Function Generators

The idea for this post started from a thread on VSE, talking about the use of test equipment as electronic music instruments. There is, of course, a long history of such, actually pre-dating the invention of synthesizers per se. Significant parts of early electronic themes and soundtracks, such as the "Doctor Who" theme and the soundtrack to Forbidden Planet, were realized using laboratory electronic test equipment such as oscillators, RF modulators, and sweep generators.

The function generator I have is a Hewlett-Packard 3312A, one of the company's last analog models. (Note that the former Hewlett-Packard test instrumentation division is now owned by Aglient.) Its controls and capabilities are pretty typical for its era; I think the one I have was built around 1980. It is a solid-state, purely analog device. Here is a look at the front panel:



The front panel is divided into two sections: the main generator section, and a modulation generator section. The left two-thirds of the panel contains the controls for the main generator:



The big knob on the left is the frequency control, which moves through a range of 0.1 to 1 to 13. The big plastic dial is part of the knob and rotates with it. The frequencies available are chosen by pressing one of the nine decade buttons across the top, which provide ranges (with the frequency knob set to 1) from 0.1 Hz to 1 MHz. The knob multiplies the decade setting, so for example, if the knob is at the 4 position and the 1 KHz button is pressed, the output frequency is 4 KHz.

The signal generator can produce one of three basic waveforms: sine, square, and triangle. The FUNCTION buttons at the top right select the waveform. There are several controls that can modify the waveform. The first and most basic is the amplitude control. This consists of two nested knobs; the inner knob is a rotary switch that selects a peak-to-peak voltage range of 10 mV, 100 mV, 1V, or 10V. The outer knob is a vernier control that varies from 0 to the selection of the inner knob.

The symmetry control, to the right of the amplitude control, varies the generator's time base such that other derived waveforms can be produced. The knob is only effective when the blue "CAL" button in the middle of the knob is out; when it is pressed in, the waveform is symmetrical and the knob's position is ignored. It effects all three waveforms. When square wave is selected, the symmetry knob serves as a pulse width control. For the triangle wave, the knob at its extremes produces ramp and sawtooth waves. Here's an example of the symmetry being varied from triangle to ramp:


Audio -- click here

With sine selected, it produces various distortions of the sine wave; turning it all the way to either extreme produces a waveform that moves through half of a sine wave and then jumps back to the starting point. Example:


Audio -- click here

I noted the pitch variations caused by the use of the symmetry knob. As I understand the circuit (I still need to look at it some more), the generator core is a triangle-core VCO, with separate integrating capacitors for the positive-going and negative-going halves of the waveform. The symmetry control works by varying the charging current for the two capacitors; it increases one to speed up that half of the waveform, and decreases the other to compensate so that the overall wavelength, in theory, remains the same. Apparently that process isn't perfect, or perhaps my unit is just in need of calibration.

The offset knob adds a negative or positive DC offset, when the blue CAL button is out. Offset can range up to +/- 10V, but the manual cautions that if it causes the waveform to exceed 10V in either direction, clipping and possible damage to the output circuit will result. Pressing the CAL button in cancels the offset. The phase knob is used to produce non-continuous waveform bursts. I'll get to that in a minute; for now, note that it has to be in the "free run" position in order for the generator to run.

The waveform emerges from the jack under the amplitude control. Note that all of the jacks on this unit are BNC (bayonet) jacks, which are common in test equipment but not generally used in synths or audio production, so you'll need an adaptor. Also note that the settings on the amplitude control are rated for connecting the output to a 50-ohm load. Most synths and audio equipment have a much higher input impedance than this, which means that the peak-to-peak output voltage will be higher than indicated by the knob position. You'll have to tweak the amplitude control to get the output level than you want, and avoid clipping. The jack to the left, marked "sync", outputs a square wave whose trailing edge is at the positive-going zero crossing of the main output waveform. This can be useful for syncing other oscillators or sequencers.

