Alfa AS3109 VS IR3109N Quick Comparison

Many have commented about my last video why I fool around w/ reclaiming the old chips when Alfa has some remakes on the market. So here's a quick comparison of the Alfa AS3109 remakes vs. IR3109N OTA chips in my 101-VCF tester module. For me the Alfa behaves quite differently with regard to signal clipping and output magnitude. Enough as to not recommend them as a 1-to-1 replacement in vintage synths and the reason I don't use them in my own modules. It's too bad, I enjoy using other kinds of Alfa chips 3320/3340/3350 in other filters and my 101-VCO.

Be sure to check out my cool Eurorack Modules available in my Reverb Store.

The Solina Comparison Nobody Asked For [ARP Behringer Synth Face Off]

These synths: one of them is a lightweight new kid straight out of a box with more sassy highs, the other is a disc crushing bohemoth piece of furniture with mellow disposition. The brand new Behringer Solina in the left channel, the crusty vintage ARP/Eminent in the right channel. I replaced the ARP mains capacitors, but left all the tropical fish alone. Some of those freshwater angels are janky and cracked but still representin'.

GSE 2xVCA Comparison of versions 1, 2, and 3 Eurorack

Introducing 2xVCA version 3.
This time using BA662F chips.
Version 1 used BA6110.
Version 2 used openlabs BA662 clones.
Is there any difference in sound between these versions?
This is a simple comparison showing all 3.
Recorded direct, no other mastering or effects.

Check my Reverb store for 2xVCA version 3 availability

GSE Six 8HP Filter Modules Shoot-Out [comparison] [vs]

Today it's the battle of the 8HP filter modules!
Six of 'em, says the squinty-eyed man with no name.
101-VCF, SH2-VCF, JP6-VCF, Delta VCF, Pro VCF, and 4023 VCF.
You know them, but what are some of the sonic differences?
Watch out, some skreechy resonance ahead. They're filters after all :D

0:00 Intro
0:40 Bassline sequenced
3:24 Arpeggio sequenced + Reverb + Delay
6:09 Bass Sweeps, various res settings

Details
Osc | 101-VCO square + saw + sub
Buffered Multiple | My one-off Buffy Bot is used in 1-into-6 config.
The buffered osc signal is going to each of the 6 filters.
Envelope | 2xADSR is stack-cabled to the various CV inputs.
The CVs are zero'd out until each filter gets dialed up.
Delay | Timefactor
Reverb | Big Sky

Check my Reverb store for module availability

GSE 101-VCO vs SH-101 + 101-VCO Tuning Mod [Demo 4]

Today, I am comparing my 101-VCO to the original Roland SH-101 synthesizer.
How close to the original is my 101-VCO?
Saw, Pulse, Pulse Width Modulation, Sub, and Noise waveforms.
The SH-101 did not have the Triangle waveform.
At the end of the video I'll play both of them together, just for fun.

I'll also show you an easy mod for the 101-VCO so that it's pitch CV can
match the tuning of the original SH-101.
It involves adding a 1206 470K resistor to R19 previously denoted "DNP".
All 101-VCOs I make and sell henceforth will have the resistor already installed.
And tuned to match the SH-101 as it should be.

Left Channel = 101-VCO
Right Channel = SH-101

0:00 Introduction
0:26 A Simple Mod to match the 101-VCO pitch CV with the SH-101
1:45 Audio Comparisons
4:25 Both at the same time, just for fun

G-Storm Jupiter-6 VCF vs. Jove vs. SE 8106 modules

I get asked quite a bit what makes the Jupiter-6 VCF different from modules like the Jove by System-80, and the the Studio Electronics 8106. The Jove and 8106 circuits are a similar topology using readily available OTA chips, their PCBs are mass-produced, their boards are probably automated assembly for SMT parts. Mine uses the expensive/rare/original Roland OTAs, my PCBs are currently copper etched and tinned by hand, and fully assembled by hand as well. I'd love to build a Jove for myself, alas - no time (and PCBs are currently sold out). The demos of the Jove sound nice. I haven't checked out any demos of the 8106 yet, but everything SE makes is fantastic. I also suppose this is as good a time to announce my Jupiter-6 VCF is also undergoing a front panel re-design and will be very similar to my Delta VCF version 2.

