Dark Star

Compact full synth voice bursting with character & features

Description
A couple of years back, we developed Cosmic Background as a standalone percussion voice. The concept was to bundle all required sub-modules behind one panel, pre-patched, yet also fully modular, with each sub-module having it’s own inputs and outputs. We loved it, as did you. We soon realised that is we were to replace Cosmic Background’s noise generator with a VCO (and do a few other tweaks), we’d have a cute little fully modular synth voice ripe for sequencing – and that’s how Dark Star was born!

Dark Star consists of 4 sections:
Voltage Controlled Oscillator based on AS3340 with sawtooth, triangle and pulse waveforms
Voltage Controlled Filter with lowpass and highpass options, Drive control, Sweep control which attenuates amount of Release CV
Release generator with CV input for voltage control of release time. Option for sustain via jumper on rear panel.
Voltage Controlled Amplifier
Together they form a pre-patched super versatile analogue synthesiser voice.

Additionally, each section is fully modular in it’s own right, so there are patch points for:
1V/oct CV input
PWM CV input – attenuator doubles as manual pulse width when no external signal is present
Gate input for Release or Sustain/Release
Release CV input for voltage control of Release time
VCF audio input with attenuator, for introducing external audio
VCF CV input with attenuator (1V/oct CV is normalised to this input)
VCA audio input (VCF is normalised to this input)
VCA CV input (Release CV is normalised to this input)
Release CV output
VCO audio output
VCF audio output
VCA audio output

Here are some useful patches to try:
Release CV output to PWM CV input, for swept PWM
VCF OUT to VCF IN, thickens and further overdrives the filtering
VCO OUT to VCF CV input, for fizzy FM of the filter
use a multiple to patch 1V/oct to Release CV input, lower notes will have longer release, higher notes will have shorter release

https://frequencycentral.co.uk/product/dark-star/