Elektor Formant
The 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]
List of magazine articles
| Issue | Month | Year | Article name | Author | PPNo | 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 | |
| 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 | |
| 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 | Adding legato (Summer Circuits 20) |
Further reading
- Formant-Pro - Modulares Sound-System MSS 2000 by Hans-Joachim Helmstedt, Elektor-Verlag, 2000, ISBN 3895760994[4] - "don't buy, cheap-quick-and-dirty approach"[5][6]
References
- ^ Rick's electronic-music projects, Formant by Rick Jansen
- ^ Elector Formant synth, Mod Wiggler Forum, Dec 2013
- ^ 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
- 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
- Elektor Formant and Next Generation Formant by Harald Antes, VocLog
- Scans of Elektor at Archive.org
- Scans of Elektor at World Radio History
- Scans of French Formant books 1 & 2, YuSynth
- Elektor Formant Music Synthesiser book 2, in German