MOTM

In a message dated 2/9/2000 8:53:47 PM, jlarryh@... writes:

>> From: Frank Vanaman <fvanaman@...>
>> Recently there was a comment about the PAiA MIDI2CV convertor being,
>er,
>> well, about as good as one might expect for the price. (Larry H, I
>> think?)

>Yes, that was me.  Actually, the volt/octave version is not too bad.  For
>a
>mono synth line, it is good enough.  The circuit board is about as good
>as
>I have seen from PAiA.  Some of the discussion (over my head) on synth-DIY
>has been critical of some of the circuit design.  But, I built it and it
>works.   I have some issues with the V/Hz version.  The only required
>modification (in my opinion) is replacement of the trim pot for V/Oct
>calibration.  The kit has one of those VERY cheap 3/4 turn board mounted
>trimmers.  I replaced it with a nice 10 turn pot that is tweakable from
>the
>front of the cabinet.   Of course, there are plenty of other
>"opportunities" for improvements.  But, all-in-all, I think it was worth
>what it cost me.  The rack mount kit is cool if you want two.  Just be
>aware that it seems to be 8 bit resolution, which seems to be OK for mono
>lines, but I might be hesitant to use it in a poly situation.  However,
>the
>output is more accurate that the resistor divider network in my MicroMoog.


I have to agree with Larry on this. I have one as well (I hope to be able to 
upgrade to a Kenton or Encore within the next couple of years) and it seems 
like quite a reasonable deal for the money paid. I should mention that I'm 
not a keyboard player, and MIDI is only a very small part of what I do. I 
imagine if you get one and "grow out of it" you'll be able to find a place 
for it in your system. While the 8 bit DAC will have certain idiosyncrasies 
with regard to tuning, resistor divider keyboards (like my ARP, and OB-1) 
also produce strange tonalities.


>BTW, I have been playing with my 410 at length tonight.  This type of
>filter is not something I am real familiar with.  However, I do have an
>understanding of how the controls function.  The question I have surrounds
>the 3 frequency controls.  I find myself migrating toward the lower end
>of
>the range continually to get those best sweeping actions.  I would be very
>interested to hear how others are using and adjusting this module.


Yeah, I typically run one filter at around two, the second around three and 
the third around four. I think this is due to the filter being more likely to 
get a positive CV which will raise the frequency, so you want to start pretty 
low to begin with.

JB