--- In Doepfer_a100@yahoogroups.com , amnesia <amnesia@...> wrote:

>
> Wow I was looking at these 2 modules myself today and wondering the same
> thing :-)
>
>
> Richard wrote:
> >
> > I'm wondering if any of you out there are using the AS RS500e and,
> > RS510e modules. At £225 for two modules these are not exactly cheap. I
> > do like EMS sounds.... but could i do the job just as well with
> > cheaper doepfer modules Just how unique is that EMS filter I wonder
> > if they what they would give me is really that much different from
> > doepfer and AS low pass filters and VCAs, EGs and LFOs - all of which
> > which I already have
> >
> > Richard
> >

I have both modules, the RS-95 VCO (just one and an older RS-90) ...and an AKS ;-)

Though I got them about a months ago and didn't do anything real critical other than
checking them out for any problems.

Clearly the Trapezoid generator is more unique and something I wanted another one of.
Given a lot of modules I'm sure one could recreate it's function, but you are talking about
quite a few modules to recreate everything on it. The Bananalogue Serge VCS has
numerous differences, but in it's own way I'd say does even more. But anyway I really
wanted a trapezoid generator I could easily plug other modules into and actually wrote
Analogue Systems years ago to complain when they removed it from the "coming soon"
module list... but yes, while you do get a VCA inside it is pretty costly.

There are fixed width standards on ASys modules, so it's a fairly wide module. It would
have been cool if the other parameters had VC. You just get the decay time like on the
EMS. You don't get

Okay as for the filter, I guess the A-102 VCF9 is sort of like it, right I don't have that one.

It's cool there are some mp3s of both online
http://www.selfoscillate.de/modularexamples.htm
(search for 9097 on the page)

I was interested in getting the both new and old versions of the EMS filter, which can be
switched on the RS-500e. The VC resonance is something I was hoping for and I found.

For those who don't know, the "trademark" EMS sound is variations on the the decay time
being modulated with an LFO ramp shape and the the trapezoid repeating wave output
controlling the filter cutoff with the filter in self oscillation. So part of the sound is the
filter character, but arguably the the trapezoid with changing decay rates is what people
spot as coming out of an EMS.

EMS wound up slewing the cutoff CV input so that's now a switchable effect making it
another variation you can get out of the ASys module. (The Doepfer module is just a
straight forward filter module using a similar topology to the 18db filter, no built in VC
resonance)

As I've said, I've not really tried to see how close they sound to the real thing. It didn't
strike me as indistinguishable. Though you definitely get the general functionality as the
equivalent subsections of an EMS.