500th PatchPierre Post

I never thought that this would happen when I started this blog to be honest, but my 500th PatchPierre post is a fact now... after almost 4½ years of blogging I finally reached this magic number.

Thank you all again for the support, especially

Dieter Doepfer, Raul Pena, Felix (TTNM), Tony Steventon, Matrixsynth Jones, Oliver Chesler, Intellijel, DivKid, Jon Adams, Marc Weerts, Steve Harmon, Malekko, ModularGrid, Eliazerk, techno-id.com and everyone who I forgot...

Via one of my other projects BrickPierre

First I would like to share a few PatchPierre numbers with you about the PatchPierre universe:
- PatchPierre blog has reached over 310.000 pageviews in 4½ year.
- an average of around 18.000 - 20.000  pageviews per month lately, and this number is still climbing.
- Over 3.200 people follow PatchPierre on Twitter

- Over 150 people already like PatchPierre on Facebook 
- Almost 350 people follow me on Soundcloud 

- Patchpierre.Net welcomed visitors from 144 countries so far

The most popular PatchPierre posts:

DIY Modular Case Ideas Jan 1, 2012, 

150th PatchPierre Post Dec 11, 2011, 

100th PatchPierre Post May 22, 2011, 

New Doepfer A-100 Case A-100PB Announced Oct 18, 2013, 

Vactrol Basics Feb 21, 2011, 

Finding new topics is getting harder as i have already reviewed most of the Doepfer modules i own, but i hope i can keep the blog interesting enough in the future with an even wider range of eurorack related posts.
If you have any suggestions / questions etc... feel free to contact me.

- Donations (big or small) are still welcome via PayPal
(info at http://patchpierre.blogspot.nl/p/patchpierre-donors.html)
Donations will keep PatchPierre ad-free

Sadly I am having technical difficulties in my studio, so I am not able to record new demos / tracks at the moment, and besides that I am a bit too busy with my own work so I can't write much 'original'content, but that will all return after the summer...

Thank you so much again for all the support and the positive feedback.  PP

Doepfer A-100 Xmas Edition

The coolest Christmas module comes from the Doepfer website:

" Season's greetings and best wishes for the New Year to all our customers and business partners ! "

- Doepfer

" ...We are closed from December 21st, 2013 until January 06th 2014.

During this time no order processing, no shipping, no email or phone support, no receipt of goods, no repairs and so on."

Skiff- Friendly

skiff  ( s k í f ) :

" A flatbottom open boat of shallow draft, having a pointed bow and a square stern and propelled by oars, sail, or motor.
[Middle English skif, from Old French esquif, from Old Italian schifo, of Germanic origin.] "

Source: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/skiff

They have been out there for a while, but it seems like more and more people like to use "skiff" type wooden or aluminium shallow racks to house their Eurorack modules.
Flat-bottomed shallow skiffs that often lie down horizontally or are slightly tilted can be very useful in many situations because they fit perfectly on your desktop, next to your computer.
In my opinion they are perfect to put controller modules in them, but be aware...

Walnut Makenoise skiff

The shallow depth of some skiffs might not be enough for the kind of modules you want to put in there.
Be sure that the depth of your modules is tuned to the depth of your skiff and vice versa.
I see a lot of manufacturers putting the word 'skiff-friendly' in their advertisements lately and most of them are usually very shallow, so you would not have a problem with those.

The walnut Makenoise skiff from Analoguehaven in the picture for example has an internal depth of only 1.75 inch (4.45 cm) without a power rail mounted. Now that's shallow...

Imagine that with a busboard mounted inside and figure out how little depth is left for modules.
Not that this is a bad skiff or so, in fact it looks beautiful and can house the most 'skiff-friendly' modules that i know, but i know for sure that my (Doepfer)  A-175 Joystick wouldn't fit in there...

My advice is to check out the depth of the modules that you would like to install in your skiff before you buy one... better be safe than sorry...

PatchPierre Wishes you Happy Holidays!

