What would you replace your DPO with?

basicbasic · Post by **basicbasic** » Thu Nov 12, 2015 8:40 pm

How about a Bubblesound VCOb/uLFO combo plus something like a uFold? Linear/Expo FM, lots of individual waveforms, PWM, shaped sine (on uLFO) plus they sound beautiful.

confusedmachine · Post by **confusedmachine** » Thu Nov 12, 2015 9:28 pm

I just got a Verbos CO and it's my first proper CO (though have had plenty of other FM options in other synths). It's a gorgeous oscillator, and I haven't even begun to scratch the surface really. But yeah, Braids is great fun too.

jkile9 · Post by **jkile9** » Fri Nov 13, 2015 12:38 am

Funny to me how a thread about moving away from the DPO is making me want it... I have a Verbos CO and as much as I love the sound, it's taking up a huge amount of space and I don't want to be building too large of a system. I'm limiting myself to 9U at 104hp and I don't know that it's sound is going to win me over the functionality of the DPO. Decisions, decisions...

metaBit · Post by **metaBit** » Fri Nov 13, 2015 1:07 am

I currently have a Rubicon, 2 x Dixie II, and a Shapeshifter. I have a lot of fun with the system though I often feel like the Shapeshifter is a bit thin somehow. but having the option of the wave folder it has is nice, and I love the chord and preset sequencing.

If I were buying today, I'd go with what I've been GASing for lately, the new SSF/WMD Spectrum (x2 or x3) and the UltraFold. The demos I've listened to for these have had a warmth and chunky saturation that I think sounds really great.

vytis · Post by **vytis** » Fri Nov 13, 2015 10:23 am

I had a DPO alongside Verbos Complex Oscillator. After testing them both extensively I liked the sound of the Verbos more. Sold the DPO. Loved the Verbos to bits. Had an Anti-Oscillator+Richter Osc II. Sold the Verbos a year or so later. Replaced with a Doepfer A-111-1 + A-137-1 + A-110 and it is providing me with all the sounds I want plus more.

So... DPO > Verbos CO + Anti-Oscillator/RichterOscII > Doepfer A-111-1+A-137-1+A-110

bazzevo · Post by **bazzevo** » Fri Nov 20, 2015 9:19 pm

So I finally settled on a Rubicon, Dixie, uFold Combo. Very happy. I also swapped out the DPO and bought the STO. This way I still get the DPO sound. I must say. The three VCO's together are amazing. They all track super accurately. Between the three there are so many sounds to be had. The FM mod between them is sick, and way more musical to dial in than the DPO. I always found it lacking, with it not tracking so well.

Loving it.

exper · Post by **exper** » Fri Nov 20, 2015 10:10 pm

Cool. Don't forget to try syncing the Dixie/Rubicon together while using FM, and also try using the ufold in 'reverse'. Put a modulation into the audio input, and use an audio rate source for the cv input. Makes some really unique and useful sounds.

bafonso · Post by **bafonso** » Fri Dec 18, 2015 10:29 am

vytis wrote:I had a DPO alongside Verbos Complex Oscillator. After testing them both extensively I liked the sound of the Verbos more. Sold the DPO. Loved the Verbos to bits. Had an Anti-Oscillator+Richter Osc II. Sold the Verbos a year or so later. Replaced with a Doepfer A-111-1 + A-137-1 + A-110 and it is providing me with all the sounds I want plus more.

So... DPO > Verbos CO + Anti-Oscillator/RichterOscII > Doepfer A-111-1+A-137-1+A-110

Could you share some patches w/ the doepfer combo? I'm trying to have fun with the A-137-1 but having a hard time getting nice sounds out of it...

evileye0702 · Post by **evileye0702** » Fri Dec 18, 2015 3:25 pm

I had a hard time getting along with my DPO at first and its huge footprint just kept staring back at me telling me to sell it.

I'm glad I didn't because it is now a mainstay of my work. It's not the only thing I use (I also have Dixie II and uFold) but it's features are top notch.

At some point I would like to add a Rubicon just to see a truer comparison.

