Doepfer

hello all

I'm new to the group and looking to find out as much as I can about the A-100 system from people who have experience with it. The A-100 is one of my two contenders for a potential modular system along with the Dotcom, and I'm torn between them. In Doepfer's favor are its small size (I live in a small apartment which I share, so not a lot of room, plus I'd like to possibly use live) and the many many modules available for not too much. 

Otoh, I'm coming from the more old-school Moog-inspired direction and prefer to play my synths via keyboard rather than sequencers and such--I like the hands-on performing approach rather than just programming. I suppose the kind of music I'm interested in is more in the '70s prog/space vein and no so much the modern techno/industrial/noise stuff. I really love the amount of flexibility that Doepfer offers and would like to use the modular format to experiment, but so far I've only heard the A-100 used for music that is largely not really to my liking--harsh, metallic, atonal stuff or endlessly repeating loops. So I guess my first question for the group is how suitable the Doepfer is for more tonal, melodic, or atmospheric music and effects, and whether there are any sound samples demonstrating these.

I've heard mention many times of Doepfer having a "dirty" quality on the one hand, others describing it as a cold, sterile sound. What exactly is meant by this? I get the impression that the VCOs are somewhat unstable pitch-wise, but are the waveforms also dirty? Also, I hear that the A-120 is a lousy filter for a quote-unquote Moog-style unit, and that the A-108 is a closer copy. Although I'm not necessarily a die-hard Moog purist, sound quality is definitely important to me; fat is good.

I'll probably be asking more questions in the near future, so please bear with me. Thanks for your input, folks. 

cheers,

Billy S.

ps--I hope it's not like heresy or something for me to mention the Dotcom system around here; as I said, I haven't actually started on the modular path yet and I'm trying to decide which system is best for me. Definitely Doepfer has some serious appeal.

Hi Billy and welcome,
 
First things first. Let's dispel the myth that the A100 sounds dirty. It
can but only if you want it to.
 
Keyboard's can be used with the A100, midi or CV/gate so no problem
there.
 
Apart from the small form factor of the A100 being compact there are
many, many other makers using the same format so your not restricted to
just Doepfer modules if you do that way.
 
Berlin school and space rock - no problem with either system. Nine Inch
Nails and Skinny Puppy dirt also no problem. It's how you program the
patch.
 
Listen to some of Bakis' work for example. Tonal, melodic with more than
a nod to old school Germany IMHO.
 
Some of the A100 modules are definitely built to a price and the audio
quality is not audiophile but if you want really clean VCA's try
Cwejman, more expensive but high quality and sits in the Doepfer rack.
 
Which ever system you choose, enjoy
 
David
 
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Senior Consultant
SSG UKI

Thomson Reuters

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________________________________

From: Doepfer_a100@yahoogroups.com [mailto:Doepfer_a100@yahoogroups.com]
On Behalf Of William J. Spiropoulos
Sent: 13 May 2009 08:53
To: Doepfer_a100@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [Doepfer_a100] greetings, plus a question or two about Doepfer
re: traditional melodic music





hello all

I'm new to the group and looking to find out as much as I can about the
A-100 system from people who have experience with it. The A-100 is one
of my two contenders for a potential modular system along with the
Dotcom, and I'm torn between them. In Doepfer's favor are its small size
(I live in a small apartment which I share, so not a lot of room, plus
I'd like to possibly use live) and the many many modules available for
not too much. 

Otoh, I'm coming from the more old-school Moog-inspired direction and
prefer to play my synths via keyboard rather than sequencers and such--I
like the hands-on performing approach rather than just programming. I
suppose the kind of music I'm interested in is more in the '70s
prog/space vein and no so much the modern techno/industrial/noise stuff.
I really love the amount of flexibility that Doepfer offers and would
like to use the modular format to experiment, but so far I've only heard
the A-100 used for music that is largely not really to my liking--harsh,
metallic, atonal stuff or endlessly repeating loops. So I guess my first
question for the group is how suitable the Doepfer is for more tonal,
melodic, or atmospheric music and effects, and whether there are any
sound samples demonstrating these.

