Dark Energy is a monophonic stand-alone
synthesizer with USB and Midi interface. The sound generation and all modulation sources
are 100% analog, only the USB/Midi interface contains digital components. Dark Energy is
built into a rugged black metal case with wooden side plates. High quality potentiometers
with metal shafts are used and each potentiometer is fixed to the case (no wobbly shafts
and knobs). The distance between the controls is a bit wider compared to A-100 modules and
knobs with vintage look are used.
VCO
- Triangle
based VCO core
- manual tune control (with an internal jumper the range can
be set to ~ +/-1 half an octave or ~ +/-2.5 octaves)
- range switch -1 / 0 / +1 octave
- frequency range about 10Hz ... 12kHz
- FM (frequency modulation) control with modulation source
switch (LFO1 / off / ADSR)
- manual pulsewidth control for rectangle waveform
- PWM control with modulation source switch (LFO2 / off /
ADSR)
- waveform switch (sawtooth / off / triangle)
- the sum of the waveform chosen by this switch and the
rectangle is fed into the VCF (to turn the rectangle off the PW control has to be set
fully CCW)
- external CV input for VCO frequency (1V/octave)
- external CV input for external PWM of the rectangle
- internal CV input for frequency (1V/octave) connected to the
CV1 output of the built-in USB/Midi interface
VCF
- 24 dB low pass
- ~ 12 octaves frequency range
- manual frequency control
- tracking switch half - off - full (internally connected to
the external frequency CV input of the VCO, i.e. the VCF tracks to the VCO if the switch
is set to "half" or "full" position)
- XM: exponential FM (frequency modulation) control with
modulation source switch (LFO2 / off / ADSR)
- LM: linear FM (frequency modulation) control to modulate the
VCF by the triangle of the VCO in a linear (!) manner
- manual resonance control (up to self oscillation)
- external audio input (this signal is added to the VCO
signal)
- external CV input for filter frequency
- 1V/octave tracking for usage of the VCF as a sine wave
oscillator over some octaves (not as precise as the VCO and not temperature
compensated, but much better than most of the other filters)
VCA
- manual amplitude control (initial gain)
- AM (amplitude modulation) control with modulation source
switch (LFO1 / off / ADSR)
- external CV input for VCA amplitude
- special control scale: exponential scale in the range from
about -20dB to -80/90dB, linear scale from about -20dB to 0dB
Remark: this special control scale results in a loudness behaviour that is a bit
different from pure linear or exponential VCAs
- "CV
clipping feature": as the amplification of the VCA ranges from 0 to 1 only,
each negative CV and each positive CV that corresponds to an amplification beyond 1
will cause kind of control voltage clipping
- The control input of the VCA has been designed in a way so
that with the AM control fully clockwise even with the internal AM sources (ADSR, LFO1) CV
clipping occurs as soon as the position of the AM control is about 7 or more. To
obtain e.g. the usual ADSR loudness contour the AM control should be about 7 while the
initial gain (A) is normally set to zero. If AM is fully CW kind of trapezoid
envelope is used to the loudness contour. Same applies when LFO1 is selected as AM source.
In this case the initial gain control (A) is usually set to a middle position (~ 3...6) to
obtain a basic loudness which is modulated into both directions by the LFO signal.
LFO1 and LFO2
- manual frequency control
- waveform switch (triangle / off / rectangle)
- range switch (low, audio, medium)
- LED display (dual green/red color for positive/negative
share of the signal)
- the LFO1 signal is available as an additional socket (to use
the LFO1 signal for external modules)
- an internal jumper can be used to select between the LFO1
signal or the inverted LFO1 signal
ADSR
- manual controls for Attack, Decay, Sustain, Release
- range switch (long, short, medium)
- blue LED display
- ADSR signal is available as an additional socket (to use the
ADSR signal for external modules)
- External
Gate input (normalled via switching contact of the socket to the Gate output of the
built-in USB/Midi interface)
USB/Midi-Interface
- Midi
channel and reference note are adjusted by means of a learn button and LED at the rear
panel
- The
interface generates the gate signal that controls the envelope generator and three analog
control voltages: CV1 is used to control the pitch of the VCO, CV2 the VCF frequency (free
assignable Midi controller) and CV3 is available as an additional socket at the rear panel
(controlled by volume/velocity). It can be patched e.g. to the VCA control input.
