MESSE: Doepfer - Modules To Come

US Plus more photos of the kit at the show 02/04/04

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This is the last of the Doepfer stories (how many new modules? please release them in smaller amounts in future - save my typing fingers) although I expect there will be some further pictures and video when we get onto the Analog Super Booth coverage (which will come soon). First I'll share some more photos of the immense Doepfer modular systems displayed at the show.

Ribbon Controller - again

The Doepfer part of the Super Booth was producing some great musical sounds. The ribbon controller and the Midiglove (http://www.midiglove.de for more details) were providing the control and drive to the music. The Midiglove in particular looks like a fantastic controller - really expressive and musical. We will be covering it further in our Musik MESSE news and hopefully with some video. The modules covered in the remainder of this article will be available from the Summer (approximately). There were prototypes on display at the MESSE. We'll keep our nose to the ground to ensure your informed as soon as these are available for you to spend your hard earned cash on. With these further modules the Doepfer range will be truly immense. There seems almost no end to the Doepfer creativity and enthusiasm. I look forward to hearing these new modules fiinished in the flesh.

So onto the new modules and as before the details are from the Doepfer press release. A-101-1 Vactrol Steiner Filter This is a 12dB multimode vactrol filter based on an idea of Nyle A. Steiner from 1974. This filter has different inputs (!) available for the filter types low pass, high pass and band pass, but a common output for all filters. By using different input signals the output is the sum of the input signals weighted with different frequency distributions. Changing the filter frequency causes shifting of the frequency distributions (kind of "frequency panning"). With one common signal for all inputs different filter types are obtained, including notch filter. Both frequency and resonance are voltage controlled by the usage of vactrols. For both parameters a LED display is available at the front panel that shows the illumination of the internal frequency resp. resonance vactrols.

A-101-2 Vactrol Lowpass Gate A-101-2 is the combination of a low pass and a VCA. It has its origin in a similar module by Don Buchla and offers a very soft and smooth low pass resp. VCA sound due to the vactrol circuit. The module has three different modes available: Low pass, VCA and Low pass + VCA. The modes can be selected by a toggle switch or two external control voltages (gate inputs). The module series A-143-x are designed to be lower-cost multiple modulation sources: A-143-1 Complex Envelope Generator / Quad AD Generator A-143-1 contains four daisy-chained Attack/Decay generators. The four AD outputs are added up by a polarizing mixer (i.e. positive or negative summing of the 4 AD signals). Consequently up to 8-stage envelopes are possible. The trigger level for the succeeding unit is adjustable for each device. The module can be used an 8-stage envelope generator, as four separate AD generators or as four separate AD-type LFOs, as each AD generator can be switched into an auto-repeat mode that turns the AD generator into a LFO with separate controls for rising and falling edge.

A-143-2 Quad ADSR A-143-2 is a four-fold low-cost ADSR-type envelope generator with additonal retrigger input and end-of-release (EOR) output for each sub-unit. The EOR outputs can be used e.g. to daisy-chain the four units. Each envelope is displayed with a LED.

A-143-3 Quad LFO A-143-3 is a four-fold low-cost modulation oscillator (LFO) as there is always a need of many modulation sources in a modular system. Each LFO has three waveforms (triangle, rectangle, sawtooth), a three-position range switch and a LED display available. The frequency range is from some minutes period time up to more than 5 kHz. A-152 Voltage Addressed S&H / Switches / Digital Outputs A-152 is a complex switching and S&H module that offers both voltage and clock/reset controlled addressing of an electronical 8-position rotary switch, an 8-fold S&H and a digital output section with LED displays. The digital output section can e.g. be used to reduce the number of stages in the clock triggered mode by patching the corresponding digital output to the reset input.

A-138c Polarizing Mixer A-138c is a four channel mixer that features positive and negative mixing of control signals. In the first place this module is intended to add/subtract control voltages (e.g. ADSR, LFO). Additionally input 1 works as an offset generator (range -5V...+5V) provided that no plug is connected to input one (this feature can be turned off by a jumper on the pc board). Even the output control works positive/negative so that the sum of the four input signals can be output positive or negative too. For further details on these modules and the entire range of Doepfer kit (including sound samples and further explanations of the modules) visit the Doepfer web site (http://www.doepfer.de).

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