Electronic Music Box (Sigma Archives)

Electronic Music Box (or just EMB) is my Buchla-inspired performance synthesizer. This project started when I wanted to give a new life to my old trusted Oakley VCO's. They are a kind of MOOGish design so here MOOG shakes hand with Buchla. Here below is a diagram of EMB's sound-generation arrangement. VCO1's triangle output is routed to Ian Fritz's Double Pulse Generator (DPG). DPG gives the usual PW and PWM but also Pulse Timbre and Pulse Timbre Modulation. VCO1 triangle and square outputs are routed to Bergfotron's Complex VCO Waveshaper that creates SIN, TRI, 2F SAW, EVEN and SPIKE waveforms. Oakley VCO's sine-output was not so perfect (these are older versions). It was more like filtered triangle-wave. Complex VCO Waveshaper gives a perfect sine-wave. Electric Druid's Noise Source generates white and pink noise. Noise outputs are also on frontpanel jacks so it is possible to modulate something with noise. I bought Wisp648 PIC-programmer from VOTI so that I can program PIC-chips myself. Electric Druid has generously uploaded the assembled HEX-codes for his designs (you are a great Druid, I must compose a piece called Electric Druid !). All these waveforms and the noise are combined in Bergfotron's VC Waveform Selector (VCWS). I use only 8-inputs in VCWS and they are both identical. From VCO2 I use the original SIN, TRI, SAW and PULSE waveforms (one can be selected). I have arranged a switch so you can select if VCO1 or VCO2 is routed to Buchla's Timbre Generator (BTG). My first BTG version was based on Aaron Lantermans documents (generator + VCA) but this last version is built from Modular Synthesis version of BTG (my version has no pulser and no crossfader).

 Sequencer is Fonitronic VCP design. I build the first version on proto-board but it is quite a complex design so I begged Mr. Fonitronic Matthias Herrmann to sell me a PCB for VCP, and he did (thank's Matthias !). In my VCP design there is also Electric Druid's TAP Tempo Clock as an internal clock for VCP. There are also two Electric Druid's TAP Tempo LFO's. In EMB version 0.9 I had my Papareil's Dual ADSR because it has state LED's and I am using these Alpha LED Sliders. But these sliders are only linear and Papareil's design needed logarithmic pots for attack, decay and release. So I changed ADSR's to Electric Druid's VC ADSR's (now you understand why I bought the PIC-programmer). I like this design a lot. This ADSR is fast and it has TIME and LEVEL CV-controls that do a lot. You can also choose between LIN and LOG response. Also because it is a software design there is nothing to trim, it works right away.
The rest of EMB is Doepfer design that I have just fitted to my own frontpanel design (I use Front Panel Designer). Doepfer modules are: A149 (Buchla Source Of Uncertainty), 2 x A101 (Buchla LPG) and A134 (VC-PAN).
The frontpanel is version 3.0 or something. All the jacks are the lowest thing so the patch cables are not covering anything. I have also a color code on the knobs (Selco S151-006 and C151 blue/red), blue = manual control and red = CV-amount control. This design is dense but not too much.
All but the Doepfers are powered from my MOTM-900 power supply. Doepfer's have a separate +-12V supply.