VCO designs

[Eric at Svetlana Electron Devices]

>archive for more info. Basically it's not terribly good but ok if you're
>just futzing around.

I just had to comment on  this business about the 8038 being
"not very good".

Please, a note to all new readers of this mailing list:
A few of the people on here are concerned mainly
with technical extremism. This is a worthy pursuit
and helps advance the state of the art.

But.....it is NOT necessary to build a synthesizer
to such high standards and still be able to derive
lots of musical value (and pleasure) from it.

All we want to do is make MUSIC. Remember? Music? 
Is a VCO sweep range of 0.01 Hz to 100 kHz a requirement to
make music? If so, then do we junk all musical instruments
that do not meet this specification?

One should take a  BALANCED view of DIY synthesis. Remember, a
3-octave range is usually plenty, and was the limit
of capability of the keyboards on most old manufactured synthesizers.
An 8038 VCO is quite capable of 3 octaves, and plenty more.

My vacuum-tube VCOs can only do 2 1/2 octaves......
but they SOUND GOOD.........and one can even play MUSIC
on them.......................................(of course, nobody else on
this list knows this, as they haven't tried them yet....with
only 2 exceptions....well, Tom?)


Eric Barbour
Svetlana Electron Devices
Portola Valley CA USA