 13th of April 2013 in Frankfurt, Germany.

I'm looking most forward to the new A-157 Mini Schaltwerk prototypes, i cant wait until the are finished.:
Doepfer stated that they " ...will hopefully show the "large" version of the trigger sequencer A-157/miniature Schaltwerk (8 rows with 16 steps each).
The 8x16 button/LED board is ready but I cannot guarantee that the controller board will be also ready for the Musikmesse."

One of the earlier
A-190-5 prototypes

They will also show the prototype of the new version of the A-190-5 Polyphonic USB/Midi-to-CV/Gate Interface (with LCD) and the A-190-8 USB/Midi-to-Sync Interface at the Musikmesse in Frankfurt.

These modules will be available about summer 2013. 

The other news:

The small version of the multiple A-180 is available in April 2013 (2 HP only, name: A-180-2)

The module A-171-2 (licensed copy of the Serge/CGS VCS) will be available about end of April or early in May 2013.
(It will be interesting to see how the Serge's new deal with TipTop works out - expect a surge of Serge for your Eurorack this year /PP)

A-171-2 Serge
Slew Limiter
prototype

The re-designed A-130 (linear VCA) is now delivered with a precision VCA circuit (SSM2164) instead of the CA3080).
The new A-130 is DC-coupled.

The re-designed A-131 (exponential VCA) is now delivered also with an improved VCA circuit (high end THAT VCA circuit instead of the CA3080).
The new A-131 is also DC-coupled.

The A-135 will be available from about May 2013 in a revised version with DC coupling of the signals and single outputs, i.e. it can be used also as 4 separate linear VCAs with manual gain, CV in with attenuator and signal in with attenuator.
Because of the DC coupling it can be used also for modulation signal processing (i.e. voltage controlled mixing of control signals).

So, a lot of updates, can't wait to see the first pictures of the A-157 combo coming from MusikMesse.
Are you going to MusikMesse this year and want to contribute pictures to PatchPierre.Net?
Feel free to contact me via the comments, email or Twitter, thanks in advance!

A-171-2 Voltage Controlled Slew Limiter II Announced

Great news again this morning from the Doepfer Yahoo Usergroup.

The A-171-2 Voltage Controlled Slew Limiter II will be Doepfer's next new module with a lot of additional features beyond a simple slew limiter.

A-171-2 Prototype

It's mostly a licensed copy of Ken Stones VCS which is in turn based on the Serge VCS. (from the POLL earlier, remember?)
Dieter announced that negotiations with Serge and Ken Stone are nearly finished, and that they decided to publish the preliminary info page about the planned module on their website: www.doepfer.de/a1712.htm

The main features:
- Manual control of the Slew-Up time
- CV control of the Slew-Up time with polarizer
- Switch for linear/exponential shape of the rising section of the response curve
- Manual control of the Slew-Down time
- CV control of the Slew-Down time with polarizer
- Switch for linear/exponential shape of the falling section of the response curve
- CV Up and CV Down sockets are normalled
- Signal input (the "to-be-slewed" signal)
- Trigger input
- V/Oct input
- End output
- Cyle on/off (when "on" the End output is internally connected to the Trigger Input)
- Output
- LED display

Doepfer also mentioned that they will add some features so that 3-position switches can be used (e.g. log/lin/exp instead of log/lin only and two different cycle modes), but these decisions depend upon the results with the first prototype which he expects in January 2013.

Doepfer Usergroup Poll: Voltage Controlled Slope Module

Recently Dieter Doepfer ordered a new poll in the Doepfer A-100 Usergroup.
It looks like he is seriously considering a 'Serge Voltage Controlled Slope' -inspired A-100 module.
If there is enough positive feedback it will be manufactured with the license of the copyright owners of the Serge module ( and it may also have the additions that Ken stone has designed).
Because of the license fee, the module's price will be a bit higher than standard A-100 modules.

Bananalogue Serge VCS PCB

In the early 1970s, Serge Tcherepnin developed the Positive Slew and Negative Slew modules for the original Serge synthesizer.
In time these merged into the classic Dual Universal Slope Generator.(Vimeo link with video)

For example;
The Serge VCS module, (re-)released in conjunction with bananalogue.com was/is an extremely versatile control voltage generator and audio source.
The Bananalogue VCS and CGS75 are both an adaptation of Serge's original circuit with a few new features.
At first glance it seems to be a VC slew limiter but after a closer look you can discover a very versatile module which can be used as a VC-LFO, VCO, AR-envelope, VCF, envelope follower, waveshaper, subharmonic and a trigger delay.