The area occupying the right 1/3 of the panel is the modulation section:




The modulation section contains all of the circuitry needed to do amplitude modulation (AM) or frequency modulation (FM) on the main generator's waveform. It also contains its own low frequency oscillator to use as a modulation source. The three buttons at the upper left allow the selection of AM, FM, or sweep (labeled SWP) generation. These are not radio buttons; they are individual on-off switches, and any combination can be selected. To the right of those buttons, the next three allow selection of the LFO waveform: sine, square, or triangle. A concentric control underneath the waveform selection buttons controls the LFO frequency: the outer knob is a four-position rotary switch that can select a range of up to 1 Hz, 100 Hz, or 10 KHz. (The 0 position is for setting up the sweep function; it "freezes" the LFO at a zero crossing point.) The inner knob is a vernier that allows selection of the desired frequency within the selected range.

The knob directly underneath the modulation selection buttons (the one with the little arrow) controls the amount of modulation. The modulation generator has its own symmetry knob, whose CAL position is a click-stop at full counterclockwise rotation. The BNC jack in this section is both an input and an output; when the internal LFO is in use, its waveform is output from this jack. When external modulation is selected (by partially depressing and then releasing a waveform selection button, so that all three of the sine, square, and triangle buttons are out), it is input via this jack.

The AM is powerful and useful; both the modulation generator and external modulation can achieve 100% modulation of the generator output (from 0V output to maximum output). AM is a very useful capability which is seldom found on commercial synths for some reason. Here's an example of a triangle wave being AM modulated with a square wave:


Audio -- click here


The FM mode, on the other hand, is limited to +/- 5% of the carrier frequency. Audio FM synthesis usually requires far more modulation than that, so this is not very useful from a musical perspective. (There is another way to do it, which is described further down.) Example of a sine wave, FM'ed with a square wave (the photo is a multiple-trace exposure):


Audio -- click here


The "sweep" modulation mode is one of those things that is common and useful for the function generator's intended purpose, but rather peculiar when viewed from a musical standpoint. In this mode, basically the modulation generator creates a ramp wave which can FM the main generator from the minimum to the maximum frequency for the frequency range selected. The starting frequency, ending frequency, ramp rate, and time between sweeps are all controllable. There are several controls which have alternate purposes in the sweep mode (which unfortunately are not labeled on the panel). First, the modulation frequency control's range switch must be set to the 0 position. Once this is done, the modulation percentage knob sets the starting frequency of the sweep. The modulation symmetry control sets the rate of the sweep, and the main frequency control sets the ending frequency. The modulation frequency vernier sets the repetition rate. The controls interact to an extent, and I had to do a fair amount of experimenting to get something that would be illustrative when viewed on the scope. I finally settled on a high frequency triangle wave with a fairly slow repetition rate for the scope photo. The audio sample is a mix of different settings.


Audio -- click here


The one other interesting mode of operation is the "burst" mode. In this mode, the function generator can be made to produce either single-cycle waveforms, or short bursts of waveform separated by periods of 0V output. The burst mode is activated by turning the main generator's trigger phase knob (below the symmetry knob) away from the "free run" position.

Two switches and a jack on the rear panel come into play: the slide switch at the upper left of the rear panel selects the single-cycle or multi-cycle burst mode. The switch below it selects internal or external trigger. With single cycle and internal trigger selected, the main generator will output one complete cycle of whatever waveform is selected, repeating at a rate determined by the LFO in the modulation section. The trigger phase control determines the starting and ending phase of the cycle. With the single/multi slide switch set to multi and internal trigger selected, the square wave of the modulation LFO gates the main generator on and off. When the LFO square wave goes high, the main generator starts at the phase selected by the trigger phase knob and continues to output until the LFO square wave goes low. When it does so, the main generator completes the cycle it is on and then stops. In either single or multi mode, when the trigger switch is set to external, gating of the main generator is controlled by the signal input at the rear panel EXT jack. This signal needs to be at "TTL" levels; that is, 5V for the high state, and 0V for the low state. Here's an example of the burst function at work, with the triangle waveform, and with the phase control and burst interval being varied. The first two-thirds is multi-burst mode; the last portion is single cycle burst mode.


