Doepfer

I watched (most of) IDOW: Hardcore Editition last night.  It was nice to see Dieter get some respect, credit and screen time as that respect is sometimes lacking in modular forums.  

And what a beautiful "factory" you have!  

Congratulations, Dieter!

Nick Keller 

Sent from my A-100 system

just finished watching it. enthusiastically agreed!

and it's not just congratulations to Dieter for his own success. by creating the Eurorack format that became a de facto standard for modular gear, he helped usher in this whole new renaissance of modular synthesis for new generations, allowing so many wonderful crazy people in their garages with a soldering iron and a dream to make all sorts of gloriously warped modules for us even more warped musicians to play with!

maybe it's silly of me, but i consider Dieter to be right up there with people like Bob Moog & Dave Smith in the history of synthesizers.

seriously, my sincere heartfelt thanks to you Dieter for everything you've done, and continue to do!

-chris


--- In Doepfer_a100@yahoogroups.com, Nicholas Keller <maq163x2@...> wrote:

>
> I watched (most of) IDOW: Hardcore Editition last night.  It was nice to see Dieter get some respect, credit and screen time as that respect is sometimes lacking in modular forums.  
> 
> And what a beautiful "factory" you have!  
> 
> Congratulations, Dieter!
> 
> Nick Keller 
> 
> Sent from my A-100 system
>

Indeed.

Thank you, Dieter, for bringing modular synths out of the 70s. :)  ...Now, where can we hear this music of yours? :D

All the best,
Zoë.

> just finished watching it. enthusiastically agreed!
>
> and it's not just congratulations to Dieter for his own success.
> by creating the Eurorack format that became a de facto standard
> for modular gear, he helped usher in this whole new renaissance
> of modular synthesis for new generations, allowing so many
> wonderful crazy people in their garages with a soldering iron and
> a dream to make all sorts of gloriously warped modules for us
> even more warped musicians to play with!
>
> maybe it's silly of me, but i consider Dieter to be right up
> there with people like Bob Moog & Dave Smith in the history of
> synthesizers.
>
> seriously, my sincere heartfelt thanks to you Dieter for
> everything you've done, and continue to do!
>
> -chris

Hi Chris,

thank you for your kind words. But I would really not place me on the same
level with Bob Moog or Don Buchla. The start of the A-100 was more a "copy
job" than a new technology. The first modules were nothing but copies of the
MS-404 sub-circuits and the MS-404 had its roots in the famous Moog
transistor ladder filter and a common VCO circuit. I think my main idea was
to make an analog modular system affordable and to use a mechanical format
(now called Eurorack) and a bus concept that was not too expensive (ribbon
cables instead of fixed pcb dimensions as used in the industry standard).
This mechanical format was already an industry standard at this time in
Germany. But I really never imagined that such a huge range of A-100
compatible modules would be ever on the market (Andreas Schneider of
Schneiders Laden in Berlin mentioned recently that in the meantime more than
50 manufacturers and more than 800 modules are on the market and that they
have a bit lost the track).

Best wishes
Dieter Doepfer

i thought the same thing when i heard him say that! c'mon Dieter, don't be shy!

hey, there's a project for the group: upload some of your old tracks for the rest of us to remix/warp/deconstruct/confabulate into a "Dieter's Commemorative Modular Madness Mix"! just a thought...  ;-)



________________________________

 From: Zoë Blade <zoe@bytenoise.co.uk>
To: Doepfer_a100@yahoogroups.com 
Sent: Thursday, August 29, 2013 12:24 AM
Subject: Re: [Doepfer_a100] Re: IDOW:HE
 


  
 ...Now, where can we hear this music of yours? :D



 

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Dieter- 
 when I started making Eurorack modules (www.synthwerks.com) there were only a handful of makers. There are much more than 50 now. Some local makers here in Seattle (The Harvestman, Flight of Harmony, Division 6 and others) started an advocacy group called The Mostly Modular Trade Association (MMTA) to help with parts buys and vendor vetting. We just passed over 100 companies as members and that is by far not everyone out there. I have given talks at local collages and a couple of time for the AES and always tell of this surge and that I believe it totally due to the Eurorack format. Back in the day, as I am sure you remember, different modulars would connect with each other fine (except for some small snages lik Moog s-triger and Asian Hz/oct) but you could never put a module from one companies cabinet into another's. This meant that after the expense of a cabinet you probably stayed with that maker till it was full. ALL that changed with Eurorack. Though you may play down it's importance to the current synthesizer world, to me it cannot we underestimated - it was pure genius. The fact that you didn't try some copyright or trademark nonsense is unbelievably gracious. The rack format was around of course and used by Schroff and others but you could have done so with the power bus or other aspect. 