That's nine functions in one module!
It is not sure which functions the Doepfer module will have, but i guess they will try to get the most out of it.

So, the question in the Usergroup is:
" Would you buy a Doepfer A100 'Serge Voltage Controlled Slope' inspired module? "

The poll will remain open for one month, until 19th of December.
Voting is possible at http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/Doepfer_a100/surveys?id=13160415 (for Usergroup members)

Find more info at:
http://web.archive.org/web/20080224013413/www.bananalogue.com/vcs.html
For those interested in the theory of operation, I recommend Tim Stinchcombe's page on this subject.

Doepfer USB/CV/Gate/MIDI Converters Update

A little bit more info (by Dieter himself) on two upcoming Doepfer modules popped up in the Yahoo Doepfer Usergroup today.

It said that the A-192-2 Dual CV/Gate-to-MIDI/USB Interface is in the starting blocks and will be included with the next (fall 2012) production series.
Module A-192-2 contains two independent CV/Gate-to-Midi/USB interfaces.
Another product that almost reached the production stage is the A-190-5 four voice polyphonic Midi to CV/Gate interface that will probably be included in the last production series in 2012.

The A-190-5 will have 12 CV and 4 Gate outputs, and different modes (e.g. unisono, four-fold monophonic, different four voice polyphonic modes)
The hardware of the A-190-5 module is ready and Christian is working on the firmware.
Though it was planned to use 12 bit DA converters Doepfer thinks about 8 bit converters to reduce the price a bit.
"12 bit converters don't seem to have any advantage because the module only converts 7 bit midi data into CV (no software LFOs or software envelopes or software glide) and in this case 12 bit DACs

are wasted money because the last 5 bits are not used.", according to Dieter.

The estimated price for the A-192-2 is approximately 130 Euro, expect to pay around 300 Euro for the A-190-5.
Price and release date are still without obligation

Find the latest updates on new Doepfer modules HERE

A-160 to A-161 Connection

Module A-161 is an eight-step Clock Sequencer which is internally connected to the Clock Divider (A-160).

Eight outputs are sequentially switched by the clock signals from the A-160 and can act, for instance, as sequential rhythmic triggers for an envelope. 

A question that popped up in the Doepfer A-100 Usergroup on Yahoo some time ago was how the A-160 and A-161 should be connected together.
This can be found in the A-161 Manual (PDF) ,but i think this post (and picture) will provide the info you need.

A-160 <> A-161 connection

The A-161 must be positioned directly to the right of the A-160.
Join the two modules with the supplied 10-way ribbon cable.
Use the upper 10-way socket on each module.
Make sure that the ribbon cable is not twisted, and that the colour-coded section is oriented the same on both modules.
Only join the A-160 to the system bus! 
Leave the lower 10-way socket on the A-161 unused.

Pay attention not to damage one of the parts on the boards (especially none of the transistors).
If necessary, you may bend the transistors a little (carefully) to plug in the cable.

Bus Board Connections

I wrote about the busboard access that several A-100 modules have earlier in this blog.
All modules that can read and/or write to the A-100's internal busboard are mentioned in THIS post.

I did forget to mention a few things in my earlier post, and thanks to the Yahoo Doepfer Usergroup i stumbled upon the A-100BC (CV/Gate bus connection cable) that can be used if the CV and/or gate signals of two bus boards have to be connected internally.

For this the CV or gate corresponding connection jumper in the middle of the bus board is removed and replaced by the connector of the (20 cm. long) A-100BC cable. 

It is possible to connect the CV and gate lines of two bus boards independently (i.e. only CV or only gate or both). 

The cable is made of two wires with suitable connectors on each side. 

Usually one wire is used for CV, the other for gate, but the wires can be ripped up and used separately. 

