Dedicated 5U Arpeggiator modules?

Dave Peck · Post by **Dave Peck** » Thu Mar 24, 2011 1:33 pm

Hi all,

Anyone know of a true arpeggiator module in 5U? I know about the Club of the Knobs C951 (with the strange 1/4" jack for a MIDI in). Any experience with that one? Any other modules like it?
Thanks!

dude · Post by **dude** » Thu Mar 24, 2011 1:34 pm

edited for my idiocy

kindredlost · Post by **kindredlost** » Thu Mar 24, 2011 1:42 pm

MOTM 650 (no longer available)

mome rath · Post by **mome rath** » Thu Mar 24, 2011 4:08 pm

kindredlost wrote:MOTM 650 (no longer available)

mine's being made

suitandtieguy · Post by **suitandtieguy** » Thu Mar 24, 2011 11:10 pm

Welcome to the forum, Dave!

Dave Peck · Post by **Dave Peck** » Thu Mar 24, 2011 11:39 pm

suitandtieguy wrote:Welcome to the forum, Dave!

Thanks! Nice to see familiar faces around here. I've actually been lurking for quite a while, then I joined but didn't post for a while, then tried to post but couldn't remember my user name or password and went back to lurking for a while, and repeated the cycle a few more times.....

BTW your Wavefolders are doing very well over here in my modular. Looove the way these crazy things sound.

JohnLRice · Post by **JohnLRice** » Fri Mar 25, 2011 12:20 am

Welcome, Dave!

phaedra · Post by **phaedra** » Fri Mar 25, 2011 12:36 am

Dave Peck wrote:Hi all,

Anyone know of a true arpeggiator module in 5U? I know about the Club of the Knobs C951 (with the strange 1/4" jack for a MIDI in). Any experience with that one? Any other modules like it?
Thanks!

Look at this thread, here are a few opinions and meanwhile two audio examples relating to the C 951.
viewtopic.php?t=25745
There will be no problem with this "strange" jack because an adapter cable will be delivered with the module.
It is easy to handle and a little bit more than a simple or better said normal arpeggiator.
CotK will present the first official C 951s at Frankfurt fair and so many visitors will have the occasion to try out some things.

PrimateSynthesis · Post by **PrimateSynthesis** » Fri Mar 25, 2011 7:44 am

kindredlost wrote:MOTM 650 (no longer available)

Really? It almost seems like ST isn't supporting their own format

sduck · Post by **sduck** » Fri Mar 25, 2011 12:25 pm

PrimateSynthesis wrote:
kindredlost wrote:MOTM 650 (no longer available)
Really? It almost seems like ST isn't supporting their own format

yup

Dave Peck · Post by **Dave Peck** » Fri Mar 25, 2011 2:48 pm

phaedra wrote:
Dave Peck wrote:Hi all,

Anyone know of a true arpeggiator module in 5U? I know about the Club of the Knobs C951 (with the strange 1/4" jack for a MIDI in). Any experience with that one? Any other modules like it?
Thanks!
Look at this thread, here are a few opinions and meanwhile two audio examples relating to the C 951.
viewtopic.php?t=25745
There will be no problem with this "strange" jack because an adapter cable will be delivered with the module.
It is easy to handle and a little bit more than a simple or better said normal arpeggiator.
CotK will present the first official C 951s at Frankfurt fair and so many visitors will have the occasion to try out some things.

Aaahhh, very nice demos! It sounds like this thing does exactly what I was hoping it would do. Thanks!

diophantine · Post by **diophantine** » Fri Mar 25, 2011 8:45 pm

I guess most all Arpeggiator modules take a MIDI input of some sort?

Never used an arpeggiator (modular or non-modular), but I've always been curious to try one. I guess that in a typical usage context it sounds like 3-4 notes from a sequencer (with a fast clock) through a quantizer??

JohnLRice · Post by **JohnLRice** » Fri Mar 25, 2011 9:18 pm

diophantine wrote:I guess most all Arpeggiator modules take a MIDI input of some sort?

Never used an arpeggiator (modular or non-modular), but I've always been curious to try one. I guess that in a typical usage context it sounds like 3-4 notes from a sequencer (with a fast clock) through a quantizer??

Yes, sounds like you have it right, except it doesn't necessarily have to be a fast clock but, fast ones are funner!

And you don't have to just do typical sort of scale based up and down arpeggios either. By using available settings and modifying your playing technique, you can do some interesting lead lines etc that you might not of come up with otherwise.

This isn't the best example but in this video I using the great apregiators in the Synth Tech MOTM-650 to create the lead lines.

[video][/video]

whitewulfe · Post by **whitewulfe** » Fri Mar 25, 2011 11:57 pm

JohnLRice wrote:Yes, sounds like you have it right, except it doesn't necessarily have to be a fast clock but, fast ones are funner!

And you don't have to just do typical sort of scale based up and down arpeggios either. By using available settings and modifying your playing technique, you can do some interesting lead lines etc that you might not of come up with otherwise.

This isn't the best example but in this video I using the great apregiators in the Synth Tech MOTM-650 to create the lead lines.

