TONESTAR SERIES
VINTAGE STYLED SYNTHS WITH VINTAGE STYLED FILTERS

OVERVIEW

TONESTAR 2600 is an ARP® 2600-inspired synth voice 31 years in the shaping, pre-patched like Pearlman's prodigy, and fully #OutsToOuts modular, allowing for highpass/bandpass/notch filter tones, and bristling X-mod effects. Connect CV / gate and twist 'n' switch, or pull its tones and voltages apart one 3.5mm cord at a time. 26 knobs, 7 switches, and 21 jacks make for complex and satisfying signal flow, color, and collisions. If it gets reedy, route the triangle wave 'round the VCF, and keep it boomin'. Out to Outs/Interesting Patches .pdf (there), in case you missed it above.

TONESTAR 8106, an ARP® 2600-inspired complete synth voice, infuses Tim Caswell's "Jupiter to Juno" filter alchemy—a 6db/oct hi-pass filter followed by a recreation of the Roland IR3109 module—into our Tonestar 2600 platform; this chirpy yet full-bodied 8106 model is also fully #OutsToOuts modular featuring 27 pots—one more that the 2600 model for the high-pass filter, 6 switches—one less, sacrificing resonance modulation for that high-pass filtering, and 21 jacks. If the Tone☆ 8106 thins somewhat with resonance excess, route the triangle wave 'round the VCF with the "NO VCF" switch setting, and keep this juicy reimagining of the Roland® IR3109 module boomin' and gloomin'. Nearly thrilling Out to Outs/Interesting Patches .pdf (there).

TONESTAR FOLKTEK is an Arias Blaze / Folktek Fibonacci flight, feast and fancy. We were hyped when Arias told us, "I like your layout - it's very approachable. And you've got some hex things happening which I'm all about" Who knew the Tonestar was so hexy?

ABlaze continued "I'm a circle person so you're going to end up with something that circle driven. The design will end up like a mescaline vision. If you're not into that, say the word now..." Oh, but we were. He continued—well he wrote this bit before the last, "One of my goals is not just to throw some image stuff on this but to create something that makes sense visually as it corresponds to functionality. I find that kind of thing difficult with complex layouts like this - it's difficult to find the room for pure design, yours or mine. But at this point, I'm starting to come to something..."

We think it's quite something and... necessary.

SPECIFICATIONS

TONESTAR 2600

( ) represents normalled connections.

26 Knobbed and "Shafted" Potentiometers

VCO: FREQUENCY, PULSE WIDTH, LFO (^), GLIDE, MOD (ADSR), TRIANGLE*, SAW*, SQUARE*, SUB, TUNE; Noise: LEVEL; VCF: FREQUENCY, RESONANCE, TRACK, DRIVE, ADSR, MOD (LFO); LFO: DEPTH (OSC), SPEED; ENVs: (ADSR) ATTACK, DECAY, SUSTAIN, RELEASE, (AR) ATTACK, RELEASE; VCA: FEEDBACK (filter), VOLUME
* symbol

7 Switches

VCO: OCT (up/null/down); FREQ/PW (frequency/null/pulse width); NO VCF (VCF/null/no VCF);VCF: FREQUENCY/RESONANCE (frequency/null/resonance);LFO: TRIANGLE/SQUARE* (frequency/null/pulse width); ENVs: DRONE, MASTER (drone/null/master); VCA: IN/MIX
* symbol

21 Jacks

VCO: TRIANGLE*, SAWTOOTH*, SQUARE*, MIX, 1V/O, MOD IN; NOISE: NOISE (white); LFO: DEPTH, TRIANGLE*, SQUARE*, SPEED; VCF: EXT IN, FIL OUT, MOD IN; ENVs: MOD IN, ADSR OUT, AR OUT, GATE IN; VCA: IN/MIX, VCA IN, OUTPUT
* symbol

All Controls—arranged in order of signal flow—and Patch Points

VCO:

