[sdiy] Thoughts on VCO's

[David Ingebretsen]

I've got a few questions regarding VCOs. While a critical part of any
synthesizer, are there really a lot of differences? 

Here are a few personal preference questions:

1. What wave forms do you seem to use most often?

2. What sort of tracking do you like? Precise over a wide range? A little
less precise (does this give a more "old school" sound)?

3. How many octaves should a VCO track for what applications? EG: "Switched
on" performances of classic works versus ambient/trance/space type pieces.

4. Are the differences between different VCO's all that important? EG: is a
Brand "A" really any better worse than Brand "B" and what do you look for?

5. Do little imperfections in a wave form make it unsuitable for some
applications? EG: a bit of overshoot or ringing on a square wave?

6. Is it better sonically to have a bank of VCO's that are all the same
design or is it more versatile to have 6 different VCOs?

For background, I'm at a point now where I can actually make some music with
my setup and am quite pleased, but I'm curious where to go from here? I have
a good diversity in filters, and other wave shapers, but at present I have a
common denominator for VCOs, VCAs, and EGs. I am very interested in JH"s
"living" VCO, and some others I've seen out there which have different
selling points, like "15 octave tracking". But is 15 octave tracking needed
if I'm putting a Bach piano invention to tape?

To add to my confusion, on the MFOS site there are 6 different variations of
a VCO with some labeled updated and improved. What was really improved? I've
seen a lot of references to the ASM-1 VCO, too.

Understanding it is all in the ear of the beholder, I'm still curious what
your thoughts are VCO selection and functionality.

Thanks from a stumbling lost synth player wanna-be.

David