[video][/video]

I swear, you should be a saleperson for some of these companies, you keep getting me to want more and more products!

ndkent · Post by **ndkent** » Sat Mar 26, 2011 1:40 am

Might be obvious to some but, afaik, arpeggiation is derived from reinterpreting a poly keyboard's output. So what I'm hinting at is to me it's not really part of a modular's domain, then again that doesn't necessarily mean you can't stick a processor of some sort in a modular's case.

Roland's Jupiter 4 was the first one, right? That struck me as interesting when I learned it because I was sure I was hearing them on albums well before that when I'm now sure I was really hearing a sequencer being transposed by a keyboard.

So yes, maybe you need one on your modular if you can find one you like. Then again you might use a sequencer with keyboard voltage mixed in like they did throughout the 70s or for the contemporary real deal, a master poly keyboard that outputs arpeggiation via MIDI.

JohnLRice · Post by **JohnLRice** » Sat Mar 26, 2011 1:58 am

whitewulfe wrote:I swear, you should be a saleperson for some of these companies, you keep getting me to want more and more products!

Thank you!

I think ALL modular companies should listen to you!

whitewulfe · Post by **whitewulfe** » Sat Mar 26, 2011 3:10 am

JohnLRice wrote:Thank you! I think ALL modular companies should listen to you!

I dunno, beta testing everyone's products would leave little time for fun... Or so I'd think, especially with all those fancy shiney things coming out in eurorack!

PrimateSynthesis · Post by **PrimateSynthesis** » Sat Mar 26, 2011 9:24 am

sduck wrote:
PrimateSynthesis wrote:
kindredlost wrote:MOTM 650 (no longer available)
Really? It almost seems like ST isn't supporting their own format
yup

I just checked and it is no longer on their order page

I wonder why it was discontinued?

nerdware · Post by **nerdware** » Sat Mar 26, 2011 9:54 am

PrimateSynthesis wrote:I wonder why it was discontinued?

Expensive hardware, low sales rate. See the Yahoo MOTM group for more details.

PrimateSynthesis · Post by **PrimateSynthesis** » Sat Mar 26, 2011 10:04 am

nerdware wrote:
PrimateSynthesis wrote:I wonder why it was discontinued?
Expensive hardware, low sales rate. See the Yahoo MOTM group for more details.

Oh well

I guess the whole +5V thing never panned out. I have one of the power distribution boards for triple voltage, but no modules that use triple voltage. I ordered it with the MOTM sequencer and cloud generator that never happened...

And it looks like ST is more interested in making frac rack modules, than new 5U modules

diophantine · Post by **diophantine** » Sat Mar 26, 2011 10:59 am

Thanks for that info + vid, John!

nerdware · Post by **nerdware** » Sat Mar 26, 2011 11:01 am

It takes time to design, build, and sell stuff. This is a low-sales business, so don't expect everything to happen at once. Just be grateful that anything - and I mean anything modular happens at all!

Warning: long rant ahead!

I know I annoy some people by being grim, but that's just the way it is and I don't like pretending that it isn't. I've seen too much great stuff come and go. The 650 was available for 13 years. So you missed it? Too late, sucker. You also missed masses of other great modules. I remember when that stuff disappeared. I saw it happen. I saw people selling off all their classic analogue gear in the 80s. Stuff that people now lust after but can't afford because of the high prices these things go for on Ebay. I'm not one of them. If I'd wanted any of it, I'd have bought some of it when it was going cheap. Instead, I bought Digisound 80 modules until I had 2 full cabinets. Now even that's vintage and needed a lot of renovation. I missed some of the other great SDIY projects of the 80s, like the two vocoders (Powertran and Elektor), a polysynth, and even a few Digisound 80 modules. I decided to get the Powertran vocoder just when it was being discontinued. I still have a partially complete Tanrack because it was discontinued before I got the last 3 modules. OTOH, I did get the Powertran Digital Delay and the E&MM Transpozer (with a totally evil glitch). When a company stops selling modules completely and disappears, it makes no difference what you missed. You're missing it all from that point on. Nothing new, nothing old, will ever be sold by that vendor again. It's gone.

So my advise to anyone buying modular synths today is this. Buy it now! Don't wait. Don't hesitate. Don't waste any time or money on things that you can buy later, the things that are always being made, like keyboard synths and drum machines. Just buy modular, because this window of opportunity will someday close. You don't want to look back in regret at the things you wish you'd bought when they were available but didn't bother until it was too late.

However much synth vendors do this for love, its also a business, and business is brutal. Again, I learned that in the 80s, and much of it was learned directly from people building and selling the hardware. IME the people doing this are incredibly hard-working and need all the support we can give them.

So please be patient. Be grateful for every module you can get, as and when it becomes available, and try not to whine when it stops being available. While there are still modules being sold, you have plenty to spend your money on.

PrimateSynthesis · Post by **PrimateSynthesis** » Sat Mar 26, 2011 11:17 am

nerdware wrote:The 650 was available for 13 years. So you missed it? Too late, sucker.