From the bottom of my heart, i would like to wish all frequent and/or accidental readers of PatchPierre.Net very Happy Holidays!

Thank you for all your support throughout the last year.

I will take a break until the 1st of January 2013, and hope to return with my regular 1-post-every-3-days schedule.

Is Christmas the season of sharing for you?

Feel free to donate any amount to PatchPierre by clicking HERE

and/or visit http://patchpierre.blogspot.nl/p/patchpierre-donors.html for info.

Thank you very much in advance!

Doepfer's Christmas wishes from their website

Doepfer MCV-24 Battery Replacement

Zoë Blade's partner Nina Richards has made an interesting short video demonstrating how to replace the Doepfer MCV-24's internal battery.

Video: Doepfer MCV-24 battery replacement

" Nina's short guide to replacing the internal battery of a Doepfer MCV-24"

Uploaded by Zoë Blade

The following Doepfer devices are (or have been) equipped with a rechargeable battery like this for memory backup:
2.4V rechargeable battery: LMK3/LMK3+
3.6V rechargeable battery, grid 10 x 20 mm.: used in d3c, MCV24, A-112 VC Sampler /Wavetable Oscillator, Schaltwerk and Regelwerk.

Find more info on Doepfer batteries at http://patchpierre.blogspot.nl/2011/09/quick-tip-vii-battery-check.html

Avoiding Hum From Power Supplies

If you are buying a second-hand rack, or if you already have a Doepfer modular rack with a cheap alternative (non-Doepfer) power supply you should be aware of how to avoid the (minor) transformer hum that cheap PSUs generate.

In the area near those power supplies (bottom right) no modules should be assembled that are sensitive to transformer hum.
Doepfer recommends to assemble only control voltage modules in this area (e.g. LFO, ADSR, trigger delay, clock divider/sequencer, sequencer, slew limiter, MIDI interfaces and so on)
,but no audio modules (VCO, VCF, VCA, VCP, frequency shifter, ring modulator, spring reverb and so on)
Also don't put the A-178 Theremin modules near the power supply.

Doepfer Power Supply I ( PSU I )

This matters for some of the cheap alternative non-Doepfer power supplies, and for the old Doepfer versions with PSU I 
For new A-100G3/G6 cases (with original PSU II) this does not apply. 

Find out how to distinguish the old transformer (PSU I) from the new version (PSU II) at http://patchpierre.blogspot.nl/2012/07/doepfer-power-supplies.html

More info at http://www.doepfer.de/a100p_e.htm#A100P6

Quick Tip X : The Warm Up

Good performances need a good preparation and a warm-up.
That does not only count for sports-prestations, but also for your (eurorack modular) analog synthesizer.

2 Doepfer VCOs that could use a good warm up

If you are looking for getting the best out of your Doepfer A-100, understand that you need to give your system at least 20 to 30 minutes to warm up.
If you don't give it that amount of time, the tuning can/will probably be (slightly) off.

To be clear, it's not a question of the "A-100" warming up, but of the modules installed.
In some cases, the warm-up period of a module is mentioned in the manual or on the web-page of the module in question.

Especially VCOs like A-110, A-111-1, A-111-5, A-143-4 need a warming-up to become stable and reliable.
If no warm-up period is mentioned the VCO is stable very soon (like the CEM3340-based A-111-1).

The PSU type (Doepfer power supply I or II) has no influence.

SiteTip: Waveform City

Another interesting site that i only recently discovered is WaveForm City.

Waveform City produces and publishes interviews with synth-manufacturers and influential people in the field of analog synthesizers.
Pretty interesting stuff... so far they published 14 episodes since the beginning of this year.
They have already posted interviews with Harvestman, WMD, Make Noise, Mark Verbos, Richard Devine, Tom Erbe and many others, i hope they will interview Dieter soon...

You can find all interviews at: http://waveformcity.blogspot.com



You can also follow Waveform City on SoundCloud via
https://soundcloud.com/blz

Nokia App-Update

Although the platform seems to be slowly dying (i recently made the last changes to it...ever) my FREE PatchPierre app for NOKIA phones ( S40, S60, Symbian ) is still available.

