From Oakley Sound via analogue Sent Tue, Aug 21st 2018, 08:20
From Oakley Sound via analogue Sent Tue, Aug 21st 2018, 08:20
> Since you mentioned taper... why is this so variable across different synths/makers? The taper of the pot is often poorly suited for the application at hand. In the old days pots could be found relativity easily and cheaply with suitable laws. Particularly if you want thousands of them and can get them made bespoke. A good pot for an standard 'resistor/capacitor' envelope generator should be log. The original Minimoog has these. Superb control all the way around the pots rotation. However, most log pots these days, and the cheaper ones back in the day, are made simply of two linear sections that meet somewhere in the middle of the track. Yes, the mid point is at 10% of the track resistance but to get there it travelled linearly from either end. Although acceptable for volume controls this does not make a good log pot for EGs. A lot of synth manufacturers don't really notice this it seems and use cheap log pots with their resistor/capacitor EGs. The fastest times will be good and the longest times will be OK... but getting from one to the other will often not be musical. The synths with better tapers will often use linear pots and will generate their envelopes with different circuitry. Perhaps, software based, or use electronic circuits that shape the voltage coming from the control pot. I use the latter for my EGs because I'm not clever enough to do the former. > why do some knobs on older gear have a firmer/smoother resistance than other older gear/pretty much all modern knobs? It's probably due to age and build. Better mechanics will lead to a better feel, but better mechanics are usually more expensive and less likely to be seen these days. Lubricants age with time and not usually well, for example. most sliders, Prophet 5 & OB-8 pots become rough as a badgers arse over the years. Sliders inevitably have shorter lifespans than most rotary pots - these illuminated ones that are everywhere these days aren't particularly long lasting. Tony www.oakleysound.com