All I can say is thank you for gambling and opening the doors for me and many others to follow our dreams.
-James

James Husted
Designer, Synthwerks LLC
www.synthwerks.com
james@synthwerks.com
synthwerks@me.com

On Aug 29, 2013, at 12:34 AM, yahoo@doepfer.de wrote:

> 
> Hi Chris,
> 
> thank you for your kind words. But I would really not place me on the same
> level with Bob Moog or Don Buchla. The start of the A-100 was more a "copy
> job" than a new technology. The first modules were nothing but copies of the
> MS-404 sub-circuits and the MS-404 had its roots in the famous Moog
> transistor ladder filter and a common VCO circuit. I think my main idea was
> to make an analog modular system affordable and to use a mechanical format
> (now called Eurorack) and a bus concept that was not too expensive (ribbon
> cables instead of fixed pcb dimensions as used in the industry standard).
> This mechanical format was already an industry standard at this time in
> Germany. But I really never imagined that such a huge range of A-100
> compatible modules would be ever on the market (Andreas Schneider of
> Schneiders Laden in Berlin mentioned recently that in the meantime more than
> 50 manufacturers and more than 800 modules are on the market and that they
> have a bit lost the track).
> 
> Best wishes
> Dieter Doepfer
> 
> 
> 
> ------------------------------------
> 
> Yahoo! Groups Links
> 
> 
>

Everywhere I turn, it's James Husted!  Yeah, I had seen your modules before, but since IDOW:HE, I notice you all over the place (Facebook, etc).  Hadn't realized you were a member of this forum too.  

Nick Keller




On Aug 29, 2013, at 1:25 PM, James Husted <james.husted@mac.com> wrote:

> Dieter- 
> when I started making Eurorack modules (www.synthwerks.com) there were only a handful of makers. There are much more than 50 now. Some local makers here in Seattle (The Harvestman, Flight of Harmony, Division 6 and others) started an advocacy group called The Mostly Modular Trade Association (MMTA) to help with parts buys and vendor vetting. We just passed over 100 companies as members and that is by far not everyone out there. I have given talks at local collages and a couple of time for the AES and always tell of this surge and that I believe it totally due to the Eurorack format. Back in the day, as I am sure you remember, different modulars would connect with each other fine (except for some small snages lik Moog s-triger and Asian Hz/oct) but you could never put a module from one companies cabinet into another's. This meant that after the expense of a cabinet you probably stayed with that maker till it was full. ALL that changed with Eurorack. Though you may play down it's importance to the current synthesizer world, to me it cannot we underestimated - it was pure genius. The fact that you didn't try some copyright or trademark nonsense is unbelievably gracious. The rack format was around of course and used by Schroff and others but you could have done so with the power bus or other aspect. 
> 
> All I can say is thank you for gambling and opening the doors for me and many others to follow our dreams.
> -James
> 
> James Husted
> Designer, Synthwerks LLC
> www.synthwerks.com
> james@synthwerks.com
> synthwerks@me.com
> 
> On Aug 29, 2013, at 12:34 AM, yahoo@doepfer.de wrote:
> 
> > 
> > Hi Chris,
> > 
> > thank you for your kind words. But I would really not place me on the same
> > level with Bob Moog or Don Buchla. The start of the A-100 was more a "copy
> > job" than a new technology. The first modules were nothing but copies of the
> > MS-404 sub-circuits and the MS-404 had its roots in the famous Moog
> > transistor ladder filter and a common VCO circuit. I think my main idea was
> > to make an analog modular system affordable and to use a mechanical format
> > (now called Eurorack) and a bus concept that was not too expensive (ribbon
> > cables instead of fixed pcb dimensions as used in the industry standard).
> > This mechanical format was already an industry standard at this time in
> > Germany. But I really never imagined that such a huge range of A-100
> > compatible modules would be ever on the market (Andreas Schneider of
> > Schneiders Laden in Berlin mentioned recently that in the meantime more than
> > 50 manufacturers and more than 800 modules are on the market and that they
> > have a bit lost the track).
> > 
> > Best wishes
> > Dieter Doepfer
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > ------------------------------------
> > 
> > Yahoo! Groups Links
> > 
> > 
> > 
> 
> 


