RE: Next filter - SSM 2040 clone
1999-08-12 by Dave Bradley
> Next filter > > Will come out in late October. Is Haible Jurgen's SSM2040 clone with > 'enhancements'. Will be 4-pole LPF, very > Moogish (in fact Moog sued them, and they then made the SSM2044). It is > *very* similar to a Moog ladder: some > folks swear it sounds better (a la Prophet 5 Rev 2's). Uses like 10 dual > pairs: expensive but will really minimize > CV bleedthrough which muddies up the sound (and why VC Q does the same, > unless you cheat like OnChip!). Paul, Whatcha thinkin' about in terms of a panel layout for the SSM filter? Same as the 420 but without the switch? Got a model number so I can twiddle pixels? What 'enhancements' are you thinking of? I would ask for input overload capability as in the 420. Folks, I'm pumped about this filter! I was going to build one myself until Paul told me he had it already in the works. If you are not familiar with it, it is a yummy sounding filter used in the very early Prophet 5, and some other famous synths as well (see Paul's website CEM section for a list). It blows away the Curtis chip filters used in later rev Prophets. I myself built an 8 voice polyphonic monster that used these filters. It has now been added to Dave Kean's Emu museum, and some of the extra left over filter chips went into Dave's Emu Audity. Problem is, I missed the sound of them as soon as I got rid of them (to finance my MOTM system!) The 2040 was the most famous and best sounding SSM filter EVER made. The bad thing about it is that it was a proprietary 'filter on a chip' that was sensitive to static, and that can no longer be purchased. See the recent uproar over on Analogue Heaven about conserving obsolete Curtis chips - same problem. Paul's filter will reproduce the SSM topology using modern components. Not practical for a computer controlled polyphonic machine due to real estate concerns, but perfect for a modular. This is the perfect 'next' filter in the MOTM stable - its sound will complement the 2 pole 420. Killer brass and string sounds! Dave Bradley Principal Software Engineer Engineering Animation, Inc. daveb@...