[sdiy] Introducing Milton: New sequencer in town

[Scott Evans, Gen Mgr]

Hello Peter,

I would be interested in this project.

Questions: How much panel space would be involved, and do you have any
graphic mock-ups available as to suggested panel configuration?

Thanks, Scott
--------------------------------------------------------
Peter Grenader wrote:
> 
> Kids,
> 
> I have completed a working prototype of my VCS (voltage controlled
> sequencer) which operationally harkens back to the Buchla 200's monsters.
> 
> It's working name being Milton, it has 16 steps by up to 15 banks (I'll get
> to that in a second) and is fully voltage controllable.  By this I mean
> there is an analog voltage input which overrides the counting sequence and
> allows the operator to assign it to any step the incoming voltage dictates.
> This input is quantized into 16 partitions and assings the output step
> accordingly.  You want random? Put in a S+H sampling noise.  You want
> pendulum? Put in triangle wave.  Backwards?  A ramp wave.  This plus a
> billion different patterns your incoming voltage may afford you. The control
> is paced through a latch so changes keep time with the incoming external
> clock which drives the machine.
> 
> The VC input has two modes of operation.  In one, the VC cuts off if the
> voltage present is less than .2 volts (below the stage 2 threshold)  With
> this arrangement,  you can have an input sitting there that will have no
> effect on the counting sequence until that voltage rises to a level above
> the .2 volts.  So, if the input was an envelope generator, the sequencer
> would be going on it's merry sequential way until you fired the envelope,
> then all hell would break loose.
> 
> The second mode of ops for the VC inhibits this .2 volt limit, so if the
> same envelope generator was connected, the sequencer would sit at stage one
> while the eg was inactive until its output told Milton otherwise.  Sounds
> wacky?  Not really - this input is scaled to 1v/oct.  If you connect a
> keyboard into the input, you now have a 16 stage programmer which advances
> one step with each key of the keyboard and will sit at that stage until
> another key is depressed (operationally simular to the Buchla Touch Plates
> and Serge Programmer).
> 
> There is no internal clock on Milton.  It (he) depends on an external
> trigger.  That trigger is routed through a flip-flop, allowing both full
> manual (buttons) and VC (trigger inputs)  control of start and stop modes,
> with leds indicating the state.  there is also a seperate output for that
> obedient trigger to the outside world.
> 
> There are also two programmable pulse busses. Each stage has a three
> position switch which allows the operator to throw a pulse when that stage
> is active into one of two separate pulse busses, each have it's own summed
> output.  You cannot send a pulse into both busses on the same step.  It
> could easily be modified to do this however with an addition switch
> intstalled onthe faceplate.  There is as well a master disable (button and
> voltage input) to turn off the pulses at these busses at any time you wish.
> The pulses at these busses are shaped so two consectutive enabled stages
> will in fact give you two pulses - it won't glop them together as one legato
> event.
> 
> Apart from that, each stage has it's own voltage pot of course, it's own
> trigger output jack and it's own led.
> 
> There is also a master hold and reset input jacks on Milty as well.
> 
> Getting back to the number of possible banks: This system consists
> essentially of two boards.  One holds the counting engine and VC controls,
> and another holds the pots, the leds, the pulses busses, the summers, the
> trigger output jacks.  The counting engine PCBA is terminated with a 16 pin
> dip socket, which drives the sequential information through a bank of 4050
> line drivers.  Each 'bank board' has an I/O for this buss. Multiple bank
> boards can be daisy chained together for a maximum of about 15 simultanious
> banks (if my math serves correct).  It may be slightly less than that based
> on loading, but it's something obnoxiously large.
> 
> Why am I telling you this detail?  I will be producing bare boards of this
> beast which may be offered for sale at a reasonable price.  The counting
> engine consists of 14 ICs, nine trannies and the associated support
> componentry for these.  A fully equipped bank board  (one having the leds,
> pulse busses and summers installed) have 5 ICs, two trannies, 32 diodes and
> of course 16 pots.  Remember though that not all bank boards will require
> the leds and pulse out jacks.  The pots willprobably be on .8 inch centers.
> 
> These boards are some time away, but their coming.
> 
> I will be posting a quicktime movie of Milton in action in the next week or
> so.
> 
> best,
> 
> Peter