Dieter himself did a great post in the Doepfer Usergroup that nicely explained how the internal busboard connections work:

" The main function of the bus is the power supply of the A-100 modules (-12V, GND, +12V and additional +5V for a few modules) - In addition a CV and Gate line are available
- Some modules can pick-up the CV signal (e.g. A-110, A-111-1, A-111-5, A-143-4) from the bus depending on the jumper setting on the module (full list HERE /PP)
- Some modules can pick-up the gate CV signal (e.g. A-140) from the bus depending on the jumper setting on the module (full list HERE /PP), but most of the A-100 modules have no access to the CV or Gate signal of the bus

- Other modules may work as transmitter for the CV signal to the bus (e.g. A-190-x, A-185-x) depending on the jumper setting on the module (full list HERE /PP)

- Other modules may work as transmitter for the gate signal to the bus (e.g. A-190-x, A-185-1, A-164-1) depending on the jumper setting on the module (full list HERE /PP)

A-100 BC cable

- Pay attention that only ONE transmitter for CV and ONE transmitter for gate are allowed (otherwise modules may be damaged)

- Using the internal CV and Gate lines of the bus is optional (one may also patch the required connections via the sockets at the front panels), but using the internal CV and Gate lines may simplify the patching at the front panels (e.g. if several VCOs have to be controlled by the same CV, in this case the A-185-2 is recommended as CV transmitter to the bus, the A-185-2 allows also common octave switching and common frequency modulation of all VCOs as well as CV summing, e.g. from a sequencer and CV keyboard or Midi-to-CV interface)

- Both the CV and the Gate line can be interrupted in the middle of the bus board to establish two different CV/Gate areas.
For this the corresponding jumper in the middle of the bus board has to be removed.

- A special CV/Gate bus connection cable A-100BC is available.
This cable can be used to connect the CV and/or Gate lines of two different bus boards.
To connect the two boards the same pin headers of the two bus boards may be used that also interrupt the CV and/or Gate lines, but it is also possible to connect the corresponding pins (Gate and/or CV) of other unused bus connectors (i.e. one of the 14 16 pin connectors) "

Source: Yahoo Doepfer A-100 Usergroup

Dark Energy II Announced

Well, it looks like Dieter Doepfer announced the discontinuation of the Dark Energy today.

In the Doepfer Usergroup he stated that " the Dark Energy will be discontinued as the CEM3394 chip is no longer available and the negotiations with the manufacturer (OnChip, the Curtis Electromusic successor) concerning a new productions series of the CEM3394 were not successful so far. 

We think about a redesign of the unit (Dark Energy II) but it will be another instrument with a different sound and features (e.g. probably a 12 dB multimode filter with lowpass, highpass, bandpass and notch (like the A-121 Multimode Filter- (they will probably use parts of the DIY Synth circuit (e.g. the multimode VCF) for the Dark Energy II design) - instead of the 24 dB lowpass)."

Dark Energy picture provided by Marc Weerts
from the band 87PM

Logically this would mean that the A-111-5 Mini Synth Voice will also be discontinued since it has the same circuitry inside.

The Dark Energy did have a unique sound, mainly because of the linear filter FM.
There is no A-100 VCF available that offers this feature and even the VCO and VCA are unique.
The VCO is close to the A-111, but there is no A-100 VCA module available with the combined linear/exponential response of the Dark Energy/A-111-5 VCA.

Personally i do not think Dark Energy II will be the best name for a module like this and that they should go for another name instead, since it will be a completely different instrument with a unique character.
Feel free to leave some name-suggestions below or on the PatchPierre Facebook page.

Doepfer probably still has a bunch of Dark Energy's and A-111-5 modules left in stock*, but if you really want one you should get one before they are gone...

* Update:
From Dieter Doepfer in the Doepfer Usergroup:
" ...we miscalculated the relation of the Dark Energy / A-111-5 sales. The A-111-5 stock will last much longer than the Dark Energy stock. I expect that the Dark Energy will be sold out in 2-3 months, but I suppose that the A-111-5 stock will last one year or even longer."
Update II:
" ~ 4000 Dark Energy's were made, and ~ 300 A-111-5 modules "


Dark Energy sound demo by MarcJX8P

Find other discontinued A-100 modules HERE (updated feb.2012)
Curious what chip is inside your synthesizer?

Check http://curtiselectromusic.com/,
http://synthtech.com/cems.html and
http://sequencer.de/synth/index.php/Chips_in_Synthesizers

Most Wanted Update - MSY2 Module for A-100 System

Old Version of the MSY2,
the newer ones are in black

Great news...

It looks like the idea that i posted in December 2010 for some kind of extended version of an MSY2 module for the A-100 wasn't that bad.

In the Yahoo Doepfer A-100 Usergroup Dieter Doepfer recently announced that they "...are working on a modular version of the MSY2 with some additional features ( USB interface, several outputs with different clock dividing factors and polarity and some more )."

The MSY2 MIDI-to-SYNC/Clock Interface can be used to convert Midi clock into analog clock signals.

There is no release date or price available so far.

