PLAN B analog blog

Hi.  I saw our good friend Mr. Grenader yesterday and got a chance 
to listen to the new State Variable Vactrol Filter he's cooking up. 
The version I saw was obviously a prototype (no front panel, Peter 
was holding the two boards in his hand while he turned the pots) The 
In addition to Low pass, its got highpass, variable bandwidth 
bandpass and allpass outputs.  I especially liked the lowpass and 
allpass modes. The filter has a really fat sound with some of the 
nicest sounding resonance and distortion I've ever heard: it can 
sound dirty and yet smooth at the same time. It also has that 
peculiar ringing sound you get from Vactrols that I have tried but 
never managed to get any other way. This thing is definitely on my 
shopping list 

I also got a chance to hear the model 15 oscilators and the sound of 
the sine waves seems to be very similar to the way I remember the 
Bucla's oscilators sounding.  The sound of the sine waves and of the 
the FM is very different from the Doepfer and Analog Systems stuff I 
have now. The sound of the oscilators through the vactrol filter was 
very nice. I've got two of these things on order.  Yes, its been a 
bit of a wait, but I think it will be worth it.  

By the way, lest you think that the vast corporate tentacles of PLAN 
B, INC. have reached me: I'm not an actor, and I'm not on Plan B's 
payroll, I've met Peter a grand total of two times.  

K

okiikahuna said:
> Hi.  I saw our good friend Mr. Grenader yesterday and got a chance
> to listen to the new State Variable Vactrol Filter he's cooking up.
> The version I saw was obviously a prototype (no front panel, Peter
> was holding the two boards in his hand while he turned the pots) The
> In addition to Low pass, its got highpass, variable bandwidth
> bandpass and allpass outputs.  I especially liked the lowpass and
> allpass modes. The filter has a really fat sound with some of the
> nicest sounding resonance and distortion I've ever heard: it can
> sound dirty and yet smooth at the same time. It also has that
> peculiar ringing sound you get from Vactrols that I have tried but
> never managed to get any other way. This thing is definitely on my
> shopping list

Me too. The samples Peter posted on the SDIY list had me drooling, and I'm
even more excited about them now knowing that they're going to go into
production through EAR.

> By the way, lest you think that the vast corporate tentacles of PLAN
> B, INC. have reached me: I'm not an actor, and I'm not on Plan B's
> payroll, I've met Peter a grand total of two times.

Heh, yeah, I've only met him a couple of times, and he probably wouldn't
recognize me if he bumped into me on the street, but my two model15s
arrived on Friday. I haven't had two much time with them yet due to a
working weekend and a sick cat, but the little testing I did of them
sounded GREAT.

-Brandon
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