--- Dieter Doepfer < hardware@... > wrote:

> From: "Dieter Doepfer" < hardware@... >
> To: "Bakis Sirros" < synth_freak_2000@... >
> Subject:
> Date: Tue, 3 Jun 2003 12:41:55 +0200
>
> Dear Bakis,
>
> if you are interested here is a copy of an email
> interview I have carried
> out. Maybe it answers some questions, especially the
> history of my company.
>
> Dieter Doepfer
>
> > Von: David Barelli [mailto: quadwould@... ]
> > Gesendet: Montag, 2. Juni 2003 16:36
> > An: hardware@...
> > Betreff: Modular questions (an email interview)
> >
> > Hey Dieter,
> > thank you for wanting to participate. below are
> ome general questions
> (sent
> > to everyone) and below that are some questions for
> Doepfer specifically.
> > if you could answer all of the ones for Doepfer
> the others then become
> less
> > of a priority. short answers will do.
> > ok lets get started. (General)
> >
> > What got you into wanting to build modulars
>
> While I was studying physics end in the
> seventies/eighties I wanted to have
> badly a modular synthesizer - but no money. So I
> started to built some
> modules of the so-called Formant synthesizer that
> was published in the
> German electronic magazine Elektor. I modified some
> of the modules and added
> new ones. My first additional modules were: VC
> phaser, VU module, envelope
> follower, audio frequency divider, VCLFO, 48dB low
> pass and some more. Then
> I tried a 4 voice polyphonic modular system, the
> so-called PMS. The system
> was made of so-called Quad modules (i.e. four-fold),
> e.g. Quad VCO, Quad
> VCF, Quad VCA, Quad VCADSR, Quad VC LFO and so on.
> But the system was not
> very successful maybe because it was offered only as
> a kit (pc board +
> electronic parts) and a lot of hand wiring was
> necessary to built the
> complete system. The first real successful step
> (from a commercial point of
> view) was to take over the European representation
> for Curtis Electromusic
> (the well known CEM circuits that were used in many
> synthesizers). Besides
> the distribution of these circuits for European
> manufactureres I designed a
> voice orientated synthesizer system with CEM chips:
> the so-called Voice
> Modular System VMS. Each pc board had the European
> standard dimensions
> (100x160 mm). The first board was the so-called
> Voice Card that contained a
> complete synthesizer voice (2 VCOs + VCF + VCA + 2
> VCADSRs). An 8 voice
> polyphonic CV/Gate keyboard and an auxiliary board
> (so-called Expansion
> Card) with several VCLFOs, noise, S&H and so on
> could be added. An interface
> with software for Sinclair ZX81 and Commodore 64 was
> added. All parameters
> of the system could be displayed and adjusted on the
> computer screen. I also
> added a computer controlled analog and trigger
> sequencer with up to 256
> steps both. Next module of this system was the SSU
> card (Sound Sampling
> Unit) that enabled to include sampled sounds and
> computer generated sounds.
> At this time Christian Assall joined the company and
> programmed several
> sound synthesis software for the Commodore 64 (e.g.
> Fourier, FM, Waveshaping
> and Sampling modification software incl. FFT).
>
> > When did you get started
>
> The early beginnings were middle of the seventies.
> The first commercial
> success appeared middle of the eighties (i.e. I
> could live on the earnings
> from the synthesizer designs).
>
> > Do you think you will ever stop (making
> modules)(we all hope not)
>
> Yes - when I die, but not before !
>
> > Have you always been a synth person, or do you
> live a second life (i
> don't)
>
> Yes I have a second life as I believe that you need
> a counterpart to be
> successful. In my case this is sports (biking,
> skiing, squash, paragliding)
> as a balance. Some of my best module ideas I had
> during biking and I always
> have a sketchbook with me (sometimes even a laptop).
>
> > What do you view as the strengths of your system
>
> 1. A lot of different modules (about 75 at the
> moment, we expect more than
> 100 during the next years)
> 2. Low-priced but good quality (no cheap parts, we
> save only where it makes
> sense from our point of view, e.g. front panel size
> or knob size, but not at
> important parts like potentiometers)
> 3. Continous development of new modules (about 5-10
> per year), many of them
> in cooperation with customers (e.g. with the Yahoo
> A-100 gruop)
>
> > What, of a whole system do you view to be the most
> important parts( if
> many,
> > rate from highest to lowest priority)
>
> sound quality
> building quality
> good relation between price and features
> many different modules
>
> > What is your focus with your system (traditional
> modules, or wacky oddball
> > ones, or a full spectrum)
>
> Full spectrum from bread and butter modules (VCO,
> VCF, VCA, ADSR, LFO, Noise
> ...) up to exotic/crazy modules like Theremin,
> Trautonium, Vocoder, Shepard
> generator, light control, morphing, ribbon
> controller, uncertainty modules
> and so on.
