From Francois.Buat@xerox.frMon Apr 3 13:09:29 1995 Date: Thu, 30 Mar 1995 10:21:16 --100 From: Francois Buat To: analogue@hyperreal.com Cc: Francois.Buat@xerox.fr, tmoravan@netcom.com Subject: TH48 Good morning everybody, good morning Tom - Some persons have answered me if my friend is Chris Youdel. No, it's wrong ! I only know Rubens Fernandez who is only the RSF Kobols creator. I send to all of you the document of this device. I am sure you will find faults in this document. I have used an OCR Software, so I am Sorry, and if someone is agree to invite me to have a 1 month stay in US, GB or Australia to practice English Analogue & Music, I will provide less mistakes in this way. I have to take holidays! --text follows this line-- We have had the analogue synth revival; now it's the turn of the analogue sequencer! GORDON REID checks out Analogue Systems' brand-new 16-step analogue sequencer and explains just why you might want such an apparantly obsolete device. Analogue sequencers, it seems, are a bit like policemen and Number 25 buses you can never find one when you want one, and then a whole bunch of them come aiong together So, is 1995 going to be the year of the vintage seguencer~ Doepfer Musikelektronik stanten the ball rolling in 1993 with the MAQl6/3 (although that is, strictly speaking, a MIDI sequencer, and on~y analogue in style) and Analogue Systems, braincnild of vintage synth expert Bob Williams, are now following in their footsteps. With more British 16- step sequencers already in development, maybe it's time to look again at why these obscure pieces of equipment, built from relatively primitive electronics to obsolete principles. can still attract such devotion - ard such significant wads of money After all, look what you can get for £700 a round-trip ticket to Colombia, an Atari, colour monitor, hard drive and squillion event 100-channeI MIDI sequencer or, a 3-channel 16-event analogue sequencer in a 2U box But which is the right one for you? QUALITY STREET In a svorld where British synthesizer products nave traditionally exuded the unmistakable air of "cottage industry" manufacturing, the first impression you get when taking the TH48 from its box is one of uncompromising quality. No doubt far more expensive to manufacture than necessary, it looks good, it feels qood, and well. we'll see. The custom- built knobs are exact copies of original ARP25CO hardware, the swilcoes are expensive 'rocker' types, and the 15 chromed socket-nuts are ail aligned exactly the same way Equal care nas beer taken internally, proving that beauty can be more than skin deep This is a box built to look goon, arid to last The TH48 is supplied wit a mains 'ean, three 3 Smm patch leads, and an Allen key for removing or replacing knon heads A nice touch, that Unfortunately, the review unit had no manual, hut not to worry - operation is easy and intuitive, so let's get sequencing IN USE Sixteen steps has oecome something of a norm for analogue sequencers, and Analogue Systems have not seen fit to beak with tradition However, instead of the usual s~nqle or dual row of voltage controls, the TH48 offers toree Since Rows A and B l'iave associated sem~tone Onantisers, these are clearly the ones designed for traditional pitch sequencing duties. On the otner hand, Row C has a zero to two-second 'Slew' control for pontamento and other voltage-controlied effects Each Row features an independent 'range' control, offering i7 5 volts for a maximum of 15 octaves on a volt/octave synth, while all three Rows share the reset/run?trigger toggles found unoerneath each step Setting up basic sequences couldn't be easier first, decide which row to use, and connect the 'CV Out' and appropriate 'Trigger Out' ('SJrig' for Moogs, and the conventional 'Trig' for almost everything else to your syritli Don't torget to use the quantiser or there'll be tears1 Next, decide which steps you are going to use ('run'), which will send triggers ('trig') and where the sequence will loop ('reset') Then work your way through the sequence, using the Step button, and set the pitches using the small but accessible knobs Finally, adjust the Speed of the internal clock betvveen one step every four seconds and 25 steps per second It's instant 'Karn Evi 9' or 'Love to Love Ya Baby', according to taste Finally, leave 'Random' Off for conventional sequences, or switch it On for quasi- random selection of which step plays when But this is only where the fun begins Using an ARP26OD as a test bed, it was possible to create 8LGUENG~R ',i~me supero mi.sical effects quite impossible without the TH4R For example, conned Row C's CV Ocit to the ARP's filter pitch control, and direct white noise into the audio input to re-create some seriously acidic Oleeps and bloops Next, feed two different, but harmonically related, sequences to the CV inputs of oscillators ~ and 2, and direct them through the filter to add a pulsating musical backing Yoci're now ready to patch oscillator 3 directly to the ARP's on-hoard mixer, and play melodies from the keyboard Hold on a 4-part polyphoniic ARP2600~ Damn right Now we're cookin' THE FUN GOES ON... The TH4R was designed by a vintage syoth enthusiast for the benefit of like-minded