Doepfer A-100

A Doepfer A-100 in a P6 suitcase enclosure

Example piece of music performed entirely on a Doepfer A-100

The Doepfer A-100 is an analog modular synthesizer system introduced by German audio manufacturer Doepfer in 1995. Although it only had 10 modules at time of release,^[1] it currently has more than 120 modules^[2] plus several different enclosures and accessories.

A-100 modules are designed to be rackmounted, each being 3U tall and a multiple of 2HP wide, though a variety of cases are available to house them. This type of racking system, 'Eurorack', has been adopted by many other manufacturers of synthesiser modules. Modules are patched using standard mono miniature (3.5 mm) leads. This combination of 3U height, multiples of 2HP width, and 3.5 mm leads is known more generally as the Eurorack standard, and is in contrast to the older combination of 5U height and 6.35 mm leads pioneered by Moog. Other companies such as Analogue Solutions, Analogue Systems, Roland, Moog and Cwejman have also adopted the Eurorack standard, making it relatively easy to integrate their modules into each other's systems.

Using certain modules designed specifically for the purpose, it is possible to use the A-100 system to emulate a Trautonium or a Theremin, as well as to use it as a vocoder.^[3]

Modules

The following modules have been, or are still being, manufactured by Doepfer:^[4]

A-101-1 – Vactrol multimode filter A-101-2 – Vactrol low-pass filter / VCA A-101-3 – 12 stage vactrol phaser A-101-9 – Dual universal vactrol module A-102 – EMS VCS 3 style 18 dB/octave diode low-pass filter A-103 – Roland TB-303 style 18 dB/octave transistor ladder low-pass filter A-104 – Trautonium style formant filter A-105 – 24 dB/octave SSM2044 based 24 dB/octave low-pass filter A-106-1 – Korg MS-20 style 12 dB/octave low-pass / 6 dB/octave high-pass filter A-106-5 – Oberheim SEM style 12 dB/octave multimode filter A-106-6 – Oberheim Xpander style multimode filter A-107 – Oberheim Xpander style multimode filter A-108 – 6, 12, 24, and 48 dB/octave low-pass / band-pass transistor ladder filter A-109 – Signal processor A-110 – Standard VCO A-110-2 – Basic VCO A-110-4 – Thru zero quadrature VCO A-111 – High end VCO A-111-5 – Mini synthesizer voice (combination VCO / filter / VCA / LFO / ADSR envelope generator) A-112 – Sampler / wavetable oscillator A-113 – Trautonium style subharmonic generator A-114 – Dual ring modulator A-115 – Audio divider A-116 – Waveform processor A-117 – Digital noise generator / Roland TR-808 style discordant sound source A-118 – Analog noise generator / random voltage A-119 – External input / envelope follower A-120 – Moog style 24 dB/octave low-pass filter A-121 – 12 dB/octave multimode filter A-122 – Oberheim style 24 dB/octave low-pass filter with CEM 3379 chip A-123 – 24 dB/octave high-pass filter A-124 – EDP Wasp style 12 dB/octave multimode filter A-125 – Phaser A-126 – Frequency shifter A-127 – Triple resonance filter A-127 – Filter breakout module A-128 – Fixed filter bank A-129/1 – Vocoder analysis A-129/2 – Vocoder synthesis A-129/3 – Vocoder slew limiter A-129/4 – Slew limiter controller A-129/5 – Voiced/unvoiced detector A-130 – Linear VCA A-131 – Exponential VCA A-132-1 – Dual linear low cost VCA A-132-2 – Quad VCA A-132-3 – Dual linear / exponential VCA A-132-4 – Quad exponential VCA / mixer A-133 – Dual polarizer A-134-1 – Panner A-134-2 – Dual crossfader A-135 – Mixer A-136 – Distortion / waveshaper A-137-1 – Wave multiplier I A-137-2 – Wave multiplier II A-138A – Linear mixer A-138B – Exponential mixer A-138C – Polarizing mixer A-138D – Crossfader / effect insert A-138E – Quad three-way crossfader / mixer / polarizer A-138X – Mixer expander (for use with A-138A or A-138B) A-138M – 4x4 matrix mixer A-139 – Headphone amplifier

