Doepfer

I took delivery of a Doepfer R2M Ribbon Controller a few days ago, 
purchased from Shawn Cleary at Analogue Haven. Shawn was very 
communicative during the order process and kept me updated on delivery 
times, including a delay when stuff got stuck in customs. The unit was 
very well packed and survived the trip from Germany with no problems. I 
wouldn't hesitate to order from him again.

I'm using the R2M to control my Modcan/Cynthia system
( http://www.cyndustries.com/gallerypix/gall_les.jpg ).
When I first got it out of the box, the neighbours probably could hear 
me cussing all the way down the street! The interface box has 1/8 mini 
jacks on the back for connectors! It was Christmas Eve and I didn't have 
a single mini jack adapter in the house, so I had to wait until Rat 
Shack opened on Monday before I could hook it up.  I almost drilled them 
out and replaced them, but figured I didn't want to void my warranty so 
fast.

The build quality is much better than I expected. The interface feels 
very solid, not unlike a small brick, and the ribbon unit is rather 
heavy and feels very durable as well. The users guide is pretty dry and 
you have to stare at some of it a bit to get what's being discussed. 
Many settings are dependent on other settings, so you end up doing a lot 
of page flipping because you've got "[See section 1-2]" sprinkled 
everywhere. But, what do you expect from a user guide? It'll do.

The interface cable used between the ribbon and the controller is a 
standard computer USB cable. At first I went, "duh, huh?" but after some 
thought - perhaps this isn't too bad of a choice because I can run down 
to the local geek store and get a replacement it one is ever needed.

Once I got over doing the standard "whee - this is fun!" bit of wildly 
sliding pitches around, I got into it a little more. I don't need to go 
through all the operational modes - you can get that from the Doepfer 
site if you wish. Everything pretty much works as expected. Being able 
to quantize the ribbon to various scales is nice and will be useful 
along with the arpeggiator.

The only big disappointment I've got has to do with the pressure 
sensitivity. I tried a very simple patch where pitch was controlled by 
position, and volume was controlled by pressure. It's much more 
difficult than I thought to get consistent volume levels using the 
pressure. In fact, if I pressed as hard as I possibly could (my finger 
hurts now!) and did a smooth run from the bottom to the top of the 
ribbon, there seems to be several "drop outs" in the pressure along the 
way. Regardless of what I did, I could not maintain a consistent 5+ volt 
output along the entire length of the ribbon. I tested with my trusty 
VOM and could generate 5 volts anywhere on the ribbon, but it took a lot 
more pressure than anybody is going to be willing to use to keep it at 5 
volts. Hmmmmm .... If anybody else has any observations on this, or 
knows of an adjustment that would make less pressure needed, let me know.

I actually plan on using this more as a modifier controller than to play 
pitches. I tried a few simple patches controlling LFO speed/depth and 
some other mod routings and levels and got exactly what I hoped to get, 
so other than the pressure problem, I'm pretty happy with everything.


-- 
Les Mizzell