Doepfer

Dear group,

I am in doubt. Financially I can afford myself to only buy one or two modules a month, so choices have to be made ;-)

I want to add some reverb capability to my A-100 system in progress, and I have to choose between the A-187-1 VC DSP Effects module and the A-199 Spring Reverb.

Both have their charms, the A-187-1 for having more possibilities, and the A-199 for having those lovely springs.

Has anybody compared the reverb quality of the two?

Love to hear from you.

Thanks,

Ton

IMO, no comparison at all!

the A199 Spring Reverb has a special quality totally different than the dsp reverbs. (and the A187 DSP)

i like the A199 so much, that i have two and used them countless times in the last 10 years!

definitely go for the A199! it will give you that metallic lo-fi quality of 70's reverbs, well, if you like that i mean...

if you prefer more standard DSP effects with voltage control though, go for the A187-1...
(i -still- haven't bought the A187-1, so i cannot comment on its quality and features in the modular environment)



Bakis Sirros
www. parallel - worlds - music. com
www. facebook. com/ pages/Parallel-Worlds/192093934136476
www. myspace. com/ interconnectedmusic
www. myspace. com/ memorygeist
www. DiN. org. uk
www. vu-us. com


________________________________

 From: Ton Akveld <aca@akvelds.nl>
To: Doepfer_a100@yahoogroups.com 
Sent: Saturday, January 7, 2012 1:02 PM
Subject: [Doepfer_a100] Advice wanted
 

  
Dear group,

I am in doubt. Financially I can afford myself to only buy one or two modules a month, so choices have to be made ;-)

I want to add some reverb capability to my A-100 system in progress, and I have to choose between the A-187-1 VC DSP Effects module and the A-199 Spring Reverb.

Both have their charms, the A-187-1 for having more possibilities, and the A-199 for having those lovely springs.

Has anybody compared the reverb quality of the two?

Love to hear from you.

Thanks,

Ton


 

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

Don't know the A187-1 but I love my A199.
Spring reverb is so much more than just reverb...


On Sat, Jan 7, 2012 at 12:09 PM, Bakis Sirros <synth_freak_2000@yahoo.com>wrote:

> **
>
>
>
>
> IMO, no comparison at all!
>
> the A199 Spring Reverb has a special quality totally different than the
> dsp reverbs. (and the A187 DSP)
>
> i like the A199 so much, that i have two and used them countless times in
> the last 10 years!
>
> definitely go for the A199! it will give you that metallic lo-fi quality
> of 70's reverbs, well, if you like that i mean...
>
> if you prefer more standard DSP effects with voltage control though, go
> for the A187-1...
> (i -still- haven't bought the A187-1, so i cannot comment on its quality
> and features in the modular environment)
>
> Bakis Sirros
> www. parallel - worlds - music. com
> www. facebook. com/ pages/Parallel-Worlds/192093934136476
> www. myspace. com/ interconnectedmusic
> www. myspace. com/ memorygeist
> www. DiN. org. uk
> www. vu-us. com
>
> ________________________________
> From: Ton Akveld <aca@akvelds.nl>
> To: Doepfer_a100@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Saturday, January 7, 2012 1:02 PM
> Subject: [Doepfer_a100] Advice wanted
>
>
>
>
> Dear group,
>
> I am in doubt. Financially I can afford myself to only buy one or two
> modules a month, so choices have to be made ;-)
>
> I want to add some reverb capability to my A-100 system in progress, and I
> have to choose between the A-187-1 VC DSP Effects module and the A-199
> Spring Reverb.
>
> Both have their charms, the A-187-1 for having more possibilities, and the
> A-199 for having those lovely springs.
>
> Has anybody compared the reverb quality of the two?
>
> Love to hear from you.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Ton
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>  
>


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

Thanks guys,

The A-199 has won ;-)

--- In Doepfer_a100@yahoogroups.com, achtung_999 <heinrich.himmelwasser@...> wrote:

