Blacet EG1 - Cool Trix

Babaluma · Post by **Babaluma** » Fri Nov 13, 2009 10:19 pm

yay, worth bumping!

i'd like to see more of these "amazing unusual things you can do with this module" threads!

Exuviae · Post by **Exuviae** » Sat Nov 14, 2009 3:05 pm

I finally fell in love with this EG so much that I bought a second one. Going to do the EOC mod on each soon as well.

These are a great companion to the Maths.

rezzn8r · Post by **rezzn8r** » Sat Nov 14, 2009 4:33 pm

thanks again for the bump, zero.

tried these this morning (while dreamhost was burning???

). worked great. the eg1 had been one of the least used modules in my system. only used it when using midi, but now i see so many more options.

using it as a fixed voltage generator was an idea I had not considered. same for the mix/pro, a concept I have only grasped today. I think today I transitioned from a yellow-belt to a green-belt synthesist

DGTom · Post by **DGTom** » Sat Nov 14, 2009 8:39 pm

With the addition of the EOC pulse the EG1 is almost the perfect envelope generator; if there is such a thing. At first all the CV inputs seem OTT, but once you start modulating the timebase & attack times etc. you get so much out of it

Babaluma · Post by **Babaluma** » Sat Nov 14, 2009 8:43 pm

is the eoc mod easy to do? any links to a document showing you how to do it?

DGTom · Post by **DGTom** » Sat Nov 14, 2009 8:52 pm

I actually used this one;

http://www.buzzclick-music.com/Blacet_EG1.jpg

which provides an actual pulse out, as well as a high voltage whilst the envelope is running.

EOC is abit of a misnomer there tho, more like an EOA, I'm still tinkering with it, but as drawn that works quite well

(I'm using the TO-92 version of the 2n2222, not the metalcan)

Cat-A-Tonic · Post by **Cat-A-Tonic** » Sat Nov 14, 2009 10:29 pm

Babaluma wrote:is the eoc mod easy to do? any links to a document showing you how to do it?

viewtopic.php?t=297

Babaluma · Post by **Babaluma** » Sat Nov 14, 2009 10:33 pm

cheers dude!

pugix · Post by **pugix** » Sun Nov 15, 2009 5:06 pm

I have two of these converted to MOTM panel format.

http://pugix.com/synth/blacet-research- ... generator/

I made two circuit mods. The first changed the output range to 0-5v and the second doubled the CV input sensitivity. Blacet uses a CV standard of 0-10V, for example the VCAs want 10V for unity gain. My EG mods make the EG compatible with MOTM-190 VCA.

I use the Blacet EG as LFO a lot, because the 0-5V outputs (including 5V-0 for the inverted) can be very useful, such as for a panning patch with two VCAs.

An annoyance about this module is the blinking light that shows the range according to how fast it's blinking. I like lights on my synthesizer to synchronize with some kind of event, and these are just blinky-blinky.

Another somewhat negative thing is that the ranges aren't that wide. But if I want a wide range for a VC EG, I use the Oakley VC ADSR/VCA. I've never figured out how to make effective use for VC of the Blacet EG range. Anyone have a suggestion for a patch that leverages this?

Over all, these are really versatile modules, typical for Mr. Blacet's ingenuity. I probably use them more than I realize.

Ekofisk · Post by **Ekofisk** » Tue Nov 17, 2009 4:46 am

I am having some problems getting the EG1 to close completely.
It all comes down to the time base, I guess.
When "snappy" the envelope snaps, but still does not completely close.
When "slow" the envelope triggers, and closes, but at a much lower volume than snappy. Does this make any sense?

I am not ruling out the possibility that I am doing something completely wrong.

Babaluma · Post by **Babaluma** » Tue Nov 17, 2009 5:11 am

afaik, in the adsr/lfo mode the eg does not completely close. tis a shame i agree! should do in the ad mode though.

Ekofisk · Post by **Ekofisk** » Tue Nov 17, 2009 5:13 am

Really?
Well, that explains it. It really should, imo.

Thanks for the quick reply!

DGTom · Post by **DGTom** » Tue Nov 17, 2009 7:15 pm

If mine is staying open a little... its way down in the noise floor, even with the amp cranked & ear next to the speaker, I can't really hear anything...

What VCA are you guys using? Quad Mix here.

