VCA ICs ~ WAS: [sdiy] cloning a PPG EVU / Wave?

[Seb Francis]

John Mahoney wrote:
>
>> For a synth the SSM2164 is plenty good enough (probably better than 
>> the VCAs in most analog synths - although 'better' is perhaps a 
>> subjective term as the VCA distortion also forms part of the 
>> character of the sound).
>
> Sure. So, what's a VCA with good character -- a discrete design like 
> the Minimoog VCA?

Well there's probably no definitive answer and it depends as well on the 
interaction between different parts of the synth, but I'd say a simple 
discrete design is going to offer more distortion (which may or may not 
be desirable!)  Personally I like a bit of lo-fi in places - a patch 
made of purely MOTM modules for example is not to my taste - waveforms 
too perfect, not enough distortion, etc.  (Although I do appreciate the 
tuning stability of the oscillators!)

Seb