Moog Music Forum

Rely on your ears? Oh, yeah. But that's fun, right? Other approaches: use a tuner, or use a quantizer. Don't forget, you don't have to use a seque just for pitch CV. ANY voltage-controlled paramater can be sequenced. It's much fun to have it control Filter frequency triggered by the Kbd Gate (the old Tomita trick). Experiment, and have fun!

-andrew

I subscribe to the synthesizers.com mailing list and one time on there some members were talking about multiple sequencers and using one of them simply as a data array.

If you are looking at various DIY builds, yes you must rely on your ears or a tuner to "program" a specific note. This is the way that classic analog sequencers worked. On a plus side, it allows these sequencers to work with both V/Oct synths (Moog, ARP, Roland) and with Hz/Oct synths (Yamaha, older Korg).

If you want a V/Oct CV sequencer that is "quantised" and will put out a specific note that you dial up, these are typically more modern microprocessor controlled sequencers. Examples of this type include the MFB Step 64 and the FR Mobius.

I do wish that Moog would come out with a simple 8 or 16 step CV sequencer in a Moogerfooger or CP-251 sized enclosure!

Henfield, for a nice CV/Gate mini-sequencer (plus, it's stand-alone), try the Technosaurus Cyclodon. 16 stages with an internal clock (or external DIN sync). I really like mine, but I'm not sure if they still make them. It's fun to use as a kind of DIY Murf pedal: CV from the seq to the cutoff freq of my MF-101. Sequencers are NEATO!

-andrew

In answer to the question about relying on your ears, there are a few prebuilt quantatizer modules on the market. These take an incoming pitch voltage and keep it rounded to standard note intervals. Sometimes as a feature there is an option for say a major or minor scale or something else. It opens up a whole different world for live sequencing because even if your ear has perfect pitch, how can you turn the knob to find it if you are recording without stopping. You have a pretty good chance of hitting a something that sounds okay twisting a knob an amount even without hearing because you know it will land on a scale pitch.

I have Doepfer's A-156 module myself. Doepfer has a bunch of module mounting options like a mini case for people who just want a few accessory modules, or "DIY" options for people who want to make their own housing and need proper power.

As for the "by ear" method. Remember most people have more than one oscillator or entire synth. It's real easy to play a pitch on one unit not patched with the sequencer and match your sequencer's pitch to it.

bunnyman wrote:Henfield, for a nice CV/Gate mini-sequencer (plus, it's stand-alone), try the Technosaurus Cyclodon. 16 stages with an internal clock (or external DIN sync). I really like mine, but I'm not sure if they still make them.

No, they don't make the small Technosaurus products like the Cyclodon or Mirodon any more. The FR Mobius is now out of production as well.

The Voice of Saturn DIY kit is the most cost effective way of getting a CV sequencer, and it has been reported on other sites that it is a very easy build as well.

you can also get a FR Revolution or an Acidlab Bassline 2 and have a step sequencer with slide and accent and quantized note selection. Both have CV and gate and accent outs and a built in mono synth for the hell of it... price is not that out of this world either...

I like th saturn synth, but the sequencer is a bit limiting id imagine... well worth the price for a modulating sequencer though.

and a fun project to put together... im going to get the voice of saturn for sure... hes coming out with a filter / vca /envelope module I hear next.

not bad for 84 bucks and a fun weekend soldering

a friend of mine built a diy sequencer similar to that, but a little better i think. it had portamento, step switch so you could manually trigger the next step, coarse and fine tune pots for the cv, 16 steps instead of 10, and i believe a clock input as well as all the other ins/outs that the saturn has. he doesnt use it much and im trying to convince him to sell it to me idont recall what sight he got the schematics from though

ColorForm2113 wrote:a friend of mine built a diy sequencer similar to that, but a little better i think. it had portamento, step switch so you could manually trigger the next step, coarse and fine tune pots for the cv, 16 steps instead of 10, and i believe a clock input as well as all the other ins/outs that the saturn has.

This is probably the one that your friend built: http://www.musicfromouterspace.com/anal ... 6_2006.php. It is more advanced than the Voice of Saturn Sequencer, but it isn't offered in a package and the build looks a little daunting to those of us who haven't used the slobbering iron that much.

Henfield wrote:

ColorForm2113 wrote:a friend of mine built a diy sequencer similar to that, but a little better i think. it had portamento, step switch so you could manually trigger the next step, coarse and fine tune pots for the cv, 16 steps instead of 10, and i believe a clock input as well as all the other ins/outs that the saturn has.

This is probably the one that your friend built: http://www.musicfromouterspace.com/anal ... 6_2006.php. It is more advanced than the Voice of Saturn Sequencer, but it isn't offered in a package and the build looks a little daunting to those of us who haven't used the slobbering iron that much.

It be so awesome to cut your teeth on some small sequencers and then graduate to lay out and make a circular Buchla style sequencer like that... "drools"

the pics didnt load but from the description i think thats it

dada wrote: I've never used an analogue CV/gate sequencer before but there are various DIY builds floating around (http://www.curiousinventor.com/kits/voi ... _sequencer) and I thought it might be fun to try one.

I just had to get one so I bought the kit. It was fun to put together and now its fun to use.

Thanks dada for the link.

Cute project though their technical description might be a bit off.
They say they're running the 555 in monostable mode, but I think they meant astable mode.

Can anyone tell me an easy way of getting the tension down to -5, +5 Volt instead of -15, +15 ... Because off the LP CV-Inputs being -5, +5... I am really an absolute newbie when it comes down to electronics so please be kind

Use a resistor to do so.