> Seriously, I have _never_ heard one sound sample from the 510 that
makes me
> want to buy one. All I've heard is a lot of noisily trashed signals that
> make me _not_ want to buy one, which is why I didn't buy one until
the last
> round of kits was put up for sale.
It's easy to trash a signal with the '510, but it is also easy to make
subtle, evolving wavefolding patterns and animated, harmonic and
non-harmonic additions to the signal. Also, when filtered, the sound
becomes more subtle anyway. That makes the heavier wave trashing more
useful. Try high pass for that next insect sound...
Heck,
> I'll force Chub to buy it from me if I don't like it. :-)
Sure! No force necessary! I know you can do a good job building the
kit. My guess is that once you get the hang of the '510, you'll be
marketing it as hard as I do in this forum.
>
> In other words, while it is certainly true that "esoteric" modules are
> harder to sell than "basic" modules, maybe this module didn't sell well
> because we (buyers) were told that "it makes an absolute mess of
even the
> simplest waveform. Effects range from frying bacon to a frog in a
blender to
> sticking your head into a jet engine." Quite frankly, that suggests
to me
> that this module is basically useless to me, given the musical
directions I
> tend to work in.
Granted, those are harsh descriptions. "Frying bacon" sounds added on
top of your modulated signal implies extra partials. That means more
swirly fun when patched into you '410! My take on the '510 would be
more like "animating, ever-changing, multi-modulating waveform
complexifier" (way sic) that far exceeds the capability of "normal"
modulation methods. Think of all those cool modulation clips by many
of the MOTM owners using a couple of oscillators and LFOs. The '510
does that sort of thing, but in entirely different ways because of the
process the IC follows. The rotary switch then allows you to choose
the exponent of the base equation. That's quite a leap from the sum
and difference of two inputs (balanced modulation) or simple clipping
or rectifying.
Those are the terms I use as I approach the MOTM-510.
The next statement, "You can warp LFOs into bizarre new
> waveforms, as well as the output of MOTM-800 EGs" is more
compelling, but
> didn't compel me to whip out the credit card. If my only source of
> information about the 510 was its web page, I certainly wouldn't have
> ordered one.
It's a tough sell, Adam. As Paul has pointed out so often, anyone
(ok, any synth geek) knows what a low pass filter, VCA, or EG is and
does. And any of us can make PLENTY of wild sounds with just a few of
those modules. But something as esoteric as the '510 (or the Serge
wave folder of yore and its variants) takes a little more effort to
put into use. You're a creative person, however. I'm betting that
you won't just play with this module for an hour and sell it. It has
far too many possibilities and will easily double the sonic capability
of you synth! That's not an exaggeration, either. Try this - use the
'510 in place of the RM side of your '190s in any bell-tone patch.
Two VCOs - one in the X audio and one in the Y offset,VCF, VCA. Maybe
patch an LFO into Z offset for gentle animation. You'll be hooked.
Chub - seriously, I should get a job instead of shilling for Paul.