Exploring the universe of modular systems is an arduous undertaking, given the breadth and heterogeneity of matter, it is easy to get lost; the argument assumes mammoth proportions if, in addition to considering what the market has offered for about thirty years, the potential and prospects offered by current technology are evaluated.
In this journey between worlds and galaxies, for the most part still unknown, I wanted to trace a very specific route, starting to deal with products that I know or that I had the opportunity to personally test, in short, a sort of Ariadne's thread, made necessary by intrinsic difficulties of the path. I will treasure the collaboration of some dear friends, we will get to know famous products, made by historical brands, we will meet smaller creatures, but no less interesting, which ironically did not enjoy that pinch of advertising boost necessary to become a fundamental step for "Voyagers" of music. It will be a long and interesting journey, I just have to invite you to fasten your seat belts, put on your respirators and pay attention to the propulsive thrust of take-off…!
In the previous episode I gave hints on the world of modern modular systems, this time we will deal with one of the most famous manufacturers: DOEPFER. As already mentioned in the previous article, this house is to be considered as a milestone among the neo-pioneers of modular analog. Doepfer boasts about 99 modules and it is, for sure, the widest roster this market offers in terms of "Add-ons" by single brand. Among the modules we find various types of oscillators, complex modifiers, a range of over 20 different types of filters, effects, “Sequencers”, Until reaching a system of analog vocoding. Among the more particular modules I could mention the range developed for the emulation of Mixtur Tratonium, (a bizarre machine developed in 1929 and used for the sound effects of the film "Birds" by Alfred Hitchcock), the A-178 modules Theremin Controlled CV (to turn your system into a super-theremin, the A-149-1 and A-149-2 series, which allows the reproduction of the “Source of Uncertainty”, present on the old Buchla systems) and, finally, the brand new A-188-1 and A-188-2 which are analog BBD delays.
The proven modular (Fig 1) is made up of nine modules arranged in a single 19 ”cabinet. The modules present are a A-190 Midi CV, for controlling the system via MIDI; a Banalogue VCS, multifunctional for complex modulations; two oscillators A-110; a noise and random generator A-118; an exponential mixer A-138; a lowpass filter A-120, with “Transistor Ladder” circuitry; a transient generator A-140, classic ADSR and finally an exponential VCA A-131 to give the final amplification.
A basic system, like this one, costs around € 900, although it may seem skimpy, it is still capable of remarkable tonal combinations. The A-190 module consists of a converter from MIDI signals to CV (Control Voltages), it is necessary to drive the modular system through any device that communicates via the MIDI protocol. It is equipped with two DACs that send signals from 0V to + 5V, in order to control not only the “pitch” but also other voltage-controllable parameters. The first DAC is hard-wired to receive notes via MIDI and convert them into control voltages available via the CV1 socket. Thanks to a resolution of 12-bits, the DAC provides an excellent resolution for “tuning” using 4096 steps. The second DAC, on the other hand, has a resolution of 7-bits (128 steps) and through the CV2 output it is possible to control any preset module (eg: filter, VCA, etc.).
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The A-190 (Fig.2) is also equipped with a clock output controlled by a MIDI clock and is divisible, so as to provide various types of clocks for synchronizing old sequencers and drum machines via MIDI. In addition, the Reset output can be used to control the A-160/161 modules (Clock Divider and Sequencer) or to send gates to the ADSRs. Last but not least, there is a glide / portamento, pitch bend and a software LFO. All these parameters are configurable via MIDI messages and are saved in a non-volatile memory. The oscillators, A-110, boast a maximum frequency of eight octaves and produce four waveforms simultaneously: Sine, Triangle, Square with pulse width and Sawtooth. The frequency, or pitch, of the oscillators is adjusted by the position of the octave switch (Range), operating on the Tune knob and using the voltage inputs on the module.
It is possible to do FM, Sync between the oscillators, adjust the amplitude of the Square both manually and by means of voltages (PW and PWM). The A-118 Noise Generator (Fig 3) produces three types of signals: white noise, colored noise and random voltages. The two types of noise can be used both as audio sources and as voltage sources, for “Sample & Hold” for example, random voltage becomes an excellent source of control, especially for low frequency content. It is also possible to mix the amount of low and high frequencies, for the Colored output, using the Red and Blue knobs. The A-120 Lowpass Filter (Fig 4) is the classic “Moog Transistor Ladder Filter”; it consists of a 4-pole Lowpass, with a “slope” of 24dB / Oct and is equipped with the classic frequency controls, Resonance and three control inputs.
