Worf, Son of Moog: A Modular Analog Synthesizer in the Original Klingon
I've had this analog modular synth sitting here as a project for the longest time now, and have finally decided that it is no longer worth just sitting here staring at it. The cabinets will not magically fill themselves with modules. I'm going to have to finish this thing and start making sounds with it.
And so, the day before Christmas, 2010, I'm finally off my lazy butt, ordering modules for this anachronism. A voltage-controlled, monophonic, modular analog synthesizer. The kind of synthesizer that instantly went out of fashion with the advent of digital-FM synths in the 1980s, at which point all keyboard parts in every band everywhere started to sound more and more alike. Only in the last decade or so, has the depth, richness, and down-right fun sound of analog slowly crept back into the public consciousness... but even then it's mostly in purely digital recreations... so-called "analog modeling" synths. These are fine, but part of my brain says there's something dishonest about calling a completely digital simulation of an analog sound "analog". I'm clearly not the only one, as borne witness by the explosion in purely analog synthesizers, and the return of old synth makers like the late Robert Moog, and folks like Tom Oberheim and Dave Smith.
The new analog builds on lessons learned. The originals were cantankerous beasts that wouldn't hold in tune and seldom produced the same results twice. Why would anyone want to return to that? So, what we do these days isn't to slavishly copy say, a Moog System 55, but to create a modern equivalent, similar in function and spirit, but not, by-and-large using the exact same circuits.
My first step, in ordering modules for this synth was to go to synthesizers.com. The ordering process isn't a straight-forward online order form. No, this is boutique electronics, done OLD-SCHOOL. First you ask for a quote, then someone contacts you. This human interaction isn't some needless anachronism, it's a necessary part of the process. Because you're ordering an assemblage of parts, you're going to need some hands-on from the manufacturer to ensure that what you get, WORKS.
My second step involves looking for unusual or fun modules to fill in the gaps. Thankfully there are any number of small, or even single-person shops who specialize in just this sort of thing, Like Suit & Tie Guy, who has a variety of useful re-creations of classic synth modules and a few new ideas (and also reads my blog, thanks!) I think his take on the Moog CP3 Mixer from the early Moog Modulars would be a good addition, so I've placed an order for one. Read that page. Listen to that sound sample. Know that how a mixer distorts is just as important as its normal mode of operation, and perhaps more so. Now, I'm also ordering a four-channel mixer from synthesizers.com, but mostly because there's a slightly longer wait for the mixer I want, and in the end having nine channels of mixer with two sets of different responses lends itself to more possibilities.
Step three I haven't done yet. At this point, I have a two-oscillator synth with no dedicated LFOs. It's musically useful, but could use at least one more oscillator. So why don't I go all out and make the insane, money-no-object purchase of the single most amazing and powerful oscillator one can fit in a 5U modular system?
Why not buy a Cyndustries Zeroscillator?
Yeah, $1000. I'm a fool with money, soon to be parted from it. Yeah, I'm crazy. Like a fox. This isn't any ordinary bipolar UJT oscillator circuit. This is a full-blown quadrature oscillator with through-zero operation for voltage-controlled time-reversed insane you-can't-do-that-in-analog-can-you FM synthesis. This is our Klingon synth-builder taking a bat'leth to your auditory canal. It's where our amps go past eleven into "IT SHALL BE GLORIOUS" realms of sound. So, yeah, $1000. It's not like I'm outfitting the synth with a truckload of them.
More later...
And so, the day before Christmas, 2010, I'm finally off my lazy butt, ordering modules for this anachronism. A voltage-controlled, monophonic, modular analog synthesizer. The kind of synthesizer that instantly went out of fashion with the advent of digital-FM synths in the 1980s, at which point all keyboard parts in every band everywhere started to sound more and more alike. Only in the last decade or so, has the depth, richness, and down-right fun sound of analog slowly crept back into the public consciousness... but even then it's mostly in purely digital recreations... so-called "analog modeling" synths. These are fine, but part of my brain says there's something dishonest about calling a completely digital simulation of an analog sound "analog". I'm clearly not the only one, as borne witness by the explosion in purely analog synthesizers, and the return of old synth makers like the late Robert Moog, and folks like Tom Oberheim and Dave Smith.
The new analog builds on lessons learned. The originals were cantankerous beasts that wouldn't hold in tune and seldom produced the same results twice. Why would anyone want to return to that? So, what we do these days isn't to slavishly copy say, a Moog System 55, but to create a modern equivalent, similar in function and spirit, but not, by-and-large using the exact same circuits.
My first step, in ordering modules for this synth was to go to synthesizers.com. The ordering process isn't a straight-forward online order form. No, this is boutique electronics, done OLD-SCHOOL. First you ask for a quote, then someone contacts you. This human interaction isn't some needless anachronism, it's a necessary part of the process. Because you're ordering an assemblage of parts, you're going to need some hands-on from the manufacturer to ensure that what you get, WORKS.
My second step involves looking for unusual or fun modules to fill in the gaps. Thankfully there are any number of small, or even single-person shops who specialize in just this sort of thing, Like Suit & Tie Guy, who has a variety of useful re-creations of classic synth modules and a few new ideas (and also reads my blog, thanks!) I think his take on the Moog CP3 Mixer from the early Moog Modulars would be a good addition, so I've placed an order for one. Read that page. Listen to that sound sample. Know that how a mixer distorts is just as important as its normal mode of operation, and perhaps more so. Now, I'm also ordering a four-channel mixer from synthesizers.com, but mostly because there's a slightly longer wait for the mixer I want, and in the end having nine channels of mixer with two sets of different responses lends itself to more possibilities.
Step three I haven't done yet. At this point, I have a two-oscillator synth with no dedicated LFOs. It's musically useful, but could use at least one more oscillator. So why don't I go all out and make the insane, money-no-object purchase of the single most amazing and powerful oscillator one can fit in a 5U modular system?
Why not buy a Cyndustries Zeroscillator?
Yeah, $1000. I'm a fool with money, soon to be parted from it. Yeah, I'm crazy. Like a fox. This isn't any ordinary bipolar UJT oscillator circuit. This is a full-blown quadrature oscillator with through-zero operation for voltage-controlled time-reversed insane you-can't-do-that-in-analog-can-you FM synthesis. This is our Klingon synth-builder taking a bat'leth to your auditory canal. It's where our amps go past eleven into "IT SHALL BE GLORIOUS" realms of sound. So, yeah, $1000. It's not like I'm outfitting the synth with a truckload of them.
More later...