PLAN B analog blog

I am sadly unable to provide short answers to questions asked
regarding the capability of this module.  Please forgive the over-long
description that follows.
 
Regarding DX-Metal:
 
As an instrument, the DX7 served a particular FM sensibility quite
well.   The user interface required a great deal of strategy to
develop sounds that deviated from the "clang" and "ding" which became
the audio signature of this device and perhaps, its era.
 
An alternative is to model a format that analog instrumentalists know
as second nature; panel adjustments and jacked in connections.  Long
before you feel you authoritively understand the conceptual
intricacies of the module, you will know how to confidently produce
aural results that are hoped to be judged musically useful to an
instrumentalist.
 
Patch Configuration (and VCA's):
 
Referencing the patch configuration chart uploaded to the photos here,
the numbered "bubbles" represent an oscillator and it's amplifier. 
This is a graphic convention that allows less complicated art to
express a patch.  
 
As example, "Mini-Mode 1" is simply 3 oscillators being mixed together
with no internal frequency modulation.   The amplifiers as adjusted by
the panel controls (or jacked in voltage) blend or mix the result to
monaural audio. Connected control sources can exploit this patch as an
VC mixer for extended capability.  Different Sync strategies allow a
lot of timbral variation.
 
Another example being FM mode 2, a "DX-like" configuration where a
chain of oscillators and amplifier (with levels set by panel or jacked
in controls) set the degree one oscillator "drives" the next
oscillator in the chain.  Unlike the "DX" panel strategy you exploit
this configuration less intellectually and more empically because you
just grab knobs and tweak from subtle complex vibrato's to pure hash,
crash and noise.  
 
Regarding FM, the more intuitive analog format allows the
instrumentalist to explore more FM variation from subtle frequency
deviation to thunder-blam.  I particularly like the reedy or nasally
sounds.
 
Ring Mod Mode 2 is interesting because it allows one oscillator to
emulate the carrier feedthrough that historically was the bane of
analog multipliers but in fact can be key to it's effect.   It can be
startling at first to perform Balanced Modulation without hearing the
modulator osc. bleeding through.  
 
Frequency Shift Modes also are free of carrier feed through and as
such, produce the theoretical goal of this configuration, single
sideband modulation.   The effect is Ring Mod timbre without the
simultaneous down shift when you only want the upshift (or vice versa). 
 
Aliasing:
 
All digital audio designers deal with this characteristic, and
hopefully at the time of design.  I've been dying to answer this
question but i was hoping it would be asked as "does it alias" to
which i would respond "Yes, gloriously".   Does it have to alias, No.  
 
The goal achieved was accurate quality audio that was easy to
musically deploy.   Until module release, final oscillator
specifications will not issue.  It is clear audio samples are needed
to fully describe this module and the degree the audio does or does
not have to alias will be gladly and honestly demonstrated.  Those
experience with digital sound generation should be pleasantly surprised. 
 
Waveshapes:
 
The ease in which continuously variable waveform selection occurs
provides opportunity beyond simple waveshape "morphing".   While pulse
width modulation is an obvious capability, the ability to variable
adjust the duty cycle of the noise wave shape provides timbral
opportunity not commonly employed.  One effect of progressive waveform
sweeping is a low-order filter effect, in fact this module can produce
final audio in many variations without resorting to additional audio
modules such as a VCF or a final VCA.  It must be said however
additional audio modules seriously extend the aural possibilities
 
Analog Oscillators:
 
This module does not supercede analog oscillators.  In fact it is
designed to be complimentary in the way it allows an external source
(i.e. analog osc) to sync it or alternatively letting this module sync
an external analog oscillator.   Also external exponential modulation
is an effect of its own that can be exploited to great effect.