From Brian Willoughby Sent Fri, Apr 20th 2018, 00:49
From Brian Willoughby Sent Fri, Apr 20th 2018, 00:49
Hello all, BACKGROUND: I have a stack of polysynths and a mono, all of which have extensive = modulation routing. These are SSM and CEM, plus some digital in places. = I don=E2=80=99t have any modular gear, unless you count the PAiA ADSR = that I built in high school that was stillborn due to electrostatic = discharge. I read about the all-transistor AJH Synth (on this list, of course), and = actually got interested in putting together their MiniMod system. Mostly = this is because I don=E2=80=99t have any synths that are pure = transistor. FAST FORWARD TO THE PRESENT: I=E2=80=99m currently considering a four-voice modular. I briefly = thought that expanding the MiniMod to 4 VCO modules would at least be = interesting, even though that setup would be paraphonic. I could use the = same modules for either a hyper minimoog or a limited 4-voice. Then the = obvious enhancements occurred to me: 1) add 3 more VCF modules to = dedicate 1 to each voice; 2) add 4 more VCO modules to allow sync = modulation of the other 4 VCO modules; 3) maybe simplify a bit and just = use the PWM inputs on the original 4 VCO modules for timbre modulation = rather than sync. Things obviously are getting out of control (in terms of a first modular = rack - in size, not to mention price). Looking around at other modules = on the market, I see the 2hp line which includes a couple of VCO modules = (maybe just two revisions of the same product lineage). Since you really = only hear the quality of one VCO when two are synced together (well, = unless you actually mix both together, which can sound bad), I=E2=80=99m = thinking that I don=E2=80=99t really need a full-size, transistor-only = AJH Synth VCO for the second set of 4 VCO modules. Pairing a 2hp VCO and = an AJH Synth VCO takes much less space for a 2-VCO sync pair. I also see some nice 4-input mixer modules that would help. The AJH = Synth VCF is quite handy, with its minimoog-style 3-input mixer, but = that only saves me a module if I operate in paraphonic mode, and even = then it only handles 3 voices. The Rebel Technology Mix 04 and the = Synthrotek MST Unity Gain Mixer look like fairly compact modules for = combining the 4 voices. Anyway, I=E2=80=99m realizing that every time I think about this, I come = up with a different patch, which then requires me to include a set of 4 = more modules to implement the new patch idea. It=E2=80=99s beginning to = sound like building a 4-voice modular is a crazy idea, so I=E2=80=99m = here to ask what experience folks have to trying something insane like = this. Brian Willoughby Sound Consulting