Basically this PatchPierre Mobile application is an RSS-feed(s) reader plus NetPierreTV YouTube videoplayer.

Over 6600 downloads/installs already in 157 countries...
(and more than 1000 downloads of the latest version in the last two weeks)

The app will soon be available for the latest NOKIA Asha Touch devices; the Asha 305/306/308/309/311

You can find all versions of the PatchPierre app in the NOKIA store at

http://store.ovi.com/search?q=patchpierre

Screenshot small

N8 Screenshot by @wonderhelm

Don't worry if you don't own a NOKIA device.

PatchPierre.Net also looks good on your Android, iOS and Windows phone or tablet via the special mobile version of the app at http://oviappwizard.com/mip/plus/list.jsp?&id=184288 (for as long as it lasts), 
or the original mobile version of the blog via http://patchpierre.blogspot.nl/?m=1 , or keep on track with the the RSSfeed in your favorite RSS-reader or applications like Flipboard.

Modular In A Picture Frame

A great idea for a nice modular case can be found on http://groanmaster.blogspot.nl/

This project by Andrew Dobbels involves a real picture-frame and a 208 HP Eurorack with various modules.
You can find the making-of pictures on his site with explanatory texts, so you can build your own.

More pics HERE

(via MATRIXSYNTH)

MATRIXSYNTH Swag

Whoohoo!
Yesterday i got my brand new MATRIXSYNTH T-shirt, that i ordered only one week ago...
Yes, i am a fan, and i've been following MATRIXSYNTH(.com) for a very long time.
They have promoted a lot of my YouTube videos and PatchPierre articles in the past.

As a small gesture of thanks i decided to buy a T-shirt from their website, hoping they still earn a few dollars on it to keep the blog alive... (although they have ads too, unlike my own blog)
I must say the quality of shirt and print looks superb and it fits perfect too (size M)
They also added 3 cards and a nice MATRIXSYNTH magnet, but it sadly does not stick on my (aluminium) Doepfer front-plates ;-)

My new MATRIXSYNTH swag

Order info: http://m.matrixsynth.com/2009/10/matrixsynth-donations-and-swag.html

Donations to PatchPierre (big or small) are also welcome, and possible via: http://patchpierre.blogspot.nl/p/patchpierre-donors.html, but i have no swag to give away... ;-)
Thanks in advance!

200th PatchPierre Post

Woooot!... but you might have guessed that already...

Another small 'milestone' for the blog, my 200th post, in a little over two years of blogging here.
I will try to keep the tradition of writing a dedicated post every 50th up... if you like it or not ;-)
Thank you all again for the interest in my site (6000 pageviews last month) and for all your promotional work, re-tweets and positive responses, that really means a lot to me every time.

My A-100 rack and MAQ16/3 sequencer

Some of you might know that a column on the left side (bottom) of the blog always shows the posts that were visited the most, but strangely enough, my 50th, 100th and 150th post are all in the top 5. (probably this one will soon be there too?)
I find this a bit weird, because i personally expected my most interesting posts to rank higher, and i even hoped that the one i enjoyed writing the most would end up highest... but no...
It is still very hard to predict what post will be read the most, but that keeps it a nice challenge for me...

I do have some personal favorite posts, sometimes because of the fun i had researching it, or because they were so interesting for the readers and/or news-worthy that other blogs re-posted them (often with a proper link to my site).
If you are new here take some time to (re)-read my blog-posts this weekend, you will probably find something interesting.

Here are a few of my own favorites in random order;

http://patchpierre.blogspot.com/2011/06/how-to-hide-arpeggiator.html is one of them, i love to write about functions of modules that you (still) cannot read anywhere on the Doepfer website...

