[sdiy] first impressions of SynthModules PSIM-1

[john mahoney]

I've got a PSIM-1 from www.synthmodules.com. You have surely seen posts by
Brice Hornback (developer of the PSIM), as well as a few other folks. There
are only about 6 of these modules in existence, so field experience is still
limited. I just wanted to give my impressions after using the PSIM for about
an hour.

The test rig consisted of a PSIM-1 (with Blacet rack cage and power supply),
a Korg Mono/Poly, a Moogerfooger CP-251 Control Processor for CV routing and
scaling, and a Moogerfooger expression pedal.

The PSIM-1 is a high quality module. The front panel is as good as they get,
and it packs a lot of features. But you can read about them online.

Running the "factory-loaded" test program, I checked each of the four
outputs. The CV ranges appeared to be identical on all 4 outputs, as they
should have been. Off to a good start. Then I installed the development
environment and loaded some sample programs. Once past an early hurdle
(thanks for the telephone support, Brice!), it was a piece of cake. (The
hurdle: You have to Save the program before loading it into the PSIM, even
if you have not modified the code.)

Then, I loaded Dr. Mabuse's Wigglyman1 program and enjoyed its
rollercoaster-like CV outputs. It's no surprise that Grant "Noise Ring"
Richter contributed to this program. The Mono/Poly sounded like a Harley
ridden by a someone having a seizure as the pitch was "wiggled" down in and
out of the subsonic range.

Finally, I loaded ramps.bas, written about a week ago (code spreads
quickly!) by Woody Wall. This program is different from the others because
it reads the CV inputs and uses that data to generate signals at the
outputs. I used my expression pedal to modulate a CV running to PSIM In-1,
and the Korg's trigger output into the PSIM's Start jack. Each time I
pressed a key, the trigger pulse started the ramp generation, with the ramp
rates being set by the angle of the expression pedal. Let me repeat that...

This little module was reacting to my foot position, doing some calculations
in BASIC, and generating 4 separate CVs at the outputs. How cool is that?!
Very!

As the owner of this little monster, I can understand why Brice can hardly
contain his enthusiasm, because I share it! I can hardly wait for the MIDI
and SpeakJet add-ons, too.
--
john  <---(not affiliated with Brice, just a happy customer)