FREQUENCY – Oscillator frequency attenuator.
PULSE WIDTH – Variable pulse wave width control.
OCT – +1/-1 octave switch.
LFO (^) – Triangle wave low frequency oscillation to pulse width control.
FREQ/PW – Oscillator frequency, or Pulse (square wave) width to ADSR modulation routing switch. Center off.
GLIDE – Slew generator control.
MOD (ADSR) – Oscillation modulation via ADSR control.
TRIANGLE*/NO VCF – Triangle to VCA switch—bypasses VCF.
SAWTOOTH* – Sawtooth wave attenuator.
SQUARE* – Square wave attenuator.
SUB – Square wave Sub Oscillator attenuator.
TRIANGLE* – Waveform output.
SAWTOOTH* – Waveform output.
SQUARE* – Waveform output.
MIX – Composite waveform output.
1V/O – One volt per octave control voltage input.
TUNE – Master fine tune (approx. -5/+ 5 semitones).
MOD IN – Modulation CV input. Normaled to ADSR; ADSR is replaced when alt. source connected.
* symbol
Noise:NOISE – White noise generator output.
LEVEL – Noise attenuator.
VCF:FREQUENCY Frequency, or cut-off attenuator
RESONANCE – Resonance, or Q attenuator.
TRACK – Keyboard/voltage tracking attenuator.
DRIVE – Oscillator output to filter input attenuator.
FREQ/RESO – Filter Frequency, or Resonance to LFO modulation routing switch. Center off position.
ADSR – Filter to ADSR envelope attenuator.
MOD (LFO) – Filter to LFO attenuator.
EXT IN – External audio input.
FIL OUT – Filter audio output.
MOD IN – Frequency or Resonance modulation CV input.
LFO:TRIANGLE/SQUARE* – Waveform select switch (triangle core).
DPTH (OSC) – LFO to Oscillator control.
SPEED – Speed or rate attenuator.
DEPTH – Control voltage Input.
TRIANGLE* – Triangle wave output.
SQUARE*– Square wave output.
SPEED – Speed or rate CV input.
* symbol
ENVs:ATTACK – Attack stage control.
DECAY – Decay stage control.
SUSTAIN – Sustain stage control.
RELEASE – Release stage control.
DRONE/MASTER – Indefinite/instant sustain, and master mode for ADSR routing switch: fuses VCF envelope with VCA envelope. Center off.
ATTACK – Attack stage control
RELEASE – Release stage control.
MOD IN – Allows for dynamic modulation of the ADSR, eg., if you want the amount of modulation added to/determined by a external source, jack in; or if you prefer, modulation input to the ADSR routing—use with velocity, or a sequencer: the sequencer could isolate the ADSR amount the amount to a single step in the phrase for example. Exciting. A second external envelope can provide an interesting effect, or the AR (in the box patching).
ADSR OUT – ADSR output.
AR OUT – AR Output.
VCA:FEEDBACK – Oscillator/filter feedback loop control.
VOLUME – Master volume control.
VCA CV – Amplifier control voltage output.
IN/MIX – VCA mix input switch switch (normalled jack). When set to IN, external audio replaces filter output to VCA; when set to mix MIX, filter output is fed along with the filter audio to VCA.
VCA IN – Audio input.
OUTPUT – Main output.

VitalsPCB Mounting Scheme - Through-hole.
Filter - Discrete, voltage controlled, 24/db/oct cascaded transconductance low-pass filter, employing six pairs of hand-matched transistors.
Size - 32hp.
Depth - 35mm including connectors.
Power Usage - 130mA, 80mA (+12 / -12)

PDF ReduxOuts to Outs and Other Interesting TONE☆ Patches

Optional DIY AdjustmentsThe tweaking and fine tuning process of a new SE offering can be seemingly endless. Many of the decisions we make are akin to choosing between chocolate, or chocolate with almonds (Fair Trade Organic of course), both tasty and worthy of consumption. At a certain point you have to step away and let your little baby go—but sometimes after flipping back and forth on preferences, we implement a few minor changes after the official production release. The following tweaks fall into the subjective "with or without nuts" category:

Units #2-15 / Noise - The noise on the Tonestar leans to the Pink side, a little dark and moody. Some may like it, some may want the more bright and sizzled white variety. One resistor or capacitor change will shift it to the white spectrum.

