Quote:
Originally Posted by Jazzpunk  Hi triez,
Looks sweet! Can you explain a bit more about what was involved in normaling your .Com system? |
To normalize a modular, firstly you draw a map of the system on paper, and decide which routing within the machine that you want permanently connected. Note that normalization does not remove ANY of the modular functionality, what it does is to save a lot of patch lead clutter by removing the need for patch leads for common connections. Firstly, .Com makes a normalization module, which is designed to distribute gates and CV's around the system, so you hook it up to all of the VCO's, so that you have only to put a CV into one point to have it go to all of the VCO's on the synth. The same goes with gates, one node point sends gates to all of the envelope generators.
Afetr this, I normalled:
The gate and CV outs of the MIDI module into the abovementioned normalization module, this sending CV's and gates to every VCO and ADSR.
The outputs of each of the 5 Oscillator aids and the noise and Ring mod. to an 8 channel mixer.
One side of the mixer to the input of a transistor ladder filter.
The other side of the mixer to a State Variable filter.
The ADSR CV out of a couple of envelope generators to the 2 filters.
The audio outputs of each filter to the audio input of a couple of VCA's.
The The ADSR CV out of a couple of envelope generators to the 2 VCA's.
This allows me to basically turn on the synth, connect a lead from the outputs of 2 VCA's to my desk, and play the machine as parallel pair of conventional synths, one with 3 VCO's into a transistor ladder filter, the other 2 VCO's into a State variable filter. It gives me an instant starting point, with no patch leads, so I can then start patching the creative stuff without having to go through the tedium each time of plugging in 14 leads to get the machine to play a sound at all.
Why did I do this? because I will be using the machine live, and I want to be able to change patches during the show, and this setup, along with some of the clever routing and preset modules that .Com sell, allows me to do this without to much re-patching.
I know some purists will say that such a setup can cause the bad habit of staying stuck in conventional thinking and routing, but for live use it actually increases interaction with the machine because you can more easily work with the machine in real time. Also, as I pointed out at the beginning, the normalization does in no way reduce modularity. The APR 2600 and Roland System 700 are set up the same way, and no one complains that it stifles creativity, it encourages it by removing repetative tedium.
The actual process is simple, and a .Com is even easier because it uses 1/4 inch jacks and has large (Moog size) modules. you pick a source, say the output if an ADSR, and a destination, say the CV input of a VCA, that you want connected. you remove the jack socket from the VCA input and simply replace it with a new switched jack socket, and wire it identically to the old socket. Nothing to it.
You then solder a jumper (behind the panel) from the back of the ADSR output jack (just connect it to the tip along with the wire that is already there), and the other end goes to the SWITCH terminal of you new jack on the VCA input. if you use shielded cable, connect the earth at either end and you're done.
What you have now is a permanent connection, but it still works also a a pure modular, because the output of the ADSR is still available on it's socket to patch anywhere with a patch lead, but will always also appear at the input of you VCA. BUT here's the thing... If you put a patch lead into the input of the VCA, then the patch lead automatically disconnects the normalization, and bypasses it to allow a new configuration.
This is the reason that I built a custom 60 space cabinet, so that I could have all this normalization in place and move the machine as one unit.
Hope this all makes sense!