My first post that i wrote after some intensive personal emailing with Dieter Doepfer (who actually does a great job doing customer support) is also in my favorites list;

http://patchpierre.blogspot.com/2012/01/doepfer-mogli-and-gesture-control.html

My post about the announcement and specifications of the Dark Energy II was re-posted on almost any respected synthesizer-blog and should not be forgotten here;
http://patchpierre.blogspot.com/2012/03/dark-energy-ii-specifications-announced.html

My favorite posts from the DIY/Modifications -section;

http://patchpierre.blogspot.com/search/label/A-127, my coolest modification so far.

and finally this one;

http://patchpierre.blogspot.com/2010/12/most-wanted-iii-din-sync.html
I must have had a vision at the time i wrote this, because Doepfer recently announced a module like this (read all about that HERE)

As you can see i left the Raul Pena video's out, because all props for that go to him of course...

My personal taste might be a bit different than yours...
Feel free to leave a reply on what your favorite post was, or to submit topics that you like to read more about.
All feedback is welcome and I will take all your suggestions in consideration.

Florian Schneider - Electronic Poem

Here's another classic from the web that caught my attention last month, and it has an interesting story behind it too...

The (audio-) recording in the video below originally comes from a KEYS-Magazine demo CD, Issue 04 / 1996.
This issue of the magazine had an extensive A-100 test (page 44-50) in it, with statements from Kraftwerk's Florian Schneider (and O. Lieb).
Kraftwerk had worked intensively with Doepfer in the mid- nineties, for example on the Doepfer Mogli 'Midi Output GLove Interface', the MAQ 16/3 sequencer, the Doepfer A-129 Vocoder and some other (custom and modification) -projects. (more on this next month)

Florian Schneider (from Kraftwerk) spoke this poem on the answering machine of Florian Anwander, who wrote for the German KEYS magazine at the time.
Anwander played the cassette of the answering machine back in a Fostex 280 multitrack deck and did the vocoder recording with a straight saw wave from a Roland JX3P synthesizer as a carrier-signal.
No voiced/unvoiced detector was used; instead of that he took the high frequencies of the original signal, that were later added to the output-signal.

A Yamaha 2020 compressor and a noise-gate from Ashley were also used in this audiorecording.

Florian Schneider (Kraftwerk)
and Dieter Doepfer *

" Analogsynthese mit system 

klanglich, optish angenehm

technisch, logisch, funktionell

prototypisch und speziell

modular und variabel

leicht, kompakt und transportabel

für ein musikabenteuer

A-100, nicht zu teuer

midi-kontrolle vom computer

A-100 to the future! "

-translated into English:
Analog synthesis system / sonically and optically pleasing / technical, logical, functional / prototypical and special / modular and variable / Light, compact and portable / for a musical adventure / A-100, not too expensive / midi control from the computer / A-100 to the Future!

Video: Enigmidia / Florian Schneider - Electronic Poem
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-gp5x1ujME
" Doepfer Vocoder, Digital ComputerArt by Paulo R. C. Barros
Florian Schneider, from Kraftwerk, perform a recorded test-drive of a vocoder to the Doepfer electronic instruments."

Florian Schneider seemed to be very pleased with the A-100, on page 45 of the KEYS-issue he writes:
" Up to now, I only had the chance to play around for one day with the A-100, but I can already say that Doepfer has built something really special.
The system does sound very good and does offer everything I do expect from a modular system - and that at a really reasonable price.
For me it is also a plus that it has turned out smaller than other systems, like some may point out.
But the adjustors on a mixing desk are even closer together, and you can also take it with you easily and leave the expensive rarities at home.
The vocoder has turned out really nice; it does really sound good in comparison to other vocoders.
After building a multi-channel filter (a very important module, by the way), it was only a small step for Dieter Doepfer to combine this with VCA's and Envelope-followers. "

He also shared a tip;
" On a modular synth, you really learn how the sounds are made.
I can advise anyone to buy a simple oscilloscope with the modular system.
This was also my start, I was fascinated to see; "this is how the sound looks here and after the filter it looks like that...".
You can really see principles here which you can also find in the whole world. "

* The opening voice is Gia Stemmer, who did the moderation of the KEYS demo-CD.
More info on the Doepfer vocoder system HERE

* Picture from Doepfer.de

Video Synthesis - A-136 Solarization Tests

Besides for audio, some Doepfer (and other (analog modular) synthesizer modules can be used for other purposes too.
For example this A-136 Distortion/Waveshaper in combination with an LZX analogue modular video synthesizer.