Units #2-22 / Feedback - The Feedback loop is big, bold and deep on the low end; maybe a bit too much so. One resistor change will reign it in, but still allow enough chaotic madness at maximum level.

TONESTAR 8106

( ) Represents normalled connections.

27 Knobbed and "Shafted" Potentiometers

VCO:RANGE,PM MAN,LFO (^),PORTA,MOD (ENV),TRIANGLE*,SAW*,SQUARE*,SUB,TUNE;Noise:LEVEL;VCF:FREQ,RES,KBYD,DRIVE,HPF,ENV,MOD (LFO);LFO:AMNT (OSC),RATE;ENVs:(ADSR) ATTACK,DECAY,SUSTAIN,RELEASE,(AR) ATTACK,RELEASE;VCA:FEEDBACK(filter/VCA),VOLUME
* symbol

6 Switches

VCO: OCT (up/null/down); FREQ/PW (frequency/null/pulse width); NO VCF (VCF/null/no VCF); VCF: TRIANGLE*/SQUARE* (triangle/null/square); ENVs: HOLD, MSTR (hold/null/master); VCA: IN/MIX
* symbol

21 Jacks

VCO: TRIANGLE*, SAWTOOTH*, SQUARE*, MIX, 1V/O, MOD IN; NOISE: NOISE (white); LFO: DEPTH, TRIANGLE*, SQUARE*, SPEED; VCF: EXT IN, FIL OUT, MOD IN; ENVs: MOD IN, ADSR OUT, AR OUT, GATE IN; VCA: IN/MIX, VCA IN, OUTPUT
* symbol

All Controls—arranged in order of signal flow—and Patch Points

VCO:

RANGE – Oscillator frequency attenuator.
PW MAN – Variable pulse wave width control.
OCT – +1/-1 octave switch.
LFO (^) – Triangle wave low frequency oscillation to pulse width control.
FREQ/PW – Oscillator frequency, or Pulse (square wave) width to ADSR modulation routing switch. Center off.
PORTA – Slew generator control.
MOD (ENV) – Oscillation modulation via ADSR control.
TRIANGLE*/NO VCF – Triangle to VCA switch—bypasses VCF.
SAWTOOTH* – Sawtooth wave attenuator.
SQUARE* – Square wave attenuator.
SUB – Square wave Sub Oscillator attenuator.
TRIANGLE* – Waveform output.
SAWTOOTH* – Waveform output.
SQUARE* – Waveform output.
MIX – Composite waveform output.
1V/O – One volt per octave control voltage input.
TUNE – Master fine tune (approx. -5/+ 5 semitones).
MOD IN – Modulation CV input. Normaled to ADSR; ADSR is replaced when alt. source connected.
* symbol
Noise:NOISE – White noise generator output.
LEVEL – Noise attenuator.
VCF:FREQ - Frequency, or cut-off attenuator.
RESO – Resonance, or Q attenuator.
KYBD – Keyboard/voltage tracking attenuator.
DRIVE – Oscillator output to filter input attenuator.
HPF – High Pass Filter.
ENV – Filter to ADSR envelope attenuator.
MOD (LFO) – Filter to LFO attenuator.
EXT IN – External audio input.
FIL OUT – Filter audio output.
MOD IN – Frequency or Resonance modulation CV input.
LFO:TRIANGLE/SQUARE* – Waveform select switch (triangle core).
AMNT (OSC) – LFO to Oscillator control.
RATE – Speed or rate attenuator.
AMNT – Control voltage Input.
TRIANGLE* – Triangle wave output.
SQUARE*– Square wave output.
RATE – Speed or rate CV input.
* symbol
ENVs:A – Attack stage control.
D – Decay stage control.
S – Sustain stage control.
R – Release stage control.
HOLD/MSTR – Indefinite/instant sustain; master mode switch for single ADSR: fuses VCF envelope with VCA envelope. Center off.
A – VCA Attack stage control
R – VCA Release stage control.
MOD IN – Allows for dynamic modulation of the ADSR, eg., if you want the amount of modulation added to/determined by a external source, jack in; or if you prefer, modulation input to the ADSR routing—use with velocity, or a sequencer: the sequencer could isolate the ADSR amount the amount to a single step in the phrase for example. Exciting. A second external envelope can provide an interesting effect, or the AR (in the box patching).
ADSR OUT – ADSR output.
AR OUT – AR Output.
VCA:FEEDBACK – Oscillator/filter feedback loop control.
VOLUME – Master volume control.
VCA CV – Amplifier control voltage output.
IN/MIX – VCA mix input switch switch (normalled jack). When set to IN, external audio replaces filter output to VCA; when set to mix MIX, filter output is fed along with the filter audio to VCA.
VCA IN – Audio input.
OUTPUT – Main output.