A-157 Trigger Sequencer Update

Here's an update on the long-awaited A-157 (or whatever the module-number will be) Trigger Sequencer module.
I wrote about this highly interesting module earlier, you can find that post HERE

This is what Dieter Doepfer's feedback was, when this step-sequencer got mentioned this week in the Doepfer A-100 Usergroup :

A-157 Prototype(s) , as shown at NAMM 2010

"...it will definitely come !
At present we are waiting for the new PCB prototype with 16 x 8 buttons and LEDs.
Our first plan to use two pc board with 8x8 buttons and LEDs did not work because this would cause a gap between the steps 8 and 9 because of the space required for the PCB connectors.

Our plan is to separate the 16x8 button/LED board from the control unit as it seems that there are two groups of users: those who vote for a simple, easy to use (and soon available) version and those for a "sophisticated" version with additional features (probably with LC display to handle all functions).
The plan for the simple version is to have only two clock/start/stop inputs available (clock #1 for the units 1-4, clock #2 for 5-8) and a simple memory management (similar to the TR808).

For the "sophisticated" version there are plans like independend first/last step for each row, copy and paste functions between rows and memories, right/left shift of complete rows, longer patterns (A, AB, ABCD), maybe intros, fill in's, track programming, more than two clocks and some more.

To handle these additional functions probably an LC display and additional buttons will be necessary.
But this information is very preliminary.
One could use the standard control unit at first and then replace it by the high end version as soon as it is available. "

A-100 Knobs Change

Special announcement from Dieter Doepfer, in the Doepfer Yahoo Usergroup:
Updated Feb. 13, 2012, see below...

" I just wanted inform you that the knob manufacturer (ReAn Sulzer / Switzerland) has stopped the production of the knobs that were used in the A-100, MAQ16/3 and other products. 

We tried to buy the productions tools from ReAn as they are no longer used. But ReAn was not willing to sell the moulds.

We are about to find another manufacturer who is able to produce a copy of the knob but I'm not sure if the copies will look exactly the same. 

I assume that all modules manufactured until end of this year will still be equipped with the original ReAn version of the knobs. 

But from early in 2012 the modules will be delivered little by little with the new knobs. 

We will try to get new knobs that look as close as possible to the old ones but I'm not sure if there may be a small noticeable difference...

...Sorry - but we will try to continue with the A-100 as it is (same knobs,same panels). It's all a matter of taste. 

And if we change to other knobs I'm quite sure that many other customers would complain. 

If someone wants other knobs he may replace the knobs as the 6 mm 18 theeth shaft is a standard. 

From my point of view continuity is important for a product like the A-100 system. 

I would probably change some things if I could put the wheel of history into reverse (but not the knobs, the panels and the printing as I still like them). "

Best wishes
Dieter Doepfer

Update Feb 13, 2012:
" There is still some "fine adjustment" to do (exactly the same "grey", exactly the same width of the marker and so on). 

At first sight the samples of the new knobs look identically but if you compare an old and a new knob next to each other you see some minor differences (grey color and line width). 

But I'm confident that the manufacturer will be able to change these small details."

Doepfer Usergroup Poll: Analog Shift Register

Another new Poll at the  Doepfer A100 Modular System Users Group is up.
This time it is about the idea of realizing a Doepfer Analog Shift Register A-100 module.

A few days ago this was posted:
" ...It has been a while again, so I'll bring it up again. I believe it is time for a Doepfer analogue shift register... Does anyone agree with me?... " (*edited)

To be honest, i had never heard of an Analog (or digital) Shift Register, but a quick search on the web provided some hugely interesting information.
For the basic theory on what a Shift Register does i'd advice you to read the Wikipedia page first.

Shift register working principle  (Source)

For the musical use and a brief history on Analog Shift Register modules there is an excellent post at http://hardsync.blogspot.com, describing most of the known Shift Register modules.

" Ok, so what is an ASR? An ASR module is a sophisticated S&H. It will, at every clock pulse, sample the CV value of the input and makes it available at the first output. So far, it's a basic S&H. The thing is, a ASR has many outputs, and what it does is that at every clock pulse, it shifts the value of output 1 to output 2, and likewise, value of output 2 gets to output 3. So at every clock pulse, the CV values gets' shifted to the next output with the exception of output 1 that samples a new value at every clock. " *

Doepfer does call it's own multifunctional A-152 a "Voltage Addressed Track&Hold / Analog Shift Register (ASR)/ Octal Switch (Multiplexer) ",
but Hardsync writes " I own a Doepfer A-152, and my opinion is that the claimed ASR function of the A-152 will not get you the true ASR results you might expect. The A-152 is a switch. A very powerful and sophisticated one, but it will not push the value of one output into the next. Therefore, not a ASR as we defined."