vintage syntn enthusiasts, and I've yet to explore fu~iy some of its more exotic features These are accessed using the remaining knobs and I/O sockets Trans In, Quantiser A In, Quantiser B in, Clock Int/Ext, Fxt Clock In, Shape, Shape Out, Shape CV In, lot Clock Out, and lot Clock CV In Isee box 'Exotic Features' for more details Clearly a close relative of the voltage control modules of the late '60s and early '70s, toe TH4B will sit happily alongside Roland System 700s, ARP25Dds and 2600s, ano Moog Modjlar Systems Consequently, an open mino and some free experimentation can yield startling results There's no room within this review to do more than scratch the sudace, but see the separate 'VCF' nox for some idea of what the TH4S makes possib~e CV VERSUS MID It's tempting to compare the TH4B to the Doepfer MAO 16/3 reviewed Sound on Sciund, July '93) After all, both products are designen to prodcice repetitive sequences and effects triat can easily oe modified in real-time But, woilst a MIDI sequencer like the Doepfer can look like its analogue counterpart and offer many additional facilities, it lacks one important facility inherent to v~tage control you can't add multiple MIDI controllers and audio signals together to create new effects Consequently, you can't realistically compare a MIDI sequencer (the Doepfer) to a computer-based MID software sequencer, or to the TH4(R and its vintage brethren If you need an analogue sequencer, you need an analogue sequencer Period. VCF- Voltage Controlled Fun: Set up a sequence and apply an LFO to the Int dock Cv In. This, of course, modulotes the speed at which the sequence runs. Apply keyboard Cv to the Trans (transpose) In socket, and play the keyboard to modulate the sequence in real time. Apply heavily filtered noise o rSampe&hold to any input for random pitch or temporal modulation. Modifvtheshapeofthegate pulse (Shape) to alter the amplitude and/rn filter envelopes on the synth. This results in more human sounds and sequences. Apply noise to the Shape Cv In for random envelope modulation. Drive the Ext Clock In at audio frequencies, and use the 16 steps to define a complex waveform. Direct this back to the synth Os an independent oscillator. The shape is multi-stage and heavily quantised, so it's sorsof digitol. And it sounds it. Use the Ouantiser Ins and Outs to quantise changes in control voltages, such as the synthesizer's initial filter frequency. Synchronise and process an analogue drum machine through the ARP in this way far pure techno. Shortages of patch.Ieads and inputs notwithstanding, try all or as many as possible of the above simultaneously. OMISSIONS AND IMPROVEMENTS I can see some users complaining about the small knobs and compact styling of the TH48. After all, faders give far better visual feedback than knobs ever car But I'm not one of the whiogers Analogue Systems have obviously made a conscious decision to keep the TH48 as small as possible and, whilst 2U is a very tight space into which to cram so many controls and interfaces, I never once found myself nudging the wrong knob or knocking an interface lead Maybe I've just got lovely petite fingers.. ~ Despite all of the above, the TH48 could be iniproved, although three modifications would make it very difficult to criticise. The first would be the ability to step through Rows at different speeds, making it possible to create more musical poly- sequences by modulating one Row from another Toe second would be a method of creating simultaneous sequences of differing lengths, and the third would be the capacity to chain Rows together for sequences of up to 48 steps Mind you, no other product, current or vintage, offers all these facilities. Indeed, none combines all the existing abilities of the TH48. Still, one can dream CONCLUSIONS There will be many players in this MIDI-dominated world who can't imagine why anybody should want to spend £700 on an analogue sequencer But you can't dismiss the genre Second-hand units from ARP and Korg, far more limited than the TH48, sell for hundreds of pounds Indeed, you'll be lucky to get change from a grand if you want a genuine Moog sequencer Consequently, if yocl're after a true analogue sequencer, the TH48 deserves to be the first, and until more competition appears, may be the last unit to check out Alternatively, Bogota can be nice at this time of year The choice, as they say, is yours. . PROS Excellent construction and attention to detail. Lots of Ins and Outs for flexible signal routing. Clear, simple and quick to use. 15-volt range. CONS Mains On/Off switch inaccessible on theback panel. No way to step through Rows at different speeds. No way to chain Rows together. CONCLUSION A well-built, simpIe use, yet flexible analogue sequencer with little (if any) current competition. The Germans will love it. /\ / \ _________Francois________-----___--__-_---_/ \ /\_-__--__-_____ \ / \ / \ / \/ ____________________________________________________________________ Francois Buat email : Francois.Buat@xerox.fr Rank Xerox Research Centre Phone : (+33) 76 61 50 28 6, chemin de Maupertuis Fax : (+33) 76 61 50 99 38240 MEYLAN FRANCE ____________________________________________________________________