Doepfer

On 2/8/03 12:54 AM, "Andreas Lindholm" <andreas.k.lindholm@telia.com> wrote:

> Still they share they control board section which to me sounds like there
> will be a piece of hardware that only will use up power from the
> systembus... But on the other hand it is of course nice to have some kind of
> add-on to the a155. This is not so much a practical aspect of the matter as
> a philosophical one. To me modular concept is all about being able to use
> everything in combination with everything else. So units like the coffe cup
> and such prefab solutions that goes in the way "mostly people use a VCO,
> FILTER and ADSR so let bundle them" isn't as much to my liking as separate
> parts like the a160s separate concept.
> 
> Perhaps I have had enough of "one box solutions" with the regelwerk;) If
> there is just one or two things missing it will end up a dead end since
> upgrades will never come due to the amount of modifications that has to be
> made.


I agree with this 100%. The idea of having the section of the a155 not being
used is troublesome. What about the people who don't own a a155 already? To
use the a154 they have to buy a unit which has a section they will *never*
use unless they pull the modules and move some ribbon cables around. It
should go completely modular. Clocking modules, pot banks, gate bank
switches and analog switch modules (for multiple pot banks). Make them so
the clock modules count to high numbers so you can have multiple pot/switch
banks. Mix and match, and more importantly - *expand* - as you need or want.
Still sell the one module solution, the a155. The new clock modules will
work with it for those that want to redo ribbon cables. That way you offer
cheap to make variations. The circuitry that drives a 2-bank w/gate
switches, 3-bank pot array without, and a 4-bank pot array is not that
different, the PCBs could be modular with shared identical boards cutting
down production cost.
It is too bad that the address lines between clock and pot bank boards has
to be a ribbon connector. It would be great to make that patchable too. The
connectors would be fairly expensive. Ribbon cables can be configured into
busses so easily also. Maybe there is a way to make a ribbon robust enough
to allow patching, but I would assume most users would buy and arrange one
configuration and just add different "sequencer family" modules to it, not
re-configure it all the time.
I tell you this, if Doepfer doesn't make pot bank and switch bank modules to
sell along side the A154, someone else surely will! It sure wouldn't be hard
to do circuit wise. I've cloned the Oberheim sequencer a couple of times in
the past. A pot bank is the easiest part. The fancy clock stuff is the
hardest to lay a pcb out for.

-- 
James Husted
The ErsatZ Planet Graphics & Sound
james@ersatzplanet.com
www.ersatzplanet.com