Audio -- click here

Same as above, but with a different starting phase setting:




The rear panel VCO jack provides for a control voltage to control the main generator frequency. Unfortunately, the signal format is not even slightly compatible with the 1V/octave standard used in most synths. Basically, with the frequency control set at its minimum position, the VCO input does what the frequency control does; that is, it varies the frequency from the minimum to the maximum for the frequency range selected. All of the ranges constitute 10:1 ratios between maximum and minimum frequency, so if you do the math, that's slightly over three octaves. However, the VCO input is linear, that is, it is a V/hertz input. The scaling is about 0.2V per one-tenth of the frequency range (so, for example, if the 10 KHz range is selected, it's 0.2V per 1 KHz.) It also uses negative voltages; the minimum frequency is at 0V and the maximum is at -2V.

To wrap this up: Just for fun, here's a mix of the six sample waveforms: Audio -- click here

New Large-Format Modules and Manufacturers

A while back in this blog, I wrote a post lamenting the lack of modular manufacturers getting involved in large-format (specifically, the "5U" formats -- MOTM, Dotcom, and Modcan-A) modules. All of the action seemed to be happening in the Euro format, and I was getting a bit concerned for the future of large format.

But since then, there have been quite a few new makers jump into the "large market": Curetronic, Rob Hordijk, Moon Modular, MOS-Lab, and STG Soundlabs are all building to the 5U format. And what's encouraging is that most of them are not just building "me too" modules, but are actually applying original thinking to the format. Although, so far I'm not seeing the variety of out-there designs that one sees in Euro... but that might not be a bad thing. At least there haven't been any major scandals involving any 5U makers. (And guys, let's try to keep it that way, please?)

I'll take a look here at two of the most recent entrants. The first of the new contenders is Megaohm Audio, and first up is their Delta VCF. Megaohm advertises this as being a new design and not a clone of an existing filter, which is certainly welcome -- I think the synth world has just about all of the Moog-ladder clones it needs. From the block diagram and the board layout, it appears that this is a 4-pole OTA-based design. Also on board is an auxiliary VCA, going along with a recent trend to include VCAs on modules whose primary function is something else. It often seems as if modulars never have enough VCAs when doing complex routing, so I don't think anyone will complain.


Delta VCA -- photo from Megaohm Audio's Web site

The module is packaged in a 2U width Dotcom format. The panel layout is attractive and fairly well organized, if somewhat busy. The filter has a two-input mixer for audio in, and the input level controls, instead of the usual setup of unity gain at full clockwise, have unity gain at the 2 o'clock position and full CW is a gain of 2. That can be a useful feature when you are doing severe filtering and you are having problems with low output level, or if you want to overdrive the filter. The FM 1 input jack has an attenuator that can select inverted or non-inverted input. The FM 2 input is designed expressly for audio frequency modulation of the cutoff; it is AC coupled and switchable for linear response. The filter also has a 1 V/octave output; the manual notes that it is calibrated over about four octaves.

There's an interesting normalling loop. The filter's output is normalled to the VCA input. The VCA's output, in turn, is normalled to the FM 2 input. This means that if you feed the VCA a control voltage, and nothing is plugged into the normalled jacks, the filter's output is fed back to the FM 2 input. You can of course use the VCA for other purposes, although the normalling creates the oddity that if you are doing so, and you aren't using the FM 2 input, you need to insert a dummy plug into the FM 2 jack.

The filter is switchable between lowpass and bandpass response. There is no voltage control over resonance. However, you could use the VCA to create it: patch the VCA's output back into one of the filter inputs, and then apply control voltage to the filter to control the feedback.

It appears that quite a few large-format users are building Frankensynths these days, accommodating more than one format. Accordingly, you find a variety of power distribution schemes. Megaohm realized this and provides both Dotcom-style and MOTM-style power connectors. Very perceptive on their part! They ship the module with a cable that connects to a Dotcom octopus cable, but for a few bucks extra, they will provide a cable that connects to a MOTM 4-pin power distribution board.