It must be argued that this filter sounds different from the one present on the classic Moog, it has a nice texture and I like how it starts to react by bringing the Resonance to high levels, although in truth it reminds me more of the Lowpasses present on the Korg MS series the characteristic one of the Minimoog. By setting the Level knob to high levels, the filter increases in thickness giving a slight saturation and emphasis in the low frequencies. The A-138 Exponential Mixer is a classic four-channel mixer for mixing audio sources. Form A-140 (Fig 5) is a manual ADSR transient generator, we have a three-position switch, to select the total length of the envelope, and three outputs, one of which is “reverse”.
The A-131 module, on the other hand, provides the ultimate voltage-controllable amplifier stage. Although it is possible to intercept the audio signal from other modules as well, the use of a VCA is highly advisable both to be able to carry out, through ADSR, an amplitude modulation and for its tonal contribution. In fact, I noticed a pleasant sonic difference, albeit minimal, between the signal captured directly from the filter output and that captured by the VCA output, contributing to give “airiness” to the final sound.
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Bananalogue Serge VCS
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I decided to reserve a space for the description of this module as, given its peculiarities, a few lines would not be enough. First of all, you will never find this module in the Doepfer price list as it is produced by Bananalogue.com and is compatible with various systems including, of course, the aforementioned German brand. This form (Fig 6) as well as being a versatile control voltage generator, it is also an audio source. The project, curated by Ken Stone and Seth Nemec in collaboration with Serge Tcherepnin, refers to the circuit developed during the early 70s by Serge Tcherepnin for modular sounds, obviously also some new features are added compared to the original design. In practice, the module separately generates ascending and descending voltages whose combination can be controlled in various ways. The Serge VCS is equipped with an audio input, a trigger input, two outputs (one of which can be used with audio signals), and an exponential CV input. The knobs are bipolar, allowing you to send both positive and negative signals. The knobs that control the ascending and descending voltage introduce "feedback" into the circuit when they are pulled outwards, thus generating non-linear behavior. To underline the high sensitivity of this module and it is highly recommended to operate surgically on the knobs in order to savor all the auditory nuances. Compared to the original "vintage" circuit, the VCS has voltage-controllable attack and decay times. The “End Out” output sends a “trigger” signal when the envelope cycle is completed, allowing the module to be used as a voltage controlled pulse delay. As already mentioned above, you can also use the module as a glide / portamento. That's all? Not at all! You can also use it as an Envelope Follower with positive or negative “peak”, depending on the settings made by the “Rise” and “Fall” knobs. The function I prefer above all is given by the "Cycle" switch that interconnects the "End Out" output to the "Trigger" input so that you can use the module as an LFO or as an oscillator with a sawtooth waveform blunt. Obviously, we are far from the accuracy of a standard oscillator and it is advisable to use this function only for modulations. Pitch can be manually controlled using the “Rise” and “Fall” knobs or using the “Exp CV” input located at the bottom of the module. Lastly, but not in terms of utility, if we connect an audio signal to the “Trigger” input, it is possible to use the VCS as a sub-harmonic generator. Not bad for a single module.
Bass sounds
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Let's start creating some “patches” for a bass sequence. For the first tone, we used a pair of lowpass filtered sawtooth A-120. The envelope generator controls both the modulation of the filter frequency and the volume of the sound (1.mp3). Resonance is manually controlled. As you will notice the sound is very present and full-bodied, never intrusive in the low-end. After the first minute, you can hear the Serge VCS act as a Trigger Delay and filter in parallel with the lowpass. Personally I would have expected a little more aggression, but I made up for it brilliantly by fiddling with the possible saturations obtainable through the volume levels of the filter and the VCA (Fig 7). The result is evident in the “2.mp3” file where, to our aid, there is the evergreen Serge VCS acting as an additional filter for another oscillator.