I do find it a bit funny that some mention digital wavetable oscillators in comparison to the DPO. Those are completely different beasts. I like both but would never try to compare the two.

listentoaheartbeat · Post by **listentoaheartbeat** » Fri Dec 18, 2015 4:07 pm

exper wrote:
Orbless wrote:
evs wrote:don´t just look into the "hip" modules.. there is a lot of other stuff that is great!
malekko wiard anti and osc.. the best sounding most complex combination.
and get the twf with it.
I would also go with this setup
I felt the complete opposite about this pair. I had them in the days before the DPO came out, and I always felt that they were very limited as far as being used as a "complex" voice. For one, I hated that the Anti OSC sends a square wave into the folder (mayhem). Yes, you could FM the Anti with the Unkle sine, but only through a triangle or square. You completely miss out on the beautiful tones you get from sine on sine FM into a good wave folder. Of course the Malekko pair offers other things beyond that, like phase mod, but IDK, they just didn't do it for me.

Two Wiard Oscs are a great pair, too. Not a big Malekko fan, but these VCOs are indeed often overlooked when it comes to 259ish timbres. I am always surprised how good they sound when I come across them. The new ones don't have the spike issue anymore, too.

I also second the TWF recommendation, having access to each individual folder stage allows for a ridiculously large palette of sounds that is not possible with other folders. It's a feedback monster, too. Each stage has a dedicated VCA as opposed to just one VCA right after the input on other folders, which I think might be reason it sounds so different, especially when driven hard.

yeskeys · Post by **yeskeys** » Fri Dec 18, 2015 4:16 pm

I know that somewhere inside my DPO are wonderful tones. I just can't seem to coax them out enough. I wish there was a more thorough set of example patches or techniques (I'm sure I'm missing out on some)

Hi5 · Post by **Hi5** » Fri Dec 18, 2015 4:32 pm

A quote I still hold to today "... it is better to have a precise VCO and then deconstruct/modify/modulate it any way that you want. This way you are starting with predictable behavior as the foundation."

I think all the dual vco designs are great but at the end of the day I'll take the greater patch programmability of a combo of vco+wavefolder+ringmod+vca+etc...

MrNovember · Post by **MrNovember** » Fri Dec 18, 2015 5:00 pm

MrNovember wrote:
asymptote wrote:
MrNovember wrote:I pretty much just traded my DPO for the Rubicon-Dixie-uFold combo and I definitely could not be any happier.

Also what exper said is totally right. It may be cleaner and track really well, but they can get really warm and weird and downright dirty too. So many more options
I'm curious to know how you are getting on with the uFold vis-a-vis the timbre section on the DPO. I get the sense that if I were to miss any one thing about the DPO it would be this.
I haven't actually gotten the uFold yet. It's in the post to me right now though, so I'll let you know when it gets here. The Rubicon and Dixie showed up last week and I've been exploring them extensively. The only thing that I think I may end up missing is the strike input on the wavefolder.

So a month later and I can definitely say that I do not regret swapping the DPO for the Rubicon/Dixie II/uFold II pair. I'm finding the Rubicon alone more useful and interesting than the DPO; the selection of waveforms is amazing and some of the non-standard waves are becoming my favourite. Pair it with the Dixie and you can stretch the sounds so much further. The uFold I like well enough. The fact that it's not hard wired like the DPO is probably my favourite aspect. I need to spend some more time with it still.

exper-ish · Post by **exper-ish** » Fri Dec 18, 2015 8:34 pm

The secret to great wavefolding is amplitude. Put your VCA in front of the wavefolder. The folding becomes very lively and dynamic. Also, wire it in 'reverse'. Put an LFO into the input and audio rate sine into the cv input.

This can be heard here starting at the 5 minute mark:

coolshirtdotjpg · Post by **coolshirtdotjpg** » Fri Dec 18, 2015 9:15 pm

Surprised no one has mentioned the Hertz Donut or the Sputnik. I have a HD MK1 + a uFold, and that has kept me from getting a DPO. I'm still tempted, but between the HD, Mangrove, and Piston Honda I have wave too many oscillators to begin with.

Torn n Frayed · Post by **Torn n Frayed** » Fri Dec 18, 2015 9:39 pm

coolshirtdotjpg wrote:Surprised no one has mentioned the Hertz Donut or the Sputnik. I have a HD MK1 + a uFold, and that has kept me from getting a DPO. I'm still tempted, but between the HD, Mangrove, and Piston Honda I have wave too many oscillators to begin with.