The other module Megaohm is currently offering is the LFO Two. This is a slightly odd combination of two dissimilar LFOs in a 1U-width Dotcom format module. Like the Delta VCF, it has both Dotcom and MOTM power connectors.


LFO Two -- photo from Megaohm Audio's Web site

The top LFO is based on a Korg MS20 design. It outputs square/pulse and triangle/ramp signals, through separate jacks (there are actually two jacks for the tri/ramp output). A shape control affects both the pulse width of the pulse output, and the shift between up ramp, triange, and down ramp on the tri/ramp outputs. Shape is not voltage controllable. This LFO is designed to run slowly; in the "hi" position of the three-range switch, range is from "just below audio" (presumably around 20 Hz) to one cycle every 30 seconds. There isn't much apparent difference between the "medium" and "low" range positions; both provide maximum cycle times of a few minutes.

The top LFO is hard-syncable via a reset jack. The bottom LFO can also be synced to this jack, if a circuit board jumper is moved; more about this in a moment. The bottom LFO is said to be based of that of the ARP Odyssey. Its outputs are square and, oddly, sine -- no triangle or ramp. There is no shape or pulse width control for this LFO.

An interesting feature of the LFO Two is the extensive set of options controlled by moveable jumpers on the circuit board. By moving them, one can, for example, select the peak-to-peak output voltages, what phase the top LFO advances to on reset, and whether or not the bottom LFO responds to reset. One useful option makes the pulse output of the top LFO a positive-going-only signal, which is what you want when you are using it as a trigger, gate, or clock. There's also a range selection for the bottom LFO. It would be a fairly simple matter to DIY an auxiliary panel and patch many of these options out.

The other recent arrival on the large-format scene that I want to discuss is Grove Audio. This is a company that has been known in the pro audio area for a while, but they are now taking the plunge into modular synthesis. Their two current offerings are the GMS-782 Dual LFO/VCA and the GMS-725 four-channel mixer. Both are packaged as 2U width Dotcom format modules.


GMS-782 -- photo from Grove Audio's Web site

The GMS-782 has two halves, each consisting of an LFO and a VCA. Both halves are identical. The panel layout is visually pretty clean, considering how much is going on. The LFOs are voltage controllable, and have sine, square, and triangle outputs on separate jacks. There is a high range and a low range; with the switch in high, frequency range is from 100 Hz to about one cycle per minute. The low range divides the rate setting by 10, which didn't seem that useful until I thought about it some; that's a low end of about one cycle per 10 minutes! And on the high end, I admit to having a preference for LFOs that can go at least a little ways into the audio range; I like to use these to drive VCAs for AM effects. However, there is no pulse width or shape control; hence no ramps. Each half has a trigger (reset) jack for hard sync.

The VCAs can be used to have voltage control over the level of the LFO output. Each LFO has its output wired into a VCA; a three-position rotary switch selects which waveform is fed to the VCA. The problem here is that the VCA input is not patchable, so the VCA is not usable for other purposes, which decreases the utility of this module some. The rotary switch takes up a lot of room on the panel, and if I were DIY hacking this, I'd take it out, put in a normalled VCA input jack, and put in a three-position toggle switch for selecting the waveform normalled to the VCA input.

The other Grove Audio module is the GMS-725 mixer. This is pretty straightforward; it contains a four-input mixer with each input having its own attenuator.


GMS-725 -- photo from Grove Audio's Web site

The nice thing here is that there is also a master gain control. Also, there is a DC offset control that can add or subtract up to 5 volts to/from the output. And there are inverted and non-inverted output jacks. Very neat. Further, there is a separate attenuator with its own input and output, and its own DC offset control. This looks very useful as a control voltage adder/mixer, and the default configuration comes with linear pots on the attenuators for that purpose, although you can optionally order it with audio-taper pots.

It's good to see new manufacturers entering the large-format arena with fresh ideas. It will be even better if these fresh ideas can be implemented while maintaining the quality standards that have become expected in the large-format community. These appear to be a good start.