Elektor Formant: Difference between revisions
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== Table of relevant magazine articles == |
== Table of relevant magazine articles == |
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{| class="wikitable sortable mw-datatable" |
{| class="wikitable sortable mw-datatable" |
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! Issue!!Month!!Year!!Article name!!Author!!Page!!Comments!!Corrections |
! Issue!!Month!!Year!!Article name!!Author!!Page!!Key components!!Comments!!Corrections |
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| 025||May||1977||Formant – the Elektor Music Synthesiser (1)||C. Chapman||5-14||Introduction to synthesizers and basic operation of Formant|| |
| 025||May||1977||Formant – the Elektor Music Synthesiser (1)||C. Chapman||5-14||||Introduction to synthesizers and basic operation of Formant|| |
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| 026||Jun||1977||Formant – the Elektor Music Synthesiser (2)||C. Chapman||6-14||Kbd and kbd interface|| |
| 026||Jun||1977||Formant – the Elektor Music Synthesiser (2)||C. Chapman||6-14||||Kbd and kbd interface|| |
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| 029||Sep||1977||Formant – the Elektor Music Synthesiser (3)||C. Chapman||9-42||Kbd resistance divider, kbd case and description of PSU and module case||Mar 78, 3-07 |
| 029||Sep||1977||Formant – the Elektor Music Synthesiser (3)||C. Chapman||9-42||||Kbd resistance divider, kbd case and description of PSU and module case||Mar 78, 3-07 |
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| 030||Oct||1977||Formant – the Elektor Music Synthesiser (4)||C. Chapman||10-40||Discussing VCO and waveforms||Jan 78, 1-31 |
| 030||Oct||1977||Formant – the Elektor Music Synthesiser (4)||C. Chapman||10-40||||Discussing VCO and waveforms||Jan 78, 1-31 |
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| 031||Nov||1977||Formant – the Elektor Music Synthesiser (5)||C. Chapman||11-41||Construction and adjustment of VCO||Jan 78, 1-31 |
| 031||Nov||1977||Formant – the Elektor Music Synthesiser (5)||C. Chapman||11-41||||Construction and adjustment of VCO||Jan 78, 1-31 |
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| 032||Dec||1977||Formant – the Elektor Music Synthesiser (6)||C. Chapman||12-27||VCF||Feb 78, 2-16 |
| 032||Dec||1977||Formant – the Elektor Music Synthesiser (6)||C. Chapman||12-27||||VCF||Feb 78, 2-16 |
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| 033||Jan||1978||Formant – the Elektor Music Synthesiser (7)||C. Chapman||1-34||ADSR|| |
| 033||Jan||1978||Formant – the Elektor Music Synthesiser (7)||C. Chapman||1-34||||ADSR|| |
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| 034||Feb||1978||Formant – the Elektor Music Synthesiser (8)||C. Chapman||2-10||Dual VCA|| |
| 034||Feb||1978||Formant – the Elektor Music Synthesiser (8)||C. Chapman||2-10||||Dual VCA|| |
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| 035||Mar||1978||Formant – the Elektor Music Synthesiser (9)||C. Chapman||3-26||LFO and noise source|| |
| 035||Mar||1978||Formant – the Elektor Music Synthesiser (9)||C. Chapman||3-26||||LFO and noise source|| |
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| 036||Apr||1978||Formant – the Elektor Music Synthesiser (10)||C. Chapman||4-33||Control and output module, wiring diagram, expansion possibilities|| |
| 036||Apr||1978||Formant – the Elektor Music Synthesiser (10)||C. Chapman||4-33||||Control and output module, wiring diagram, expansion possibilities|| |
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| 036||Apr||1978||Vocoders (1)||C. Chapman||4-27||<ref name="yus"/>|| |
| 036||Apr||1978||Vocoders (1)||C. Chapman||4-27||||<ref name="yus"/>|| |
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| 037||May||1978||Vocoders (2)||C. Chapman||5-21||<ref name="yus"/>|| |
| 037||May||1978||Vocoders (2)||C. Chapman||5-21||||<ref name="yus"/>|| |
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| 041||Sep||1978||24dB VCF||C. Chapman||9-43||24 dB HP/LP VCF|| |
| 041||Sep||1978||24dB VCF||C. Chapman||9-43||||24 dB HP/LP VCF|| |
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| 042||Oct||1978||Resonance Filter Unit||Not Given||10-12||Resonance filter|| |
| 042||Oct||1978||Resonance Filter Unit||Not Given||10-12||||Resonance filter|| |
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| 046||Feb||1979||Formant – An invitation for our readers||Not Given||2-39||Requesting reader contributions|| |
| 046||Feb||1979||Formant – An invitation for our readers||Not Given||2-39||||Requesting reader contributions|| |