- The
threes CVs and the gate signal are also available at the rear panel as jack sockets
- cascading
of several units via internal Midi Out/Midi In connection, because of shortage of space
the unit has no Midi Out socket available this connection has to be established
internally, for this the metal case has a hole on both sides so that the Midi Out/In
connection can be made via this hole provided that both units are mounted to one another,
the Midi Out has Midi Thru function with one exception: the signal does not include the
Midi note messages that have been processed already, consequently polyphonic cascading
(all daisy-chained Dark Energies on the same Midi channel) or monophonic cascading
(different Midi channels) is possible, it's possible to connect only the first unit to USB
and pass on the Midi data via the internal Midi link to other devices)
In/Outputs
(all 3.5 mm jack sockets, except USB, Midi and power supply)
- front
panel:
- CV
In VCO frequency (1V/oct)
- CV
In VCO pulsewidth (about 5V range for full scale)
- CV
In VCF frequency (~ 1V/oct)
- CV
In VCA amplitude (0...+5V)
- Gate
In (0/+5...12V)
- External
Audio In (typ. 1Vss without distortion)
- inverted
LFO1 Out (~ -2.5 ... +2.5V)
- Envelope
Out (~ 0 ... +6V)
- Audio
Out (typ. 1Vss)
- rear
panel:
- USB
- Midi
In
- Learn
button
- Gate
Out (with LED for Gate display and learn function), 0/+5V
- CV1:
controlled by Midi note messages, 1V/Oct, 0...+5V, internally connected to VCO CV input
- CV2:
controlled by Midi pitch bend, ~ -2.5...+2.5V or ~ 0...+5V (can be selected by an internal
jumper), no internal connection, the socket can be patched e.g. to the VCO or VCF CV input
at the front panel
- CV3:
controlled by Midi velocity, 0...+5V, no internal connection, the socket can be
patched e.g. to the VCF or VCA CV input at the front panel
- CV4:
controlled by Midi control change messages, free assignale controller in learn mode, no
internal connection, the socket can be patched e.g. to the VCF or VCO pulsewidht input at
the front panel
- the
CV4 socket can be used also as audio output, the function of the socket can be selected by
an internal jumper, factory setting is CV4, when changed to audio output no cable at the
front panel is required (unless one wants to patch something), in this case CV4 is not
available
- power
supply (15V AC, 400mA)
- internal
connections
- Midi
out (pin header with 2 pins for internal routing of the Midi signal to another Dark
Energy)
- Midi
in (pin header with 2 pins for internal routing of the Midi signal from another Dark
Energy)
- By
means of this internal connections several Dark Energy devices can be daisy-chained. Only
the first device has to be connected to the Midi or USB transmitter. For this purpose the
side plates of the metal case are equipped with holes that allow the internal connection
of 2 or more Dark Energy devices. For this the metal cases have to be mounted directly to
each other without wooden sideplate between the units. If a wooden side plate is desired
between the devices one has to drill a hole to enable the internal connection.
- Several
devices can be daisy-chained multiple monophonic (i.e. each Dark Energy received at a
different Midi channel) or polyphonic (i.e. all devices are adjusted to the same Midi
channel). For polyphonic applications a special stack mode is available. In this mode the
device in question does not transmit note messages at the Midi output that are used to
generate the tone in the device. Only "unused" note messages are transmitted.
Additional remarks and specs:
- As the LFO frequencies can go up to moderate audio range (~
5kHz) even audio FM effects of VCO (pitch and pulsewidth), VCF and ADSR are possible !
- If the VCO is turned off (waveform switch = center position,
pulsewidth control = fully CCW) and the VCF resonance is set to maximum the module can be
used as a sine oscillator. The sine can be modulated in a linear manner from the triangle
wave of the VCO and by LFO2 in an exponential manner at the same time !
- from the factory the socket labelled "LFO1"
outputs the inverted LFO1 signal. But as the module has several internal pin headers
available even another signal may appear at this socket by changing the internal module
patch. These six pin headers are available: LFO1 output, LFO2 output, ADSR output,
inverter input, inverter output, output socket. The internal default patch is LFO1
-> inverter input, inverter output -> output socket (i.e. socket = inverted
LFO1). But even another signal can be patched to this socket (e.g. inverted ADSR,
non-inverted LFO1, inverted or non-inverted LFO2). It is also possible to add a blind
panel next to the A-111-5 with a couple of sockets that are connected to the corresponding
pins of the A-111-5 pc board. The inputs and outputs of the VCO, VCF and VCA are not
available as pin headers because the VCO, VCF and VCA are internally connected in the
circuit which is used in this module.
- The attenuators for VCO FM and VCF FM are exponential types
to enable a better resolution of the modulation depth in the lower range
- Dark Energy is the stand-alone version of the module A-111-5
- Dimensions: overall about 185 x 145 x 65 mm, about 145 x 135
x 55 without wooden site plates
- Weight: about 1.2 kg
- Distance between the knobs (center - center): ~ 25 mm,
diameter of the knobs: ~ 15 mm
- The metal case is made of 1 mm steel, black coated with
white printing
- Overall dimensions: overall about 185 x 145 x 65 mm
- Dimension of the metal case (without side plates): about 145
x 135 x 55
- Side plates dimensions: about 145 x 65 x 12 mm (the width has been changed from 20 to 12 mm)
- The wooden side plates can be removed if desired. They are
mounted by means of two screws to the metal box. The holes in the metal box can be used
also to mount several devices together (e.g. with common wooden side plates on both ends).
- The device can be positioned horizontal (desk top) or
vertical
- These parts are included: power supply (15V AC) for 230V
mains voltage with European mains plug, and probably one cable 3.5 mm - 6.3 mm
/1/4" jack plug, one USB cable (type A-B) and three A-100 patch cables (the final
scope of delivery is not yet defined)
- Powering the device via USB is not possible, because the
analog circuits require a dual voltage (+/-12V).
Price: 4995.- Sek.
User manual
Technical
information
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