Hi madrayken

> In trying to pursue this Buchla-style experiment, I've found it almost
> impossible to derive a decent audio-trigger from an ADSR envelope, no
> matter how fast.

I am not sure what you are asking for. What do you mean with
"audio-trigger" A trigger signal generated as soon as the level of
some audio signal is higher than a certain threshold (thats what I would
understand) Or do you mean an spike like the "klick"-sound from a drumpad

> Gates work nicely, but you're forced to have two
> events: one on key-press and one on release.

This sentence i don't understand.

> I've got plenty of ADSRs, VCAs, Comparators and other things, and have
> tried using the voltage comparator to create a gate from an ADSR
> (close but no cigar). Can anyone suggest a way of generating a trigger

I think you have a wrong understanding of the word "trigger".
- A trigger defines a point on the time axis and is usually technically
achieved by a transition between two defined voltages. It defines the
moment when a event starts to happen.
- A gate defines the duration of an event and starting point of this
event. You may describe a gate as two triggers: one positive transition
at the start of the gate and one negative transition at the end of the gate.

Taking this definition is respect, I am asking: for what patch exactly
do you need two triggers Knowing your answer to this question I might
give you a more profound help.

Florian