179,854Messages
9,130Senders
30Years
342mboxes

← back to listing · view thread

From:
Francois Dion
To:
Cc:
Date:
Tue, 22 Mar 1994 20:25:06 -0500 (EST)
Subject:
Re: 303
Msg-Id:
<9403230125.AA04073@brise.ERE.UMontreal.CA>
In-Reply-To:
<9403212216.AA00555@booth14.ecs.ox.ac.uk>
Mbox:
idm.9403.gz
Dans la Matrice, u90cmg@ecs.ox.ac.uk a dit:
quoted 4 lines It was> > It was > published in the early 80s in an english mag called ETI. Synth was > called the 'Digisound 80'
I dont think i've ever heard of this one... I got into computers and electronics as a kid by building Heathkit (Zenith/Heath) kits and of course from the cookbooks that were sold at radio shack...
quoted 3 lines Personally, I> Personally, I > reckon that this synth would be much more useful than a straight 303. > There are so many differnt ways that you can patch it toghether.
The article doesn't even mention 303 anywhere. It kind of supercedes the 303 with it's features. It's about as complete as a monosynth can be (except it doesn't have patch memory or a sequencer, but i have a computer based sequencer).
quoted 4 lines I can see the appeal of 303s though, they seem to instantly produce> I can see the appeal of 303s though, they seem to instantly produce > headfuck acid mayhem and they're portable. Is the article you mention > basically intended as a 303 substitute. I guess it must be; it seemms odd > to produce an analogue design now otherwise.
Why is it odd? It's very easy to do. When you deal with RAM, DACs, MUX, DMUX, etc... it get's a bit complicated for the average DIYer. In any case, i'm not looking for a 303 substitute since my MKS7 can replicate it in part, but for a good killer bassline machine.
quoted 3 lines Shall try to get mag, and let you know what I think. By the way,> Shall try to get mag, and let you know what I think. By the way, > tjhe digisound synth used Curtis Electromusic chips throughout. These > are marvellous little beasts. ....
I know, i have an SCI Six-trak...
quoted 2 lines but I don't know if they still make> but I don't know if they still make > them.
Nah. If you want some, there are some shops that have stocked up on them.
quoted 2 lines (they were used in the Sequential Circuits designs.) Are these> (they were used in the Sequential Circuits designs.) Are these > in that design?
No. The 2 oscillators are 555+opamps+transistors with a portamento circuit and waveshaping (for good bass, you want sawtooth, not square wave). You can offset one VCO from the other and vary the mix level, the pitch (plus pitch bending) and portamento level. The VCF is a LM13600 quad op amp with ASR enveloppe control plus pitch control, cutoff frequency, resonance and even velocity response (dynamic sensitivity). The VCA is again various opamps including an LM13600 with ADSR enveloppe control, velocity response and a punch circuit. To put in their words: retro design with modern components (it is not self tuning btw). Ciao, -- Francois Dion ' IdMEDIA \ Managing: \ Publishing: \ Specialising: CP 312 \ Equation de Base \ Cybernaute \ Multimedia & Telecom St-Lambert, QC \ Francois Dion \ IDM Software \ design, publishing & Canada, J4P 3P8 \ Fuzzy Logic \ Raving Up North \ testing(hard/software)