The Doepfer - Kraftwerk Connection

German Krautrock legends Kraftwerk and Dieter Doepfer have worked together for a long time.
As the only one in its industry Dieter Doepfer even may use their name for advertising purposes.

Florian Schneider (Kraftwerk) and Dieter

Dieter: One day i got a call from a Mr. Schneider who wanted to know if we could rebuild a special keyboard into a MIDI keyboard.
The caller was Florian Schneider of Kraftwerk. Schneider experimented much with speech synthesis, and had found a keyboard that was triggering speech sounds (phonemes) in place of letters.

Doepfer's miniature MMK2 keyboard for Kraftwerk

After the modification by Doepfer, Schneider was able to send signals to a sampler in which the sounds were stored.
In the end, the Kraftwerk operator could connect the phonemes with a sequencer into sentences.
Until it worked, Schneider had come several times to Munich, where they got to know eachother better.
Around that time, Dieter installed a MIDI-retrofit on their old EMS vocoder.
Also in the construction of the MAQ 16/3 analog sequencer with MIDI output, the company worked with the musicians.

Florian Schneider was apparently quite involved with the development of the 16/3, being regularly sent updates to the operating system and giving his comments in return.

Dieter: "Since then, we are allowed to use the name Kraftwerk to the device. But we do not want to overdo things"
In 1996 Florian Schneider also wrote a review for a German music magazine 'Keys' about one of the Doepfer company's newest items, the A-100 vocoder module and even contributed a short demonstration of the units capabilities on the free CD that accompanied the magazine.

During 2001-2002 Morgan Karlsson asked Dieter Doepfer about his collaboration with KRAFTWERK:

" Our collaboration with Kraftwerk started many years ago as we made some special designs for them (e.g. the miniature keyboards they use on stage for Taschenrechner/Pocket Calculator and a special phonetic keyboard for voice synthesis).

"Designed in cooperation with the
German Band KRAFTWERK"

The first unit we built in cooperation with Florian Schneider was the MAQ16/3. We built some prototypes and Florian tested them and told us what we would improve and which features are not required.
So we went many times to the KlingKlang studio in Dusseldorf until the final version of the MAQ was complete.

A similar cooperation - but not as close as with MAQ - was made for the SCHALTWERK.
(Kraftwerk also used/tested with a Doepfer MOGLI on stage around that time *PP)

Rumors are that the Doepfer logo was (partly) inspired
 by this 1983 Kraftwerk album font

The next cooperation was the A-100 vocoder.
We tested all of the vocoders of Florian (and that's a lot) and compared them to our A-100 vocoder prototypes (the first versions with different filter designs in quantity and filter response types, e.g. 10 band passes, 8 band passes and high/low pass, 13 band passes and the final version with 13 band passes and high/low pass).
And so we found a very good compromise between price and sound.
Even the very high priced vocoders sounded not significant better than the final A-129.

We learned a lot about vocoders e.g. that a treble boost of the incoming speech signal is very
important for a good vocoder effect (is now included in the A-129-5).
All high priced vocoders imply such a treble boost but the customers is not aware of this detail as there is sometimes no remark in the user manuals.
We experimented together with Florian with a 32 band graphic equalizer to find the best treble boost for good speech recognition and implemented it into the A-129-5."

Also see: Florian Schneider - Electronic Poem

Sources:
Morgan Karlsson

Doepfer Keys interview (by the same Florian Schneider)

Aktivitaet Online

Random Video: Love my Modular #1 - Doepfer MAQ16/A-100 with Mutable Braids - Geiger Counter + FX

Now this is more the way i like it... a great example of a more melodic and hypnotizing patch on a simple system, controlled by only a Doepfer MAQ16/3 sequencer.

