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ANALOGUE SOLUTIONS
VOSTEK 2020: ANALOGUE POWER SYNTH
KEY FEATURES
MIDI note sequencer.
MIDI to CV Converter with Velocity CV.
3 Oscillators with Saw, Square, Pulse Width.
Sub Oscillators.
Ring Modulation.
2 VC LFOs with Saw, reverse Saw, Square, Triangle.
CV / Gate step sequencer.
Moving coil signal meter.
Joystick controller.
2 Envelope generators each with repeat feature.
White noise.
Sample and hold.
Unity gain mixer.
Multi-mode VCF.
VCA.
Pin matrix!
Spring Reverb (3 real springs!)
Rear panel jack patch point.
Optional rack mount.
All analogue voice & modulation circuits
OVERVIEW
Vostok has that great vintage analogue sound that Analogue Solutions products are renowned for having. The circuits are real analogue circuits. No trickery or playing with words.
When we say ‘real analogue’ we mean that the entire audio path, including the reverb, and all modulation are entirely analogue, using circuits based on awesome sounding vintage 1970sdesigns. Their circuits are not locked down by CPUs. Controls are not quantized and read by CPUs. With the exception of the essential digital elements (that is MIDI conversion, sequencer control), Vostok really is analogue and the sound benefit is immediately apparent!
We get many good comments about how good Analogue Solutions products sound. How wonderful, warm and full of character they are. The synth has been designed by Tom Carpenter, a musician and a big fan of electronic music. He knows how to program a synth and what should be expected. It was not designed by an engineer or steered by committee or men/women/etc in suits. Design wasn’t constrained in order to bring maximum profit to share holders! So, the modulation choices and range of sounds they produced have all been carefully thought out and quickly give you those sounds you want: huge bass, synth leads, percussion, effects, modular style sounds.
SPECIFICATIONS
Weight: 14 lbs.
Size: 16.9” x 22” x 11.8”, w/ optional rack ears it is 7U high.
Power: 24V DC regulated, 750mA 2.1mm plug
VOSTOK 2020 DEMO
What does VOSTOK 2020 sound like?
MIDI to CV Converter / MIDI Note Sequencer.
This block serves two purposes.
THE MIDI CONVERTER
1/ A MIDI to CV converter.
This converts MIDI notes to the voltages needed to change the pitch of the VCOs and trigger the envelopes (in a typical patch).
Pitch CV is 1V/Octave.
The Gate voltage is +5V.
VEL is MIDI velocity CV.
MIDI In and Thru do what you would expect.
To change MIDI channel simply press MIDI CHAN whilst playing a few notes.
The new change is set (and stored) as the channel or the last MIDI message received.
THE NOTE SEQUENCER
The Note sequencer is a simple yet highly effective note loop sequencer. The sequencer will record and store the last MIDI note received. It stores 16 notes in total, and will then loop round and overwrite starting from the beginning.
Each time a new MIDI note is played (to the MIDI In socket) the sequencer stores the note and advances the sequencer one step. The sequencer is always listening for new notes and will store them as they come in, into the 16 note loop - even whilst the sequencer is running. However it will ignore input notes when Transpose is on.
Voltage Controlled Oscillators.
The three analogue VCOs are basically identical. Most of the controls are straight forward: Tune, Pulse Width, Level.
Glide is like portamento - to allow note to slowly bend up or down to the next new note.
SUBS
Oscillators 1 and 2 have Sub-Osc outputs. These are square wave outputs that are 1,2 and 3 octaves below the main Saw and Square outputs.
Typically use Sub-Osc mixed with the VCO outputs to really beef up the sound.
Note on pitch scaling: The VCOs have been calibrated with MIDI Pitch CV patched to each VCO’s pitch CV input using the pin matrix, with 10K resistor pins. If you use 0 Ohm pins or other pin values, or use patch cables, this could affect pitch scaling. So if normal music temperament is needed, use 10K pins. If you are making crazy sounds, then don’t worry.
Note on glide: Adding resistance between the CV source and the pitch CV input can add a little extra portamento
Ring Modulation.
Ring Mods are great for metallic and general crazy sounds. To use patch a VCO into each of the two inputs. Play around with VCO pitch.
Voltage Controlled Low Frequency Oscillators.
Two VC LFOs - each with Sawtooth, Inverse Sawtooth, Square and Triangle waves.
Frequency and Level controls do what you expect, whilst the two toggle switches select the waveform for the control to their left.
The frequency can be voltage controlled using the CV input.
CV / Gate Sequencer
This is an eight step analogue CV sequencer. It loops around eight steps.
RESET
A gate or voltage into here will reset the sequencer back to step1.
CLOCK
Clock Input! Use LFO Square, or NOTE0 from the MIDI Converter to sync the sequencer.
CV
Control Voltage Out.
GATE
Gate out - patch to envelopes (typically.)
FLIPPED GATE
This is a secondary gate output. It goes high when the normal gate above is low. They do the opposite to each other. Really good for doing syncopated style rhythms (or, ‘riddims’.)
STEP
This push button is used to manually advance the sequencer.
GATE ON/OFF
Use this push button to program the Gate pattern. To program in first disable any sync so the sequencer is not running. To toggle on / off the gate for the active step, press this button. The LED will show whether Gate is on or off for this step. Press Step to advance to the next step and change the gate again should you wish.
DON’T MISS A SOUND
Download patch sheets, manuals, and other content for your Vostok 2020.
WHAT PEOPLE ARE MAKING WITH VOSTOK 2020
