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Re: The Major Vintage Filters

2001-06-22 by bruce@sigalarm.com

Not misplaced at all.  

One filter that I think is over looked in your list (it often is) is 
the multi mode filter in the Oxford OSCar.  The OSCar was a hybrid 
Digital / Analog synth from the mid 80's.  The waveforms were produced 
by the Z80 CPU that ran the beastie, and the rest of the signal path 
was analog.

OSCar was designed by Chris Hugget, the person who was behind the EDP 
synths before.  The EDP Wasp used a pair of OTAs to produce a multi 
mode 2 pole filter.  This filter exists as a module for some german 
company today, as well as Jurgen's schematic as well.  

The OSCar filter put two of these filters in series to create a 4 pole 
multi mode filter, with a couple of interesting twists.

The filters funtioned as 2 12 db sections, and each section could have 
both low pass and high pass output. Chris could have designed BP and 
NF in there as Jurgen did, but wait for the interesting trick.

Because the whole thing was under CPU control, there were some 
interesting manipulations that could happen in the circut.  First of 
which is a knob called "Separation".  The 2 12db stages could have 
their cutoff frequencies controlled independantly.  By moving this 
knob the FC would be moved up or down (depending on stage and setting) 
to widen out the resonance peak.  At high Q levels this was (and still 
is for those of us with OSCars) lots of fun.

MODE        STAGE 1    STAGE 2     SEPARATION
Highpass    HP         HP          +Stage1 / - Stage2
Lowpass     LP         LP          +Stage1 / - Stage2
Bandpass    LP         HP          -Stage1 / + Stage2

Now, looking at the circuit, there are a lot more things that could 
have been done.  Each stage is really 2 6db OTA based things, so it 
should be possible to use 3 of the 4 to get an 18db response, or just 
2 of them to do 12db.  Again because the CPU is supplying the CV for 
cutoff and resonance, it should be possible to have nice separation 
effects in each mode.

This circuit is based largely on the LM13600 OTA, but it should be 
possible with the CA3080 as well (As Jurgen has done).

Great examples of the sound of this very unique filter:

Ultravox - Almost everything they did from Quartet on
J.M. Jarre - Oxygen and onward
Future Sound of London - ISDN, Dead Cities

Bruce

Further OSCar reading at: 
http://www.sospubs.co.uk/sos/sep99/articles/oscar.htm

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