Dieter Doepfer introduces new A-100 modules

The pre-holiday season always sees Dieter Doepfer holding a workshop in his favourite home city. So too in December 2015. The event was very well attended and the listeners were all ears. Doepfer’s presentation of the A-100 system was a symbiosis of the old and the new, proofing again that new explanations of the well-known modules also have their benefits.

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(For example the Wave Multiplier. Out of pure ignorance I had shoved that to the very back of the rack some months ago, only to rescue it back to its place of prominence right after this workshop. Doepfer’s short demonstration had again shown how beautiful and versatile this module can sound.)

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A-100 systems in all sizes, the obligatory oscilloscope, Dieter Doepfer with his unbelievable depth of knowledge – the old and the new and some “special” modules in between!

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The NEW modules come equipped with the long-awaited A-157 Trigger Sequencer package. Installed into the (small) modular base, the module blinked enticingly during operation. Individual step-lengths, varying operation modes and much more: the cute Trigger Sequencer is the congenial Doepfer Schaltwerk “in small”.

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Depending on the capacities of the manufacturer producing the printed circuit boards (the heart of the system), the A-157-1 Trigger Matrix will be available soon. According to Dieter Doepfer, you can have the whole package of the Trigger Sequencer (all 3 modules) for about 500 Euros. A bagain!

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On to those colorful modules! Amazing: you take a VCO, dip it in blue and voilà – you’ve got a smash hit! THRU ZERO VCO and the wonderful WASP VCF (each in its own special edition) are currently among the best-sellers of all Doepfer modules.

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Little, but oho! The A-180-3 DUAL BUFFERED MULTIPLE is a dual buffered 1-in-3 multiple that also works as 1-in-6 multiple. And the A-168-1 PWM MODULE is a pulsewidth modulation generator (PWM Module) for everything but square waves! It derives a rectangle signal with adjustable pulsewidth from an external triangle, sawtooth or sine wave. The external signal can be an LFO, VCO or any other signal with falling/rising slopes (e.g. ADSR). In addition the pulsewidth can be modulated by a CV signal (e.g. LFO or ADSR).

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The A-160-5 VOLTAGE CONTROLLED CLOCK MULTIPLIER / RATCHETING CONTROLLER deserves special attention. The module can be used for all kind of clock multiplying applications. One important example is the generation of so-called ratcheting sequences. The band Tangerine Dream is famous for this kind of sequences.

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And yes, yes … after 10 years Doepfer again includes a headphone module with the A-100 system. The A-139-2 HEADPHONE AMPLIFIER makes the system autonomous. Just you and your headphones!

To be fair, Dieter Doepfer hasn’t limited himself in his presentations to his own modules. The Jomox Drum-Module, for example, has found a place on his rack …

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… which is our cue for a small detour to the A-100 system used by one of the workshop participants. This system has been personalized to give it a “wooden” look. Very smart …

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… and not to forget the much-praised AJH Modules. They rank among the must-haves of the modular world.

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Back to Dieter Doepfer and some final (photo) impressions of the event …

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We’re already looking forward to the next Doepfer workshop …

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Links:

www.doepfer.de
www.hieber-lindberg.de

Filed under General

“Es genügt, einen Ton schön zu spielen” sagte der Komponist Arvo Pärt im Jahre 2005. Diese Aussage ist ebenso einfach wie ich auch exzellent: Es braucht kein Meer an Tönen, denn entscheidend ist der Klang. Dass so mancher Vintage-Synthesizer der 70er und 80er Jahre teils unerreicht hochwertige Klänge liefert, steht außer Frage. Doch tatsächlich leben wir “heute” in einer nahezu perfekten Zeit. Einerseits hat man – mehr oder weniger – noch Zugriff auf die Vintage Analogen, andererseits wird auch bei Neugeräten die wichtige Komponente des hochwertigen Klanges wieder zunehmend berücksichtigt. Doepfer, Cwejman, Synthesizers.com, MacBeth, Moog, GRP, Studio Electronics, COTK, John Bowen und andere Hersteller bauen hervorragende Synthesizer, die den “Klassikern” in nichts nachstehen. All diesen (alten wie neuen) “großartigen” Instrumenten ist Great Synthesizers gewidmet. _________________________________________________________ In 2005 composer Arvo Pärt said: “Playing one tone really well is enough”. In other words, it is sufficient to play one tone 'beautifully'. I agree with that. All musical efforts are focused on the sound itself. Although I studied classical music (piano and drums), it’s the electronic sound that inspires me. Synthesizers are the epitome of new sounds and exciting tonal spheres. Today, many companies produce high-quality - excellent! - synthesizers: Doepfer, Cwejman, MacBeth, Moog, GRP, Synthesizers.com, COTK, Studio Electronics, John Bowen and others. It's their products I'm really interested in ... apart from Vintage Synthesizers, which I have been collecting for 20 years. Subsequent to our former websites Bluesynths and Blogasys, Peter Mahr and I have now created GreatSynthesizers. We hope you like it.