A-100
A-100 tech specs
Doepfer A-100 (Photo: Nina Richards)
- Released: 1995[1][2][3]
- Company: Doepfer
- Type: Modular synthesiser
- Control: 1V/Oct CV & V-trig gate
- Synchronisation: 1 PPS V-trig clock for analogue step sequencer
- Patch jacks: 3.5 mm TS phone jacks
- Size: 3U (Eurorack)
The A-100 is a Eurorack format analogue modular synthesiser first released by Doepfer in 1995.
Conceived at a time when modular synthesisers were dismissed as unwieldy and expensive relics, Doepfer improved upon previous designs by shrinking down both their physical size and price. Perhaps his greatest contribution was repurposing the scientific Eurocard format into a cheaper variation, Eurorack. His second greatest was surely making the most versatile modular system of all time, at any size or price. The A-100 has sported hundreds of different modules over the decades, far more than any other system.
It surely helped that Doepfer openly explained the physical and electronic specifications for the Eurorack format on his website since the 1990s.[4][5] Using the Eurorack format for modular synthesisers in general, if not the A-100 in particular, became such a popular idea that a whole cottage industry flourished around Doepfer's specifications.
The A-100 itself seems to have two main inspirations: the module names, and the CV/gate bus, seem influenced by the System-100M; while using a variant of Eurocard for a modular synthesiser was inspired by the Formant.[6]
Personally, I think two A-100 modules are especially underrated: Firstly, the A-127 Triple Voltage Controlled Resonance Filter. Seemingly inspired by, and even surpassing, the "resonance" section on the legendary PS-3300, it features three bandpass filters, each with its own separate LFO that can swirl it around. Sure, it's wide for a Eurorack module (it has to be to fit its name), but its distinctive sound's worth it. In all fairness, its size is nothing compared to an actual PS-3300 or three!
The second is the A-142 Voltage Controlled Decay. I habitually use two of these to synthesise drum sounds, one to sweep the pitch down at the start of the note, and the other to fade the VCA to silence. By routing the velocity CV to both of the A-142s in addition to a VCA, you can generate all manner of expressive kick, snare, and tom drums.
Even the A-140 ADSR Envelope Generator has a range far exceeding any other envelope generator I've seen, including the System-100M module it's named after. Personally, I need very short attacks for percussion, and very long ones for what I like to call risers, those slowly creeping bass drones, and this is the only envelope generator I've seen that can provide them. On any other synth, I'd need to use the mod wheel for such a slow motion.
What makes the A-100 so good, in my opinion, is that it's small enough to fit in a home studio, affordable enough to buy with a home studio budget, and the most versatile synthesiser ever produced.
It's become not just a popular synthesiser, but the standard format for modular synthesisers.
Quotes
It's a remarkable achievement, and Doepfer deserve massive praise for what they've done.
— Peter Forrest, The A-Z of Analogue Synthesisers, Part One: A-M[7]
Notable users
References
- "A Visit to the Musikmesse in Frankfurt" Stefan Gruhl, Analogue Heaven, Mar 1995
- "More About the Musikmesse" Stefan Gruhl, Analogue Heaven, Mar 1995
- "Doepfer A-100 Review *** Part One" Sean Coppinger, Analogue Heaven, Dec 1995
- "A-100 Construction Details"
- "A-100 Technical Details"
- "Doepfer's Story: The Module Mogul" Keys, Dec 1997
- The A-Z of Analogue Synthesisers, Part One: A-M Peter Forrest, 1998, ISBN 0-9524377-2-4, p. 90
- "Synths and Stuff" Danny Wolfers
- Obsessive Surrealism Parallel Worlds, 2007
- Shade Parallel Worlds, 2009
- "Parallel Worlds Studio"
Further reading
Reviews
- "The Mod Squad" Chris Carter, Sound On Sound, Jul 1998
- "Doepfer A-100 Modular" Chris Carter, Sound On Sound, Dec 2003
Encyclopedias
- The A-Z of Analogue Synthesisers, Part One: A-M Peter Forrest, 1998, ISBN 0-9524377-2-4, pp. 89—90
- "Doepfer A-100" Hyperreal
Official website
Analogue step sequencers: 100 Series (Behringer) | 900 Series (Behringer) | A-100 | Sequencer Complement | System-100 | System-100M
Doepfer: A-100 | MCV-24 | MCV-24 guide
East Coast synthesis: 900 Series (Moog) | A-100 | System-100M
Eurorack: 100 Series (Behringer) | 900 Series (Behringer) | A-100 | Concussor | Stepper Acid
Modular synthesisers: 100 Series (Behringer) | 300 Series (Wiard) | 900 Series (Behringer) | 900 Series (Moog) | 900 Series (Synth-Werk) | A-100 | Concussor | System-100M
A-100: A-100 prototype