My Thoughts On the Roland VP-03 vs VP-330 Battle

Well, 909 Day has come and gone. We got a peek at some promising gear, but left wondering again when we can catch our first glimpses of these animals in the wild. YouTube user RetroSound has once again gotten first dibs on a new piece. It's the VP-03, the Boutique version of the rare and almost extinct VP-330 Vocoder with Human Voices and String Synthesizer. It's the one perhaps most notably used in the Blade Runner soundtrack by Vangelis. I was ecstatic about hearing this news of the VP-03, nobody wants the VP-03 to live up the hype more than me...it's like a dream come true. Take a look and listen...
Before I give my thoughts on this piece I should note two things. First I am a string synthesizer nerd, and used to use and own a real Roland VP-330 MK-I. I used it lovingly on a few tracks. The VP-330 is a special sound near and dear to my heart, however for financial reasons had to sell it to a lucky friend. Secondly, I have studied its voice and string synthesizer section intimately. I also studied the famed quad-BBD choir ensemble circuit and know exactly what makes it tick. I have used this information to author my own plug-in emulation VST, that uses NO samples BTW, called VSP-330. This VST has gotten many raves and high remarks, despite not reaching a wide audience and I didn't make a version for Mac. DOH! But that is not what we are doing today.

Today we are looking at the VP-03. How does it sound compared to the original? Can users go out and make a fortune selling their own real VP-330 now? If you liked what you heard, and are perfectly content with that - there's no need to read more. My opinion is unnecessary and you'll be perfectly happy.

The VP-03 has A LOT going for it. Out of this world...the Human Voice filters sound wonderful, the string filter - perfect, the quad-BBD Chorus Ensemble effect - perfect! Those of you that want this just for the vocoder will probably LOVE this thing, and may not care for the other features. The VP-03 sounds to me one of the better emulations out there, I applaud what Roland is trying to do but it could sound PERFECT if a couple of issues were addressed with a software update.

If you'll notice in the demo, the release time is cranked all the way up on the VP-03. But it just can't maintain a creamy and smooth note release like the real VP-330 can. The notes should hang, and linger a bit longer. Listen to them both again and you will hear this. Maybe it's because the envelope is re-triggering from zero. Or maybe the attack/release curves are not logarithmic like on the original. I'm not sure, but I know something is going on there.

At 3:49 you hear the grating buzz of non-phase-locked oscillators. "What is non-phase-locked oscillators???" you are probably wondering, and "that buzz, my God what is making that buzz?" The VP-330 is a direct descendant of organ technology. Synthesizers from the era were capable mostly of a single note polyphony. So Roland, among others, adopted the divide down organ voice technology to a synthesizer format. Heck, the ARP Solina String Ensemble IS the string circuitry ripped straight out of an Eminent organ. So the way the organ voice worked for some, use a single - Master Oscillator - to produce the waveform needed for the very top note in the organ. Another circuit, called the frequency divider, copies that note 11 times and divides it into the other 11 notes in the Top Octave. Subsequent circuitry then divides each note in that Top Octave for all the other octaves. This is why on these machines if an F# goes out, often all the other F# octave keys go dead at the same time.

Why am I telling you all of this? The whole point is, ALL notes in this circuit are directly derived IN PERFECT SYNCHRONIZATION from the master oscillator. C1 is exactly 1/2 the frequency of C2 and in PERFECT PHASE WITH IT. So what's the big deal if 6 days of the week the ear can't pick up on these things anyway. The ONE day of the week we CAN hear this problem amplified greatly is when we run it through a quad BBD Chorus Ensemble. Yes, the quad BBD Chorus Ensemble AMPLIFIES phase discrepancies between two notes played an octave apart. And it doesn't do it just now and then, it does it 99% of the time.

If Roland could just take care of those two things it would be a perfect unit. I am so serious. Just fix the release time thing and the phase problems and it would otherwise be as close to a perfect emulation as it could ever be. Just modeling the voicing for proper divide down organ behavior might actually save some of the CPU overhead, although it might take more man-hours to see the job through. I know firsthand, this is what I had to do for my own plug-in VST.