Doepfer A-100
The Doepfer A-100 is an analog modular synthesizer system introduced by German audio manufacturer Doepfer in 1995. Although there were only 10 module types at time of release, it currently has more than 120 modules plus several different enclosures and accessories.
Design
A-100 modules are designed to be rack-mounted, each being 3U tall and a multiple of 2HP wide, and 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 width 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.
Example uses
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.
Modules
The following modules have been, or are still being, manufactured by Doepfer:A-101-1 - Vactrol multimode filterA-101-2 - Vactrol low-pass filter / VCAA-101-3 - 12 stage vactrol phaserA-101-6 - Six Stage Opto FET VCFA-101-9 - Dual universal vactrol moduleA-102 - EMS VCS 3 style 18 dB/octave diode low-pass filterA-103 - Roland TB-303 style 18 dB/octave transistor ladder low-pass filterA-104 - Trautonium style formant filterA-105 - 24 dB/octave SSM2044 based 24 dB/octave low-pass filterA-105-4 - Quad Poly VCFA-106-1 - Korg MS-20 style 12 dB/octave low-pass / 6 dB/octave high-pass filterA-106-5 - Oberheim SEM style 12 dB/octave multimode filterA-106-6 - Oberheim Xpander style multimode filterA-107 - Oberheim Xpander style multimode filterA-108 - 6, 12, 24, and 48 dB/octave low-pass / band-pass transistor ladder filterA-109 - Signal processorA-110-1 - Standard VCOA-110-2 - Basic VCOA-110-4 - Thru zero quadrature VCOA-110-6 - Trapezoid Thru Zero Quadrature VCOA-111-1 - High end VCOA-111-2 - High End VCO II / VCLFOA-111-3 - Micro Precision VCO / VCLFOA-111-4 - Quad Precision VCOA-111-5 - Mini synthesizer voice A-112 - Sampler / wavetable oscillatorA-113 - Trautonium style subharmonic generatorA-114 - Dual ring modulatorA-115 - Audio dividerA-116 - Waveform processorA-117 - Digital noise generator / Roland TR-808 style discordant sound sourceA-118 - Analog noise generator / random voltageA-118-2 - Analog noise generator / random voltage A-119 - External input / envelope followerA-120 - Moog style 24 dB/octave low-pass filterA-121 - 12 dB/octave multimode filterA-121-2 - 12 dB Multimode FilterA-122 - Oberheim style 24 dB/octave low-pass filter with CEM 3379 chipA-123 - 24 dB/octave high-pass filterA-123-2 - 6/12/18/24 dB Highpass FilterA-124 - EDP Wasp style 12 dB/octave multimode filterA-125 - PhaserA-126 - Frequency shifterA-127 - Triple resonance filterA-127BOM - Filter breakout moduleA-128 - Fixed filter bankA-129/1 - Vocoder analysisA-129/2 - Vocoder synthesisA-129/3 - Vocoder slew limiterA-129/4 - Slew limiter controllerA-129/5 - Voiced/unvoiced detectorA-130 - Linear VCAA-131 - Exponential VCAA-132-1 - Dual linear low cost VCAA-132-2 - Quad VCAA-132-3 - Dual linear / exponential VCAA-132-4 - Quad exponential VCA / mixerA-132-8 - Octal Poly VCAA-133 - Dual polarizerA-134-1 - PannerA-134-2 - Dual crossfaderA-135 - MixerA-135-2 - Quad VCA / MixerA-136 - Distortion / waveshaperA-137-1 - Wave multiplier IA-137-2 - Wave multiplier IIA-138a - Linear mixerA-138b - Exponential mixerA-138c - Polarizing mixerA-138d - Crossfader / effect insertA-138e - Quad three-way