This is currently being worked on here (@ analoguebus) as I type this.
Hopefully my site will be up in a week to explain our new buss
retrofit and modules.

Bryan Small
analoguebus - currently site is down in blog mode with silly posts

On Aug 26, 2009, at 7:36 AM, zaum < zaum@... > wrote:

> I'm lucky enough to have enough non-identical modules to create quite
> a few voices. So you could say I'm running polyphonically but I would
> characterize what I'm doing as multitimbral and monophonic. I'm
> certainly not playing changing chords like on my polysynths. (I'm not
> counting the use of several VCOs in an otherwise mono voice as a
> chord).
>
> On the surface it seems like you could just get a bunch of Dark
> Energy modules or something similar and a multichannel MIDI to CV
> interface with polyphonic assignment of voices and think you have a
> polyphonic modular... well to me at least one big aspect is totally
> missing in the polyphonic puzzle... how in the world do you change
> the sound in unison other than slowly manually going up to each voice
> and changing one parameter at a time. What I at least feel is
> essential in a poly modular is the ability to control all the voices
> from a common set of controls..
>
> With a fixed architecture voice there has been an answer since the
> 1970s. If you build a voice where every parameter is voltage
> controlled you can use a set of common controls on them or even a
> microprocessor could store every parameter for later recall. The
> stumbling block in a poly modular is the patchability.
>
> Florian mentions the SEM. They were built by adding extra hardware
> into the Oberheim Two, Four and Eight etc. voice polysynths. It's
> worth noting that they were not intended as modular synths. But an
> interesting aspect is the individual voices can be easily "patched
> out" modular style, as Tom Oberheim is offering this year as a
> configuration. One thing I and I'm sure others were thinking when he
> announced them was if he or a third party will make a a poly voice
> assigner (maybe the midi units are chainable I'm not sure) and then
> what existed in the 70s but hasn't been reissued is the programmer
> which attempts to send parameter values to each voice module.
> Unfortunately it didn't deal with every parameter let alone the patch
> cords.
>
> The Korg PS series took a very unique approach. It does not allocate
> voices like nearly all polysynths including the Obergheim polys do.
> You get a separate VCF and VCA for each key but there is a set of 12
> (24 or 36 for the 3200 and 3300) shared tunable oscillators with
> octave dividers and which is more an organ approach than a VCO style
> approach. The 3200 had memory recall of knob position. The patch
> field that qualifies it as a semi modular is not polyphonic.
>
> I believe polyfusion back in the 70s has a polyphonic CV keyboard but
> correct me if I'm wrong, nothing else supporting polyphony so it was
> change every parameter and patchord manually.
>
> Emu had a poly keyboard and a programmer that could store a few
> values so I guess that was a start but incomplete. I see Cyndustries
> has a simple module with some small groups of CV values
>
> In the early 80s you started to see polysynths with matrix
> modulation, which was steps toward a modular but not actually a
> modular. These synths added a lot more modulation options but the
> underlying architecture was still fixed and the matrix exists more or
> less within a CPU.
>
> Considering the limitations and hybrid technology in the Korg PS I
> don't really think the approach is that similar to the Nord Modular.
> The Nord Modular is virtual. As long as there is computing power
> available you just add an instance of the whole thing. Nothing is
> physical.
>
> It was funny to see the reproduction of smaller scale Korg Legacy
> MS-20 complete with patch cables, The hardware MS-20 was monophonic,
> The software simulation however is poly, similar to the Nord. The
> novelty twist with the Korg is the controller is a physical patch
> interface. No sound or voltage goes through the mini MS-20 but it
> senses the patch cords. and adjusts the virtual patch to include them
>
> I think the Buchla 200e changed things because the modules use
> encoders and most of the pots can have their settings stored and
> recalled. A few pots are just physical and are not stored as well as
> no oone has yet made a third party module that has knob recall. While
> there have been at least one matrix style storable patchbay out there
> that could be used in theory for some patch cord storage, I believe
> Buchla is the first to build one as part of a modular system. It's
> not perfect if you use many patch cords since it's a small matrix.
> You could buy a few of them though there would still be some
> compromise. It has up to 4 buses running for voices to more easily
> achieve polyphony direct from MIDI if you have enough of the same
> modules (or different modules if you don't mind).
>
> nick
>


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