>
> > What are your philosophies in terms of sonic
> choices when designing
> modules
> > (ie, signal-to-noise, frequency range, etc...)
>
> subjective good sound and control, i.e. the
> users/musicians have to love the
> sound or the control. Nobody asks for SNR or
> frequency range for Moog
> modules or the Hammond organ or the Leslie cabinet.
>
> > Do you tend to design your modules with an idea of
> specific musical
> usages
> > Classical, funk, electronica, rock, avant-garde,
> movie soundtrack, sound
> designer work, etc...
>
> no.
>
> > Do you have particular sounds in mind when you are
> designing them (ie, a
> > certain quality of filter response or similar)
>
> Yes. For some modules we compare them during
> development with their "shining
> examples" (e.g. during the vocoder design we
> vistited Kraftwerk several
> times to compare our prototypes with their
> collection of vocoders).
>
> > Are there any designs, patterns rut you want to
> avoid, as you might find
> > that they do not suit your goals for the overall
> system
>
> Normally we do not develop a new module if one of
> our (A-100 compatible)
> competitors already has this type of module
> available. We want to have a
> good relationship even to our competitors as we all
> pull together the same
> rope.
> But there are exceptions like standard modules
> (VCO/VCF/VCA...) or if
> customers urgently ask for a module (e.g. at the
> moment many customers ask
> for a new high end VCO or VU display though
> corresponding modules are
> already available from other manufacturers).
>
> > What is your understanding of the history of
> modular synthesis (design,
> what
> > modules were available, reasons behind why
> modulars were being made ) and
> > how does this influence your own goals
>
> A modular system is a bit like a "audio model
> railroad". You can put
> together all the parts you need to obtain the
> desired sound or type of
> control. And you can add all the new "waggons,
> engines and rails" of your
> choice. And a module patch with all that cables,
> lamps, knobs and switches
> and of course the unique sound has a kind of
> aesthetic that you - of
> course - have to love.
>
> > In your approach to design, are you a
> fundamentalist (sticking to the
> tried
> > and true ways of module design) or are you
> experimental (trying to find
> > new/different ways of doing/making the same thing)
>
> both. We design replica of earlier designs (e.g.
> Moog VCF, TB303 VCF, Diode
> VCF, CEM VCF, SSM VCF, Theremin, Source of
> Uncertainty, Shepard generator,
> Trautonium manual, subharmonic oscillator, spring
> reverb and others) as well
> as completely new circuits (e.g. 48 dB VCF, morphing
> filter, VC polarizer,
> different MIDI interfaces and others).
>
> > What are your views about the resurgence of
> Modular synthesis, both as a
> > trend (that i hope does not pass) and with the
> growing number of
> > manufacturers (both mainstream.. higher turnout,
> and the boutique one..
> more
> > custom lower turnout)
>
> I'm sure that there will be many musicians in the
> future that will use
> "real" modular synthesizer in the future as you will
> obtain specific sounds
> and controls that are not possible with other
> solutions.
>
> > Do you feel that the resurgence of modular use
> has/will affect the music
> industry
>
> It already has. Look at the flood of software based
> modulars. And even a lot
> of new hardware manufacturers seem to look forward
> to sell their products.
>
> > How do you feel that modular synthesis can benefit
> a programmer.
>
> Of course and vice versa. E.g. Hans Nordelius of
> Clavia ordered many years
> ago from us a big A-100 system so that his
> programmes knew what they have to
> program. And we have many customers that used
> software based modulars and
> now want to have a "real" system too. And many A-100
> users of course try
> software based modulars too as both have their
> advantages and drawbacks.
>
> > The sound design (sound for film, sfx, samples)
> industry (from my own
> > experience) relies quite a bit on modulars to get
> the job done. what is
> the
> > breakdown of clientele between sound designers and
> musicians for your
> company.
>
> We have no detailed information about that as we do
> not know the application
> of each system or customer. In addition more than
> 50% of the systems are
> sold via dealers or representations so that we do
> not know the final
> customers. All I know is that there is a wide range
> of customers from
> professionals (e.g. Hans Zimmer, Kraftwerk, Human
> League) to home musicians
> that use the A-100.
