STG Soundlabs has announced the availability of their new .VCO for Eurorack modular synthesizers.
“I am so happy with this module,” notes creator Suit & Tie Guy. “I believe this is the most technologically advanced VCO in modularland and very much look forward to getting these out into the wild.”
The .VCO is an 8HP eurorack analog relaxation core oscillator with sawtooth, triangle, and sub octave square wave outputs, and an integrated drift generator.
.VCO’s tuning system is unique in modular synthesis. There are three controls: Range, Semitone, and Detune. Range and Semitone are stepped controls on potentiometers.
The Range knob allows you to select whether the .VCO is an audio oscillator or low frequency oscillator. LFO, 32’, 16’, 8’, 4’, and 2’ are ranges most synthesists are familiar with, but the Wide mode allows you to sweep through 5 octaves with the Detune knob.
The Semitone knob sets a positive semitone offset to the oscillator and functions in all ranges. To make common values easier to get to, the root, fifth, and octave all have twice of the rotational degrees allotted to them as the other semitone values.
The Modulation Drift Generator could be described as a drunken walk, or perhaps a ‘random wobbulator’. In technical language, it is a random, in rate and peak, bipolar linear function generator with smoothing. Its output is normalized to the modulation input, so it can be easily defeated by plugging a new source into the modulation jack.
Pricing and Availability
The .VCO module is available in limited quantities for $265 USD.
It’s a quantized three wave VCO with a random LFO attached to it — perhaps handy for 8HP, but it’s completely delusional to call this the “most technologically advanced VCO in modularland”
Bitshifter,
Suit has been at this for a number of years. I know that his knowledge of “Modularland” is pretty vast. So I’m not really going out on a limb thinking that you have most likely missed something. Probably more than one thing actually.
A personal attack in the very first comment. Wow! You couldn’t just say it isn’t your cup of tea? Or follow the old “If you don’t have anything nice to say, STFU” rule? Manners?
A well. This is the internet after all. Maybe next time?
A bold claim deserves a bold reply. Why sugar coat it? Btw bitshifter’s comment was not personal, let alone an attack!
whoa, so advanced and unique
I have to say reading this post, my first thought was similar to that of Bitshifter: how pretentious to call this the “most technologically advanced VCO in modularland”. Maybe in nerdy technical terms it is, unbeknown to most of us modular users, but one should really be careful using such phrasing or be ready to get slagged for it.
word.
“most technically advanced” could mean many things, and probably not in the way most people – users primarily – would determine it. if you’re not a modular synth designer and/or don’t know what went into Suit’s circuit design, you should probably refrain from judging his claim. Suit can also just be taking the piss with it.
“The Drift Generator…In technical language, it is a random, in rate and peak, bipolar linear function generator with smoothing.” That sounds pretty technically advanced to me – I don’t know of any other oscillator in modularland with this built-in feature. Also, tuning has always been a big issue with analog oscillator modules, so if Suit has successfully implemented these tuning controls, that’s pretty cool.
They said at some point it is based on ssf’s spectrum which they consider to be advanced, but really there is no proof the oscillator is more advanced than other eurorack offerings.
Ah, semantics.
what on earth is a ‘relaxation core oscillator’ ? Perhaps this is the new thing they’re so excited about… some details please?
I am guessing similar to a 901B.
Standard synthesizer VCOs are relaxation core oscillators, I don’t think there is anything new there.
a relaxation oscillator is a basic type of oscillator circuit – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relaxation_oscillator
Admin: Personal attack deleted.
Keep comments on topic and constructive.
This looks like a winner. I’m in!
It looks like a nice oscillator, but I’m kind of confused about an article copy-and-pasting a segment of the manufacturer’s description about how the Semitone pot’s “response is best described with the following graphic:”, and then not including the graphic.
(For those wondering, it’s got wider areas for selecting shifting by either 0 or 7 semitones. 7 makes sense, for dialing in your perfect fifth, but I’m not sure why, when 0 is just full CCW, you need more pot range dedicated to _not_ changing it.)