I do find the 'pots as switches' kind of annoying, a 3 way toggle for AD/ADSR/LFO would be alot better.

Actually, I find the timebase LED really usefull, I often 'sequence' this value, either from a Binary Zone being clocked really slowly, or a slow LFO, between the Attack / Decay CV ins & the timebase control I've always found the EG1 capable of a really wide range of amplitude control. I have no other ADSRs to compare it to however, so maybe ignorance is bliss

Babaluma · Post by **Babaluma** » Wed Nov 18, 2009 5:04 am

i always use the dual linear vca as a vca, i only ever use the quad mixer/vca as a mixer. maybe i'm missing out...

DGTom · Post by **DGTom** » Thu Nov 19, 2009 6:23 am

I will have to test with the DLVCA.. didn't think of that

Will also check with both my EG1s to see if there is any differance between them, maybe its a calibration issue

wetwetsuit · Post by **wetwetsuit** » Thu Sep 02, 2010 12:44 am

waking up an old thread here rather than starting a whole new one...
I'm new to this, and I've tried every patch mentioned previously in this thread plus some of my own. I'm having trouble getting my envelopes to sound as snappy,"attacky", or wet as I would like. I'm hoping someone could give me just a standard simple patch to hear the basic adsr functions of the eg1.
thanks!
Mike

e-grad · Post by **e-grad** » Thu Sep 02, 2010 2:48 am

If no patch with the EG does the trick then the culprit might be the VCA.

A lin. VCA reacts slower than a log. VCA. Which VCA you're using?

wetwetsuit · Post by **wetwetsuit** » Thu Sep 02, 2010 3:44 am

I got it figured out tonight just by trying different things. sounds insane! I was running the out into a vca with a wave from the vco and trying to mix there instead of straight from the eg into the cv on the vco. I couldn't figure out how to run the sequencer into the vco and also have the eg directly affecting the vco out. seems pretty simple once I got it together. ug.

wetwetsuit · Post by **wetwetsuit** » Thu Sep 02, 2010 3:48 am

Thanks e-grad!
it wasn't the vca, just newbie user error.

Babaluma · Post by **Babaluma** » Sat Sep 04, 2010 4:56 am

has anyone figured out a way to use the EG1 as an envelope follower? that seems to be one of the main things the VCS can do which the EG1 can't. if it's possible i'd be over the moon!

rezzn8r · Post by **rezzn8r** » Sat Sep 04, 2010 7:43 am

Babaluma wrote:has anyone figured out a way to use the EG1 as an envelope follower? that seems to be one of the main things the VCS can do which the EG1 can't. if it's possible i'd be over the moon!

There doesn't seem to be anywhere to feed audio into the EG1, so I imagine it can't to the filtering trick either.

Cat-A-Tonic · Post by **Cat-A-Tonic** » Sat Sep 04, 2010 10:10 am

rezzn8r wrote:
Babaluma wrote:has anyone figured out a way to use the EG1 as an envelope follower? that seems to be one of the main things the VCS can do which the EG1 can't. if it's possible i'd be over the moon!
There doesn't seem to be anywhere to feed audio into the EG1, so I imagine it can't to the filtering trick either.

You can feed audio (amplified to modular levels) into the Sustain input
as per the slew patch.
For best resolution start with Sustain on full, Output on full.
Everything else zeroed.
Send the output of the EG1 to a 1V/Oct. input.
It's not an envelope follower though.
More like frequency to voltage than amplitude to voltage.

I was having fun using my guitar to control the Blacet VCO and MOTM 1490 tonight.
It's pretty cool for guitar synth action.
Another trick for that is sending your guitar through the Window Comparator and sending the output to VCO Sync in.

Babaluma · Post by **Babaluma** » Sat Sep 04, 2010 5:04 pm

some cool ideas!

i'm pretty sure i've used my EG1 as a low pass filter before, by feeding the signal into the sustain in jack. i shall have to try it again. if it can slew and LPF then it should theoretically be able to envelope follow?

DGTom · Post by **DGTom** » Sat Sep 04, 2010 8:05 pm

The missing part of the envelope follower would be the half wave rectifier wouldn't it?

This is one of the trickier parts of the VCS as there isn't anything specific doing HWR

MUFF WIGGLER

MUFF WIGGLER

Blacet EG1 - Cool Trix

simple question

got it!

thanks!