Lead sounds
Turn down the volume before listening to the “3.mp3” file to avoid damage to your system and hearing. Why? You are about to be bombarded with the acidity of an analog sync lead. I love this pasta and this fluidity. Below we can listen to another classic "glide lead" clearly reminiscent of the 70s. A tone that dominated the scene in those years and very well known by lovers of good old progressive rock. The following sequences show some leads with various modulations. The A-110 oscillators (Fig 8), although they don't mount the CEM3340s like the A-111s, they manage to have a good sound throughout their useful range. The frequency modulation that can be obtained, even with only eight octaves available, is very pleasant and fluid, perhaps too soft compared to digital FM where the artifices of aliasing give the timbre that characteristic tone. In fact, having pure analogs at our disposal, we can push ourselves beyond the threshold of human hearing and the frequencies generated beyond the spectrum (therefore inaudible by man) are not returned to us in the form of aliasing but, simply, of silence. Also in this file many of the modulations are the work of the Bananalogue VCS. Forgive me, but I'm practically in love with this little wonder even if, as I go along with the programming, the too much precision it takes to have musically useful settings becomes tedious.
Percussive sounds
In this test I opted for the creation of “Drum Kicks” and a random percussion sequence. In this case the Serge VCS was used as an AD (Attack Decay) envelope generator to modulate the frequency of the A-110 oscillator in order to obtain the classic percussive attack. In the audio example “4.mp3” you will be able to hear a chase sequence of four with various modulations of the filter and envelopes. The sound is full-bodied and the thrust seems to be there even if, in my opinion, it doesn't seem to be good enough for a production. I got a surprise after treating the same file with a standard Logic Pro 7.2 "channel strip" (Fig 9) succeeding, through the use of a compressor coupled to a gate and a limiter, to obtain a truly remarkable boost on the bass. The last example, which can be listened to by opening the “5.mp3” file, is a realtime manipulated percussion sequence and shows you some particular timbres that can be obtained by playing with the Serge VCS, the A-120 filter and the A-110 oscillators. Maybe the sound will seem very "noisy" but, I assure you, it is a desired effect. The Doepfer manages to be crystal clear and, at the time, quite "naughty".
Special drones and stamps:
Not being a polyphonic, this system lends itself little to creating wraparound pads, unless you want to record Wendy Carlos style at the time of her "Switched on Bach" (Fig 10). It's a shame because the warmth of this machine would be ideal for nice spatial and evolutionary pads. Despite this, we can indulge ourselves with the creation of drones and other unusual timbres. The “6.mp3” file is a classic example. For this tone we modulated the A-110 oscillator using the Serge VCS as the LFO. The filter is manually modulated and a second oscillator, modulated by another wave form of the first, provides for adding harmonics generated by pure frequency modulation. Some white noise is used to smudge the timbre while colored noise is used as a modulator for the pulse width of the first oscillator. It is really interesting to hear the micro mutations of the sound as you turn the knobs. A too reckless ride and here the sound becomes a sequence of acid case in four with pulsating noise, a sonority with the aftertaste of an electric system in escandescence. Who knows what it would be possible to create having more modules available. Here I fall prey to the modular fever, the desire for other shelves to stuff with cables is already fervent.
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Conclusions:
Doepfer fix this, kindly provided by his friend Luke Capozzi, is a good example of a versatile choice to start a modular experience. Honestly I would have preferred a multimode filter instead of the A-120 in order to also have a Highpass and a Bandpass available. Another small flaw is the lack of a knob to tune oscillators with greater excursion since, unfortunately, the Tune control does provide a way to fine-tune the oscillator but its "range" is limited to one semitone. What really elevated the tonal value of this system is the Bananlogue.com Serge VCS without which it would have been almost impossible to obtain the modulations and sounds as we have shown you in the various audio examples. The A-190 module is really indispensable if you want to use a Doepfer via your computer or a simple midi controller. Programming the parameters of this module is a bit tricky and the manuals are not very clear but, once you understand how it works and memorize the appropriate parameters, you will hardly need to go back to it. The desire to listen to new tones that can be generated with a more voluminous system is very strong but unfortunately time and wallet force us, at least for now, to postpone this experience. For now we have only visited one of these beautiful galaxies and we have met a very interesting creature but… what will the next steps in store for us? Will they be as interesting as ours first…? Arm yourself with patience, the journey has just begun ...
USEFUL INFORMATION:
Producer: DOEPFER
Model: A-100 Series
Website:www.doepfer.de
Distributor: www.newgroove.it
Article published in CM2 Magazine. Thanks to Mr. Luke Capozzi for having contributed to the writing of the article.
