[sdiy] VCO voltage reference

[Magnus Danielson]

From: René Schmitz <uzs159 at uni-bonn.de>
Subject: Re: [sdiy] VCO voltage reference
Date: Wed, 12 Apr 2006 01:55:24 +0200
Message-ID: <443C41EC.7020103 at uni-bonn.de>

> Hi Magnus and all,

Hi René,

> Magnus Danielson wrote:
> 
> > I've always considered the idea of doing an "All 4069 synth" a neat idea, and
> > it would be a masterwork of imperfections all over the place. Actually being
> > able to get some form of sound out of it would be a succsess in itself.
> 
> It doesn't have to be too bad. It could be musical. (Hey Aaron, here's 
> one for your students :-))

Indeed my point.

> That is if you can tolerate imperfections up to a certain degree. And 
> this is what much of the debates are about. What is tolerable? Some 
> people seem to define that and don't let anything count besides their 
> own judgement. I try not to.
> Rather I think that the sonic properties of VCOs are more important than 
> the measurable quantities like stability, perfect waveforms etc. We have 
> often discussed why "digital sounds sterile", and to my ears, the more 
> precise a VCO is, the more does it sound sterile.

It actually depends on what you are doing and what you are trying to acheive.
If you want something which makes cool blips and blops and doesn't care about
minimal drift between oscillators beating etc. then something like this may be
a fun project. If you need that level of control, you need a different synth.
It's that simple.

If we look on synths that have made an impression, we often find that various
arbitrary limitations have contributed to the character which is valued. The
cutting of corners can sometimes produce interesting imperfections which in the
hands of creative people becomes a new character.

> > Why do you think I scetched up that VC-ADSR?
> 
> Imperfections are bliss. :-P Why do you think I made a synth mainly out 
> of vacuum tubes. Certainly not to win any precision contest. :-P

I don't think it's the cold German winters... :P

Cheers,
Magnus