A Duo Mode possibility?

[Ted3000]

I've had my Sub 37 for a week and it's been very fun and rewarding. Duo Mode in particular is wild - it pushes the instrument beyond monoland.

Duophonic keying could benefit from another mode.

I'd like to play a single note, and get a single oscillator. Play 2 notes, you get two. Release one note, you hear one again.

This would involve the OS muting the second or first oscillator (based on priority/note order) automatically when one key is pressed, unmuting for 2. If you stick to a simple organ-style gate for the amp settings and an open filter with no EG, it would sound like a real 2-voice. (Other amp & filter settings could be fun in this mode as well.)

It would make playing a sustained bass note with a melody over the top better - you could have gaps in the melody that are not filled by the sound of the bass note suddenly getting louder and phasing as the second oscillator joins it.

Thoughts?

[breun]

I think I'd use this mode if it were available!

[DrJustice]

I'd also like to see this as a per preset option.

Perhaps the suggestion should be added to the wishlist thread?

[Ted3000]

Another idea - since independent oscillator volume is also a digitally controlled parameter, could the OS provide a virtual AMP envelope per oscillator?

This way you could have the mute style gating, or something that would sound like 2 separate ADSRs. Hmm. I wonder what's possible?

I'll add it to the feature thread if we can brainstorm if this is possible and how it should work.

[DrJustice]

I think that introducing oscillator amplitude envelopes which would have to be be programmed either in the preset menu, or with paging the front panel envelope controls, may be too much of a deviation user interface wise. Then again I'm advocating some additional modulation slots, which would also have to work by one of those two methods, i.e. using the preset menu or paging the front panel mod sections - the anything-can-be-a-mod-destination is kind of at odds with having only two mod slots, especially when you have to spend a whole mod section on such simple things as e.g. mod wheel to filter cutoff.

Realistically I don't really see Moog adding anything significant to the voice, but hoping for the duo mode you suggest may be within limits. There are also a few other tweaks an minor additions suggested by users that I hope Moog will pick up on. BTW, it's a long time since there was a FW update, I wonder what the plans are in this area...

[Ted3000]

Yeah, dual virtual AMP envelopes does seem like a fairly big thing to hope for and I wouldn't really expect it.

Not exactly sure how the synth architecture works, but I believe there is a real analog amp circuit (and probably a noise gate.) It gets CV from a digitally generated ADSR. It gets the audio signal from the mixer.

But the mixer isn't just 4 dumb analog volume pots and a summing bus. Everything on the panel is part of the patch memory. So that means 4 digitally controlled amps, osc 1, 2, sub, and feedback.

Since mixer levels can be modulated at FM rates, there seems to be enough fine control over each level in that mixer.

UI-wise, just apply the ADSR settings to each oscillator's mixer volume independently, bypassing the real ADSR or just holding it open as long as a note is sounding? And to activate it, it would be the 4th button press of the Keyboard Control button.

I have no idea if any of this stuff is true or possible, but I thought it might be worth a forum topic.

[DrJustice]

You're right about how it works; the modulators are in firmware and the mixer is controlled by the firmware, so it's indeed doable (provided there's enough CPU power left).

Forgot to mention earlier that I already have a couple of patches where I use the filter envelope to control the amplitude of one of the oscillators separately - it's not as trick as having dedicated oscillator envelopes, but it's workable.

By UI wise, I was thinking about how you see two extra envelopes being controlled - with the parameters in from the preset menu, or with another page/layer for the physical front panel envelope knobs (I think the envelope knobs have enough paging already with the delay/hold/velocity/tracking page in addition to the a/d/s/r page). I think I'd prefer no more paging of the knobs, and keep any hypothetical extensive'ish parameter sets in the preset menu. And if Moog is reading, that's where I'd put a few more modulation slots - just simple source/destination/amount ones.

Anyway, for your original suggestion, I agree that a 4th press of the KB CTRL button would be the right way, it could then light up both LEDs to indicate the new mode.

I love the paraphonic mode and play it a lot, so this new mode with separate oscillator control is definitely something I would use.

[breun]

BTW, it's a long time since there was a FW update, I wonder what the plans are in this area...

Minitaur and Sub Phatty seem to be first in line for firmware updates, judging from the activity on the beta forum.