[sdiy] PPG sacrilege!

[Barry Klein]

Hi guys,
As Paul knows I had a PPG2.2 and have a DX7 and Microwave1.   I got the PPG
in dead condition and replaced its 5V dead linear regulator with a switcher.
If anything more serious was dead I would have most likely been screwed.
When I first played it I went "hmm, what's so cool about this...?"  Didn't
impress me a bunch.  But the Microwave1 didn't either.  But then try the
following:
play via a sequencer
play through effects
play the programs at really low notes and listen to the wierdness

I think the above makes the difference and is where things shine.  The PPG
and Microwave have this instant, sometimes "popping" attack that sounds like
somethings wrong raw but cool through effects.  I sold the PPG back to the
guy that sold it to me as he was calling so often I gave in.  I'd never get
the time to learn the programming interface anyway.
The DX7 in comparison has an obvious character of its own that only some
effects will enhance.  It seems to need something that will take it beyond
this character, but its not there.

Barry


-----Original Message-----
From: owner-synth-diy at dropmix.xs4all.nl
[mailto:owner-synth-diy at dropmix.xs4all.nl] On Behalf Of Paul Maddox
Sent: Thursday, May 11, 2006 1:12 AM
To: Aaron Lanterman; SynthDIY
Subject: Re: [sdiy] PPG sacrilege!

Aaron,

> Eeek - I didn't mean for that lecture to come off as anti-PPG.

hehe, it didn't, it was very interesting, I'm just midly obsessive about 
PPGs.

> Did I say they were? Shoot, didn't mean to if I did. I might have been 
> getting it mixed up with the Prophet VS - I recall the waves from that 
> came from a variety of sources.

I think it was implied when you talked about sampled waveforms and 
'snippets' to create tables, then you mentioned the PPG.

> As the course progressed I got more ond more busy with non-course related 
> things (I graduated two PhD students this semester and got to "hood" them 
> at graduation last Saturday! Yay!) so the lectures get less and less 
> coherent.

Dunno, I found them quite enjoyable.

> I have to confess I was just quoting what I'd heard from various sources.

oooo..
Www.ppg.synth.net

> I've never actually heard or seen any of the early PPG digitals in person.

I'm lucky enough to have played with most of the PPG range.
Aactually, now I think of it, everything excluding a realiser and 1003 
(which I've been invited to go and play by a friend of mine).

> Again, was just quoting what I'd heard. ;)

hehehe, hear-say is a bad thing.
The other thing was that the PPG was incredibly complicated, the Prozboard 
which does all the oscillators, is a major league complex state machine made

from discrete logic (74Snn) and it scared the living bejesus out of any tech

who saw it.

> Ooops - darn. I was in a big hurry putting that lecture together.

I'm just picky :-)

> That certainly is true - but when the DX7 came out at its price point, it 
> must have taken a bite into PPG, no?

yep, I think it was a contributing factor, but not the main cause, whcih was

the over-stretching of funds on the realiser..

> Oh, the first point there I didn't know - I thought the wavetables in the 
> 2.3 were 12 bit.

you're not alone, it's an incredibly common mistake :-)

> Did you know that the Monowave filter was part of one of my homework 
> problems? Check out HW #6... ;)

was it?
I'll have to have another look...

anyway, just ignore me, I'm being picky because I obsess about PPG, you're 
doing a superb job, I only wish I could've had these kind of lessons when I 
went to college.

Paul