A-140 – ADSR envelope generator A-141 – Voltage controlled ADSR envelope generator A-141-2 – Voltage controlled ADSR / LFO A-142 – Decay envelope generator / gate A-143-1 – Complex envelope generator / quad AD envelope generator / quad LFO A-143-2 – Quad ADSR envelope generator A-143-3 – Quad LFO A-143-4 – Quad voltage controlled LFO / VCO A-143-9 – Quadrature LFO A-144 – Morphing controller A-145 – LFO I A-146 – LFO II A-147 – Voltage controlled LFO A-148 – Dual sample and hold / track and hold A-149-1 – Buchla 200 style quantized random voltages / stored random voltages A-149-2 – Eight digital random voltages A-150 – Dual voltage controlled switch A-151 – Quad sequential switch A-152 – Addressed track and hold / analog shift register / octal switch (multiplexer) A-154 – Sequencer controller A-155 – Analog / trigger sequencer A-156 – Dual quantizer A-160 – Clock divider A-161 – Clock sequencer A-162 – Dual trigger delay A-163 – Frequency divider A-164-1 – Manual gate A-165 – Dual trigger inverter A-166 – Dual logic gate A-167 – Analog comparator / subtractor / offset generator A-170 – Dual slew limiter A-171 – Voltage controlled slew limiter A-171-2 – Voltage controlled slew processor / generator A-172 – Maximum / minimum selector A-174-1 – Joystick A-174-2 – Wheels A-175 – Dual voltage inverter A-176 – Manual control voltage source A-177-1 – Foot controller I A-177-2 – Foot controller II A-178 – Theremin style antenna A-179 – Light controlled voltage source A-180 – Multiples I A-181 – Multiples II A-182 – Switched multiples A-183-1 – Dual attenuator A-183-2 – Offset generator / attenuator / polarizer A-183-3 – Amplifier A-185-1 – Bus access A-185-2 – Precision adder A-186 – Gate/trigger combiner A-187-1 – DSP effects A-188-1 – BBD A-188-2 – Tapped BBD A-189-1 – Bit modifier A-190-1 – MIDI to CV/gate/sync interface A-190-2 – MIDI to CV/gate interface A-190-3 – USB/MIDI to CV/gate interface A-190-4 – USB/MIDI to CV/gate/sync interface A-190-5 – Polyphonic USB/MIDI to CV/gate interface A-190-8 – USB/MIDI to sync interface A-191 – MIDI to CV interface / shephard generator A-192 – CV to MIDI interface A-192-2 – CV/gate to MIDI/USB interface A-196 – Phase-locked loop A-197-1 – VU meter A-197-2 – LCD oscilloscope A-198 – Trautonium style ribbon controller A-199 – Spring reverb

Notable users

• Angelspit^[5]
• Autechre^[6]
• Ian Boddy^[7]
• Deadmau5^[8]
• Chris Carter
• John Frusciante^[9]
• Gus Gus ^[10]
• The Human League ^[11]
• Infected Mushroom^[12][13]
• Kraftwerk^[14]
• Trent Reznor^[15]
• Mark Shreeve^[16]
• Hans Zimmer^[17]
• James Holden^[18]

References

1. "rec.music.makers.synth: Doepfer Analog details".
2. "EMIS: Doepfer Analogue Modular System A-100 from EMIS".
3. "Doepfer: A-100 System Suggestions".
4. "Doepfer: A-100 Overview".
5. "Angelspit: Credits".
6. "Sound On Sound: Autechre".
7. "DiN19 - ARC - Arcturus".
8. "YouTube: deadmau5: moular mouse".
9. "John Frusciante's Creative Explosion".
10. "GusGus live in Harpa ('Within You' and 'Over')".
11. "Blind Youth - Old Imagery: Studio Pictures".
12. "Studio Picture".
13. "Infected Mushroom: A question for Erez/Duvdev about their modular".
14. "Sound On Sound: Doepfer A100".
15. "YouTube: TheNewYorkTimes: The Carpetbagger: Trent Reznor's Oscar Nominated Score".
16. "DiN19 - ARC - Arcturus".
17. "Doepfer A-100 Yahoo! group: Messages: Hans Zimmer's A-100".
18. "Attack Magazine".

External links

• A-100 official home page
• A-100 reviews at Harmony Central
• A-100 at Vintage Synth Explorer
• Analogue Heaven: A visit to the Musikmesse in Frankfurt
• Analogue Heaven: More about the Musikmesse
• Analogue Heaven: Doepfer A-100 Review *** Part One
• Analogue Heaven: Doepfer A-100 Review *** Part Two
• Analogue Heaven: Doepfer A-100 Review *** Part Three ***