Overview
March 2008: A brand new Tascam SS-R1 compact flash recorder replaces the ProTools Digi001 recording system that was lodged in a noisy old Windows 98 PC . The pictures show the SS-R1 beneath the Lexicon MPX-1 Multiple Effects Digital Processor. The SS-R1 records in 44.1 or 48 Khz sampling rate directly to WAV or MP3 at 64, 128, 192, 256, or 320K bits per second. Recordings are stored in a Windows FAT-32 compatible file system which can be manipulated using a PC keyboard. It also plays back any MP3. It is completely silent (no moving parts). Also shown is the Mackie 802-VLZ3 mixer that replaces the old Behringer MX802A. The monitors are Mackie HR-824s. The keyboard is an Edirol PCR-M80.
Cabinets and Power Supplies
Three of the four cabinets are Synthesizers.com four-foot long 22-Space Walnut Studio Cabinet, modified with Stooge mounting rails to hold MOTM-style modules.The bottom cabinet is a 44-Space Tilted Walnut Studio Cabinet. Each tier holds 26U of modules. There is 130U of module width total.
The KEYBOARD is an Edirol PCR-M80 that works through the MOTM-650 MIDI-CV Converter.
The studio has a PC dedicated to recording with a Digi-001 and ProTools 5.1LE. The monitors are Mackie HR-824s. Underneath the Digi-001 rack box is a Lexicon MPX-1 Multiple Effects Digital Processor. There is a Roomba vacuum cleaner and a very old oscilloscope in the corner.
Power is supplied by six Power-One supplies:
-
2 of HAA15-0.8-A – from MOTM-900
-
2 of HTAA-16W-A – from MOTM-950
-
HBB15-1.5-A
-
HCC15-3-A
Electrical Standards
With a few exceptions, signals are standardized.
- Signal and control outputs are +/- 5V, including pulse waves.
- Most gate and trigger inputs have Schmitt comparators that accept any signal.
- Envelopes are 0 to +5V.
- VCA unity gain is at +5V.
Modules
The term “module” can mean different things. A module in the logical sense is a self-contained functional unit whose inputs and outputs are available for connecting it with other modules into a “patch”. In the physical sense a module consists of a panel unit that is moveable independently. Quite often you see multiple logical modules in one physical module. I will list my physical modules and explain what logical modules they contain. Here’s a photo from December, 2006:
Logical Module Counts - October, 2008
- Voltage Controlled Oscillators (VCO) — 8 (2 MOTM-300, 2 MOTM-310, 2 CGS, 1 Cynthia ZO, 1 Modcan VCDO)
- Low Frequency Oscillators (LFO) — 14 (2 MOTM-320, 2 MOTM-380, 2 MOTM-390)
- Accessible LFOs in other modules — 12 (2 from MOTM-410, 8 from Saw Animators, 1 Wogglebug Clock Out, 1 Blacet Binary Zone Clock Out)
- Embedded LFOs — 4 (2 in Blacet Time Machines, 1 in Blacet Stonz Phaser, MOTM-101 Clock)
- Voltage Controlled Amplifiers (VCA) — 14 (2 MOTM-190, 1 Blacet Quad VCA, 4 Oakley ADSR/VCA, 1 OMS 410)
- Voltage Controlled Filters (VCF) — 18 (1 MOTM-410, 2 MOTM-420, 2 MOTM-440, 1 MOTM-480 (dual), 1 MOTM-485, 2 MOTM-490, 2 CGS Synthacon, 2 Oakley Superladder, 4 Cynthia Low Pass Gates)
- Manually Controlled Filters — 4 (2 Blacet Dual Filter)
- Envelope Generators (EG) — 12 (4 MOTM-800, 2 Blacet 2070, 2 MOTM-OMS-820, 4 Oakley ADSR/VCA)
- VC Phase Shifters — 1 Blacet StonZ
- Timbre modulators — MOTM-120, MOTM-510, CGS Wave Multiplier, CGS Bi-N-Tic Filter, Cynthia Sawtooth Animators, 2 Blacet Miniwaves, 2 CGS Tube VCA’s
- Frequency Shifters - 1 Encore
- Quantizers — 4 (2 Blacet Miniwaves, 1 Modcan Dual Quantizer 55B)
- Analog Delays — 2 Blacet Time Machines
- Lag Processors — 4 (2 MOTM-820, 1 Dual Tellun Lag)
- Mixers - 8 (2 Oakley Multimix, 2 Blacet, 2 Mixer-Comparator, 1 Stereo Matrix Mixer)
- Sample & Holds — 6 (MOTM-101, 2 Oakley, Blacet Improbability Drive, 2 in Wogglebug)
- Noise Sources — 3 (MOTM-101, Blacet Improbability Drive, CGS Infinite Melody)
- Control Voltage Generators - CGS Infinite Melody, Wiard Wogglebug, Jerkster Chaos, Blacet Binary Zone
- Control Voltage Processor — Modcan CV Recorder
- Digital processors — 2 CGS Burst Generators, 1 CGS divider, 1 CGS shifter, 4 CGS logic gates
- Input signal processor — Blacet Input Envelope Follower with Gates
- Other — 1 Encore UEG, 1 MOTM-700 dual switch, 2 CGS Analog Shift Registers, 1 Analog OR, 1 Analog AND
- MIDI Converter — 1 MOTM-650
- Visual indicators — 2 Veeblefetzers
- Multiples — 15 4-jack multiples