Video:  Love my Modular #1 - Doepfer MAQ16/A-100 with Mutable Braids - Geiger Counter + FX

" ...some random Knob twizzlin on my beloved Modular System. No Computa, only Doepfer MAQ 16/A-100 - Mutable Braids - WMD Geiger Counter - Eventide Timefactor - Ensoniq DP4+ "

Uploaded by WeLoveEvolTV

On Google+ https://plus.google.com/u/0/104037457585906929905/posts

Q-Control for MAQ 16/3

Following demands in the Doepfer A-100 Yahoo group, Q-ONTROL has been updated with a new PDF tutorial and is now available for free download

Q-ONTROL is an Ableton Live Pack offering users full control over the Doepfer MAQ 16/3 MIDI analog sequencer.
Using MIDI clips to send data, complex music sequences can be made easily.
Q-ONTROL V 1.2 is offered with two templates and a tutorial PDF Book and can be downloaded via http://wildtek.net/

Dimitri Pike, the Q-ONTROL template creator, recently joined the A-100 usergroup to thank those who requested it.
He had never been very sure if it was useful for someone else then him and it was recently proved that yes it is :-)

Dimitri was working with it a few days ago and noticed that a few clips didn't correctly recorded parameters when he saved the file.
He also noticed some other errors here and there... He will work on correcting these little things asap and will let you know when the file is available for re-download.

Another note of interest, he already started to work on Q-ONTROL V 2.0 and all he can say at this point is that this new version will make a lot of users happy.

Download Q-ONTROL V 1.2 (ZIP)

- One day after publishing this blogpost, Dimitri tweeted this:

I posted 4 photos on Facebook in the album "Q-ONTROL V 2.0" http://t.co/KdYfJ2hOsl
— Wildtek (@wildtek) October 2, 2013

Random Video: 3 maq 16/3 by Von Haulshoven

This popped up on YouTube today; a nice and long synthesizer jam uploaded by Egbert Hulshof in the style of the early Tangerine Dream/ Klaus Schulze tracks.

It features 3 Doepfer MAQ16/3 sequencers, a Moog Little Phatty, and a mix of other analog and digital equipment.

Video: 3 maq 16/3

"3 maq 16/3 improvisation by von haulshoven"

Uploaded by Egbert Hulshof

Random Video: Sequencer ratcheting like Tangerine Dream, Doepfer MAQ16/3 by Kittenpurse1

This video appeared on YouTube last month...
It's a demo of a technique that this guy developed using the Doepfer MAQ 16/3 sequencer and an A-150 Voltage Controlled Switch to imitate the the popular 'ratcheting' note trill effect used by Chris Franke in Tangerine Dream.

Video: Sequencer ratcheting like Tangerine Dream, Doepfer MAQ16/3

" The popular 'ratcheting' note trill effect used by Chris Franke in Tangerine Dream can be difficult to imitate. Here's a demo of a technique I developed using the Doepfer MAQ 16/3 sequencer and Voltage-Controlled Switch."

Uploaded by kittenpurse1

Doepfer MAQ16/3 Versions

This year Doepfer is celebrating the 20th birthday of the MAQ16/3 MIDI Analog Sequencer with a special 'Dark Edition'

The current MAQ16/3 version

The original version of the MAQ was designed in cooperation with the German band Kraftwerk 20 years ago, and is used by many famous musicians like Human League, Jean-Michel Jarre, Klaus Schulze and many more.

These sequencers are best known in Doepfer's silver-grey color, but this new Dark Edition is not the first black MAQ sequencer that they sold.
In fact there were a few different versions that gradually evolved into the current version.

The first MAQs for example, only had 8 presets, no CV/Gate outputs, and a potentio-meter instead of a rotary encoder for data input.

An overview of the most important innovations of the current version 3.xx compared to the older versions 1.xx and 2.xx:

- CV and Gate output for each row (not on the original version)

- 30 preset memories (instead of 8 only)

- Editing feature of all preset data (not only the running parameters but even the step values)

- New additional running modes (e.g. one shot and serial connection of rows)

- On/Off for single steps or complete rows

- Remote control via Midi standard messages

- Step advance via external Midi note on message (no longer clock controlled)

- A rotary encoder instead of potentiometer for data input

- Dark Energy-style knobs (Dark Edition only)

The first black MAQ16/3 model - Picture by Fixed1t

As i wrote in an earlier post, the current MAQ16/3 including the new 'Dark Edition' is now totally 'maxed out', meaningnthat the existing hardware of the MAQ16/3 is already "exhausted" and it will be a problem to add more features with the existing controls and displays.
If you have an old model, you can still upgrade it to todays' standards.

