A-140 ADSR Envelope Generator videos by Raul Pena

It's amazing how fast Raul Pena keeps on publishing those A-100 tutorials.
Here are the first three parts (of 4) of his latest videos...

Video 1: Doepfer A140 ADSR Envelope Generator Part One-Introduction

" Description and demonstration of the Doepfer A140 ADSR module. Demonstration of creating a kick drum with a filter and shaping with the A140 ADSR. Sound and Video by Raul Pena."

Video 2: Doepfer A140 ADSR Envelope Generator Part Two

" Part Two in the Doepfer A140 ADSR Generator demonstration.Experimentating with shaping with the A140 ADSR in the Medium setting.Also includes demonstrations of retrigger and inverse envelope.Sound and Video by Raul Pena."

Video 3: Doepfer A140 ADSR Envelope Generator Part Three-VCO Patch

" Description and demonstration of the Doepfer A140 Envelope Generator in a VCO Patch. A brief description of the A190-Midi to CV Module is described and sound demonstration. Sound and Video by Raul Pena."

Video 4: Doepfer A140 ADSR Envelope Generator Part Four- White Noise Patch

" Description and demonstration of the Doepfer A140 Envelope Generator in a White Noise Patch. A brief description of the A190-Midi to CV Module is described and sound demonstration. Sound and Video by Raul Pena "
Don't forget to check out Raul's site at http://raulsworldofsynths.com/

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.

Doepfer M.A.U.S.I.

The Doepfer MAUSI (MIDI-Analog / SYNC Interface) was released in 1995 (around the same time as the A-100 system) and was a MIDI-to-CV and MIDI-to-SYNC interface to control analog vintage synthesizers, bass lines and/or drum machines via MIDI.

Doepfer MAUSI front

It was a small, half 19-inch sized grey box, and until a few weeks ago, i never realized why the Doepfer MAUSI looked so familiar to me.

An email from Dieter Doepfer confirmed that not only on the outside, but also internally this module is for 95% the same as the A-190 MIDI-to-CV/Gate/Sync Interface.

One of the small differences between these two modules is that the MAUSI had a DIN SYNC output, and the A-190 has a clock and a reset output.

Doepfer explained to me: " In modular systems the RESET feature was more popular than the Start/Stop of
the DIN SYNC, but after all it's nearly the same (just the opposite levels: Start/Stop of DIN SYNC goes high at the Start and low at the Stop, RESET goes low at the Start and high at the Stop)"

Doepfer MAUSI backside

MAUSI allowed you to control synthesizers via either V/octave (Moog, Roland, Sequential, A-100) or Hz/V characteristics (Korg, Yamaha).

Beside that, you could also switch between gate/trigger (+5...+12V) or switched trigger control (S-Trigger).

Around 400 MAUSI's were made from September 1995 until April 2000

MAUSI included an external power supply for 230V AC.

For other mains voltages the power supply had to be purchased separately by the customer. (7...12V DC/500mA with 2.1 or 2.5mm connector required).

Find more info in the English User's Guide of MAUSI.

Raul Pena's A-149 Random Controlled Voltages Tutorials

Raul Pena is back once again with some very interesting tutorials on the Doepfer A-149 RCV module.

Video 1: Doepfer A149-1 RCV Quantized Random Voltages

" Description and Demonstration of the Doepfer A149-1 RCV Quantized Random Voltages.Sound and Video by Raul Pena."

Video 2: Doepfer A 149 RCV Stored Random Voltages

" Part Two in the Doepfer A149-1 RCV Series.Exploration and Demonstration of the Stored Random Voltages section of the Doepfer A149-1 RCV. Sound and Description by Raul Pena."

Video 3: Doepfer A 149 RCV Modulation of Quantized and Stored Random Voltages

" Part three in the Doepfer A149-1 RCV series. Explanation and Demonstration of Modulation in the Quantized and Stored Random voltages sections."

As soon as more episode appear online i will add them to this blogpost
Don't forget to check out Raul's site at http://raulsworldofsynths.com/

Dieter Doepfer Interview From Totally Wired

I know, this next one is not new, but interesting enough to re-post here on my blog.
It's an interview with Dieter Doepfer, from 'Totally Wired' a documentary film by Niamh Guckian about Andreas Schneider's infamous 'Schneider's Buero', the boutique electronic musical instrument shop in Berlin.

The documentary was made in 2009 and "explores one man's electric evangelism, and the interface he has built to connect analogue instrument inventors with their end-users.", according to the maker.
" The film features an informed selection of inventors and artists alike, including Dieter Doepfer, Junior Boys, Ken MacBeth, Anthony Rother, Jessica Rylan, Daniel Miller, Wowa Cwejman, Per Salzwedel, Ricardo Villalobos, Magda, Marc Houle and many more."

Video: Doepfer Sneak Peek

Doepfer Sneak Peek from Niamh Guckian on Vimeo.
" An interview with the great man himself, taken from the documentary 'Totally Wired'. Dieter talks about the inspiration for the A100 series, his collaborations with Kraftwerk, and the future of modular. Unmissable!
'Totally Wired' is available on DVD from amazon.com "

Please visit the blog for more totallywired.tumblr.com
Watch the trailer HERE

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

Video: I Ran Out Of Cables

Hawklord2112's modular rack

A new video by 'friend of the blog' Hawklord2112 popped up on YouTube today.

An exciting abstract track , made with his big modular that  mainly consists of Doepfer modules.
He was also kind enough to send me an overview of his setup...
Click on the picture on the right to take a look.

It all sounds and looks very impressive!

Setup overview made with
http://www.modularplanner.co.uk/

Video: I Ran Out Of Cables
" - zen modular again, nearly both kinds!
unfortunately you can't see the fourth row of modules.
the only ones *not* used in this patch are my TheAbsent feedback loop, A114 Ring Modulator and A164.1 manual gate.
and even then only because i ran out of cables.
- more should be arriving shortly."

Don't forget to follow him on Twitter and/or subscribe to his YouTube channel