LZX Visionary (by LZX Industies) is a line of EuroRack format synthesizer modules designed for creating and manipulating video and images.
Their range consists of 9 different modules so far: a Color Video Encoder, Video Sync Generator, Video Waveform Generator, Triple Video Fader & Key Generator, Video Blending Matrix, Voltage Interface I, Video Ramps, Triple Video Processor and a Voltage Bridge.

It looks like a very versatile range of products that will probably make a lot of video-editors happy.
For modular synth-geeks the layout, functions etc. looks quite familiar with what we do, and i like the idea of video-mixing, LFO-controlled color-swapping, and adding other effects to video with Eurorack modules.
The possibility of adding synthesizer modules that were intended for audio to this system is IMO just brilliant, i can imagine what different LFO's, noise generators and other modulators/waveshapers or perhaps a video sampler will do with video.
The LZX webpage is full with interesting info, basic patch-examples, video's and links to other resources.

I couldn't find a lot of info on the video below, but it is quite new and i found it interesting enough to post it here on my blog.

Video: A-136 Solarization Tests*
http://vimeo.com/35069251

" Sean Hannan processes video through the Doepfer A-136 Audio/CV shaping module."
*video has no audio

For more info on video-synthesis check out

- Video Synthesis subforum on Muffwiggler
- EuroRack Modular Synth Planner

Merry Christmas from PatchPierre

PatchPierre wishes all the regular and occasional readers of my blog a very merry Christmas!
I am having a little writing-break these days, so here's an old video this time;

Usually i am not a huge fan of those free-running modular synth- patches, especially the noisey ones, but this video (by YouTube user belempa1) definitely has some musical value... and ehhh what a nice rack! ;-)

Video: Doepfer Monster Modular 2


" This is a patch that i always wanted, a dreamy sound like that from Tangerine Dream or Klaus Schulze.
A single oscillator; Audio Frequency Generator Livewire, has a strong personality and the quality is superb.
The A-149-1 and 2 Doepfer, which incorporates some features of the "Source of Uncertainty" by Don Buchla, are the essential elements of this patch. This patch in a loop without any external effect." *

*roughly translated

150th PatchPierre Post

Woooooot! ...all over again. :-)
My 150th post already, who would have thought that?
I didn't expect to still be able to post every 3 to 4 days, because i thought there wasn't much to blog about anymore, but it looks like i was wrong...
Okay, my posts are not always very long and pretty basic (so far), but that is the whole point of this blog; 'basic A-100 -news, -tips, -patches, sound-examples and other general (Eurorack analog modular) synthesizer info', for all modular synthesizer enthusiasts...

I found a good schedule to write now; when i am in the mood, a good part of my Sunday afternoons is spent on writing 2 or 3 posts and if there is any news (new video's / news from the forums / new thoughts) i try to fit them in between the 'regular' posting schedule.

The traffic-numbers are still going up, but slowly; I expect to reach 3000 page-views this or next month (was around 1700 last May, at the moment of my 100th post, and around 1000 in October last year).
The visitors come from 102 different counties, and it feels like my blog is slowly changing into some kind of Doepfer A-100 archive, which is also very cool.

I hope my numbers will keep on growing, but i'm not yet sure how to do that and where i could promote my site some more.
If you have an idea on how i could do this feel free to let me know, and feel free to let the whole world know about my blog... of course...
Spam it where you can ;-)

I must say i was very pleased to see Raul Pena's amazing A-100 tutorial video's popping up this summer.
Great video's that were very informative and clearer than i could ever have written for you in English.
It did save me the time to write about some hard to explain modules, like the A-188 for example...
Also check out his 12 days of Modular series HERE

So what can you expect in my next 50 posts?
I haven't even written about all the modules that i own, so you will see a bit more of that, even some more short reviews of the simple basic modules.
Sadly i don't have a big budget to invest in new modules at the moment.
A few more synth-books are on my book-shelf that i will write about.