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| 047||Mar||1979||Ring Modulator and envelope follower||Not Given||3-14||<ref name="yus">Included at [https://yusynth.net/archives/formant.html Articles parus dans Elektor, en relation avec le Formant], YuSynth</ref>|| |
| 047||Mar||1979||Ring Modulator and envelope follower||Not Given||3-14||LM1496N||<ref name="yus">Included at [https://yusynth.net/archives/formant.html Articles parus dans Elektor, en relation avec le Formant], YuSynth</ref>|| |
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| 054||Oct||1979||Programmable Sequencer||C. Voss||10-38||<ref name="yus"/>|| |
| 054||Oct||1979||Programmable Sequencer||C. Voss||10-38||||<ref name="yus"/>|| |
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| 058||Feb||1980||FET Opamps in the Formant||Not Given||2-09||Upgrading the FET buffers to FET op-amp buffers|| |
| 058||Feb||1980||FET Opamps in the Formant||Not Given||2-09||||Upgrading the FET buffers to FET op-amp buffers|| |
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| 063/064||Jul/Aug||1980||Legato gate interface for Formant||M. Bertuch||7-15|||| |
| 063/064||Jul/Aug||1980||Legato gate interface for Formant||M. Bertuch||7-15|||||| |
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| 063/064||Jul/Aug||1980||Sample and hold for synthesisers||J. Binder||7-43||<ref name="yus"/>|| |
| 063/064||Jul/Aug||1980||Sample and hold for synthesisers||J. Binder||7-43||||<ref name="yus"/>|| |
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| 089||Sep||1982||Synthesised Sound Animation||Not Given||9-52||<ref name="yus"/>|| |
| 089||Sep||1982||Synthesised Sound Animation||Not Given||9-52||||<ref name="yus"/>|| |
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| 102||Oct||1983||Music quantisizer||Not Given||10-30||[https://web.archive.org/web/20180901163107/http://www.spontis.se/zip/mq_hex.zip hex code]||Dec 83,11-41 |
| 102||Oct||1983||Music quantisizer||Not Given||10-30||ZN427, ZN426||[https://web.archive.org/web/20180901163107/http://www.spontis.se/zip/mq_hex.zip hex code]||Dec 83,11-41 |
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|}<ref>Compiled by Mike Gorman from the original magazines</ref> |
|}<ref>Compiled by Mike Gorman from the original magazines</ref> |
Revision as of 00:21, 21 November 2022
![](http://static.miraheze.org/sdiywikiwiki/thumb/6/6d/Swiss_made_Elektor_Formant_front_view.jpg/300px-Swiss_made_Elektor_Formant_front_view.jpg)
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The Elektor Formant analog modular synthesizer designed by C. Chapman was published in 1977/78 as a series of articles in the European magazine Elektor. The articles were later compiled into a book and a year later there was another book, (not in English) with additions and extensions by M. Aigner.
Description
The Formant uses the 1V/octave control voltage standard.[1]
Front panels
The front panels are 6U to match up with the size of the double Eurocard (200 mm x 160 mm) VCO PCB, the other PCBs are single Eurocard (100 mm x 160 mm). This was already a standard PCB format for Elektor projects.[2]
Book 1
Part 1 - Formant description and construction
- Chapter 1 - Introduction
- Chapter 2 - Keyboard and keyboard interface
- Chapter 3 - Keyboard construction and power supply
- Chapter 4 - VCO
- Chapter 5 - Construction of the VCO
- Chapter 6 - 12 dB VCF
- Chapter 7 - 24 dB VCF
- Chapter 8 - Resonance Filter Module
- Chapter 9 - ADSR
- Chapter 10 - VCA
- Chapter 11 - LFOs and Noise module
- Chapter 12 - COM
Part 2 - Playing the Formant
- Introduction
- Chapter 1 - Extending the Formant
- Chapter 2 - Control settings of individual modules
- VCOs
- VCFs and RFM
- VCA
- ADSR envlope shapers
- LFOs
- Noise module
- COM
- Chapter 3 - Control settings for the simulation of different instruments
Book 2
Chapter 1 - Additions for the keyboard
- Touch controller
- Рortamento on/off switch
- Pitch detector
- Digital keyboard controller
Chapter 2 - Extensions to existing Formant modules
- VCF extension
- Triangle/sine converter for Formant LFOs
- Digital Noise Generator (DNG)
- Coloured Noise Circuit (CNC)
- Stand-by-switch and headphone output for the Formant-COM
Chapter 3 - Adaptation of various Elektor circuits to the Formant
- Resonant filter module
- Ring modulator
- Phase shifter
- Elektor Kriminizer (European/American police siren)
- Digital reverb (totally obsolete)
Chapter 4 - Power supply and distribution panels
- Power supply
- Front panel proposals with mains power switch
- Panel for keyboard output voltage and keyboard gate signal
- Multiple-jacks modules
Chapter 5 - New Formant modules
- ADSR-controller
- VC-LFOs
- LF-VCO
- Digital Noise (DNG)
- Envelope Follower (ENV.-F.)