crossfader / mixer / polarizerA-138m - 4x4 Matrix MixerA-138o - Performance Mixer Output ModuleA-138p - Performance MixerA-138s - Mini Stereo MixerA-138u - Dual Micro Mixer A-138x - Mixer expander A-139 - Headphone amplifierA-139-2 - Headphone AmplifierA-140 - ADSR envelope generatorA-140-2 - Dual Mini ADSRA-141 - Voltage controlled ADSR envelope generatorA-141-2 - Voltage controlled ADSR / LFOA-141-4 - Quad Poly VCADSRA-142-1 - Decay envelope generator / gateA-142-2 - Dual Envelope Controlled VCAA-142-4 - Quad DecayA-143-1 - Complex envelope generator / quad AD envelope generator / quad LFOA-143-2 - Quad ADSR envelope generatorA-143-3 - Quad LFOA-143-4 - Quad voltage controlled LFO / VCOA-143-9 - Quadrature LFOA-144 - Morphing controllerA-145 - LFO IA-146 - LFO IIA-147 - Voltage controlled LFOA-147-2 - Voltage Controlled Delayed Low Frequency Oscillator / VCDLFOA-148 - Dual sample and hold / track and holdA-149-1 - Buchla 200 style quantized random voltages / stored random voltagesA-149-2 - Eight digital random voltagesA-150 - Dual voltage controlled switchA-150-8 - Octal Manual/Voltage Controlled Programmable SwitchesA-151 - Quad sequential switchA-152 - Addressed track and hold / analog shift register / octal switch A-154 - Sequencer controllerA-155 - Analog / trigger sequencerA-156 - Dual quantizerA-157 - Trigger Sequencer SubsystemA-160 - Clock dividerA-160-2 - Clock/Trigger Divider IIA-160-5 - Voltage Controlled Clock Multiplier / Ratcheting ControllerA-161 - Clock sequencerA-162 - Dual trigger delayA-163 - Frequency dividerA-164-1 - Manual gateA-165 - Dual trigger inverterA-166 - Dual logic gateA-167 - Analog comparator / subtractor / offset generatorA-168-1 - PWM ModuleA-170 - Dual slew limiterA-171 - Voltage controlled slew limiterA-171-2 - Voltage controlled slew processor / generatorA-172 - Maximum / minimum selectorA-173-1/2 - Micro Keyboard / Manual Gate ModulesA-174-1 - JoystickA-174-2 - WheelsA-175 - Dual voltage inverterA-176 - Manual control voltage sourceA-177-1 - Foot controller IA-177-2 - Foot controller IIA-178 - Theremin style antennaA-179 - Light controlled voltage sourceA-180-1 - Multiples I A-180-2 - Multiples I A-180-3 - Dual Buffered MultipleA-180-9 - MulticoreA-181 - Multiples IIA-182 - Switched multiplesA-183-1 - Dual attenuatorA-183-2 - Offset generator / attenuator / polarizerA-183-3 - AmplifierA-183-9 - Quad USB Power SupplyA-184-1 - Ring Modulator / S&H/T&H / Slew Limiter ComboA-184-2 - Voltage Controlled Crossfader / Triangle-to-Sine WaveshaperA-185-1 - Bus accessA-185-2 - Precision adderA-186-1 - Gate/trigger combinerA-187-1 - DSP effectsA-188-1 - BBDA-188-2 - Tapped BBDA-189-1 - Bit modifierA-190-1 - MIDI to CV/gate/sync interfaceA-190-2 - MIDI to CV/gate interfaceA-190-3 - USB/MIDI to CV/gate interfaceA-190-4 - USB/MIDI to CV/gate/sync interfaceA-190-5 - Polyphonic USB/MIDI to CV/gate interfaceA-190-8 - USB/MIDI to sync interfaceA-191 - MIDI to CV interface / shephard generatorA-192-1 - CV to MIDI interfaceA-192-2 - CV/gate to MIDI/USB interfaceA-196 - Phase-locked loopA-197-1 - VU meterA-197-2 - LCD oscilloscopeA-198 - Trautonium style ribbon controllerA-199 - Spring reverb