#224

The height of an intellijel 1u PCB is almost exactly 4hp. So you just turn them 90 degrees and stack three. But you need a custom panel and three power headers.

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#225

So I picked up an Intellijel Quad VCA, and its deisgn perplexes me. I have another VCA that does similar, and I just don’t understand why the circuit is designed this way: Why does the big knob add CV gain instead of attentuate the CV? It seems like a weird design if you use it for a voice, which is ostensibly what it does within the Intelljiel product line-up.

#226

It’s for 2 reasons I think:

  1. With their other modules with mini-pots, the large knob controls the offset and the mini-pot controls the attenuation of CV, therefore if you follow the same rules for a VCA, large knob = level (or bias), mini-pot = CV attenuation.

  2. Given that it also works as a mixer it sort of makes sense… think of it as a 4 channel CV controllable mixer rather than a quad VCA and it’s way more logical.

Obviously if they’d included full size knobs for CV attenuation it would make the problem go away, but I guess it’s too hard to fit in the required space.

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#227

Having the big knob as the “base level” is quite useful. I was perplexed when first using a VCA without this feature (perhaps because the first VCAs I used - a Doepfer and a Ladik - both included it). If the knob isn’t set full ccw, bipolar cv can be used.

It was this feature that caused me to stick with intellijel’s Quad VCA and remove Veils from my main case.

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#228

I adore Blinds’ implementation - Out = In1*(K1*In2+K2). It is wonderful to be able to attenuvert, offset, and then multiply your signal by another. Add in the cascading mixing and it becomes pretty much the most flexible and performative VCA for processing CV in my opinion. It is also of course a great choice for doing various 4-quadrant audio effects (ring mod) or biasing signals for some bias-sensitive audio effects (eg rectifiers, wavefolders, and analog logic). The one thing that could really improve it IMO would be away to switch each channel into a two-quadrant setup so that you could precisely close each channel individually.

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#229

I think if it had that, I wouldn’t have dithered between Blinds and Veils and wound up not getting either. :slight_smile: One of my first modules (after Rings/Tides/Peaks) was the Doepfer A-133 VC Polarizer, and it was so frustrating trying to get it to work well as a VCA that I was nervous of trying Blinds.

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#230

It mostly depends on the use case whether its “standard synth voice VCA functionality” (ie being able to close fully) is “good enough.”

For instance, an audio use case which I love it for is as a sort of Aux Send mixer - four signals in, one signal out to fully wet FX unit. Since most of the input signals will already have some sort of amplitude shaping applied to them already, they are off most of the time anyways so it’s okay if a channel doesn’t 100% close perfectly - and when a channel should be closed, even if it is not perfect, a fully wet FX unit usually won’t respond at all anyways to a very low level signal, at least not noticeably - certainly not when there are a bunch of other audio signals going to it already anyways.

Another nice use case where it is okay if it doesn’t close perfectly - setting it up as a stereo panner. The flexibility for offsetting and inverting the control voltage input make it extremely easy to use 2 channels of it as a stereo panner.

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#231

That definitely looks like a dodgy encoder.

I’d contact 4MS, their customer service is great.

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#232

Hi guys,

Thinking about getting rid of my Doepfer A-190-4 and A-170 to make space for a Make Noise Maths. What do you think?

#233

I could be wrong, but I remember reading on another forum that technicaly those passive ‘LPG’s’ are not actually low pass gates, at least as the ones made by Buchla. While you can make a passive circuit that triggers a vactrol with CV, the important part of the LPG sound is that the filter is also opening and closing as well, which needs to be done with an active circuit. Again, don’t quote me on this, but I THINK those passive LPG circuits are essentially just a vactrol that allows audio through with CV input and a passive static LPF like you would find on a guitar circuit.

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#234

A-190-4 is MIDI-to-CV, right? A bit apples to oranges.

Maths is an extremely useful module, but one thing to keep in mind is that the slew limiters are the same channels as the envelopes. It works well on both capacities, but if you want them simultaneously you would be limited to one instance each.

If you wanted you have multiple envelopes and slew generators it makes sense have them in separate modules I think. That said maths is one of the most useful modules and you can have.

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#235

Yeah, about the A-190-4 I just cannot find a viable use for it as I don’t want to use MIDI with my modular, so I was thinking a Maths would be better than a dual slew limiter, ad I thought Maths has two indipendent slew limiters, but maybe I’m wrong

#236

It does have two independent slew limiters.

You can use them for whatever you want, including slewing gate voltages into the shape of envelopes, which may be what kirklandish was getting at.

Maths is a collection of simple tools that ends up being greater than the sum of its parts. You’ll have much more utility than just a pair of slew limiters.

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#237

A passive lowpass filter is just a resistor and a capacitor. Replace the resistor with the LDR from a vactrol, and the cutoff frequency of the filter changes along with the overall level.

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#238

I should’ve been a little bit more detailed I think.
Here is my (almost complete) project:

image
image1242×2208 904 KB

#239

Maths can replace the A-170, but it has no midi capabilities.

#240

Yes true. Here’s a quote from the thread I was referencing:

– that is not a lowpass gate, it’s just a passive “VCA”. While Buchla’s LPGs and many other designs use a Sallen-Key filter typology, it is possible to build a very simple passive variant on a low-pass gate by just putting a capacitor to ground after the vactrol’s resistor side to create a simple RC lowpass filter. See this thread (and also the Silonex datasheet) for ideas:

https://www.muffwiggler.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=107006

#241

I have a MATHS but I don’t use the central column of mixer/attenuverter stuff - I just use it as a double gate/pulse generator. Should I swap it for a Double Andore MKII or should I force myself to use MATHS to it’s full potential?

#242

I keep hearing the Double Andore mk1 is the one to get, but I haven’t tried either.

If you’re pretty sure that central section isn’t hiding some great untapped potential, it might be worth trying something else. I like the advice in this post in general:

#243

The consensus seems to be:
DA MK1 for glitch/stabs/percussive
DA MKII for drones

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