> I'd be real careful about trying to improve the Buchla with EE
> fixes. I don't suppose lower noise op-amps would hurt anything,
> but even trying to improve VCO drift might have damaged its karma.
>
What I stress is ∗understanding∗ where the "karma" comes from. I claim that 99.99% of 'musical
karma', especially when dealing with electronics, can be understood AND explained.
There is both intent and luck in Karma Engineering. An example of intent is the use of Vactrols
as control elements. In the MOTM-410, several solutions were available for the CV of the bandpass
filters, but a Vactrol was chosen on purpose. It just has a certain response that people like.
The Moog filter is 100% luck :)
The same is true on the Buchla: has anyone noticed there are no VCAs??!? That's because the ARE
no VCAs in a Buchla. There is a Quad Lowpass Gate module that is Vactrol based, that is used as a
VCA (or cheesy LPF). This prevents 'snappy' envelopes, so the sound is "mushed up" like an
Oberheim Xpander is (the Xpander has SW envelopes that are infamous for non-snappy-ness).
Also, PWM is non-existent. This is a shame, as I am a fan of PWM.
I agree 100% that some people enjoy the fact the Buchla is (being kind) "non-repeatable".
However, that's not my ∗personal idea∗ of what make a "great" modular (to me, it makes a great
pain-in-the-ass modular).
Paul S.