Starting next year the CD-Tip section of the blog will include some more 'classic synthesizer albums', instead of the how-to-, sample- and more off-beat CD-tips i posted so far.
Although i am not a professional CD-reviewer i would like to let you know what CD's i find worth listening to.
Think of 70's and early 80's albums like "Cyborg" by Klaus Schulze, "Switched on Bach" by Wendy Carlos and Tomita's "Pictures at an Exhibition" or "The Planets".
I guess i should not name more now, but if you have any suggestions please leave a comment below.

Thank you all again for your feedback / re-tweets / +1's and Facebook likes so far.
I'm looking forward to write my next 50 posts...

(also check my 50th post from December 7, 2010,
                                          and my 100th post from May 22, 2011)

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

Discontinued A-100 Modules

Good things come and good things go...
There are many different reasons for manufacturers to stop producing certain modules.
Sadly for some people, some components of a few Doepfer modules aren't available anymore.
Some of the special circuits ( or IC's) in the modules have become scarce, or not available at all ( like the original knobs ) , and that has been a reason for Doepfer to discontinue the production of some of these modules.

Another reason to stop producing certain modules is because they just don't or didn't sell... maybe just because they are not very useful (anymore) or they disappeared when newer modules appeared with (almost) the same function(s).

Soon a collector's item?

An overview ( updated February 2012 ) :

A-111 High End VCO  As the special circuit CEM3340 used in this module is no longer available the module has to be discontinued.
/ Sale while stocks last.

A-121 Multimode Filter As the special circuit CEM3320 used in this module is no longer available the module has to be discontinued soon.
/ Sale while stocks last (only 20 left in Januari 2012)
Doepfer recommends the A-106-6 XP VCF, that is based on the filter circuit of the Oberheim Xpander, as a replacement module.

...the A-101-9 Universal Vactrol Controller is the latest addition to the running out/ sale while stock lasts list... more info on this later

The A-111-5 Mini Synth Voice (and the Dark Energy) will also be discontinued because of CEM3394 chip running out... Stock is still available.
More info on this HERE

The following Doepfer modules are not available anymore:

A-123 24dB High Pass was discontinued at the time by poor sales, and the special circuit CEM3320 used in this module is no longer available.

...and another one...

A-126 Frequency Shifter Because the special circuit CEM3382 used in the internal quadrature VCO of the A-126 is no longer available Doepfer had stop the production of this module too.
But they are about to plan a succeeding model ( A-126-2 ) without internal VCO. The advantage of this solution is that even frequencies below 50Hz are available for special beat effects based of frequency shifting at low frequencies.

A-138x Mix Expander - Because of the poor inquiries the production of this module had been stopped too.

A-139 Headphone Amplifier, a 2-channel headphone amplifier with 2 audio inputs (3.5 mm jack sockets) and level controls, common loudness/master level control, 2 headphone outputs (stereo 1/4" jack sockets) - no longer available

A-177 External Foot Controller is now replaced by the A-177-2, a more economical replacement with a little less control (without LEDs and without scale controls), but with almost the same functions.

A-179 Light Controlled Voltage Source is also no longer available as the special circuit CEM3320 used in this module is no longer available. That is why this module also had to be discontinued.

A-191 MIDI-to-CV Interface / Shepard Generator no longer available

A-197 Analog Meter no longer available ( i personally never really expected an analog meter to be very useful, and i guess i wasn't the only one )

A-197-2 Oscilloscope kit no longer available -
I am still looking for an affordable oscilloscope though. I was thinking about something like a MFB VD-01 Videoscope, but sadly there's no budget at the moment...

