SergeModular

Yesterday Jason Maston and I got together to jam, and, perhaps more
importantly, take
a close look at and an even closer listen to his brand new Modcan.
Jason just took delivery of
the Modcan System 1, supplemented with a second rackmount chassis
containing the Processor and
Interface modules. He's got enough blank space in that second enclosure
for 5 more modules; the
System 1 is described at Modcan's site:

http://www.modcan.com/html/pricelist.html

For about $2K you get 7 modules, the rackmount enclosure, and a power
supply that will power up
to 21 (!) modules.

I was particularly interested in checking out Modcan gear because of the
spate of Serge/Modcan
diatribe that popped up on Analogue Heaven recently, and received rather
more attention on the Serge
list at yahoo. Suffice it to say I was indeed an instigator, coming
from a dedicated Serge perspective and
fostering a blatant anti-Modcan agenda because of perceived design
theft. At the outset, let me make it
clear that the emotional content of any previous posts on this issue is
wholly lacking at this point; I'm over it,
and was looking forward to more clinical view of the Modcan modules. In
other words, if my previous posts
on this issue were a little rabid, its because I was dealing with a
purely theoretical, non-empirical approach to the
issue. Now that the modules have been examined, tweaked, amplified, and
subjected to close scrutiny on the
'scope, I've got what I'd like to think is an informed, well-reasoned
opinion on the two systems.

First off, Jason and I set about organizing a useful working
environment, and were able to set up the Modcan rack
right next to my Serge setup. I own 6 panels and a TKB sequencer. I
was a little surprised to note that Modcan,
despite being a banana jack based system, did not have any provision for
grounding. Both Serge and the Fenix
provide hookups for your ground, both to facilitate interfacing with
other gear and to give your oscillators a stable
ground. After some trial and error, we were able to get things up and
running, noting that the Modcan VCA module
is one hot mother of an amp! At first impression, the Modcan modules
look good, but I was a little confused by some of the
legending, especially when you have modules, such as the LFO, which are
dual function but without
markings on the panel clue you into this feature. Both the LFO and the
VCA are designed this way. On Serge gear,
inputs and outputs are grouped together, and sectioned off by black
lines. Most Serge dual modules are stacked
vertically. Both systems are color coded by jack, and because of my
Serge background it took some time to figure
my way around the Modcan. This, of course, would be true of almost any
modular synthesizer.

The pots felt good for the most part; I did notice that there wasn't
much uniformity of play/drag on the pots, and in particular the
pots on the lower section of the Processor module had very little
resistance. Serge pots tend to have an almost universally
smooth, creamy feel. Banana jacks felt more loose than my Serge jacks,
as well. Overall construction of the panel fascia, the
rackmount, and the rear power supply was very nice and handsome.
Regarding the power supply: its built onto the back of your
rackmount. We had no problems with this, and doubt anyone else would,
but being used to the Serge remote supply (which gets
awfully hot sometimes) I wondered about having that kind of juice
literally on top of your modules.

Getting down to business, we patched up the contenders' oscillators.
Using my Serge New Timbral Oscillator (one of two made
by the firm) and Jason's 01A (Modcan's single offering) we noted that
whereas the modules share several features, the differences
were apparent and, I believe, assets to each oscillator: the Serge has a
portomento 1v/octave input with corresponding voltage control
input with attenuator, as well a variable waveform output again with VC,
in both positive and negative directions. To access a square
wave, you need to dial in this output accordingly. On the other hand,
the 01A has a dedicated square wave output, with two pulse
controls and PWM input. You've got to do some patching on the Serge to
achieve that! Also, the Modcan is switchable for hi and lo
ranges, effectively giving you a bonus LFO with all the attendant
features of the oscillator. Very nice. First we listened to the
saw waves, patched directly into Serge mixer inputs. On the scope they
looked identical, but Jason and I agreed that the Serge saw
was warmer, buzzier, and had more clear harmonics in the upper ranges.
The squares had a similar fate: while the Modcan was
more of a "true" square on the 'scope, the Serge simply sounded better:
full, aggressive, and resonant. However, we agreed that the
Modcan's sine and triangles were more pleasing than the Serge
counterparts; the 'scope revealed that the Serge sinus had minute
dips and pits at the extremes of the waveforms, and these were evident
in the Event bas 20/20s we were using. We came to the
same conclusion with the triangles: Modcan produced a truly gentle,
humming triangle, whereas the Serge was a little raspy. Seeing that
we agreed in all aspects on the sonic comparisions, we came to the
conclusion that the Serge excelled at the more aggressive waveforms,
while the Modcan produced a more pure representation of the kinder and
gentler varieties. They are truly different sounding modules and
each would offer the synthesist plenty of action.

