I have a Pulsar 23 I’m sequencing with Steppy. I can’t get the full velocity (or highest accent level) on the Pulsar instruments, but when I use other sequencers such as Metron or Stillson Hammer, the Pulsar hits max accent/velocity. I assume there is a level difference between Steppy and these other 2 sequencers. Will I need to amplify the Steppy gates or is there another way to adjust the output level?
Many thanks!
Steppy gates should be 5V. Do you know what the Pulsar is expecting for full velocity?
Hi Scott, I believe it is up to 10v though I couldn’t find which ranges correspond to the different accent levels
Right, so that would explain it. You could use QuadVCA’s 6db boost to amplify the gates then use another CV source to control the level to create your dynamics.
The doepfer a-183-4 boosts trigger and gate levels from 5v to 12v but says it’s for digital triggers. Would this work with converting Steppy? I’m trying to find some low hp method to boost the signal as I’m trying for a portable control for Pulsar. I have a palette with Tete Tetrapad, Steppy, confundo funkitus and about 14hp left. Are there other options if the doepfer module isn’t the right one for the task?
I’m not familiar with that Doepfer module. It sounds like it would work fine, but the “Important note: the module cannot be used for analog signals !” makes me wonder otherwise. I don’t see how that makes sense though if it’s just boosting an incoming signal. I wonder if it’s a bad translation and they mean that it works with binary on/off signals like gates but not with smoother signals like sine or triangle waves. You might want to ask Doepfer, a retailer, or someone who owns it for clarification.
It’s a digital level shifter. Basically takes a gate of any voltage and outputs one of the target voltage. It won’t work with CV / analog signals.
Thanks for the responses, Scott. I’m going to run an experiment this weekend with a buddy’s quad vca. The more I think about it, the more it makes sense to use this for dynamic control of the pulsar. Steppy and tete/tetrapad plus a quad vca sounds like lovely portable controlled madness with a pulsar. I’ll post a response after trying it out.
As for the doepfer module, the text insists it will only work as a comparator if input is analog. I’m not sure how it would be “comparing” signals but I think I’ll try the quad vca first.
Thanks Kamil, I don’t understand the mechanics of this but I trust you. This is what doepfer says too.
“digital triggers” in this scenario means 0 or 5 volts, on or off, its the whole argument on whether the squarewave output of an analog oscillator is actually digital, because what digital really means is either on or off, low or high, 0 or 1.
so yes the a183-4 should be able to boost steppys gates and triggers fine.