Yes, blue jacks are DC couple and black jacks are AC coupled.
I have never noticed any degradation in audio quality or tracking using these other methods to generate PWM sounds. It sounds just as good or better than any PWM I've heard. To achieve the best tracking simply use a PCO or NTO for the signal patched to the + input of the NCOM. The NCOM is especially useful for PWM because you can get a simultaneous VC'able sub-octave Pulse with PWM out of the divider's output. The NCOM is one of my favorite modules, for sure!
However, if you want classic PWM sounds without needing to use auxiliary modules, then yes, the Modcan A VCO is good for this. I owned one for awhile and it's a very good oscillator. This will provide your 'classic' hard sync sounds, as well.
The NTO and PCO are the two main Serge oscillators and thus have excellent tracking and stability plus many users can attest to their terrific quality when used in FM patches.
Matt
On Fri, Nov 14, 2008 at 11:23 AM, jalmari3 <jari.jokinen@...> wrote:Thank you for your input. I got some mail too. Here are more
questions:
- I couldn't figure out, if a DC coupled VCA with exponential
response is available by Serge? I would need one despite the fact
that Serge envelopes have selectable curves. (Modcan A series VCA:s
are linear. Their B series 13B has lin/expo switches. So does my
Cwejman VCA-2P, excpet that they are labeled "lin/log".)
- Are the blue jacks DC coupled and black jacks AC coupled?
- Regarding PWM, I realize that there are many ways to get a
rectangle waveform from a Serge system. However, one might suspect,
that using comparators and other auxiliary "tricks" might compromise
sound quality. Could it be argued, that for "classic" PWM sound with
good tracking I should rather go for a Modcan A oscillator? It
outputs only 5V peak to peak though. Would that be a drawback?
- Are NTO and PCO the only Serge oscillators with excellent tracking?
It is good to hear, that another banana system might come out. I wish
someone would make Serge-like 4U individual modules: As I am used to
Eurorack, 6U Modcan and Cynthia modules seem sexy but too big. Also,
I simply like to change and reconfigure my modules. That is why
the "Serge philosophy" of full or half panels doesn't seem appealing
to me.