Dieter Doepfer himself replied to the new poll very quickly;
" Though the A-152 is not a real ASR you can do similar things with this module. The most frequently mentioned application is to distribute a control voltage to the CV inputs of several VCOs.
At the rising edge of the clock signal of the incoming CV is sampled and routed to the next VCO. For this function an ASR is not essential as the VCOs are equivalent.
But there may be applications that require a "real" ASR (I'd be interested in applications where an ASR is required and that cannot be realized with the A-152).
In case that we will develop an ASR we'll go the digital way, i.e. ADC - processor - multiple DAC.
This has a lot of advantages, e.g. no voltage loss of the analog S&H capacitors, included quantizer for VCO pitch applications and some more.
But I'm not sure if the expected sales will justify the development of such a module (especially as we have already the A-152 available).

Update August 3 / Dieter continued;
" We already discussed the chance of multiple functions in the company.

One could treat the ASR as kind of a ring memory that could be "filled" in different ways. E.g. from a CV source via AD conversion (the usual ASR) but also via Midi or USB. The ring memory could be looped or not by means of a simple switch. 

One could combine the module with arpeggiator functions, e.g. fill the memory by playing a chord on a keyboard and then use only one of the CV outputs. 

One may also fill it with several analog CV's and the filling could be triggered by a gate signal (i.e. output of a sequencer or a CV/gate keyboard). That way one could combine several similar functions in one module. From my point of view this would make more sense than a pure ASR. 

One could combine the functions of an ASR, arpeggiator and and a rudimental digital sequencer. For ASR the number of steps could be limited e.g. to 3 or 4, for the arpeggiator and sequencer more steps make sense. A lot of ideas for the long evenings of the upcoming

fall and winter .... :-) "

Find the poll and vote HERE / Please join the Doepfer A100 Modular System Users Group by registering first.

The question in the poll is plain and simple;

Would you want and buy a Doepfer Analogue Shift Register module?

O - Yes!

O - Maybe...

O - No

* Source: http://hardsync.blogspot.com

SiteTip IV : Doepfer Convergence Group on Soundcloud

If you are interested what kinds of sounds other Doepfer users make, or just want to be inspired, you can always go to the Doepfer Convergence Group on Soundcloud.

This site contains very interesting creative compositions made mainly on a Doepfer A-100 Analog Modular System.

The group is moderated by James Bragg (AKA HyperDust), a synthesizer player and producer from Bristol UK who has played in various bands since the early 1980's and who's musical styles have varied over the years from New Romantic, Rock, Rock/Dance, Trance and various electronica.

" I've been building up 2 suitcases of modules over the last 5 years. I love their immediacy but also their temporary nature.
There is a type of Japanese painting where you paint with water on a special stone. It can look beautiful but after a short time it dries and is gone forever. A Doepfer modular is a bit like that. I'll never get that sound again - you just have to live in the moment. Celebrate the now. We spend too much time worrying about the future, and regretting aspects of the past."

The group has 49 members, and 18 tracks already have been contributed by 10 different musicians.
Some of these are complete songs but it also includes long live-improvisations and weird soundscapes.

Definitely worth a listen, if you have some spare time... Here's a quick preview, just to give you an impression;

 biofeedback no.9 by cubistic microsonic 

Doepfer Usergroup Poll: MS-02 Module?

A new Poll at the  official Doepfer Usergroep is about the idea of realizing an A-100 module with the possibillities of the 'classic' Korg MS-02 expander module.
This module was part of Korg's MS series of instruments, which also included the MS-20 Monophonic Synthesizer, the single oscillator MS-10, the keyboardless MS-50 module, and the SQ-10 sequencer. Additional devices included the MS-01 Foot Controller, MS-03 Signal Processor, MS-04 Modulation Pedal and VC-10 Vocoder.

( MS-02 user manual with detailed info online available HERE )

" In my search for a Korg MS-02 I haven't been successful so far. In building a great A-100 modular synth I was. This got me thinking: It would be great if Doepfer would add a module to the A-100 module list with the functionality of the Korg MS-02. I can imagine more people are interested. I sent the question to Dieter and he suggested to start a poll on this list. So here we go. "

Options:
O - I would be interested in a Korg MS-02 like module as long it's cheaper than 100 euro
O - I would be interested in a Korg MS-02 like module as long it's cheaper than 150 euro
O - I would be interested in a Korg MS-02 like module as long it's cheaper than 200 euro
O - I'm not interested in such a module

To vote, you can go to the Yahoo! Groups Poll HERE.