Older devices with software V1.xx or V2.xx can still be updated to the current version 3.xx.
This requires the replacement of the old main board by the new one and the transfer of some integrated circuits from the old board to the new one (including the main processor with PLCC case).
In addition the data potentiometer has to be replaced by the rotary encoder and 6 holes for the CV/Gate sockets have to be drilled or punched into the rear panel.
If your unit is already equipped with the new main board an update to the latest firmware version is carried out simply by replacing the EPROM.

You can find out if your MAQ16/3 contains already the new main board by checking the installed firmware version. It is displayed for a short time after power on. If it shows 3.xx (xx = any number) the new main board is installed.

The latest firmware version for the old main board was 2.04 while the latest firmware version for the new main board is 3.72 (as of summer 2012).

The installed firmware version of my own MAQ is 3.61...

The new MAQ16/3 Dark Edition

Read more about the MAQ updates at http://www.doepfer.de/maq_update.htm

Doepfer MAQ16/3 Already Maxed Out

The announcement of the re-issued MAQ16/3 Dark Edition has been warmly welcomed by most people.

It has also triggered the obvious MAQ-update questions again.
Although i am very happy with my MAQ16/3 MIDI Analog Sequencer, i agree that there are still many points for improvements in my, and other people's opinion.

The main issue that i have with the MAQ is basically the limited number of only 30 presets/memories.

It could also help if it had different scale settings, shuffle control and a bigger display for example.

Sadly the new MAQ Dark Edition will not bring any changes in that...

My Doepfer MAQ16/3 with
firmware version V3.61

Back in 2005, Doepfer explained how they already maxed out the capacity of the original MAQ hardware design.

" We discussed several times a "MAQ16/3 Mark II".
The main reason why we did not develop a new sequencer so far (2005) is because we wanted to offer the possibility to upgrade older devices (as for the CV/Gate output
addition from version 3.0).
Most of the suggested improvements would require a hardware change that does not allow to update older devices (e.g. LC display or a second display for more information, additional LEDs to display the step that's value is displayed currently, rotary encoders instead of potentiometers for exact adjustment, and some more)

Maybe there will come a "MAQ16/3 Mark II" at some time but it will not be possible to upgrade the existing MAQ devices because of hardware/mechanical limitations. 

We believe that the existing hardware of the MAQ16/3 is already "exhausted" and it will be a problem to add more features with the existing controls and displays. 

For example the glowing LEDs to show the currently selected row or the usage of the points of the display are already such makeshifts."

Source: Doepfer Yahoo Usergroup - Oktober 2005  

What you will get with the new Dark Edition MAQ, is still an awesome and affordable sequencer, that hasn't been available in black for a very long time and that will probably look better in your setup as the recent silver(y) edition... (that will also stay available for now)
Doepfer is being very smart IMO with using their already infamous range of 'Dark'-branded products for this latest edition, and that also makes it nice for the collectors.

Find all features of the recent MAQ16/3 at http://www.doepfer.de/maq.htm

More Darkness: Doepfer MAQ16/3 Dark Edition

It seems that Doepfer is extending their successful  'Dark'-product-range even more with their latest announcement.
A new version of the MAQ16/3 MIDI Analog Sequencer will be black and feature Dark Energy-style knobs.
There's not much additional info, but i guess the inside of this fantastic sequencer will stay the same.

It looks great, and this is not the first time that a black MAQ will be available, but those models had the same style of knobs of the original MAQ, only in black...

