I don't use this output very much, but when I do, I use it more often as a CV
source than a (audio) signal source. It's good for weird glissandi kinda
things -- I always thought the output was a whole tone scale (into a 1V/oct
input), but I never use it in a tempered music setting, just more atonal
stuff. I should point out that Serge used 0-5V signals, so the steps are half
what the MOTM would be.
I find this to be a nice feature when you want another varying voltage, and I
think it's well worth the $15. It is nice to have for those very electronic
"everything modulate everything else" patches.
JB
In a message dated 10/14/2000 7:24:20 PM,
synth1@... writes:
>On the VC Pulse Divider from Serge, there is an output called 'STEPPED'.
>I'm
>am pretty sure
>how they did it (not seeing the circuit).
>
>The output is a stair-cased, positive-going sawtooth. The sawtooth is
>generated by a 5-bit
>counter, that is ∗clocked∗ by the input pulses and ∗reset∗ by the
>divide-by-N pulse.
>The output counter bits feed a 5-bit DAC.
>
>So, here are some interesting things about this sawtooth:
>
>a) for a fixed frequency in, the ∗amplitude∗ is inversly proportional to
>the
>divide ratio. Think
>about it: the longer you count, the higher the amplitude.
>
>b) of course, for a fixed input frequency, the ∗output∗ frequency is
>proportional to the divide
>ratio. If you input 4Khz and divide by 8, you get out a 500Hz sawtooth
>with
>8 steps. Assuming
>a -5V to +5V output scaling (like all the other signal generators), we
>have
>10V/32 steps = 312mv/step. So for 8 steps = -5V to -2.5V sawtooth.
>
>For straining the brain more: this acts as a low-pass filter! Since the
>divide ratio is a control
>voltage, then if the input is fixed (say 2Khz) then as the divisor is swept
>from 32 to 1 the
>amplitude AND frequency change. But, the amplitude drops off at higher
>frequency outputs
>since the counter is reset faster and faster.
>
>Of course, if you fix the divide ratio and sweep the input, the amplitude
>of
>the sawtooth is ∗constant∗
>at the divide ratio X 312mv.
>
>Will add $15 to the cost of the module. Discuss!