Doepfer

(warning - this is a long post)



>>There should be a noise if there is on one input no signal and a dry
signal if he
works. Is this right? Is it better to buy another Ringmod?

Yes, there shouldnt be any sound when only one input is used, but there is.
Do other manufacturers ring modulators necessarily behave differently?  I
know on reaktor or other s/w packages there will be no sound heard, but i
dont know with other analogue.

If that is a problem to you, and you can confirm that other makes of ring
mod do not have 'leakage' then maybe mix and match.  Another option is to
overcome the issue with a slightly different patching method.


>>(Especially the tube version by Metasonics is interesting)Then there is a
problem caused by the Doepfer-philosophy to build everything in low price
range that the VCA let the CV be "heard" at the Output
(http://www.cyrgs.de/music/tests/a100.html - only German). Is this relevant
in any case?

I shall have to check this.  Stuff like having a filters cutoff being swept
rapidly with an lfo will also have issues with 'leakage'.  Sometimes that is
irritating.  I guess its all pros and cons... Perfection in every class is a
rare thing.  The doepfer system will no doubt have benefits over other
systems, and will also have areas where it drops marks.

For me the pros are:

Large, and rapidly expanding module range (larger, i think, than any other
manufacturer)
Cheap (relatively)
Small (some may say too small, but i carry my system)

Things i dont so much like are the leakage that you mentioned before, and
the old minijack issue.  I believe that the minijack design has been altered
by the manufacturer, and improved upon, but a lot of my modules are old, so
pre design change.  Yeah, i believe i should really open up the case, and
bend all the jacks, but we're talking a lot of jacks here.

At the end of the day, if ^far^ rather a small minjack system, with the
inherent disadvantages of minijacks over 1/4 inch, then a larger system.

The legend also wares on older modules.  Im not really concerned about this,
but other manufacturers may perform better.


>>The same tester criticized that the envelopes do not reach the full
range of 10 Volt. He turn the cutoff of the filter full left and
modulate it with an envelope (sustain at maximum). The filter was not
fully open. Relevant? Workaround?

Not something ive noticed.  Dosnt meen it dosnt happen though.  Everyone
uses their system in different ways.  What one person notices and finds a
problem may well go completely unnoticed by someone else (ie. me) because
they simply dont use their system in that way.

>>A little comment on the Doepfer website at the mixer section there is
mentioned that from April an In1 works as a DC offset generator. What
is that?

Dont know, havent read it...



>>Also on the Doepfer page, I have read that from summer 04 the power
supply will be delivered as a ring transformator. Is it better to
wait until then? (Big advantages?)

Also havent read it, but will do in a bit.  The current dopefer psu, whilst
fine for most module combinations, can be overloaded if you choose the right
(or wrong) modules, with too high an amp requirements.  Chances are that you
wont find it a problem at all, unless you specifically choose a load of high
amp modules (some of the vocoder system for example)



The choice of filter:
I prefer a warm organic sound not a brachial one. What can you
suggest? (The 105, 102, 122, 124 could be interesting - I didn't here
them)

Having only heard a smaller selection of filters (im just waiting for 3 more
to turn up in the post at the moment) i cant really comment that much.
However, the wasp (a124) is not commonly regarded as being 'warm and organic
although, im sure some can make it so.

My favourite filters at the moment are my a124, and my analogue solutions
ms20 clone.

Remember that you can mix analogue solutions modules with a doepfer system.
My system is about 40odd modules, and 3 are analogue solutions, so, i mainly
prefer the doepfer ones, but some analogue solutions i think are worth
having.

>>Linear/Logarithmic:Is it a problem to use linear VCAs and mixers for audio
instead of
logarithmic ones?


No, different curves is all.  Im not too fussy normally and use whatevers
closest.  But then some would undoubtedly call me a heathen.

>>The MIDI input:The 190 and the 191 costs the same but the last one has
specials like
the sync LFO and more CV outs. Why should somebody buy the smaller
one?

The a191 is not suitable for notes, only controllers.  It has no gate
outputs.

A real gripe of mine with regard to the dopefer midi cv units is the bit
depth.  I own a mcv24, which also used a lot of 8bit dacs, the same as the
a191.  In my opinion 8bit dacs should not be used, and, i cant really see
why they are (well, i can - cost).

Anyone whose tried doing a slow smooth filter sweep from a CC through an
8bit dac without slew limiters will know what i meen.  The stepping is just
too pronounced.

In that, i personally would advise staying away form the a191 all together.

The mcv24 could, IMHO, have been ^so^ much better with 12 bit dacs
throughout...

(but, hey, my oakley polydac pcb arrived in the post yesterday morning ;)


>>RaNDom vOltAges:I am interested in making some basic "melodies" with the
A100 but not
investigate hundreds of ? in this thing. What should I prefer (117,
118, 149 etc.)

Dont know, sorry.  However, dont fall too much into the trap of thinking the
a117 and a118 are in any way similar, just cause they both use the word
random.  Completely different applications. (well, in my system at least)

>>I am sorry for my bad English! I hope everything is understandable.

Likewise ; ) And i live in england...

>>A nice evening, Dude

Julian