Childish name-calling aside, I don't remember when the 650 started shipping, but it sure wasn't 1998

My point was that Synthesis Technology currently seems more interested in releasing new modules in other than MOTM format. Now, if you don't think that's true, you're entitled to your opinion.

nerdware · Post by **nerdware** » Sat Mar 26, 2011 12:47 pm

PrimateSynthesis wrote:
nerdware wrote:The 650 was available for 13 years. So you missed it? Too late, sucker.
Childish name-calling aside, I don't remember when the 650 started shipping, but it sure wasn't 1998

I was quoting the official announcement. You may dispute that if you wish, but I'd hesitate to argue with the man who actually sells the modules.

If you have 13 years of opportunity and fail to exploit it, then whine about it, sure I'll call you a sucker. It would've been nice to have had some warning that it would be gone soon, but in fact we did get a warning - on the Yahoo group. The last 8 650 module were announced and then sold very quickly. Every one of those buyers understood what a golden opportunity they had. I wasn't one of those buyers. I didn't have the money, otherwise maybe I would be, but then someone else would have missed it. I'm not complaining about it. I knew how it works.

This happens all the time. Look at any new module and ask yourself, "Will this still be one sale 13 years from now?" Now look at any old module and ask the same question.

Look on the bright side. We're in a recession and lots of people are selling their gear. If someone sells their 650, you might be the lucky buyer who gets it...

My point was that Synthesis Technology currently seems more interested in releasing new modules in other than MOTM format. Now, if you don't think that's true, you're entitled to your opinion.

Perhaps you should read the official announcements on the Yahoo group. I'm not a spokesperson for the company, just a customer who reads the support group.

I never said Synthtech are not releasing new modules in the Euro format. Perhaps I should've been more explicit, instead of merely hinting at the info you could get by joining the support group. So here it is: the schedule is release in Euro first, then MOTM. Euro is where the money is. This is a tough business at the best of times, and these are far from the easiest times to sell new hardware. So the Euro format takes priority because that's where the biggest sales will be, and therefore the money. The 650 was discontinued because of a low sales rate, and that's an old module, so the R&D costs should surely have been recovered by now. New modules OTOH have yet to pay for the R&D costs, so money is a very big issue.

This is true even for larger markets, but this is a very small specialist market. Even the Euro format is a small market compared to the non-modular synth world. You can see this reflected by the small space given to the modular vendors at trade shows (one of which is happening very soon now).

So I said please be patient. This is because we've been promised that the new modules will appear in the 5U format. If you can wait just a little longer, you should see that happen. It won't be today. It won't even be next week. It might not even be next month. (Remember, there's a big trade show coming up soon! I'm assuming Synthtech will be there.) All this work is time-consuming, and the man doing most of the work is doing it in his spare time because this isn't his day job.

BTW, shortly after the 650 announcement last year, I read about the C951. If you watch the COTK modules page, you'll see modules there come and go also. So I stand by my advise: if there's a module you want, buy it now. The more you feel you need it, the higher the priority you should give it. Don't hesitate! Buy it now!

whitewulfe · Post by **whitewulfe** » Sat Mar 26, 2011 2:12 pm

nerdware wrote:(snip)
I know I annoy some people by being grim, but that's just the way it is and I don't like pretending that it isn't. I've seen too much great stuff come and go. The 650 was available for 13 years. So you missed it? Too late, sucker. You also missed masses of other great modules. I remember when that stuff disappeared. I saw it happen. I saw people selling off all their classic analogue gear in the 80s. Stuff that people now lust after but can't afford because of the high prices these things go for on Ebay. I'm not one of them. If I'd wanted any of it, I'd have bought some of it when it was going cheap. Instead, I bought Digisound 80 modules until I had 2 full cabinets. Now even that's vintage and needed a lot of renovation. I missed some of the other great SDIY projects of the 80s, like the two vocoders (Powertran and Elektor), a polysynth, and even a few Digisound 80 modules. I decided to get the Powertran vocoder just when it was being discontinued. I still have a partially complete Tanrack because it was discontinued before I got the last 3 modules. OTOH, I did get the Powertran Digital Delay and the E&MM Transpozer (with a totally evil glitch). When a company stops selling modules completely and disappears, it makes no difference what you missed. You're missing it all from that point on. Nothing new, nothing old, will ever be sold by that vendor again. It's gone.
(snip)

I'm gonna say this as a devil's advocate...

Are you calling those who would be interested in such a product, but didn't even know about it, or were new to modular synthesis after the announcement suckers as well?

I can say that I sure didn't spend any in other Yahoo groups when I was doing the initial research on a modular synth - if the info wasn't on the manufacturer's website (and the website states no indication of a yahoo support group (that I could find in a quick sweep), nor does it even say that the 650 is discontinued (it just says $499 Assembled and Tested)), I didn't pay much attention to such. It's not in the store, but I doubt many people when doing research will check the actual store since the information is right there on the main page for the module.

MOD WIGGLER

MOD WIGGLER

Dedicated 5U Arpeggiator modules?

Dedicated 5U Arpeggiator modules?

Re: Dedicated 5U Arpeggiator modules?

Re: Dedicated 5U Arpeggiator modules?