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I am back with GAS as some of you might have noticed after i dissapeared for a couple of month... (thanks to the multidrive release and the sludge fuzz thread) ;-)

i am currenently looking into that doepfer stuff especially the dark time and maybe the dark energy but i dont get most of the youtube demos since i am not a full on synth guy and kind of a noob on that territory...

What i got from that clips at youtube is that i dont need the dark energy cause i am already a proud owner of a moog little fatty but since my moog is version one without the apeggater i am pretty sure the dark time sequencer will open up a wide range of new sounds, right?! Or is the dark energy needed to get the full blown synth fun?! do i need some kind of midi controller keyboard to controll the dark energy cause just turning the knob to a matching position is a bit stupid imo to do musical stuff...

Whatever, does somebody around here own doepfer stuff and can tell me a bit?!?!

Yeah, you don't need the Dark Energy really if you've already got a Little Fatty, unless you just wanted to try something different (there is a lot that's great about the Dark Energy.) To play the Dark Energy you would definitely need a keyboard or controller of some sort, either MIDI or CV. You could play it with your Little Fatty for instance.

What the Dark Time is is basically a clock that spits out Control Voltage at the clock divisions. You can specify how much CV comes out at each step and use it to control other analog gear. It looks like the Little Fatty has CV inputs for the VCO (Voltage Controlled Oscillator / Pitch), VCA (Voltage Controlled Amplifier / Volume) and Filter, so you could use the Dark Time to create patterns in any of these areas on your Little Fatty.

And then if you have any pedals with CV input you could use the Dark Time to make patterns that simulate complex sequences of the knobs on the pedal turning (most CV input on pedals is used to control the parameter assigned to one of the knobs on the pedal.)

Hope that helps some. Those Doepfer units look sweet for sure.

Well the Dark Time is an analog sequencer, whereas the Dark Energy is a semi modular synthesizer. The Dark Time outputs two types of signals, gate signals and control voltages. Gate signals determine note on/off information for analog synths, whereas control voltages determine pitch/scaling. In terms of using the Lil Phatty with the Dark Time, you need to make sure that the gate and control voltage formats match. Analog Synth CV inputs accept one of two formats (Hz/V or V/Oct), depending on the manufacturer, so you need to establish what sort of CV signal the Moog LP requires to achieve the correct scaling. Moogs tend to accept V/Oct and an odd gate format, typically S-Trig, although this can vary depending on the model of Moog. My vintage Moog Prodigy MK1 (with CV/Gate input mods) takes a 15V gate signal, and operates at V/Oct, however the later MKII Prodigy model accepts an S-Trig gate signal. I'm not sure what the Lil Phatty requires (I used to own one, but only used Midi to sequence), but you need to make sure the Dark Time's outputs will match. The combination of the Dark Time and Dark Energy will work perfectly, the DE as the sound source with the DT as the sequencer to generate melodies. If you were to use the DE without the DT, you would either need a MIDI controller, or just sequence from a computer using either USB, MIDI, or a MIDI/CV convertor ala Kenton -- Kenton convertors can also be used with your Lil Phatty (http://www.kentonuk.com). In terms of synthesis, the Dark Energy has certain capabilities the Lil Phatty lacks i.e. modular routing. This means that the synth's signal path can be overridden to achieve unique signal routing and modulation not possible on the Lil Phatty. Either way, the Dark Time and Dark Energy are useful tools together or individually. Also the DT would be very fun to use with pedals that have CV inputs!

thanks alot for the infos guys! Very helpfull!

I think i will hop on the Dark Time some time soon and see how it works out with the moog and especially driving other pedals...
When this thing is the shit i might sell the moog and get the Energy aswell. used price of the moog should cover DE and DT costs (they are not as expensive in germany as they are overseas since doepfer is a german manufactur...)

is there anything the Moog can do what the Dark energy cant do?!

Well the LP has 2 VCO's as opposed to the DE's 1, so you wouldn't be able to get those yummy detuned dual oscillator sounds. Plus the LP has the nice overdriven filter feature. The DE is just a lot more flexible in terms of signal routing. Also, just so you know, even though you have the version 1 LP, you can go on Moog's website and download the OS 2 for free, which would give you all the features of the LP2 minus the USB over MIDI, it's really easy, and that way you can get the arpeggiator!

Where in Germany are you? I live in Berlin and have a lot of fun synths and drum machines, I'd love to get together and run some of my gear through your pedals... Could be fun!

Kayzer wrote:do i need some kind of midi controller keyboard to controll the dark energy cause just turning the knob to a matching position is a bit stupid imo to do musical stuff...

if this is your opinion (analog electronic music is knob twisting), the dark time sequencer would be the wrong piece of gear imho.
beside that, the dark time looks like a great sequencer. i still miss one in my setup. but i'm not sure if a software sequencer (e.g. on a mac book or ipad?!) and a midi to cv device will be the better way to go.
probably have a look at the moog cp-201. Also useable as a MIDI to CV device it can controll a lot of cv devices. for integrating in the pedal environment probably a better solution.

i would also love to get both, dark time and dark energy, but i think i will pull the trigger on the mochika ( http://www.atomosynth.com/mochika.html ). 8 step sequencer, VCO and CV outs. would fit me needs quite good.

(so beside kosta german talk here )

univalve wrote: have a look at the moog cp-201. Also useable as a MIDI to CV device it can controll a lot of cv devices. for integrating in the pedal environment probably a better solution.

Do you mean the CP-251 or the MP-201?

maxwellravitz wrote:

univalve wrote: have a look at the moog cp-201. Also useable as a MIDI to CV device it can controll a lot of cv devices. for integrating in the pedal environment probably a better solution.

Do you mean the CP-251 or the MP-201?

sorry, mp-201

Also, I'm not a German, just an ex-pat American living in Germany

maxwellravitz wrote:Where in Germany are you? I live in Berlin and have a lot of fun synths and drum machines, I'd love to get together and run some of my gear through your pedals... Could be fun!

I would love to check some of your stuff but i am living in Hamburg

yo guys. I know this is a mega old thread.
Could you please help over here?

Lol, kayzer is always 5 years ahead of me when I search around to do stuff.

http://www.ilovefuzz.com/viewtopic.php?f=247&t=54941