>
> Don't know the A187-1 but I love my A199.
> Spring reverb is so much more than just reverb...
> 
> 
> On Sat, Jan 7, 2012 at 12:09 PM, Bakis Sirros <synth_freak_2000@...>wrote:
> 
> > **
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > IMO, no comparison at all!
> >
> > the A199 Spring Reverb has a special quality totally different than the
> > dsp reverbs. (and the A187 DSP)
> >
> > i like the A199 so much, that i have two and used them countless times in
> > the last 10 years!
> >
> > definitely go for the A199! it will give you that metallic lo-fi quality
> > of 70's reverbs, well, if you like that i mean...
> >
> > if you prefer more standard DSP effects with voltage control though, go
> > for the A187-1...
> > (i -still- haven't bought the A187-1, so i cannot comment on its quality
> > and features in the modular environment)
> >
> > Bakis Sirros
> > www. parallel - worlds - music. com
> > www. facebook. com/ pages/Parallel-Worlds/192093934136476
> > www. myspace. com/ interconnectedmusic
> > www. myspace. com/ memorygeist
> > www. DiN. org. uk
> > www. vu-us. com
> >
> > ________________________________
> > From: Ton Akveld <aca@...>
> > To: Doepfer_a100@yahoogroups.com
> > Sent: Saturday, January 7, 2012 1:02 PM
> > Subject: [Doepfer_a100] Advice wanted
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Dear group,
> >
> > I am in doubt. Financially I can afford myself to only buy one or two
> > modules a month, so choices have to be made ;-)
> >
> > I want to add some reverb capability to my A-100 system in progress, and I
> > have to choose between the A-187-1 VC DSP Effects module and the A-199
> > Spring Reverb.
> >
> > Both have their charms, the A-187-1 for having more possibilities, and the
> > A-199 for having those lovely springs.
> >
> > Has anybody compared the reverb quality of the two?
> >
> > Love to hear from you.
> >
> > Thanks,
> >
> > Ton
> >
> > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> >
> >  
> >
> 
> 
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>

Hello Ton

> The A-199 has won ;-)
If you are using some kind of MIDI control / MIDI sequencer, then I 
think an external DSP Device (standard MultiFX) does serve you better, 
than the A-187-1. The A-187 is assumingly based on a standard 
OEM-DSP-Chip, which has the quality of maybe some smaller Alesis or 
Behringer MultiFx. You would get a much better FX quality if you buy for 
example a Lexicon MX200, which costs less and provides two parallel 
effects, and can be fully MIDI controlled.

So if you want to buy a module, then the A199 is a good choice, because 
it is something unique.

Florian
(I don't own a A199, but two other spring reverbs. So a big spring 
reverb fan is talking here ;-) )

Hi Florian,

Thank you for the explanation and advice.
As soon as salary payment is near I'll order a A-199 through the Dutch Doepfer representative.

Ton

--- In Doepfer_a100@yahoogroups.com, Florian Anwander <fanwander@...> wrote:

>
> Hello Ton
> 
> > The A-199 has won ;-)
> If you are using some kind of MIDI control / MIDI sequencer, then I 
> think an external DSP Device (standard MultiFX) does serve you better, 
> than the A-187-1. The A-187 is assumingly based on a standard 
> OEM-DSP-Chip, which has the quality of maybe some smaller Alesis or 
> Behringer MultiFx. You would get a much better FX quality if you buy for 
> example a Lexicon MX200, which costs less and provides two parallel 
> effects, and can be fully MIDI controlled.
> 
> So if you want to buy a module, then the A199 is a good choice, because 
> it is something unique.
> 
> Florian
> (I don't own a A199, but two other spring reverbs. So a big spring 
> reverb fan is talking here ;-) )
>

I agree with Florian - a dedicated digital effects unit is very useful, and better quality can be had in an external unit. I have the a-199 Spring Reverb and have modded it with two front panel phono sockets so that I can easily change reverb tanks.

I have mounted the stock tank inside my case for portability, but also have a larger external Accutronics tank which I can patch in and this allows me to play the springs like an acoustic instrument as well as generating a different quality of reverb.

Zoë made a vital point about feedback - this is exactly where digital systems show their differences with analogue systems and having proper control over the boundary conditions is a huge strength of analogue. The beauty of a spring reverb is that as well as patchable feedback you also get good old-fashioned acoustic feedback too!

If you are looking for an external reverb tank make sure to check the input and output impedance of the tank - there's a thread about that somewhere.

Best of luck

Sean

--- In Doepfer_a100@yahoogroups.com, Zoë Blade <zoe@...> wrote:

>
> Hi everyone!
> 
> So I don't own either of the modules discussed (although I'm hoping to get an A-199 next week), but as an owner of an A-188-1B, I'd like to chip in with a suggestion: if in doubt about which module to get, make sure you at least have one module with some kind of feedback.  It really opens up a lot of possibilities, and allows you to make the kinds of sounds that are very difficult to achieve in software.  Being able to put, say, a filter in the middle of a delay or reverb unit's feedback loop really gives you a lot more flexibility than with a hardwired unit.  I think it really gets into the heart of what a modular system's all about.
> 
> All the best,
> Zoë.
>

Hi everyone!

So I don't own either of the modules discussed (although I'm hoping to get an A-199 next week), but as an owner of an A-188-1B, I'd like to chip in with a suggestion: if in doubt about which module to get, make sure you at least have one module with some kind of feedback.  It really opens up a lot of possibilities, and allows you to make the kinds of sounds that are very difficult to achieve in software.  Being able to put, say, a filter in the middle of a delay or reverb unit's feedback loop really gives you a lot more flexibility than with a hardwired unit.  I think it really gets into the heart of what a modular system's all about.

All the best,
Zoë.