[sdiy] Waveforms (was dx, chorus and Spock)

[Kirke Sonnichsen]

You can get "textbook" geometric waves from a Minimoog,
but first you should understand one of the (apparently)
least well known features of the Minimoogs mixer: it
was designed to distort!

Anything under "2" on the mixer and you'll see the waveforms
as you'd expect them to be. Past that and it starts to
distort. You could think of it as a simple waveshaper.
Many Emu Systems modules (in their modular systems)
incorporate a similar design.

This, along with the ladder filter is what really gives
the Minimoog it's distinctive sound and what most designers
of Minimoog emulators seem to leave out.

- Kirke
(eenie meenie mynie moog)

>
>In my minimoog exploits a few days ago searching for oscillator bleedthru I
>did notice the shape of the waveforms and they were distinctly "warped" from
>ideal. The minimoog is what it is, and it is certainly what many could
>consider "musical". It has almost a "tube" warmth to it. Now whether or not
>the "musicality" of the minimoog is a contextual thing, meaning I like it
>because I'm so used to it, or I've heard it in so many recordings that when
>I play one I think "yeah, that's the sound!", is an interesting thought
>experiment in cognitive processes. But there is no right or wrong in these
>things - we're talking about art.