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

i certainly take your point, but as James said you should never underestimate your true impact on the synthesizer world. and besides, in a sense Bob Moog also did a kind of "copy job" - he repurposed laboratory test gear circuits for a musical application. and as James pointed out about the openess of the Eurorack standard, that's why i equate you with Dave Smith - he invented MIDI, then made it an open system and let everyone have it for free, thus opening up a whole new world of musical possibilities nobody had ever considered before. true, our little modular bubble is a tiny obscure enclave in the music world at large, but it keeps alive a kind of approach to electronic music that is essential to understanding the limitless musical possibilities of electronics, and if it weren't for you modular would still be stuck in a *really* insignificant world of pretentious academia and a couple nostalgic anoraks fetishizing the '70s.

those who TRY to change the world never succeed. those who don't try and are just doing their own thing are the ones who end up genuinely changing it.


in any case, you are a True Decent Human Being, and i thank you for existing!  :-)

-chris

(ps- i also enjoyed seeing both you and Andreas in that "Totally Wired" documentary from a couple years back)



________________________________

 From: "yahoo@doepfer.de" <yahoo@doepfer.de>
To: Doepfer_a100@yahoogroups.com 
Sent: Thursday, August 29, 2013 12:34 AM
Subject: AW: [Doepfer_a100] Re: IDOW:HE
 



Hi Chris,

thank you for your kind words. But I would really not place me on the same
level with Bob Moog or Don Buchla. The start of the A-100 was more a "copy
job" than a new technology. The first modules were nothing but copies of the
MS-404 sub-circuits and the MS-404 had its roots in the famous Moog
transistor ladder filter and a common VCO circuit. I think my main idea was
to make an analog modular system affordable and to use a mechanical format
(now called Eurorack) and a bus concept that was not too expensive (ribbon
cables instead of fixed pcb dimensions as used in the industry standard).
This mechanical format was already an industry standard at this time in
Germany. But I really never imagined that such a huge range of A-100
compatible modules would be ever on the market (Andreas Schneider of
Schneiders Laden in Berlin mentioned recently that in the meantime more than
50 manufacturers and more than 800 modules are on the market and that they
have a bit lost the track).

Best wishes
Dieter Doepfer


 

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I lose track of exactly what Bob Moog invented.  The 1V/Oct standard?  The ladder style filter, I believe, yes.  Synth modules?  I gather he was hugely influenced by Raymond Scott, he wasn't just making everything up in a vacuum.  And at the other end, the all-in-one, hardwired Minimoog was invented by an employee of his.

Dave Smith (and, I believe, some engineers at Roland) invented MIDI, but it's not entirely free.  You can buy the spec as a very expensive PDF, and have to pay annually to have a company MIDI number which you'll need to send and receive data over Sysex.  The A-100's 3U subrack size, and bus layout, seem a lot more open in this regard.

Anyway, it's fun to venerate people, but at the end of the day, pretty much everyone takes existing ideas and improves upon them, hopefully in a free and open kind of way.  You can downlplay how much you helped push the state of the modular art, but you can similarly downplay how much *anyone* has.

As far as I can tell, you, Dieter, dragged modular synths kicking and screaming out of the prog rock scene and universities, and into the hands of contemporary musicians everywhere.  This was a very good thing for everyone!  Thank you.

Anyway, this is kinda nitpicking, in general I agree with Chris that Dieter made something wonderful. :)  I just think it's more open than MIDI and just as more-accessible-than-what-came-before as Moog modulars were back in their day.

true Zoë, i am aware of the licensing fees and charging for the full spec; i was glossing over the distinction between a "free" vs. an "open" system. imprecisely stated on my part.


and yeah, a shout out to Raymond Scott. another too-ignored pioneer.