MAQ16/3 FracRak Breakout Box

MAQ 16/3 FracRak breakout panels

Not every-one finds it practical that the Doepfer MAQ16/3 Sequencer has all its connections on the backside of the module.
Especially when you change your setup a lot, you don't want to climb behind your 19"-rack to change patch-cables every time.

Of course there are always people who have figured out a solution for this.

This MAQ breakout panel that i found in an old Matrixsynth post came with a pair of custom made FracRak breakout panels to bring the MIDI jacks and the 1/8" Voltage Control and Gate jacks to the front of your FracRak panel for easy patching.
These would have fit perfectly next to your Paia modules for example.
It also had the necessary cables to connect to these panels from the back of the MAQ16/3.

Sideview of theMAQ 16/3 FracRak
breakout panels

According to the maker these panels were not cheap to put together. (Try pricing the 2 MIDI panel mount barrels and even the 6 panel mount 1/8" barrels)

Theoretically it is possible to make such breakout panels for a Eurorack system.

The CV and Gate outputs would fit easily on one of those 8HP wide pre-drilled blank panels (A-180-style) that Doepfer sells as spare parts. 

You can even put in a few extra switches for your own maximized customization experience. Your limit is your imagination.

Personally, I have long CV (red coded cables) and Gate (blue) wires coming out of my MAQ16/3 that come into my Eurorack system through multiple A-180 Multiples modules, but i can see the benefits of this module.

It might be worth investigating the possibilities of a Eurorack breakout panel a little more for a future blogpost.

MAQ 16/3 Direction Via MIDI Demo by Nicholas Keller

An interesting video, posted by Nicholas Keller in the Doepfer A-100 group on Facebook shows something about the Doepfer MAQ 16/3 Sequencer that i never really noticed before.

It seems that normally, the MAQ in forward mode would start from the last random step, what can really mess up your patterns.

In his video Nicholas shows that, with some clever MIDI programming, it is possible to get your next forward pattern starting from step 1.

Video: Direction via MIDI

direction via midi from N K on Vimeo.

" This video simply shows that it is possible to switch direction of an Doepfer MAQ16/3 sequence from random to forward with the forward section starting from step 1. Normally, the forward section would start from the last random step. Start from step 1 was achieved with a series of MIDI commands from DAW sequencer (in this case Ableton Live) sent to the MAQ."

Nicholas also added: "This video will probably be part of a future blog post of mine, as right now I am working on some other ones. (you can find his blog at http://www.niroke.blogspot.com)
Also, you might express that the MAQ's functions can all be controlled through MIDI.
For this example, I used Q-control v1.0, which is an Ableton Live project file that contains individual clips for all the MIDI commands for the MAQ. I'm not sure that the website where I found this is still active.
I can email you the file if you can host it. I sent commands for First and Last Step as well as Forward and Random commands.
The First and Last Step commands were necessary to force the Forward version of the pattern to start on Step 1 ( First=1, Last=1). Then at marker 1.1.2 in Ableton (the second 1/16th note) I added First=2 and Last=16 commands."

Uploaded by Nicholas Keller

Follow Nicholas Keller on Vimeo HERE

MAQ16/3 On/Off Switch Modification by fixed1t

Seriously... why do some manufacturers still build equipment without a proper on/off switch?

It looks like Malcolm Dixon AKA fixed1t has tackled the problem that a lot of people seem to have with the Doepfer MAQ16/3 Analog Sequencer not having a power switch on the front panel.
He wrote an interesting post about how he added an on/off switch to the frontpanel of his black MAQ16/3 on his new blog ( find blog-post HERE), and he even made an explanatory video with it.

Video: DOEPFER MAQ16/3 Analogue Switch Modification
" The DOEPFER MAQ16/3 Analogue Sequencer has no front panel switch and its been a constant source of hassle having to unplug its Wall-Wart power supply at the back.
Also pulling cables at the back of the rack constantly unplugged it.
I could take it no longer and decided to put a power switch on the front and one which looks like it should be there.

Finished project with nicely aligned on/off switch

The Mod took a few hours to do (safely) but works a treat.
I decided to video it from my phone.
Let me know if you need more details on how to add a switch to your unit.