VitalsPCB Mounting Scheme - Through-hole.
Filter - A 6db/oct hi-pass filter followed by a recreation of the Roland® IR3109 module, which is a 4 pole, 24 db/oct voltage controlled lowpass filter with voltage controlled resonance. 3 dual OTAs with similar topology to the BA662 used in the Jupiter 8 (and the IR3109 module) were employed, 1 amp for the hi-pass filter, 4 (with added buffers) for the low-pass, and 1 for the resonance. This filter takes a wide range of input signals, and tracks control voltage extremely well. Tap points are available for 6db, 12db, and 18db/oct. Although the topology is similar to the 4072, the tonality, especially when over driven, is distinct.
Size - 32hp.
Depth - 35mm including connectors.
Power Usage - 130mA, 80mA (+12 / -12)

TONESTAR FOLKTEK

( ) represents normalled connections.

26 Knobbed and "Shafted" Potentiometers

VCO: FREQUENCY, PULSE WIDTH, LFO (^), GLIDE, MOD (ADSR), TRIANGLE*, SAW*, SQUARE*, SUB, TUNE; Noise: LEVEL; VCF: FREQUENCY, RESONANCE, TRACK, DRIVE, ADSR, MOD (LFO); LFO: DEPTH (OSC), SPEED; ENVs: (ADSR) ATTACK, DECAY, SUSTAIN, RELEASE, (AR) ATTACK, RELEASE; VCA: FEEDBACK (filter), VOLUME
* symbol

7 Switches

VCO: OCT (up/null/down); FREQ/PW (frequency/null/pulse width); NO VCF (VCF/null/no VCF);VCF: FREQUENCY/RESONANCE (frequency/null/resonance);LFO: TRIANGLE/SQUARE* (frequency/null/pulse width); ENVs: DRONE, MASTER (drone/null/master); VCA: IN/MIX
* symbol

21 Jacks

VCO: TRIANGLE*, SAWTOOTH*, SQUARE*, MIX, 1V/O, MOD IN; NOISE: NOISE (white); LFO: DEPTH, TRIANGLE*, SQUARE*, SPEED; VCF: EXT IN, FIL OUT, MOD IN; ENVs: MOD IN, ADSR OUT, AR OUT, GATE IN; VCA: IN/MIX, VCA IN, OUTPUT
* symbol

All Controls—arranged in order of signal flow—and Patch Points

VCO:

FREQUENCY – Oscillator frequency attenuator.
PULSE WIDTH – Variable pulse wave width control.
OCT – +1/-1 octave switch.
LFO (^) – Triangle wave low frequency oscillation to pulse width control.
FREQ/PW – Oscillator frequency, or Pulse (square wave) width to ADSR modulation routing switch. Center off.
GLIDE – Slew generator control.
MOD (ADSR) – Oscillation modulation via ADSR control.
TRIANGLE*/NO VCF – Triangle to VCA switch—bypasses VCF.
SAWTOOTH* – Sawtooth wave attenuator.
SQUARE* – Square wave attenuator.
SUB – Square wave Sub Oscillator attenuator.
TRIANGLE* – Waveform output.
SAWTOOTH* – Waveform output.
SQUARE* – Waveform output.
MIX – Composite waveform output.
1V/O – One volt per octave control voltage input.
TUNE – Master fine tune (approx. -5/+ 5 semitones).
MOD IN – Modulation CV input. Normaled to ADSR; ADSR is replaced when alt. source connected.
* symbol
Noise:NOISE – White noise generator output.
LEVEL – Noise attenuator.
VCF:FREQUENCY Frequency, or cut-off attenuator
RESONANCE – Resonance, or Q attenuator.
TRACK – Keyboard/voltage tracking attenuator.
DRIVE – Oscillator output to filter input attenuator.
FREQ/RESO – Filter Frequency, or Resonance to LFO modulation routing switch. Center off position.
ADSR – Filter to ADSR envelope attenuator.
MOD (LFO) – Filter to LFO attenuator.
EXT IN – External audio input.
FIL OUT – Filter audio output.
MOD IN – Frequency or Resonance modulation CV input.
LFO:TRIANGLE/SQUARE* – Waveform select switch (triangle core).
DPTH (OSC) – LFO to Oscillator control.
SPEED – Speed or rate attenuator.
DEPTH – Control voltage Input.
TRIANGLE* – Triangle wave output.
SQUARE*– Square wave output.
SPEED – Speed or rate CV input.
* symbol
ENVs:ATTACK – Attack stage control.
DECAY – Decay stage control.
SUSTAIN – Sustain stage control.
RELEASE – Release stage control.
DRONE/MASTER – Indefinite/instant sustain, and master mode for ADSR routing switch: fuses VCF envelope with VCA envelope. Center off.
ATTACK – Attack stage control
RELEASE – Release stage control.
MOD IN – Allows for dynamic modulation of the ADSR, eg., if you want the amount of modulation added to/determined by a external source, jack in; or if you prefer, modulation input to the ADSR routing—use with velocity, or a sequencer: the sequencer could isolate the ADSR amount the amount to a single step in the phrase for example. Exciting. A second external envelope can provide an interesting effect, or the AR (in the box patching).
ADSR OUT – ADSR output.
AR OUT – AR Output.
VCA:FEEDBACK – Oscillator/filter feedback loop control.
VOLUME – Master volume control.
VCA CV – Amplifier control voltage output.
IN/MIX – VCA mix input switch switch (normalled jack). When set to IN, external audio replaces filter output to VCA; when set to mix MIX, filter output is fed along with the filter audio to VCA.
VCA IN – Audio input.
OUTPUT – Main output.

Vitals PCB Mounting Scheme - Through-hole.
Filter - Discrete, voltage controlled, 24/db/oct cascaded transconductance low-pass filter, employing six pairs of hand-matched transistors.
Size - 32hp.
Depth - 35mm including connectors.
Power Usage - 130mA, 80mA (+12 / -12)

Optional DIY AdjustmentsThe tweaking and fine tuning process of a new SE offering can be seemingly endless. Many of the decisions we make are akin to choosing between chocolate, or chocolate with almonds (Fair Trade Organic of course), both tasty and worthy of consumption. At a certain point you have to step away and let your little baby go—but sometimes after flipping back and forth on preferences, we implement a few minor changes after the official production release. The following tweaks fall into the subjective "with or without nuts" category:

Units #2-15 / Noise - The noise on the Tonestar leans to the Pink side, a little dark and moody. Some may like it, some may want the more bright and sizzled white variety. One resistor or capacitor change will shift it to the white spectrum.

Units #2-22 / Feedback - The Feedback loop is big, bold and deep on the low end; maybe a bit too much so. One resistor change will reign it in, but still allow enough chaotic madness at maximum level.