- Sample and Hold (S & H)
- Waveform-Processor (WР)
- Mixer
- A440 standard (440 Hz tuning)
Apendices
- A - Patch diagram templates
- B - The natural tone series
- C - 256 step sequencer
- D - Stabilized +9V power supply
- E - FET op-amps for the Formant
- F - IC and transistor pinouts
Table of relevant magazine articles
Issue | Month | Year | Article name | Author | Page | Key components | Comments | Corrections |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
025 | May | 1977 | Formant – the Elektor Music Synthesiser (1) | C. Chapman | 5-14 | Introduction to synthesizers and basic operation of Formant | ||
026 | Jun | 1977 | Formant – the Elektor Music Synthesiser (2) | C. Chapman | 6-14 | Kbd and kbd interface | ||
029 | Sep | 1977 | Formant – the Elektor Music Synthesiser (3) | C. Chapman | 9-42 | Kbd resistance divider, kbd case and description of PSU and module case | Mar 78, 3-07 | |
030 | Oct | 1977 | Formant – the Elektor Music Synthesiser (4) | C. Chapman | 10-40 | Discussing VCO and waveforms | Jan 78, 1-31 | |
031 | Nov | 1977 | Formant – the Elektor Music Synthesiser (5) | C. Chapman | 11-41 | Construction and adjustment of VCO | Jan 78, 1-31 | |
032 | Dec | 1977 | Formant – the Elektor Music Synthesiser (6) | C. Chapman | 12-27 | VCF | Feb 78, 2-16 | |
033 | Jan | 1978 | Formant – the Elektor Music Synthesiser (7) | C. Chapman | 1-34 | ADSR | ||
034 | Feb | 1978 | Formant – the Elektor Music Synthesiser (8) | C. Chapman | 2-10 | Dual VCA | ||
035 | Mar | 1978 | Formant – the Elektor Music Synthesiser (9) | C. Chapman | 3-26 | LFO and noise source | ||
036 | Apr | 1978 | Formant – the Elektor Music Synthesiser (10) | C. Chapman | 4-33 | Control and output module, wiring diagram, expansion possibilities | ||
036 | Apr | 1978 | Vocoders (1) | C. Chapman | 4-27 | [3] | ||
037 | May | 1978 | Vocoders (2) | C. Chapman | 5-21 | [3] | ||
041 | Sep | 1978 | 24dB VCF | C. Chapman | 9-43 | 24 dB HP/LP VCF | ||
042 | Oct | 1978 | Resonance Filter Unit | Not Given | 10-12 | Resonance filter | ||
046 | Feb | 1979 | Formant – An invitation for our readers | Not Given | 2-39 | Requesting reader contributions | ||
047 | Mar | 1979 | Ring Modulator and envelope follower | Not Given | 3-14 | LM1496N | [3] | |
054 | Oct | 1979 | Programmable Sequencer | C. Voss | 10-38 | [3] | ||
058 | Feb | 1980 | FET Opamps in the Formant | Not Given | 2-09 | Upgrading the FET buffers to FET op-amp buffers | ||
063/064 | Jul/Aug | 1980 | Legato gate interface for Formant | M. Bertuch | 7-15 | |||
063/064 | Jul/Aug | 1980 | Sample and hold for synthesisers | J. Binder | 7-43 | [3] | ||
089 | Sep | 1982 | Synthesised Sound Animation | Not Given | 9-52 | [3] | ||
102 | Oct | 1983 | Music quantisizer | Not Given | 10-30 | ZN427, ZN426 | hex code | Dec 83,11-41 |
See also
Further reading
- Formant-Pro - Modulares Sound-System MSS 2000 by Hans-Joachim Helmstedt, Elektor-Verlag, 2000, ISBN 3895760994[5] - "don't buy, cheap-quick-and-dirty approach"[6][7]
References
- ^ Rick's electronic-music projects, Formant by Rick Jansen
- ^ Elector Formant synth, Mod Wiggler Forum, Dec 2013
- ^ a b c d e f Included at Articles parus dans Elektor, en relation avec le Formant, YuSynth
- ^ Compiled by Mike Gorman from the original magazines
- ^ FYI: new Elektor Formant book, Synth-DIY email list, 25 Oct 2000
- ^ new Formant book arrived, Synth-DIY email list, 6 Nov 2000
- ^ Customer reviews, Amazon.de
External links
- Scans of Elektor at Archive.org
Scans of Elektor at World Radio History- Elektor Formant and Next Generation Formant by Harald Antes, VocLog
- Scans of French Formant books 1 & 2, YuSynth
- Elektor Formant Music Synthesiser book 1, Archive.org
- Elektor Formant Music Synthesiser book 2, Archive.org, in German
- Elektor Formant synthesiser, synthforbreakfast.nl
- Synthesizers & Modules > Elektor Formant files at Cloned Analog Gear - archived
- Posts tagged Formant at Matrixsynth
- Formant synthesiser built by Rick Jansen
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