I've heard mention many times of Doepfer having a "dirty" quality on the
one hand, others describing it as a cold, sterile sound. What exactly is
meant by this? I get the impression that the VCOs are somewhat unstable
pitch-wise, but are the waveforms also dirty? Also, I hear that the
A-120 is a lousy filter for a quote-unquote Moog-style unit, and that
the A-108 is a closer copy. Although I'm not necessarily a die-hard Moog
purist, sound quality is definitely important to me; fat is good.

I'll probably be asking more questions in the near future, so please
bear with me. Thanks for your input, folks. 

cheers,

Billy S.

ps--I hope it's not like heresy or something for me to mention the
Dotcom system around here; as I said, I haven't actually started on the
modular path yet and I'm trying to decide which system is best for me.
Definitely Doepfer has some serious appeal.






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Hi

One of the most useful factors with Doepfer is the narrow width of 
their modules as compared to many other Euro format manufacturers. 
This was one of my reasons for buying Doepfer - I could fit much more 
functionality into a 6U flightcase for gigs. The downside to this is 
that some of the controls can be hard to tweak without the cables 
getting in the way.

As regards performance, don't think that people who don't use the old 
fashioned piano-style interface are not performing! Personally I see 
the piano keyboard as a totally arbitrary way of controlling a 
synthesizer, more to do with Bob Moog's marketing style than music, 
however, Doepfer also offer a ribbon controller, theremin controller 
(although the usable range is a bit short), joystick controller etc. 
so there is no shortage of performance interfacing that can be 
achieved above and beyond the piano keyboard. I do plenty of gigs, as 
do many others, without a keyboard in sight, and we are definitely 
performing, not 'just' programming.

It's probably fair to say that almost all the oscillators these days 
track better than any old Moog modular, so you don't need to worry 
too much there, although, inevitably some track better than others - 
there are plenty of threads about this which you can search without 
starting up the debate again!

Given that there are such a wide variety of filters I'm sure you will 
find a suitable Moog style one for the sound you want. You never 
know, you may even find something better.

I would not hesitate to recommend a Doepfer system for most modules, 
and then you can cherry pick from the other manufacturers for other 
modules that offer the particular features you need. One of the 
coolest things about Doepfer is the range of building block utility 
modules such as the Comparator, Logic, Max/Min which you just don't 
find easily elsewhere.

best of luck

Sean

>hello all
>
>I'm new to the group and looking to find out as much as I can about 
>the A-100 system from people who have experience with it. The A-100 
>is one of my two contenders for a potential modular system along 
>with the Dotcom, and I'm torn between them. In Doepfer's favor are 
>its small size (I live in a small apartment which I share, so not a 
>lot of room, plus I'd like to possibly use live) and the many many 
>modules available for not too much.
>
>Otoh, I'm coming from the more old-school Moog-inspired direction 
>and prefer to play my synths via keyboard rather than sequencers and 
>such--I like the hands-on performing approach rather than just 
>programming. I suppose the kind of music I'm interested in is more 
>in the '70s prog/space vein and no so much the modern 
>techno/industrial/noise stuff. I really love the amount of 
>flexibility that Doepfer offers and would like to use the modular 
>format to experiment, but so far I've only heard the A-100 used for 
>music that is largely not really to my liking--harsh, metallic, 
>atonal stuff or endlessly repeating loops. So I guess my first 
>question for the group is how suitable the Doepfer is for more 
>tonal, melodic, or atmospheric music and effects, and whether there 
>are any sound samples demonstrating these.
>
>I've heard mention many times of Doepfer having a "dirty" quality on 
>the one hand, others describing it as a cold, sterile sound. What 
>exactly is meant by this? I get the impression that the VCOs are 
>somewhat unstable pitch-wise, but are the waveforms also dirty? 
>Also, I hear that the A-120 is a lousy filter for a quote-unquote 
>Moog-style unit, and that the A-108 is a closer copy. Although I'm 
>not necessarily a die-hard Moog purist, sound quality is definitely 
>important to me; fat is good.
>
>I'll probably be asking more questions in the near future, so please 
>bear with me. Thanks for your input, folks.
>
>cheers,
>
>Billy S.
>
>ps--I hope it's not like heresy or something for me to mention the 
>Dotcom system around here; as I said, I haven't actually started on 
>the modular path yet and I'm trying to decide which system is best 
>for me. Definitely Doepfer has some serious appeal.
>
>
>


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]