Latest update: A-188-1Y BBD Module (256 stages) is also on sale while stocks last


Curious what chip is inside your synthesizer?
Check http://synthtech.com/cems.html and
http://sequencer.de/synth/index.php/Chips_in_Synthesizers

Black, The New Silver

Like it or not; It looks like Doepfer is slowly changing the main colors of their products into the new black and white color-scheme.
It all started with the Dark Energy synthesizer and the Dark Time sequencer, and recently they changed the case-colors of their USB/MIDI interfaces MSY2, MCV4 and Dark Link.

The first (and probably only) A-100-related new black thing is Doepfer's Ribbon Controller ( The R2M control box and the manual, not the A-198 module itself )
As of June 2011 the cases of this Ribbon Controller will be black with white printing instead of the old silver-grey look.

I like this move towards black from Doepfer because it does make these instruments and boxes look slick(er).
It is probably cheaper too for them to produce, but i'm not sure of that ( and doesn't really matter to me).

But what will be next..? Will they also change the A-100's front-plates?
I guess (and hope) not... that will seriously mess up the overall view in my opinion, although i do like the black and white look from the vintage Moog and Roland modulars.
Fact is that those modules are far better readable due to the high contrast, but i don't think they should apply this to the older A-100 modules. ( but íf Doepfer ever comes up with a range of specific drum-modules i wouldn't mind them being black and white because this can be seen as a separate (sub-) system... )

100th PatchPierre Post

Woooooot! ...again. :-)

My 100th post already (the 50th was on December 7, 2010), and the blog is still going strong.
With fewer posts though, but the viewing rates are still slightly growing every month.
Thank you all again for regularly visiting this site and for your valuable feedback.
I hope my blog can still please the people who just got into analog (modular) synthesizers, and also provide the more advanced users with interesting links and different insights.

In this post i would like to take a quick look into the most popular of my first hundred posts.
Although i cannot exactly tell how many people read each post (many of the visitors land on the main page, where they might read multiple posts at once), i can tell by the individual clicks what the most popular posts were and tell a bit about their traffic sources.

By far the most popular post was my Busboard Access post from November 17, 2010.
I guess struggling for hours through the manuals for a complete overview of all modules that are capable to read or write to the A-100's busboard was worth it.

Also still very popular is my PatchPierre Mobile App for Symbian post from December 8, 2010.
I am still very proud with the almost 5000 installs of the application on Nokia Symbian and selected S40 devices. I do hope Nokia will find a way to port these kind of self-made apps to the Windows Mobile platform and Market too. The more installs, the better... :-)
I did get an email from OVI that my App will soon be updated with some new extra features and an 'enhanced user experience'. A blogpost about that will follow...  (meanwhile the app is still available HERE)

The A-101-2 Vactrol Low Pass Gate and  A-156 Quantizer Follow Modification posts were also quite popular, together with the various other DIY and Modifications posts that i did.
The Book-tips and the CD-tips also seem to be of your interest. I still have a few book-tips on the shelve, and i will try to post some interesting (synthesizer-related) CD-reviews in the near future too.

And... where did all this traffic come from?
Well, Google's search in all its varieties ( .com /.co.uk /.fr / .de / .nl ) was by far the #1 top referring site, but that is hardly a surprise.
Social Media-sites like Twitter (#2) and Facebook (#4) also proved to be very useful to attract readers to the site, and  a lot of viewers came from the Nokia/Symbian mobile application referrals ( #5, but not as much visits as i expected, a lot of people still seem to only read my blog in-app, thus still missing out on a lot of the links ).
More surprisingly was the #3 spot, because Tony Steventon's Synovatron.blogspot.com seems to have been a true link-farm for links to my blog. Thanks for that Tony ;-) Keep up the good work with your interesting projects!
The link to my site on the Doepfer A-127 webpage has also attracted quite a few (new) readers, i'm pretty proud with that one and it looks like the MuffWigglers have (re-)discovered/ finally found this blog too. ( thanks to THIS post ) I have seen a lot of traffic coming from there in the last month... Welcome!

I hope i can serve all of you with at least 100 more posts in the future, but it might take bit longer than the first 100...