I am in the process of making a switch from the Rubicon to the HD mk1 with ufold and dixie II. Will report back on how I like it once I've tried it out!

Dogma · Post by **Dogma** » Fri Dec 18, 2015 9:52 pm

Mannequins - 2 x mangroves and three sisters and thank me later

i cant quite get into the Rubi - i prefer the TZFM from the Batleur ATM.....so im thinking about getting a dixie 2 + and if i find no love ill drop the rubi (im open to offers on it BTW)

stringbot · Post by **stringbot** » Sat Dec 19, 2015 1:50 am

I replaced mine with a Shapeshifter. I haven't gotten rid of the DPO though, I like that it's all analogue, and sometime I'll swap it back in. The Shapeshifter can do so much more though.

MrNovember · Post by **MrNovember** » Sat Dec 19, 2015 2:35 pm

exper-ish wrote:The secret to great wavefolding is amplitude. Put your VCA in front of the wavefolder. The folding becomes very lively and dynamic. Also, wire it in 'reverse'. Put an LFO into the input and audio rate sine into the cv input.

This can be heard here starting at the 5 minute mark:

Hmm, both of those ideas sound really interesting. I'll try those out. Thanks!

Edit: wow, the "reverse" wavefolding in the video sounds wild!

albiedamned · Post by **albiedamned** » Sun Dec 20, 2015 9:35 am

Just to throw one more idea out there: instead of Dixie + Rubicon + uFold, I have 2 x Dixie + FM Aid + uFold. I've never had a Rubicon or DPO, so I can't compare.

Also, for more traditional FM with precise frequency ratios I have an FMVDO.

cthonist · Post by **cthonist** » Sat Jan 23, 2016 3:16 pm

I've been thinking of swapping my DPO for a Cyclebox ii & Dixie II+... The DPO sounds great but I never really considered any digital oscillators until I got to mess around with Cyclebox & lots of Harvestman stuff recently. Cyclebox plus a flexible analog osc seems perfect for noise/drone/techno which is what I'm aiming to do

Zank Frappa · Post by **Zank Frappa** » Sat Jan 23, 2016 5:19 pm

evs wrote:don´t just look into the "hip" modules.. there is a lot of other stuff that is great!
malekko wiard anti and osc.. the best sounding most complex combination.
and get the twf with it.

Do you have sound examples, maybe?

Spartacus · Post by **Spartacus** » Sat Jan 23, 2016 6:10 pm

I've got a cylonix shapeshifter and really enjoy it!

sackley · Post by **sackley** » Sat Jan 23, 2016 6:48 pm

I like seeing how many different tastes there are out there.

Glad to see my dixie is in good use! I'm loving the DPO, myself. It feels kind of like a modern classic, to me at least.

I swapped it out for a shapeshifter previously, but never could get on with that, so back it came. I've since realized I really don't click with button and menu driven interfaces. Give me a simple "plug it in and twist a knob" interface and I'm happy.

Dreaming of a Verbos harmonic osc + Dixie ii+ + uFold

I do agree that the DPO wavefolder section really needs an input... whether that's possible I don't know. That was actually one of my favorite features of the shapeshifter.

Lastly, a great DPO patch from VortexRanger (can't find the original post, so I'm paraphrasing):
Monitor Final out
'Zero' all folder knobs (whether @ center or full ccw)
FM Angle with OSC A
Sequence OSC A 1v/oct

If I got it right it's a nice, distinctive warm triangle at the final output that follows the sequence going in to OSC A, even though OSC B is the final out.

asymptote · Post by **asymptote** » Sat Jan 23, 2016 7:50 pm

I think the thing I find most compelling about the DPO is the follow circuit and the sync options. These make it very easy to use FM and audio rate wavefolding in deliciously musical contexts. And I don't think these can be easily achieved with the other analog complex oscillator options.

However, I'm still considering trying to trade my DPO for the Intellijel set, if only to experiment with something different. So, if anyone out there is interested in swapping their Rubicon/Dixie for a DPO, hit me up!

MOD WIGGLER

MOD WIGGLER

What would you replace your DPO with?

Rubicon, STO and Dixie Combo