We then pitted the Serge Variable Q VCF against the Modcan Multimode
Filter 10A. At first blush, these are almost spittin' images of
each other; the Modcan offers a second CV input with attenuator, which
is nice, while the Serge has a hi/lo switch and a trigger input.
Otherwise, the features are identical. We patched the same oscillator
into each filter, and applied the same voltage to the frequency
input. Jason and I differed on our opinions at this point: I felt they
sounded absolutely, 100% identical! Jason felt the Serge had
more harmonica content in the upper registers, and he could pick out one
from the other in a double blind test. But not me! For all
intents and purposes, the Modcan sounded just like my Serge filter. I'd
say Modcan has done an excellent job at recreating the sound
of the Serge Variable Q, if that was indeed their intention. Both
filters can be internally patched to self oscillate.

The other modules are clearly not as interesting for this forum: the
Modcan envelope, which again is remarkably similar to its Serge
counterpart, worked just fine, and the Pan VCA did just what its
supposed to do. I didn't get too much play on the processor, although
we did feed some Korg ER1 beats into it before bringing the signal over
to the filter. The Interface, well, interfaced! Lastly, the LFO needs
to be internally patched to oscillate, and offers dedicated waveform
outs (unlike the Serge).

Taking a peek inside, the modules are neat and clean, with nice aluminum
offsets holding the circuit board perpendicular to the
panels. Wiring looked very well done, and nice, roomy boards. It
appears that each rackmount has a built in harness for power, with
seven connectors already built in. The rackmounts are fairly deep, with
what appears to be lots of empty space inside: they were at
least 3" deeper than the Serge chassis boxes. Its a moot point, but
Modcan, like MOTM, takes up a lot of space compared to Serge.

Pricewise, and without delving too deep into the issue, the truth is
that both firms offer expensive modules when you are looking at
a rackful of the goods. The Modcan System 1 (7 modules) will run around
$2K as described above, while the Serge "Animal" shop panel with
power supply will run you upwards of $2500 for basically 9 modules.
And of course, you can buy individual Modcan modules as your
budget will allow, but Serge requires the purchase of an entire panel
because the panel fascia are integrated on a single piece of aluminum;
the
actually modules themselves, then, are the individual circuit boards
arranged behind the panel.

As far as i know, Modcan is delivering their products with dispatch.
Serge, on the other hand, has recently relocated production facilities
and several people are awaiting orders placed last year. On a personal
level, I've wanted another envelope for a while, and because I'm not
in the market for a whole new panel, and because I'd like to have it in
a reasonable amount of time, Modcan will get my business. Furthermore,
because the Modcan envelope is a feature for feature, knob for knob, and
jack for jack twin of the Serge Envelope, there won't be any learning
curve. I only wish Modcan would make it with a silver coat on!

To wrap it up, I was impressed with the Modcan approach, and, despite
all my previous moaning and groaning on the subject, I'm starting to
like the idea that I might be able to obtain Serge-like modules quickly
and, at least at the individual level, affordably. Complaints? Well,
the
so called "starter" system had no mixer or mixing capabilites other than
the two inputs on the Pan VCA; more than once Jason and I wanted
to acheive some basic mixing functions and were stunted in that
endeavor. Even if you wanted to acheive a classic two
oscillator/VCF/VCA
patch, you couldn't do it. Well, time for Modcan's mixer module and
another rackmount case, I guess! I came away from the session impressed

with the differences between the systems, and certainly more tolerant of
the similarities.

matt wilson (and thanks to jason maston for making the drive to san
diego from anaheim!)

PS: i moderate the Serge Modular Owner's Group at yahoo!, which you can
turn to for more serge:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SergeModular

the Modcan site was given above.


--
matt wilson is OdysseySounds
email: sebsi23@...
web: http://members.home.net/odysseysounds/index.htm
music: http://artists.mp3s.com/artists/242/matthew_b_wilson.html