More info controlling a MS-20 / MS-10 with a Doepfer device HERE

Most Wanted - Future Modules Update

It is always good to keep an eye on the posts from the Doepfer Yahoo Usergroup.
Not only to get answer to all the A-100 questions you have, the DIY-tips, and the interesting module discussions but also for Dieter Doepfer's own input, troubleshooting and the occasional company updates.
In one of his latest posts he announced a few interesting 'new' things on Doepfer's to-do list, including a few that are not yet on Doepfer's Future Module page.

The ones you can already find on that page are the A-190-5 polyphonic USB/Midi-to-CV/Gate interface, the A-142-4 Quad Decay, A-195-1 Pitch-to-CV/Midi/USB interface, A-192-2 CV/Gate to Midi interface, A-143-4 Quad VCO/VCLFO and the A-100 touch keyboard.

The original A-126(-1)

I already blogged about the forthcoming A-157 Trigger Sequencer (not much info on the Doepfer site, only in a NAMM 2010 brochure), but the update of the A-126 module was new for me.
The A-126-2 Frequency Shifter II will be a redesign of the old module. 

Because of availability of the special circuit CEM3382 used in the original module's internal quadrature VCO, the 'original' A-126 is no longer available and they had to stop the production of this module. 

It looks like Doepfer is now working hard on a succeeding model without an internal VCO.

Other modules that were mentioned were a VC Slope Generator ( no specs or further info available, but maybe something like the Serge Universal Slope Generator ?- i'm only guessing !), a Master Clock module/synced LFO, the A-100 bus board V2 with some Analoge Systems connectors ( no more Analogue Systems-to-Doepfer adaptors necessary? ), and an A-100 miniature power supply redesign 

Besides that, Dieter posted that they are also still working on various non-A-100 Doepfer products like the Dark Matter (Dark Energy expander with Noise, S&H, a second VCO, Multimode-VCF, additional waveforms and maybe some other effects), the Dark Link, and an expansion board for the DIY Synth. 

" ... still on our to-do list. But I can't say in which sequence the planned products will be released."

Note: Please don't call or mail them too often at Doepfer about release-dates or updates of future modules. The Doepfer website is updated very regularly, so you will find all the latest info there...

Users' Favorite Modules

A recent Poll at the Doepfer Yahoo Usergroup, in the beginning of this year gave a nice insight of what modules are the users' favorites. The (informal) poll resulted in a lot of nice top-5 lists, with a great diversity in modules.
I took some time to count the votes that i could find and made this overall -list. /*the differences between the top-three most-mentioned modules were minimal;

The A-149 Quantized/Stored Random Voltages module(s) were definitely the most popular ones.
These modules, based on Buchla's 'Sound of Uncertaincy' Model nrs. 265/266, process random or stored random voltages to contol your other modules. Very interesting modules, that are high on my personal wishlist as well.

Three modules ended in second place;
The A-101-2 Low Pass Gate, The A-155 Analog Trigger Sequencer / A-154 Sequencer controller combination and the A-156 Dual Quantizer
Third place was for the A-160 Clock Divider/ A-161 Clock Sequencer -combination, the A-151 Sequential Switch, the A-137 Wave Multiplier and the A-198 Ribbon Controller ( R2M included)

I was not really surprised by the list, a lot of them are high in my personal favorites list too. Not sure about the Vactrol LPG module though... i prefer other filters, like the A-121 Multimode Filter and the A-127 Triple Resonance Filter, simply because of their multiple outputs and extended control possibilities... and the A-124 WASP Filter because of its unique sound.

The Ribbon Controller (A-198) is also high on my list, and i also love other 'alternative' controllers like the A-198 Theremin Controller and the A-174 Joystick and A-174-2 Wheels modules.
These last two controller modules were so under-rated in the poll IMO,but sooo useful in live-situations.
My personal number one module is, without a doubt, the A-156 Dual Quantizer Module, but you have probably noticed that already by my earlier posts about this module and it's recent modification.

Feel free to leave your personal list with favorite modules in the feedback section...

Are you curious about what else is going in the Doepfer Yahoo Usergroup?

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