________________________________

 From: Zoë Blade <zoe@bytenoise.co.uk>
To: Doepfer_a100@yahoogroups.com 
Sent: Thursday, August 29, 2013 2:40 PM
Subject: Re: [Doepfer_a100] Re: IDOW:HE
 


  
I lose track of exactly what Bob Moog invented.  The 1V/Oct standard?  The ladder style filter, I believe, yes.  Synth modules?  I gather he was hugely influenced by Raymond Scott, he wasn't just making everything up in a vacuum.  And at the other end, the all-in-one, hardwired Minimoog was invented by an employee of his.

Dave Smith (and, I believe, some engineers at Roland) invented MIDI, but it's not entirely free.  You can buy the spec as a very expensive PDF, and have to pay annually to have a company MIDI number which you'll need to send and receive data over Sysex.  The A-100's 3U subrack size, and bus layout, seem a lot more open in this regard.

Anyway, it's fun to venerate people, but at the end of the day, pretty much everyone takes existing ideas and improves upon them, hopefully in a free and open kind of way.  You can downlplay how much you helped push the state of the modular art, but you can similarly downplay how much *anyone* has.

As far as I can tell, you, Dieter, dragged modular synths kicking and screaming out of the prog rock scene and universities, and into the hands of contemporary musicians everywhere.  This was a very good thing for everyone!  Thank you.

Anyway, this is kinda nitpicking, in general I agree with Chris that Dieter made something wonderful. :)  I just think it's more open than MIDI and just as more-accessible-than-what-came-before as Moog modulars were back in their day.
 

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

just received my copy of IDOW:HE, hope to see in the next days.

but one thing i feel to say even now, i agree with all of you in thanking Dieter for having making all this started and for being such a smart guy in what he do and say.

moving from traditional synth to eurorack has been on of the most interesting and stimulating step i ever done musically wise.

> i thought the same thing when i heard him say that! c'mon Dieter,
> don't be shy!
>
> hey, there's a project for the group: upload some of your old
> tracks for the rest of us to remix/warp/deconstruct/confabulate
> into a "Dieter's Commemorative Modular Madness Mix"! just a
> thought...  ;-)

I'm not shy but it's many years ago that I did my last recordings. As you
know I have a small company that requires my full attention :-)
As far as I remember my last recordings were made with a tape recorder or a
cassette tape deck (in any case no computer recording). I will see if I can
find something at home that can be used. If you are dealing the whole week
with modules and electronics you do not want to spend the leisure time with
the same stuff (that's at least my experience). That's why I stopped making
music many years ago.

Best wishes
Dieter Doepfer

believe me, i get it! :-)
my late father was a classical music professor (and *phenomenal* pianist), and after he retired in the early '90s he hardly played piano at all, or did anything related to music (other than listen to the classical station on the radio). music had been his day job, and he wanted to enjoy his retiremet doing what he wanted (hanging out with my mom, eating good food, tending his garden & fish pond, going on world cruises).

in any case i still think you should dig out some of the old tapes (and cassette would be perfect for lo-fi modular processing/deconstruction!). and who knows, you might be surprised: a lot of times i've gone back and listened to stuff from years ago that i thought was crap and was startled at my "hey, this shit ain't half bad!" reaction (there are still a number of old things i need to remaster & add to the "very old" section of my site one of these years). i bet there are at least a couple old things in your archives that are worth seeing the light of day! :-)




________________________________

 From: "yahoo@doepfer.de" <yahoo@doepfer.de>
To: Doepfer_a100@yahoogroups.com 
Sent: Monday, September 2, 2013 2:18 AM
Subject: AW: [Doepfer_a100] Re: IDOW:HE
 

> i thought the same thing when i heard him say that! c'mon Dieter,
> don't be shy!
>
> hey, there's a project for the group: upload some of your old
> tracks for the rest of us to remix/warp/deconstruct/confabulate
> into a "Dieter's Commemorative Modular Madness Mix"! just a
> thought...  ;-)

I'm not shy but it's many years ago that I did my last recordings. As you
know I have a small company that requires my full attention :-)
As far as I remember my last recordings were made with a tape recorder or a
cassette tape deck (in any case no computer recording). I will see if I can
find something at home that can be used. If you are dealing the whole week
with modules and electronics you do not want to spend the leisure time with
the same stuff (that's at least my experience). That's why I stopped making
music many years ago.

Best wishes
Dieter Doepfer



------------------------------------

Yahoo! Groups Links



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]