The music: Angels v Robots I wrote with the MAQ after making the mod."

Check out his myspace at: http://www.myspace.com/fixed1t
Follow him on Twitter: http://Twitter.com/fixed1t
and keep an eye on his new blog at http://fixed1t.blogspot.com

Making a Sequence on the MAQ 16/3 Video Tutorials

I stumbled upon these two older videos this week, uploaded by the Dutch Martin Peters, or attorks.nl
In these tutorial videos he explains how he likes to program his Doepfer MAQ 16/3 sequencer.
Interesting and also nice-sounding...

Video 1: Making a sequence (Part 1/2)


Video 2: Making a sequence (Part 2/2)

" This is an attempt to try to show you how a sequence can be made.
I found out making an instruction video is not that easy but I just wanted to share this with you.
After making the video I noticed my voice was a bit soft so I tried to emphasis it with a little EQing; hope you can understand what I am saying.
I did not want to redo the video because it wouldn't be improvised anymore and I think the sequence worked out quite well.
Making sequences is not an exact science so this is just an example and I do not always do it as shown.
And I am not an expert in sequencing.
If you have any questions, feel free to ask."

Find more interesting synth-videos on his YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/attorks

Free Doepfer MAQ 16/3 Editor for iOS

Doepfer user Thorsten Boesing has developed a free editor for the Doepfer MAQ16/3 sequencer.

The Doepfer MAQ16/3 Sequencer

It is based on the MIDI control surface TouchOSC for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad:
I haven't tried it (yet) because i don't have any iProducts, but it looks like an interesting interface to control the MAQ sequencer.

At the push of a button you can easily change some of the MAQ's most used functions, that are sometimes hidden in the menu-structure of this hardware sequencer.

It even has a few extra's like the 'All steps on/off' and dedicated selection buttons for the most used modes (forward/backward, pendulum or random)



You can find the editor program at http://www.citricacid.de/maq163edit.zip

Video: Doepfer MAQ16/3 Touch OSC Template for IPADTutorial

" I ve programmed a TOUCH OSC Template for Doepfer MAQ16/3 Analog Step Sequencer and a IPAD. If you use a ios Midiinterface you can edit your MAQ . You can download the template for free at www.citricacid.de and on doepfer.de"

Find Thorsten on MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/acid_jack303
and on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/acidjack303

My Main Live Configuration

An interesting topic popped up on the A-100 Facebook Group recently;
" How do you guys trigger your analogue synths sounds on live gigs? "
I do change my setup from time to time, but i do have some kind of basic setup for my live-sets and jams.
I have a total of 5 VCO's in my A-100 system, and i try hard to get the most out of it every time i play.

 Elektron SPS-1 Machinedrum

At the heart of my setup there is a drum-section, consisting of a Roland R-8 and an Elektron SPS-1 Machinedrum. The Electron is a perfect machine with plenty of  electronic drum sounds, i use the R-8 for the more 'organic' drumsounds.

MSY-2 MIDI-to-SYNC Converter

Synchronizing over MIDI is controlled by the R-8, through the Machinedrum and through a Doepfer MSY-2 MIDI-to-SYNC converter straight into the MAQ 16/3 Sequencer.
The MSY-2 is used to keep my TB-303 basslines in sync with the rest.
I also use the CV and Gate outputs from the TB, i get back on this later.

The MAQ 16/3 is Doepfer's MIDI Analog Sequencer.
It has 3 sequencer rows of 16 steps with Gate and CV outputs, i mainly use the top 2 rows for programming loops and basslines. From the MAQ 16/3 it all turns analog and goes right into my A-100 system.

