Pamela's new workout without owning an oscilloscope?

[Bitter Synth]

Hi all!

Pam really seems like the thing for me, but I am worried that without something like the Mordax data, I will miss out on a lot of details in its arsenal (or make it a whole lot trickier for myself). Or can it be used to great effect even without a visual aid?

[enno]

Tbh I think it works fine without an oscilloscope, the 8 LEDs for each output show you the CV value currently being output, which is usually enough for me.

[1n]

trust your ears

[zerodivide]

one thing I do sometimes is send the modulation I'm making temporarily in Pam's to the pitch of an Oscillator. Easy to hear what's happening

[Bitter Synth]

trust your ears

I usually try to do that, but my ex-wife tells me I am really bad at listening.

[stickman]

I'm not an influencer so rarely use an oscilloscope

[peabreu]

trust your ears

I usually try to do that, but my ex-wife tells me I am really bad at listening.

Ain't that common in all countries and cultures?

[Yes Powder]

I'm not an influencer so rarely use an oscilloscope

This.

Oscilloscopes are way overrated in their usefulness imo. Most CV modules (Pam's included) have their own ways of letting you know what kind of CV they're putting out, and as long as you RTFM you should know of what range of voltages they're capable of.
I think even Keith Emerson said that his was mostly just for eye candy during live shows.

[trickness]

Just because some people maybe have been using synthesizers long enough to completely understand what a signal is doing just by ear, doesn’t mean it’s not useful for everybody else.

I find when I’m using something like Maths, I can feel my way into what I want the voltage to do easily. Pam’s takes a lot more work because you’re having to click across various parameters in the sub menus and then adjust the encoders and of course they interact. For me, I find that being able to see exactly what the parameters are doing visually in relation to the sound is extremely helpful. It’s a great module But for me anyway it lacks some immediacy compared to other modulation sources.

Maybe one day I’ll be enough of an expert to shit on oscilloscopes too.... but in the meantime, I think they are very valuable tools and make Pam’s a lot easier to understand.

[transferpoint]

Pams is fine without an oscilloscope due to the blinking LEDS. For me personally, the oscilloscope became more necessary once I started mangling CV more. The oscilloscope helps me to understand how I'm shaping the sound which makes the CV side of patching more intuitive for me.

[deft_bonz]

I had Pam for over a year, then the Mordax arrived. Still haven't used the oscilloscope for Pam. No worries. Most of the time you will be just fine.

[trickness]

What the blinking LEDs don’t do is show you how for instance how the controls are shaping an envelope or LFO, or what the random voltage output looks like. For that, yeah Mordax Data is awesome.

[redlester]

As a relative novice to modular I've recently been using the oscilloscope in VCV Rack, via the Expert Sleepers ES-6, I found this really handy for use with Maths, but haven't tried it with Pams yet.

[CeilingFanDan]

Yeah I tend to think oscilloscopes are more for the peeps making instructional videos. I thought I needed one, then saw what they cost. My system is pretty small anyway so it didn’t make sense.
Can confirm that VCV Rack is a good substitute in a pinch if you have the i/o

[brandonlogic]

oscilloscope's are interesting to have if you have a modular synth but really not essential to have for ANY module IMO.

ive had an oscilloscope and pams (new or old) almost as long as ive been into modular and never once felt the need to patch pam directly into the oscilloscope

[Underwood]

Never occured to me to use my oscilloscope in conjunction with PNW either.

[Phitar]

Pam's IS.... Pam's DOES. No scope needed.

[Bitter Synth]

Thanks for all your input. I took the plunge and bought one.

The manual will be read.

[lisa]

Some modules are really cryptic but PNW isn't one of them. To me, the leds are well sufficient.

[AnalogDigits]

<trimmed>
The manual will be read.

Heh, if you actually do RTFM, then you’ll be totally fine!
And it’s a pretty good manual.

[oliodnb]

In my humble experience the only aspect of Pam that I started to understand better after getting a scope is the delay parameter.

[Cornerman]

It's really straightforward , just read the manual. On the other hand if you are a visual person (like me) an oscilloscope can be very useful. But getting one just for Pam's isn't necessary

[Kubase]

I just bought a £ 35 oscilloscope and a TS>BNC cable from Amazon. Coupled with a buff mult I’m finding it very useful and also made me realise I don’t need a data for what I’m doing.

Well worth the money for educational purposes.