PolyModular Standards

[jorgen.bergfors at idg.se]

Hi Jürgen and list. Just some more thoughts.

>To tell the truth, I would even go for 4 voices if there wouldn't be a cheap
>5-pin connector. I rarely see the 4-voice polyphony of my CS-50 as a
>limitation.

If you are going to use pre-made cables, you won't get more than four voices even with 5 pin DIN connectors. This is because the middle pin is always connected to the shield. The cable only has two pairs plus shield. So you would have to solder your own cables. In that case you could as well use six pin DIN connectors and get six voices. That would prevent any mix-up with midi-cables too. Another option is to go with just four voices. I'm voting for that alternative. If anybody crave more, they can just use two boards instead of one and get eight voices. Then they can use 9 pin D-sub connectors. 

>I think there might be fewer VCA functions than you think. There
>are lots of good voltage controlled (name of function here)... like VC-ASDR...
>They would only need standard pots... only the output level needs a VCA.

You would need VCAs to control the amount of modulation. Note that in the case of FM, this VCA will affect the tuning of the VCOs. So it better not have any DC offset or CV bleedthrough. Crappy two-transistor VCAs are out of the question.

/Jörgen