MOTM

At 1:32 PM -0800 03/20/01, Roy Tate wrote:
>In December of 2000, Paul estimated the following release order,
>subject to change:
>
>a) MOTM-910
>b) MOTM-101
>c) Mixer

January, February, March, done, done, done :)  Way to go, Paul!!

>d) Dual VCA

I'd like a better description of this.  Does this mean that motm system
will no longer be offering a ring modulator??

>e) VC Pulse Divider

Like a Serge divide by n comparator??  Cool!!

>f) Delayed Vibrato

Is this like the "LFO delay" on many synths??  Couldn't this effect be
produced by running the mod source through a VCA controlled by an EG with a
slow attack??

>g) Triple Pre-Amp

I've thought about this the last couple of days, and no matter how much I
think about it, it still sounds like a bad idea.  First off, most people
with microphones and real instruments already have some sort of pre-amp.
Secondly, if it's a triple pre-amp, then in the very least it has 3 ins and
3 outs, and that makes it a 2U module.  I also wonder why someone would
want to add pre-amps to their system in groups of three -- I could
understand stereo, but three??

I would much rather see a single pre-amp in 1U that kicks ass.  A 2U module
has a limit of 8 knobs, a 1U can fit 4 knobs.  These are features that,
imho, would go into a world-class pre-amp module:

1)  Variable input impedance -- while a rare feature in mic pre's,
differences in input impedance accounts for a difference in sound between
various mic pre's, and variable impedance is a very useful feature of many
direct boxes.  Then again, I doubt people would use 1/4" jacks with
microphones, unless they played harmonica.  Nor do I think getting 48V
phantom out of a +/-15V would be all that easy even if it had XLR
connectors.  At least this way you could use it with low-Z dynamic mics
like a 58 or 57 if it had a...
3) balanced TRS input
4)  Switchable high-pass filter -- corrects a multitude of ills and can be
used creatively as well, quite useful for both microphones (eg. SSL) and
real instruments (eg. Manley).  A HPF at the inputs is a large part of a
guitar amplifier's sound (eg. Marshall).
5)  A ground lift switch.
6)  A phase-reverse switch
7)  An overload indicator (it doesn't have to be a LED, what kind of light
bulb is in my Mini-Moog??  Do all lights make noise??)
8)  Gain control

I'm thinking that and only two jacks (in and out) could fit on 1U, although
I'm not sure where the FORTRAN compiler would go ;)

>h) Envelope Follower

Is this going to be a 1U or 2U module??  Unless it has some amazing
features I can't yet imagine, I'm guessing it should fit in 1U -- four
jacks: in, gate out, envelope out, reverse envelope out; and four knobs:
input level, slew, gate on threshold, and gate off threshold.  Adjustable
slew is very important.  One of the things that makes the Mutron popular
with bassists is that its optical coupling makes it rather slow.  Some
pedals which rely upon an envelope follower are so bad they clang on low
notes.  You'll notice that Bootsy Collins and Stockhausen never worked with
each other -- there's a reason for this :)

>i) SEM Filter

Woo hoo!!!