MAQ 16/3 main controls

Row 1: main row, usually a 16 step pattern;
The  first row's CV goes through an A-180 multiple into two separate A-110 VCO's (with sometimes a slight de-tuning involved )
I often turn one of the VCO's 3 or 4 octaves up and send one of its output waves through an A-115 Audio Divider to add some extra (sub) bass.
These layers all mixed together with an A-138 mixer can be send from here to any other kind of filter or effect module, ending in an A-130 VCA somewhere.
The first row's Gate signal goes into input 1 of my A-143-2 Quad ADSR, that contains 4 independent ADSR-type envelope generators.
Gate input 1 is automatically connected to the switching contacts of the Gate input sockets 2, so from that single input i can retrieve 2 different envelopes.
One of them is sent to a VCA, the other one often goes to a CV 2 input of one of my filters.
That is basically my first (sequenced) A-100 Audio-source #1.

Row 2: Usually 6, but sometimes even 3, 8 or 12 steps long;
The CV signal from the MAQ's second row goes straight into my third VCO.
One or multiple waveforms can be sent from there and used for various different purposes, filters etc... coming together in A-130 VCA nr 2
Gate 2 goes into the third input channel of the Quad ADSR, i split up this with another multiple so i have 4 identical envelopes for use in the rest of my system. One of them goes to VCA nr. 2
So that's my second (sequenced) A-100 Audio-source #2.

VCO 4 is controlled by the CV coming from my (synced) TB-303.
The 303's gate signal triggers an ADSR for another A-130 VCA envelope.
I can send this audio-signal through all sorts of modules, resulting in A-100 audio-source #3

My 5th VCO ( and my only A-111 High End VCO ) is used for my solo's.
With an A-182-1 Switched Multiples i can easily switch between my MIDI masterkeyboard or my A-198 Ribbon Controller.
More info on this in detail HERE.
The Ribbon Controller CV goes into my A-156 Quantizer and an A-170 Slew Limiter for easier playing and a nice glide effect, as blogged HERE.
The Gate signal from my MAQ's row 3 (max. 16 steps or pauses) is sent to the 4th input of the Quad ADSR.
I like using this programmed (almost arpeggio-like) envelope to open a filter or amplifier with this, watch the video to see what i mean by that.
I have plenty options to do whatever i want with the wave-forms from this 5th VCO, but I like to keep the sawtooth wave for the A-129 Vocoder.
I guess that makes up audiosources #4 (vocoder) and #5 ( the VCO ) then...

What i did not mention here are the various other mixers and multiples used, the added noise, filters and LFO etcetera, but i hope you understand this is just the basic configuration of my A-100.

Video: Just me... and the Music take 1, an older jam by myself (from YouTube)


" Live Electronic Jam by NetPierre.NL feat. Doepfer A100 + Ribbon Controller, TB303, Machinedrum and effects, no post-production, and sadly no compession ) "

Doepfer MAQ16/3 and Doepfer A-100 - A Dynamic Duo

If i could only advice one external controller for the Doepfer A-100 system it would definitely be the Doepfer MAQ16/3 MIDI/Analog Sequencer.

This versatile sequencer has 3 rows of 16 knobs, and outputs a CV (for pitch) and a Gate (trigger) signal for each row. It also has a MIDI input for synchronizing, and a MIDI output to connect any sound generating MIDI device.

The ease of use of this sequencer is incredible, in just a few minutes you have different (bass-) lines wobbling through each-other...

Different running modes are available for each row, such as Forward/ Backward/ Random/ Pendulum and many more, so the possibillities are almost limitless. Other parameters that can be altered in the sequencer are First/Last step, Gate time, Tempo, and almost any other MIDI event type.

My only personal negative point that i would like to mention is the limit of 30 sequence memory spaces, way too little in my opinion, and i know it is more than what sequencers could store long time ago, but hey... can't this be upgraded to 99 memories ( please!? )

There are many alternatives for the MAQ16/3, the A-155 Analog/Trigger Sequencer is Doepfers own dedicated in-system sequencer module that can be extended with the A-154 Enhanced Sequencer Controller, but still doesn't have the full funcionality of the MAQ.

(Analog) sequencers of other brands are also quite popular, some in a eurorack module form-factor, others in the shape of desktop controllers...
What's your favorite? Feel free to leave a comment below!