>
> > Do you sell direct, if so or not, why
>
> We normally sell via representations (e.g. in USA,
> Canada, Japan, Australia,
> New Zealand, UK, Austria, Switzerland, France,
> Netherlands, Italy). We sell
> directly only to smaller countries without
> representatives.
>
> > Modulars are from the Happy world of CV, what your
> view/attitude towards
> MIDI
>
> One has to combine both to obtain the best of both
> worlds. That's why we
> offer a range of different MIDI interfaces too (both
> MIDI-to-Analog and vice
> versa).
>
> > What are your views of the whole Modular synth
> versus prepackaged synth,
> > both in terms of flexibility and in day to day
> use.
>
> The flexibility of a pure modular system is
> unrivaled.
>
> > Some companies are Kit only based, some per-made
> only based, and some
> both.
> > do you see the trend moving to the Kit based DIY
> market in the furure or
> do
> > you feel there will always be a balance.
>
> From our point of view kits do not make sense
> anymore (we offered kits until
> 2000) as the efforts to offer a kit are not much
> less than the production of
> a module. You need a very good documentation to
> explaing everything and you
> have to take into consideration the inquiries of
> customers that have
> problems to get the kit running and the unsatisfied
> customers that will not
> be able to built the kit (and believe me - there are
> many of them, we had
> made a lot of bad experiences with customers that
> turned kits into garbage
> e.g. with unsuitable tools like 100W soldering irons
> or completely wrong
> assembly of parts and so on).
> We will gi another way: we are about to offer a DIY
> page on our web site
> where the building of own modules (including
> schematics, pc-board layout) is
> described. But we will not offer kits because of the
> above remarks.
>
> > (see above) which are you, and why. and in only
> one type based (kit ot
> > pre-made) would you consider offering the other to
> broaden you marketshare
> > (would you find it even beneficial to do so)
>
> No. From our point of view kits will cause more
> problems than advantages and
> kits would not be clearly cheaper that ready built
> modules.
>
> > Some people use their modulars for quick sound
> design, sampling it and
> > moving on to another patch, some work hard on
> patches record the song and
> > draw the patch, and some use their modulars as
> ROMplers a single patch
> over
> > a period of months. How do you use your system.
> and (how do you see/would
> > you like) your systems being used.
>
> I think that sampling of sounds generated by
> modulars is a good idea. But it
> will not replace a lot of applications that have to
> done in realtime with
> modulars (e.g. long time complex modulation changes
> and manually controlled
> sound changes, e.g. with Theremin or Ribbon
> controller)
>
> > What do you see for the future of modular
> synthesis
>
> I'm looking forward that the number of users of
> modular synthesizers will
> grow (and many of them come from the software based
> synthesizer corner ....)
>
>
> > QUESTIONS FOR DOEPFER:
> >
> > You have a very impressive amount of modules and a
> vast array of designs.
> > what has been your inspiration to push this far
>
> Well, the experience of more than 30 years leads to
> a lot of designs. We
> have the problem to decide which circuit will be
> offered as a module as it
> is a long way from the idea or the first prototype
> to the final module (pcb
> layout , detailed tests and possibly re-desings,
> front panel design,
> purchasing electronic parts, supervising the
> production, writing
> documentation and advertising/information, taking
> pictures, and so on). Even
> if a development is finished it takes about 3-4
> months until the first
> modules are shipped.
>
> > You have so many different types of experimental
> modules, from trautonium
> > filter, to Subharmonic Oscillator, to Source of
> Uncertainty, have you
> always
> > been into more experimental types of synthesis
>
> No. We want to cover the whole range. From
> basic/bread and butter modules to
> more experimental types, as you always need both (a
> modular system without
> VCO/VCF/VCA/ADSR/LFO will be a problem)
>
> > From where do you get your concepts for your
> modules, especially the
> > experimental ones
>
> We have a lot of ideas in our drawers but more and
> more ideas come from
> A-100 customers too.
>
> > ... i've run out of questions... your site answers
> most i have come up
> with...
> >
> > Self Rant: here is where you can go on about
> yourself and your systems,
> > feature sets, aspects i didn't cover but you would
> think might be
> applicable...
>
> I think your list of question was very extensive so
> that nothing is
> left......
>
> > Thand you again for your very valuable time and
> your help
> > -David M. Barelli
>
>
> Your welcome.
>
> Best wishes
> Dieter Doepfer
> Doepfer Musikelektronik GmbH
> Email address: hardware@...
> Web Site: www.doepfer.com
>

=====
synthfreak(parallel worlds)
athens-greece
1 group owner

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